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Board of Directors

Michelle is an award winning producer, author, and media executive and is the founder and current Board Chair of Gabrielle’s Wings. In 2022, she released her debut memoir “The Other Side of Yet” on Atria Books about the tragic loss of her daughter, Gabrielle, and the hope and resilience that she found during her journey. As a result of her book at work with Gabrielle’s Wings, she has been featured in a number of media outlets including O Magazine, GMA, The Tamron Hall Show, The Talk and has shared her journey with audiences across the country. She founded  a consulting practice where she focuses on Talent, Creative Content and DEI solutions. She has more than three decades of creative and executive experience at organizations NBCUniversal, Good Morning America, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is a proud alumna of Howard University and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Tara most recently served as  the Chief Experience and Philanthropy Officer for the YMCA of Greater Seattle. Prior to this, she served as Chief Revenue Officer and Vice President of Philanthropy at Girl Scouts of Western Washington. She has also served as marketing director for several years in the automotive industry. She has worked in leadership positions for several parent advocacy groups and is currently Vice-Chair for Gabrielle’ s Wings and serving on the Board of Trustees for Seattle Preparatory School. She is a proud graduate of Howard University and has a Master of Business Administration from  Harvard Business School.
Kristen is a Policy Advisor for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) where she performs program and policy analysis and recommendations to help increase single-family housing. She coordinates with key stakeholders throughout HUD, other agencies, nonprofit organizations and the public on a variety of operational and programmatic issues related to single family loans, alternative energy production and increasing resilience to climate change. She has more than 25 years of experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She is a seasoned manager with a strong track record of project management and successfully leading teams to complete complex financial, real estate and advisory projects for federal agencies. Prior to joining HUD, Kristen served as the Regional Director of Emax Financial & Real Estate Advisory Services, LLC’s Maryland office, where she specialized in the privatization of government assets, securitization, asset sales, and public-private partnerships. Her previous experience also includes working for Ernst & Young, LLP’ s Real Estate Advisory Services (REAS) practice and Program Director with the Finance Group at Enterprise Community Partners, and Assistant Research Director with the Research, Evaluation, and Documentation Department. Kristen has been a member of the Oak Creek Homeowners’ Association Budget and Finance Committee since 2010 and previously served as the chair. She also is a member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. with Associate status, and has served on the Foundation, Budget and Policies and Procedures Committees. She received a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with honors from Howard University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Darnese facilitates, coaches and offers strategic thought-partnership for the advancement of Equity Transformation and Culturally Responsive Environments for the New York City Department of Education. In her role, she supports educators in becoming aware of how policies, practices, and processes around special education, discipline, and accelerated programming within school buildings and across districts can create harmful outcomes for our most vulnerable student sub-groups and provides coaching on strategies to mitigate and remedy such impact. Darnese has worked in education for over two decades. During her first decade of service, she worked in partnership with faith and community-based nonprofits to provide arts, cultural and academic enrichment opportunities and access for black and brown youth. In her second decade, she worked as a high school English/Drama and lead-teacher in the NYC area. She holds a Masters in Progressive Leadership from Bank Street School of Education, a Masters in Education from St. John’s University and did her undergraduate work at Howard University and New Jersey City University.

Darnese is the proud founder of her consulting company Lifting Light and Love LLC. which focuses on curating brave spaces, cultivating authentic connection and collaborating with Black beauty and brilliance in making deliberate movement towards healing liberation for Black folx. 

Susan has 30 years of experience in the communications and technology industry. She was the first Chief Sustainability Officer of Comcast NBCUniversal, where she was responsible for identifying strategies and implementing Comcast NBCUniversal’s Sustainability Program across all business units and functions. Prior to this, she served as Senior Vice President of Operations Compliance. She served on Comcast’s Internal Diversity Council, as a Company liaison to the Comcast NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Council, and as an executive sponsor of Asian Pacific Americans employee resource group. Susan led the launch of Comcast’s Internet Essentials Program, which now offers affordable high-speed internet for low-income households to over 10 million people. Susan was named a Fellow in the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute of the Women in Cable Telecommunications, and she’s been recognized on the “Most Powerful Women in Cable” and the “Most Influential Minorities in Cable” lists by Cablefax, for many years. Susan serves as the Chair of the Board for the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies and is a director on the Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship and has served on the boards of the Juvenile Law Center and the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryn Mawr College, where she has served on the Board of Trustees, and her JD from Penn State Dickinson School of Law, where she now serves as a systems designer for the Antiracist Development Institute.

Tylitha most recently served as Vice President and Global Head of Consumer Subscriptions and Services for HP, Inc., where she focused on researching, building, and delivering on the future of Consumer Services both physical and digital. Her experiences leading Fortune 100 companies have created growth and accelerated momentum for legacy and incubation businesses. She is a motivated leader with experiences in strategy, product management, marketing, mergers and acquisitions, strategic valuation, and corporate finance. Lastly, Tylitha prides herself on being a leader dedicated to building better teams, culture, and companies as a DE&I seasoned professional with over 19 years of experience. Her career history includes roles in both the public and private sector spanning marketing, consulting, finance, and corporate strategy. She is a strategic advisor to the founders for the Cliff Avril Family Foundation and a founding member of the Detroit Area Mentors Program. She is a former board member of the Seattle Children’s Theatre, Jack and Jill of America Seattle Chapter, and the National Black MBA Association Twin Cities Chapter. She is also a double alumna from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree and Master of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business.

Beth is an organizational design and development leader focused on social impact as the owner of Codi Consulting, LLC. Beth advises teams on clarifying and operationalizing a vision, leveraging data-driven decision making, designing and delivering programs, coaching, leading change and cultivating diversity. She also regularly works with individuals on coaching engagements. Prior to her consulting work, Beth served in various roles at Comcast NBCUniversal, focusing on talent, organizational development and culture change through periods of dramatic growth. Most recently she was Vice President, Executive Search & Talent Management. When Comcast and NBCUniversal came together as one company, Beth served as Vice President, Integrated Talent Initiatives, creating strategies to evolve the way people thought about the organization, its culture, and talent. Prior to that, Beth founded BDC Consulting to guide strategy and implementation in talent management, change management, process design and improvement, leadership development, diversity, systems implementation, organizational design, and executive coaching. While at Comcast, she was recognized twice as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Cable. Beth earned her MBA from Drexel University and her Bachelors from the University of Delaware. She currently serves as Chair for Drexel University LeBow Dean’s Advisory Board, and Secretary/Executive Board Member and Member of the Finance Committee for Gabrielle’s Wings.