DANIELLE PARSON
Danielle Parson is the Founder and Executive Director of PWN LLC. As the visionary of the organization Danielle designed the organization to connect, engage and inspire women. Her passion for connecting women drives her in planning and executing social and professional platforms for women to get to know each other, share opportunities and celebrate successes.
Danielle is a Chicago native who now calls Pittsburgh home. A graduate of The University of Illinois' College of Communications, Danielle is currently the Senior Director of Community Affairs for Propel Schools. In this role she works to ensure Propel maintains a healthy and collaborative relationship with all of the communities it serves.
Danielle takes great interest in her community, she currently serves on the board of the Boys Scouts of America Laurel Highlands Council, working primarily with scouts in under-served communities. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Pittsburgh Women's Alliance. In this role she works to further connect women, ensuring opportunities and equitable and accessible.
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NICOLE WEBSTER
Nicole Webster is the Workplace Solutions and Corporate Citizenship Associate Manager for the Pittsburgh Office of Accenture. She is responsible for community outreach and engagement and works directly with the Employee Resource Groups to ensure they are working to create belonging and connection amongst their people, advancing Accenture’s Inclusion and Diversity priorities, and supporting initiatives to grow the business.
Along with leading the local office operations, Nicole manages the relationships with several diverse nonprofits to amplify the office’s community impact when it comes to underserved and underrepresented people in the region. Nicole represents Accenture on several boards, including Gwen’s Girls, Healthy Start, the Professional Women’s Network and Best Buddies. Nicole serves as PWN's Board Chair.
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Nicole lives by the motto, "The opposite of networking is not working." Her engaging and dynamic style of connecting with people has made her the go-to person for those looking to not only grow their network, but also expand their brand. Nicole is the person people want in the room to establish credibility, be the connector and initiate those important conversations. Her strengths focus around relationship building and leadership development.
ERIKKA GRAYSON
Erikka Grayson is originally from Washington, DC currently residing in Pittsburgh with her husband Glenn and son Xavier. She is currently Product Development Specialist working with UPMC Health Plan. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management in 2008, Erikka continued her studies at Point Park University where she graduated with a Master’s in Business Administration. Erikka is currently a member of the National Black MBA Association Pittsburgh Chapter and Board Chair Secretary of Jeron X Grayson Foundation. Erikka enjoys running, traveling and meeting new people.
Since becoming a mom Erikka has seen the need to create a community of support and love for all types of mothers in the city of Pittsburgh.
That passion has lead her to create “Bomb Mom”, a support group that encourages celebrates and brings together all moms from different backgrounds.
Erikka plans to continue her studies and obtain her PhD in Health Services Research and Policy and also to expand her “Bomb Mom” brand nationwide.
BLAYRE HOLMES-DAVIS
Blayre Holmes is the Director of Community Relations at Pittsburgh Steelers
In her current role Blayre is charged with increasing and promoting community engagement opportunities for the team. In addition she oversees charitable initiatives coming from the team, the individual players and the NFL, addressing issues ranging from food security and student literacy rates to helping veterans and children’s health.
Prior to her role with at Pittsburgh Steelers she served as Director of Partnerships and Program Development at Adagio Health. She was in charge of working collaboratively with a variety of community stakeholders to create strategic partnerships in communities throughout Western PA.
Blayre was born and raised in Donora, PA and graduated from California University of Pennsylvania in 2012 with a degree in Communication. During September of 2010, she joined AmeriCorps through the Center for Civic Engagement at Cal U.
KENYA MATTHEWS
Kenya Sheppard Matthews is a Product Solutions Manager at Google LLC. In this role she manages new partner integrations for the Order with and Reserve with Google features, that include but are not limited to food ordering, dining, and home service appointments. Within Google she is also a Lead for the Black Googler Network ERG, and a Lead on the K-12 Pitt Education team that focuses on engaging, exposing, and teaching K-12 students in the Pittsburgh region about computational thinking and technology. Before her role at Google she was an Assistant Vice President Sr. Product Manager of Retail Lending Customer Experiences, and President of the African American EBRG at PNC Financial Services.
Kenya’s passion for giving back to the community led her to join the Board of Directors for Gwen’s Girls, The Pittsburgh Project, and The Professional Women’s Network. Additionally she served on Mayor Ed Gainey’s transition team, currently serves on the City of Pittsburgh Civil Service Commission, and volunteers her time in a multitude of regional efforts. She enjoys developing relationships and engaging in communication that leaves everyone motivated, inspired and ready to show up for the goals they seek.
Kenya received her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Change Management from Robert Morris University, and her Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Network Security from Point Park University.
MONICA MALIK
Monica Malik is a serial entrepreneur from Pittsburgh. In addition to her extensive HR experience, Monica has experience in sales, business development, strategic planning, and nonprofit management. Monica was the head of an international food chain managing over 500 employees and bringing in over $20 million in sales annually. She also went on to own her own franchise.
Monica began utilizing her skills and expertise to help Pittsburgh businesses, both for and non-profit, achieve their goals and increase profitability. She has supported organizations in the areas of innovation, HR strategy, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and collective impact among other things. In addition, Monica is a Grow with Google coach.
She is a member of the Executive Board for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, on the Board of Directors of Radiant Hall, on the Low Income Assistance Advisory Council for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, on the Board of Trustees for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, a board member with the Goodwill of South West PA, and on the advisory committee for the Culinary Program at Bidwell.
In 2007, Monica received a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. She is the Executive Director for #ATU Athletic Trauma Unit, Senior Program Manager of Innovations for Allegheny Health Network, and also on the Social Determinants of Health team and Highmark Health as a Senior Program Manager.
VANDRA ROBINSON
CHRISTINA BELL
Vandra Robinson is a Graduate Medical Education Academic Manager for the Pediatric Residency Program at UPMC’s Children’s Hospital. She joined UPMC in September 2019 in the Center for Engagement and Inclusion. She was charged with developing and growing community youth education programs geared towards the underserved population in Pittsburgh. UPMC’s Junior Health Care Explorers grew from forty participants in the Pittsburgh area to over 115 across the state of Pennsylvania through relationships she fostered with community leaders and others in the community.
Prior to working at UPMC, she held other educational roles as a Teacher, Registrar, Curriculum Systems Analyst, and Academic Program Coordinator. Her background includes a master’s degree in Education from Bowling Green State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo. She is passionate about mentorship, engagement/inclusion initiatives, and pursuing one’s passion. Vandra is a native of Toledo, Ohio and has a loving family – a husband and 2 sons – that she spends all her free time with. Vandra is a board member of the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Pittsburgh, where she is co-chair of the Community Engagement workgroup. She is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
JUANITA LOMAX
Juanita Lomax is an accomplished IT Portfolio/Project Manager, Change Consultant and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion champion offering more than 15 years of experience in the IT field and 10 years managing BRG/EBRG (Diversity & Inclusion Employee/Business Resource Groups). A strong background in application development/management, integration and implementation with progressive experience in promoting accountability and awareness around diversity and inclusion, drive employee engagement, skillfully recruit and hire talent, and lead organizational change. Juanita joined Highmark in April of 2015 as a Technology Project Manager and is now an Enterprise Change Consultant, specializing in driving Readiness and Adoption strategy. Juanita also serves as the Chairwoman of Highmark’s BOLD (Black Organization for Leadership and Development), Vice President of the Executive Board of Directors for CHS (Community Human Services), Governance Committee Chair for CHS, Regional EBRG Co-Chair for Vibrant Pittsburgh, Co-Founder of Allegheny Allies for Vibrant Pittsburgh, Delaware Racial Justice Collaborative (DRJC) Member at the United Way of Delaware, Board of Directors for When She Thrives and in honor of her late father, serves on the Young Professionals Board for the American Heart Association. Juanita has also created the only golf clinic in the Pittsburgh region geared toward introducing and teach black women how to play golf. She holds a M.S. in IT Project Management, B.S. in Business Administration with a Concentration in Management, Associate degree in Computer Management & Business and is certified Six Sigma Yellow Belt. She is a Pittsburgh native and resides in the Penn Hills area of Pittsburgh with her two daughters Mya (21 and current Temple Jr. in Philadelphia, PA) and Mariah (17 and Jr. at Penn Hills high school).
Christina Bell is the VP of Strategic Initiatives at the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health with 15+ years of experience emphasizing program and project administration in a healthcare environment. In her role, she is responsible for managing projects and programs relating to business operations, grants, and strategic initiatives across the organization.
Ms. Bell oversees the design and implementation of educational programs to improve understanding and aid in decision making with regards to healthcare quality and employer choice in the PBGH market region, and nationally.
She is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute and holds a bachelor's degree in Public Administration and a master's degree in Health Administration.
REESHA JACKSON
Reesha Jackson is the Senior Research Coordinator for the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. There she provides leadership for community-based research projects including data collection, regulatory requirements and staff supervision.
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Reesha's career path has stayed committed to her love of community. She works on projects that ensure research interventions are community -based with a significant impact on public health, particularly on the prevention of adolescent abuse. Reesha supports research and services across the country.
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A true creative, Reesha is also the owner and creative mastermind behind RLJ Designs. The company started with a simple idea of Reesha wanting her name on a cup. With the purchase of a print and cut machine she started putting her name on everything in sight. From there RLJ Designs was born creating custom coffee mugs, t-shirts, tote bag, make up bags, and event design nationally.
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