Introducing the Leadership Triangle Spring 2023 Transforming Leaders Goodmon Fellows

To me, the essence of the Transforming Leaders experience is reflection and connection. Reflection on your identity, your path, your values, your strengths, and your areas for growth. Connection to incredible peers, a broad alumni network, unique programming, and your future self. It’s a powerful and worthwhile combination. — Zack Kaplan, 2023 Leadership Triangle Goodmon Fellow

Transforming Leaders is a 70+ hour masters-level course in leadership development. Through personal reflection, 1:1 coaching, and cohort-based experiential learning, graduates of the program gain clarity on their values, practices, and leadership strengths.

Transforming Leaders is rigorous and immersive. It allows each participant to step into a sense of responsibility and ownership around how they show up and lead within the world. Please help us in congratulating our Spring 2023 Transforming Leaders Goodmon Fellows!

Alyson Stoffer is a senior leader in the social impact space where she helps lift up and advocate for others. Her belief and motivation to help others started at an early age. A Virginia native, she was raised by her single mother who devoted her life to caring for our nation’s veterans as a nurse while raising three children on her own. Her cousin Jeremy was born with a profound developmental disability and through that experience witnessed the sacrifies her family made for his lifelong care. In her capacity as the Director, Strategic Impact & Outreach at TLC, Alyson connects people with opportunities to make an impact in the lives of individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability, their families, and frontline staff through a lens for inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. Alyson is a proud member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and is a past president of the Triangle chapter. She loves to travel — her most recent adventure was a birthday trip to Alaska with her husband where her dream of seeing the northern lights came true. You may bump into her on the patio of a local Raleigh coffee shop with her goldendoodle Millie on a beautiful day.

Amber Rodriguez (she/they). As a midwife and Community and Partnerships Manager at Aya Birth and Community Wellness, Amber facilitates generational healing through birth and community empowerment. With a focus on anti-racism, decolonization, and LGBTQIA healthcare, she leverages her 20 years of experience in health and management to advance the reduction of the maternal and infant mortality rates in the Southeast. Amber is a proud mother of 3 and enjoys beekeeping, being in nature, and developing her spiritual practices.

Amelia Muse (she/her). Dr. Amelia Muse is a Senior Director for the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care at the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation. In her role, she helps systems of all sizes and configurations make the clinical, operational, and financial changes necessary to deliver whole person care. Dr. Muse provides training to equip providers and leadership with the skills to implement and deliver integrated care services, as well as leads research and advocacy activities to improve quality and access for behavioral health care in North Carolina. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has experience working as a provider in community and medical settings. Dr. Muse received her doctorate degree in Medical Family Therapy and her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from East Carolina University.

Brady Blackburn (he/him) is a nonprofit communications professional with experience ranging from political campaign management to environmental and health care advocacy. Brady brings significant experience in caused-based marketing, with an emphasis on content creation, videography, and graphic design. He is currently the communications director for the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, working to create more equitable health care systems across North Carolina. Prior to this role, he worked as an aide in the North Carolina General Assembly after successfully managing a rural state house campaign in Haywood, Jackson, and Swain Counties.

Brittany Glass-Thomas

Brittany Gregory (she/her) works collaboratively with community partners to foster relationships and align efforts to ensure Durham’s children enter school ready to succeed. Through her advocacy work she continues to raise awareness that all of North Carolina’s children should have access to high quality preschool and fully funded public schools. She proudly serves on the board of directors for the Durham Public Schools Foundation and Farmer Foodshare. She taught elementary school in Wake County Public Schools, and served as an elementary success coach in Durham. Brittany has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Linguistics and Communications from UNC-Greensboro and has a master’s degree in Public Administration from NC State University.

Disha Dewan

Donald Hughes (he/him/his) is a fighter for justice and equity. From advocating for an increase in the minimum wage to helping launch a new paid family leave program in our nation’s capital, Donald has leveraged his skills to help advance overlooked and underserved communities. His experience growing up in an inner-city neighborhood plagued by health disparities and watching his family in rural North Carolina struggle to access health care while suffering from chronic illnesses fuels his passion for advancing health equity. Donald is the Director of Community Voice for the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI). Before joining the FHLI, Donald led communications and mobile vaccination efforts at We Are Ready for Life (W.A.R.4Life), a community-based organization that uplifts marginalized communities and improves residents’ quality of life by expanding economic and health opportunities. He also worked for six years in Washington, DC, where he coordinated special projects for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity and managed community engagement and public affairs efforts for the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. A native North Carolinian and product of the state’s public schools, Donald earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina Central University.

Drew Woten is the Executive Director of Open Table Ministry, a nonprofit organization committed to serving Durham’s unsheltered community. In his role, Drew works alongside a dedicated team of staff and volunteers to provide access to clothing, showers, emergency shelter, and other essential services. He received his Master of Social Work degree from UNC Chapel Hill and his Master of Divinity degree from Duke University. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors, listening to podcasts, and relaxing with friends and family.

Janelle Averill (she/her) graduated with a B.S in Health Education, but quickly fell in love with the idea of spending her days on the playground, teaching the power of play through wall ball and foursquare. After completing a year of service with AmeriCorps at Playworks, Janelle knew she found an organization that blended together her love of teaching, play and community service. Over 14 school years later, Janelle is currently a Director of Field Operations with the organization. Janelle has spent a majority of her career at Playworks helping maintain and expand quality programming across North Carolina, making sure that all students have access to safe and healthy play. During 2020 when the organization was innovating with new ways to support communities through play, Janelle realized her true passion was supporting and empowering Playworks staff to be the best they could at their roles. Janelle became the Director of Field Operations in 2021, where she currently works closely with the NC, MI, PA and NYNJ teams, focusing on program implementation, program quality, and internal systems developed to support a better employee experience. When Janelle is not playing on the playground (or in a meeting), you can find her cooking, doing hot yoga, or hanging out with her beagle Barley.

Jenn Briand (she/her) raises funds and awareness to advocate and support the health of all moms and babies. With almost 15 years in the nonprofit industry in management and fundraising positions, Jenn has helped raise nearly $15M. When she isn’t managing volunteers, running meetings, or organizing large-scale events, Jenn is spending time with her husband, two children, and dog. Jenn is originally from Central NJ and relocated to Raleigh 7 years ago. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication with a minor in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Jenn McEwen

Kate Brown (she/her/hers) has worked over the last nine years to actualize big dreams through cultivating financial investments, operationalizing projects, and creating a culture of empathy, equity and belonging. As the current Director of Development at Teach For America North Carolina, Kate proudly partners with communities across eastern North Carolina and the Piedmont Triad to make educational equity a reality. Prior to her work at Teach For America, Kate worked with Reading Partners South Carolina. Kate is a proud graduate of public schools, Eastern Illinois University, and is an alumna of AmeriCorps VISTA. Originally from a no-stop-light town in southern Illinois, Kate now resides in (multiple-stop-light town) Mebane, North Carolina with her partner, daughter, and two cats. In her spare time, you’ll find Kate watching the St. Louis Cardinals, reading, or chasing her toddler around outdoors and indoors.

Kelley Downey (she/her) is a flexible and creative nonprofit leader with a background in Graphic Communications. She is described as, “resourceful with a strong understanding of strategy, design, marketing, and organization” in her work as Executive Director at Musical Empowerment. Kelley is a kidney donor and above all she values compassion, integrity, and building community. People can expect her to be a sincere and thoughtful leader through her continued work in the nonprofit sector where she seeks to bring people together for a stronger and more diverse community.

Larissa Via

Lori Grant (She/Hers) is a Talent Acquisition Specialist for Capitol Broadcasting Company. Lori is responsible for sourcing, attracting and interviewing prospective employees to find the perfect matches for CBC’s long-term goals. Before joining the HR Team in 2022, Lori was an Executive Producer in the WRAL-TV Newsroom. In the EP role, she helped lead a team of motivated professionals in producing award-winning, compelling, creative and informative stories. Her passion is encouraging employee success.

Mollie McBride

Nathan Hardin

Priya Sreenivasan (she/her) is committed to creating a world in which ease is abundant. She believes deeply in the power of community, and in listening more than she speaks. Professionally, Priya has been a public health analyst, an AmeriCorps member, a movement lawyer, and currently works at United Way of the Greater Triangle. Her values guide her in her professional and personal pursuits and have been the common thread through her various roles in the workplace. In her free time, Priya loves spending time with her people, training her new puppy, reading, and being by water.

Rebekah Miel is that lone pair of headlights driving in the opposite direction during a hurricane evacuation. You’ll no longer find her sweating through a Tyvek suit in the lower 9th or eating curry in a refugee camp in Unawatuna, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less risk averse. These days she’s balancing the death-defying feat of raising tween twins with the act of listening hard for how to be a good citizen in her adopted hometown of Durham, NC. Her current job title is Principal of her own shop, Miel Creative, where she spends most of her time trying to make beautiful sense out of a complex world. Ask her what that means, but don’t be surprised if the answer has something to do with climate justice or school lunch or soil health. Learn more about her work at https://mielcreative.com/.

Reggie Jones

Riley Harper (he/him) Riley is the CEO of Chapel Thrill Escapes, a student-run educational non-profit organization focused on providing an outlet for student creativity, entrepreneurship, and collaboration through the creation, operation, and maintenance of escape rooms, and Director of Community Outreach for Eats2seats, a concessions and vending partner that provides turnkey staffing solutions for collegiate and professional venues in over 30 venues across the United States. In his roles, Riley works with a diverse, creative group of individuals dedicated to working together with the goal of creating sustainable progress over immediate, unsustainable success. Riley is also an undergraduate student in his third year of studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC-CH, he is pursuing a B.S. in Statistics and Analytics and a B.A. in Romance Languages with a minor in Entrepreneurship.

Sara O’Neil is a proposal professional dedicated to telling her organization’s story to attract new and retain current clients. She has extensive experience in the employee wellbeing industry, with a focus on mental health, and is skilled in working on bids in the government, non-profit, and private sectors, both domestically and around the world. Whether leading teams or working with colleagues, she focuses on values of collaboration, responsibility, balance, compassion, and respect. Her superpower outside of work is creating meals with whatever happens to be in the kitchen (usually due to having avoided the grocery store for too long).

Sarah Caldwell is a nonprofit professional passionate about using storytelling as a catalyst for lasting community change. Sarah has over 15 years’ experience managing strategic fundraising and communication plans, working to raise awareness and engage stakeholders across our community. She currently serves as the Development Director with Note in the Pocket. Sarah holds a BA in Economics and Political Science from Wake Forest University and a Masters in Public Administration, with a certificate in Nonprofit Management, from George Mason University.

Shuneca Harrington (She/Hers) is the Director of Sales for WRAL and FOX 50 TV, where she is responsible for developing and executing successful sales strategies, building strong client relationships and achieving revenue goals. Shuneca has a degree in Mass Communications and has worked in media for over 20 years, with a proven track record of delivering results in a highly competitive evolving industry. In her free time, Shuneca enjoys spending time with her husband Ron, family friends, travel and gardening.

Tanesha Cameron-Cole (she/her) Tanesha’s career has been marked as one of service to underrepresented and underserved communities spending close to two decades leading small to multimillion-dollar nonprofit organizations and supporting a range of programming from childhood education through collegiate support services. Tanesha proudly bleeds ORANGE, receiving both a BA in Psychology and MBA from Syracuse University. Tanesha currently serves as Executive Director of Nourish International, a student-led nonprofit organization where students gain real-world professional skills as they manage social enterprise projects, collaborate with local community partners, and bolster their engagement in local social impact work. Tanesha took her love for people, support services, and finance and brought them all together as the Founder of The Cameron Cole Collective, LLC. As a licensed financial professional, Tanesha provides a range of financial services aimed at educating families on financial options and providing solutions to meet their financial goals.Tanesha’s mission is to empower families to take action today that will sustain generations to come. Her motto is “I want my grandchildren’s grandchildren to thrive and it WILL start with me!”

Tanya Sloan (she/her) is co-founder and Communications Director of Loop Creative, a full-service marketing agency for nonprofits. A longtime advocate for the power of social media, she saw the need for affordable marketing support for nonprofits after volunteering for various organizations across the Triangle. Her 20+ years of experience in marketing and communications have helped over 70 nonprofits meet their marketing goals and realize their potential since Loop opened its doors in 2017. Tanya finds the most joy in walking beside these organizations while telling their stories and amplifying their missions. She is also the mother of two twenty-somethings, numerous fur babies, an avid tennis player, nature lover, and reader.

Teri Beckman (she/hers). With 30 years of experience in the nonprofit and entrepreneurial sectors, Teri founded HIGOL, where she and her team help mission-driven leaders increase revenue and community impact by an average of 50% within twelve months. Leading various efforts in community development, she has directed fund raising efforts ranging from $500,000 to $15 million. She understands leadership challenges and is a strategic advisor/consultant to CEOs and their teams throughout the United States as they grow their organizations.

Thad (TJ) Harris is a Process Engineering Manager at Bridgestone Americas, where he leads two teams of engineers with aims to develop and enhance products and processes to advance mobility. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University, he has worked in product design and manufacturing optimization for over 10 years in various roles. A Raleigh native, he is a devoted husband to his wife, Valencia and father to his son, Julius, and loves spending time with family and friends. He is passionate about cultivating positive, team-based environments and encouraging others to achieve their goals! In his spare time, he basically turns into a 15-year old, and loves video-games, basketball, cycling, technology, and traveling.

Tina Braimah (She/Her/Hers) is the Owner and Practicing Midwife at Sankofa Birth and Women’s Care, a Durham-based homebirth midwifery practice. She currently leads a team that is developing Aya Birth & Community Wellness, NC’s first Black Midwife-Led birth and wellness center and a flagship location for a network of similar centers throughout the Southeast. Tina has over 23 years of experience supporting clients and providing care that is culturally congruent, trauma informed and gender affirming. A true advocate and life-long student of the midwifery model of care, she also co-founded the Mocha Midwifery Collective, which seeks to decrease maternal health disparities by increasing diversity among out-of-hospital birth workers. Tina is a wife and mother of four. In her spare time, you will find her reading, working in her garden or making herbal remedies.

Valencia Hicks-Harris

Zack Kaplan is a former teacher and current lawyer committed to advancing education equity and racial justice in North Carolina. He currently serves as a Dellinger Fellow at the North Carolina Department of Justice, where he advises senior officials on legal and policy issues and represents the state in appellate litigation. Zack previously served as a law clerk to Justice Robin Hudson on the North Carolina Supreme Court and a 5th grade teacher at Maureen Joy Charter School in Durham. He is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and Duke Law School. Zack cherishes time with his wife Ashley, dogs Hartley and Mia, and friends and family in Durham.