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Shemika Whiteside Wants to Help Women Thrive in Pregnancy and Beyond

By Spark Point | September 29, 2021

As a New Year’s resolution in January 2021, Shemika Whiteside posted an idea on Facebook she’d been thinking about for years: a maternity program to help women in Louisville, Kentucky with housing, medical and mental health needs, birthing support, and social services. The response was incredible.  Shemika heard from numerous people saying, “I’ve been waiting…

Chandra Clark is advocating for VHL patients on a global level

By Spark Point | September 15, 2021

Chandra Clark is a self-described “late bloomer” who traveled a winding path into a career in nonprofits. Growing up, Chandra faced a lot of adversity and took on much of the responsibility for caring for her three younger siblings. Without a lot of guidance and support from adults in her life, she struggled to understand…

Dr. Danielle Moss Leads with Compassion and Clarity

By Spark Point | September 1, 2021

While studying at Swarthmore College, Dr. Danielle Moss had her sights set on a career in academia — but upon graduating and in need of a job, her cousin helped secure a role for her in financial services.  Early on, Dr. Moss realized that the financial services world was not for her. Thankfully, she was…

Charity Blanchett Wants to Expand Opportunities for BIPOC Women Chefs

By Spark Point | August 18, 2021

After growing up in Alaska, founding two businesses there, and then living briefly in Hawaii and Los Angeles, Charity Blanchett had an awakening in New Orleans: “To move to a city where it’s predominantly African-American, I felt like, for the first time in my life, I looked like everybody. When I walked out the front…

Tige Charity Shines a Spotlight on Foster Youth

By Spark Point | August 4, 2021

Tige Charity is the Founder and Executive Director of Kids in the Spotlight (KITS), a Los Angeles-based non-profit that provides a platform for young people in foster care to write, cast and star in their own short films, telling their stories their way.  Since its founding in 2009, the organization has worked with more than…

Mikisha Morris-Tucker Says, “You Can Do It All”

By Whitney Brimfield | July 21, 2021

After studying film production in college, then working for a time in corporate communications, Mikisha Morris-Tucker was recruited by a mentor to build programs in the Philadelphia school system to serve students of color in predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhoods.   Mikisha took students to New York and Washington DC for cultural activities, and had speakers…

Aisha Arrington Leads From the Front, Advocating for People in Need

By Whitney Brimfield | July 7, 2021

On Aisha Arrington’s first day at the LTC Ombudsman Program, an organization that advocates for people who live in long term care, she wrote on a piece of paper that her dream was to become the Executive Director and “lead from the front.” She folded the note up and placed it in her desk. Within…

For Renee Ligon, Adversity Can Be a Catalyst for Positive Change

By Spark Point | June 23, 2021

After a successful 20-year career in commercial banking, Renee Ligon moved from Florida back to her native Ohio and pivoted to community-centered work. In a perfect melding of her banking experience and her desire to make a difference, she served as the Regional Director of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland’s Minority Business Assistance Center.…

Muriel Smith’s Love Letters to St. Louis Families

By Spark Point | June 9, 2021

In many ways, Muriel Smith always knew she’d find her way to a career in nonprofit — in her ideal world, even leading one. Now, as Executive Director at the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, she’s not only realizing her dream, but working with an incredible team and community to ensure local families’ basic needs…

Janece Kleban is an Innovator and Solution-Maker

By Spark Point | May 27, 2021

For Janece Kleban, fundraising and working in development for non-profits was in her blood. Her mother is a consultant and does strategic planning for both local and national organizations, so Janece was able to see firsthand how this type of work impacts everyone in the community. During college, she led her collegiate chapter for Habitat…

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