Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 25 Chief Community Officers of 2024. Chief Community Officers develop and execute strategies to engage and connect companies, organizations, and institutions with the communities that surround them. This professional oversees the initiatives that build strong relationships with residents, local businesses, related community organizations, and other stakeholders.
It takes a talented leader to adequately promote social responsibility and address community needs while enhancing brand reputation. This year’s honorees include women serving well-known brands, companies, universities, and more, serving as Chief Community Officers and similar titles.
Take honoree Vanessa Garcia-Brito, the Vice President and Chief Impact Officer for Nike, the leading sports brand in the world. Garcia-Brito leads Nike’s global communications team and the Nike Foundation. She was formerly the head of corporate citizenship and community engagement at Mars, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of chocolate, chewing gum, mints, and fruity confections.
We also acknowledge the storied career of Melida Akiti, the Chief Community Officer for the Memorial Healthcare System, one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the US. Akiti works to ensure equal access to care by leading health-focused initiatives aimed at addressing social detriments of health and removing barriers.
In the retail tech space, we congratulate honoree Amy Benson, the Chief People and Community Officer at Shipt, an innovative online delivery service. Benson is a former VP of human resources for Target, where she led teams that assisted with merchandising, strategy, product design, and sourcing capabilities in the US and internationally.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 25 Chief Community Officers of 2024.
1. Vanessa Garcia-Brito
VP & Chief Impact Officer, Nike
Vanessa Garcia-Brito is the Vice President and Chief Impact Officer at Nike. She leads a global communications team that elevates and advances Nike’s purpose – to move the world forward through the power of sport. Integrated across sustainability, social and community impact, and diversity and inclusion, Nike’s purpose communications team works to engage and inspire employees, athletes, communities, and stakeholders.
Garcia-Brito joined the Nike family in 2013, leading strategic communications and partnerships for global community impact and the Nike Foundation. Before Nike, Garcia-Brito was head of corporate citizenship and community engagement at Mars, Inc., overseeing global programs and partnerships, sustainability communications, and community and citizenship initiatives. Garcia-Brito began her career as an attorney in Washington DC, practicing in technology and international law. Her pro bono work focused on issues, such as capital punishment, extradition, and intellectual property. She taught about women’s international human rights as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University Law School.
Garcia-Brito holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a JD from George Washington University Law School. She served as the hair of the Physical Activity Committee for the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry and is a member of Pipeline Angels, a network of women changing the face of angel investing.
2. Heidi Gartland
Chief Government & Community Relations Officer, University Hospitals
Heidi Gartland is the Chief Government and Community Relations Officer of University Hospitals (UH), a $5.4 billion comprehensive health system with a national reputation for providing world-class healthcare, research, and education. Gartland leads UH’s strategy for community relations, community benefit, community health strategic investments, corporate reinvestment, strategic economic development projects, government and regulatory affairs, and diversity and inclusion commitments. She advocates for University Hospitals at the federal, state, and local levels and is a decorated government relations leader.
Gartland is a healthcare executive, community leader, and health policy expert. She is a dedicated civic leader at the local, state, and national levels. In 2023, she was appointed by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to serve as the Deputy Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, after serving on the board as an elected Class B member since 2021. She previously served for three years on the Bank’s Community Advisory Board. She also serves as the Chair of the Trauma Centers Association of America Board, the Region 5 Policy Board for the American Hospital Association (AHA), Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and Cleveland’s In Counsel with Women. Gartland is a member of The United Way Greater Cleveland’s Community Investment Committee of the Board. In 2019, she was appointed to Ohio’s Medicaid Medical Care Advisory Committee, a federally designated policy advisory body.
Gartland completed her undergraduate degree at the College of Wooster in Ohio. She earned a Master of Health Administration at The Ohio State University and a certificate in diversity management from Georgetown University. For over seven years, Gartland served as an adjunct faculty member at Baldwin Wallace University, teaching health policy and law in the MBA program. Currently, she is an instructor for AHA’s Certificate in Diversity Management. She is a regular speaker nationally and in Ohio on emerging health policy issues. Before working at University Hospitals, Gartland worked at the Ohio Hospital Association, the Illinois Hospital Association, Rush Medical Center, The Ohio State University, and Akron Children’s Hospital.
3. Jada Grandy-Mock
Chief Community Impact Banking Officer, Fifth Third Bank
Jada Grandy-Mock is the Chief Community Impact Banking Officer of Fifth Third Bank. Grandy-Mock previously served her team as the region group director in the community and economic development group. She led the bank’s community development and Community Reinvestment Act (C.R.A.) strategic program initiatives throughout 13 regions. Grandy-Mock’s leadership was instrumental in the bank’s efforts to improve its C.R.A. performance levels to an “Outstanding” and strengthen communities by implementing innovative, comprehensive community development strategies and partnerships. She was also instrumental in establishing and executing the Bank’s $32 billion five-year Community Commitment.
Before joining Fifth Third, she held various banking roles, including commercial lending, credit risk management, client relationship management, and community development banking. Her professional experience also includes working as a bank examiner and providing regulatory oversight to ensure banks’ safe and sound operations throughout the national banking system.
Grandy-Mock graduated from Robert Morris University with an MBA in management and an undergraduate degree in finance. She also holds a Certificate in Banking, Corporate, Finance, and Executive Leadership from the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking, and she has a Wharton Leadership Program Certificate from The Wharton School.
4. Tejal Patel
Chief Communications & Community Engagement Officer, Prince George's County Public Schools
Tejal Patel serves as Chief of Communications and Community Engagement for Prince George’s County Public Schools. She joins PGCPS from Houston Independent School District, the largest school district in Texas and the eighth largest in the country, where she held the role of Executive Officer of Communications overseeing media relations, strategic communications, multimedia, translations, and digital media departments. At PGCPS, Patel works in tandem with senior leadership to support the Superintendent in achieving PGCPS’ mission, vision, and goals, to enhance the district’s image and brand while imparting public information in a transparent manner to internal and external stakeholders.
Patel is a first-generation American, native Texan, and the first in her family to graduate from college. Over the course of her nearly 20-year career in journalism and communications, she has built a reputation as a trusted spokesperson and expert in storytelling and narrative building. At Houston ISD, she increased trust and transparency with the media and community and created the district’s first digital media team.
During her tenure as Deputy Press Secretary for Houston’s Mayor Sylvester Turner, Patel shepherded messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic around the “Stay Home, Work Safe” Order, mask mandates, testing and vaccine distribution. She also supported crisis management and response during tropical storm Imelda in 2019 and the winter freeze in 2021. She played a key role in increasing trust between media outlets and the Mayor’s Office of Communications.
She previously served as spokesperson for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and community outreach coordinator for Houston Community College. As an award-winning journalist, she spent nearly 10 years in TV newsrooms as a news producer in Waco, Albuquerque, Houston, and Dallas covering major news events such as wildfires in New Mexico, the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, and the 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, TX.
In May 2023, Patel was appointed to Houston’s first Asian American Pacific Islander Advisory Board. She has also volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston, Girls Empowerment Network, Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation, Make-a-Wish Foundation, and served on the Houston2036 Taskforce. Patel graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Journalism.
5. Marce Edwards
VP & Chief Marketing, Communications and Community Relations Officer, MultiCare Health System
Marce Edwards is the Vice President and the Chief Marketing, Communications, and Community Relations Officer for MultiCare Health System, a not-for-profit American healthcare organization based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 1882, MultiCare provides healthcare services at dozens of locations, including eight hospitals, across Washington state.
Edwards started at MultiCare in 2009 as a media relations manager and worked her way up to the C-suite. Before joining MultiCare Health System, Edwards was a business editor at The News Tribune. Before that, she was a business reporter at Idaho Statesman. Earlier in her career, she worked with Idaho Press-Tribune as a city reporter. Edwards graduated from Kent State University with an MA in public relations and from the University of Oregon with an undergraduate degree in journalism.
6. Melida Akiti
Chief Community Officer, Memorial Healthcare System
Melida Akiti is the first Chief Community Officer for Memorial Healthcare System, an award-winning group of friends and colleagues at one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the nation.
Previously overseeing Memorial Primary Care and leading health-focused initiatives that addressed social determinants of health and removed barriers to ensure equal access to care, Akiti now works to enhance community health programming, foster meaningful partnerships, and promote health equity, education, and awareness to maximize Memorial’s impact in cities throughout South Florida. She has been a Memorial executive for more than 12 years.
Akiti is an outcome-driven healthcare executive with outstanding leadership, operations, organizational, and financial acumen experience. She has extensive ambulatory, primary care, specialty, and sub-specialty experience. Additionally, she has developed Medicare Advantage and Share Savings programs, and she is experienced in urgent care network development, including population health platforms. Akiti graduated from Barry University with an MSW in clinical and medical social work.
7. Midori Lockett
Chief Community Impact Officer for Community Relations, Vanderbilt University
Midori Lockett is the Chief Community Impact Officer for Community Relations at Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. In this role, Lockett serves as a liaison between the Vanderbilt community and the local nonprofit sector. She also manages the university’s Community Impact Fund. Over the last five years, Lockett has actively worked to have knowledge of community issues and cultivate relationships in the nonprofit and public sectors to inform and maximize the use of Vanderbilt’s philanthropic resources. A priority throughout her career has been to address the inequity in the community and to work to engender transformational change.
Lockett came to Vanderbilt in 2000 to produce special events, programs, and “friend-raising” opportunities for the Office of the Chancellor. In addition to special event management, her experience includes managing special projects, volunteer engagement, community outreach, and community giving. After holding various management roles across the campus, Lockett returned to a public affairs role and re-joined the Division of Government and Community Relations in 2016 as a Community Liaison.
A graduate of the Vanderbilt Leadership Academy 2017-2018 cohort, Lockett is also honored to have received Vanderbilt’s 2021 Diversity Leadership Award. A Nashville native, she has an AB degree from Brown University and an MS from Drexel University with an emphasis in nonprofit management. Lockett is committed to community involvement and has served on numerous nonprofit boards. Her current board service includes the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, the Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare (TCSW), the education council for the First Art Museum, and the Metro Regional Solid Waste Board.
8. Gabrielle Brussel
Chief Government & Community Relations Officer, JCDecaux
Gabrielle Brussel is the Chief Government and Community Relations Officer of JCDecaux, a multinational corporation based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, France, known for its bus-stop advertising systems, billboards, public bicycle rental systems, and street furniture.
Brussel joined JCDecaux over 13 years ago as its first in-house US lawyer. In her role as general counsel, she built the in-house legal department before moving to the business side. During her many years in private practice in New York and London, she worked on international corporate transactions in Europe and in Latin America at both Sullivan & Cromwell and Linklaters. Brussel has volunteered as a mentor in numerous high school and college-related roles, she currently is a mentor with the SEO Scholars High School program and volunteers at Y Tu También NYC (both programs working on providing higher education access to underserved students in NYC). Brussel graduated from CUNY-Hunter College and holds a Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
9. Jerri Monbaron
Chief Community Engagement Officer, Humble ISD
Jerri Monbaron began her professional career 28 years ago. Today, she is the Chief Community Engagement Officer of Humble ISD. Humble Independent School District is a school district located in Humble, Texas. It serves the city of Humble, small portions of the city of Houston, including the community of Kingwood, and portions of unincorporated Harris County.
Monbarone’s specialties include grant writing and grant management for public and private funding sources, fundraising, nonprofit management, campaign development, and public relations. She started working for Humble ISD as the assistant director of community development. Then, she moved into the role of director of community development and the executive director of the Humble ISD Education Foundation. She was promoted to her current position in 2022.
She first got her start in 1995 as a mental health director for Lamar County at Pine Belt Mental Health Resources. Monbaron graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Master of Arts In Clinical Psychology and from Houston Christian University with an undergraduate degree in English and psychology.
10. Amy Benson
Chief People & Community Officer, Shipt
Amy Benson is the Chief People and Community Officer of Shipt. She first joined the company in 2023. Shipt is a retail tech company that connects people to reliable, high-quality delivery with a personal touch. Through the power of technology, Shipt connects customers to the things they want from the stores they love, workers to new earning opportunities, and retail businesses to more satisfied customers.
Benson joins Shipt from Target, where she has led teams in human resources for the past 20 years. She started at Target as a human resources intern and has grown within the company. Most recently, Benson was VP of human resources, whose teams assisted merchandising, strategy, product design, and sourcing capabilities in the United States and internationally.
Benson earned an MBA in medical industry leadership from the University of Minnesota - Carlson School of Management and an undergraduate degree in human resource and marketing from the University of St. Thomas.
11. Natalie Allen
Chief Communications & Community Engagement Officer, Loudoun County Public Schools
Natalie Allen is the Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer of Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), a branch of the Loudoun County, Virginia, United States government, and administers public schools in the county.
Before joining Loudoun County Public Schools, Allen was a chief communications and community engagement officer at Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Before that, she was chief of staff, communications, and community engagement at Kansas City Public Schools. Earlier in her career, she worked with The Commonwealth Times as a managing editor and photography editor. Allen graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with an undergraduate degree in mass communication/media studies.
12. Rene Martinez
Chief Housing & Community Development Officer, Harris County
Rene Martinez is the Chief Housing and Community Development Officer of Harris County, a county located in the US state of Texas. Martinez’s areas of expertise are community and economic development, nonprofit management, public finance, and housing development and finance, including the underwriting of over $300 million in loans/bonds for capital projects, economic development, and housing projects.
Previously, Martinez was the owner and president of Martinez Consulting. Before that, she was a director of resource development at the Tejano Center for Community Concerns. Earlier in her career, she worked with the City of Houston Planning & Development Department as a manager.
Martinez currently serves on the Board of Directors of Blueprint Houston, a nonprofit organization dedicated to implementing a general plan for the city of Houston, and the Peoples Trust Credit Union Foundation. She earned a Master of Science In Community and Regional Planning, city/urban, community and regional planning, and an undergraduate degree in psychology from The University of Texas at Austin.
13. Amy Scarborough
Chief Government, Community & Corporate Relations Officer, Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University selected Amy Scarborough to join EKU as its Chief Government, Community, and Corporate Relations Officer. Scarborough leads efforts to position higher education initiatives at the forefront of state, local, and federal government priorities and serves on the President’s Cabinet. Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options.
Scarborough came to EKU after serving as AT&T’s regional director for Central and Eastern Kentucky. She’s been active in many local and state organizations, including serving as the Richmond Chamber of Commerce president in 2005, where she continues to serve on the board of directors, the Harlan County Economic Development Authority, the board of directors for Bluegrass Tomorrow, and is a graduate of Leadership Kentucky.
Scarborough graduated from the University of South Alabama with an MA in corporate communications and from Samford University with an undergraduate degree in journalism and speech.
14. Patricia Prado-Olmos
Chief Community Engagement Officer, California State University San Marcos
Patricia Prado Olmos joined the faculty at CSUSM in 1997. She is currently serving as the Chief Community Engagement Officer at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), a new kind of university, pushing the boundaries of innovation to prepare tomorrow's leaders, build stronger communities, and solve pressing issues.
Previously, Prado-Olmos served as associate dean and interim dean in the College of Education. She retains her rank as professor of multicultural/multilingual education in the School of Education. Prado-Olmos closely ties her scholarly teaching, research, and service to the theme of social justice and equity for the express purpose of educational success and attainment for Latino populations. Her research interests are wide-ranging and include the study of literacy acquisition in bilingual public-school classrooms; how higher education faculty, in-service teachers, and pre-service teachers come to understand diversity, equity, and social justice and the impact on students in public school classrooms; and leadership development in schools and higher education with a specific focus on leadership grounded in principles of equity and justice.
Prado-Olmos graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a PhD in Educational Psychology and from Pomona College with an undergraduate degree in psychology.
15. Marianne Stefanowicz
Chief Community & Communications Officer, Mother
Marianne Stefanowicz is the Chief Community and Communications Officer of Mother, a group of creative, free-thinking individuals sitting around a kitchen table eating lunch. Founded in London in 1996, Mother is still fiercely independent, but now there are over 500 like-minded people in their family, with offices across London, New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Berlin.
For more than 20 years, Stefanowicz has been crafting a niche for herself within the marketing and advertising agency landscape, holding executive leadership positions at some of the best agencies in the world and working with some of the biggest and shiniest brands. Previously, Stefanowicz was a chief communications officer at TBWA\Media Arts Lab. Before that, she was a chief communications officer at Droga5. Earlier in her career, she worked with Cartwright Williams / CW Database Services as an account executive.
Stefanowicz earned an undergraduate degree in business administration from Birmingham City University. She is a Webby Awards and Anthem Awards jury member and has previously judged the PR categories at One Show and D&AD. Projects she has been part of have been awarded the highest honors at Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, and more. She has also helped agencies receive the coveted "Agency of the Year" title on numerous occasions.
16. Diane Ogawa
Chief Community Partnerships & Systems Officer, Central New Mexico Community College
Diane Ogawa is the Chief Community Partnerships and Systems Officer of Central New Mexico Community College (CNM). Formerly Technical Vocational Institute (TVI), CNM is a public community college based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the largest undergraduate student enrollment in the state.
Ogawa began her professional career 24 years ago. Early in her career, she served as the director of community relations for the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM). She then went to work for PNM Resources, an energy holding company that serves electricity to more than 720,000 homes and businesses in New Mexico and Texas. She also served as the director of community relations for PNM Resources. She started with CNM in 2017. Ogawa graduated from Harvard Law School with a JD and from Carleton College with an undergraduate degree in sociology.
17. Jennifer Williams
VP & Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Benefits Officer, Phoebe Putney Health System
Jennifer Williams is the Chief Diversity, Inclusion & Community Benefit Officer at Phoebe Putney Health System (PPHS), a not-for-profit healthcare delivery system that serves more than half a million residents in Southwest Georgia. Williams is a native of Worcester, MA, but has lived in Albany for the last 18 years. she has dedicated her professional career to developing high-achieving teams in the nonprofit and government agency sectors.
Williams is passionate about creating opportunities for individuals to use their strengths to contribute to organizational goals, and she is a staunch advocate for the creation of diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace cultures. Previously, Williams was an education quality director at the State of Georgia. Before that, she was a staff development director at Education & Training Resources. Earlier in her career, she worked with Career Systems Development as an orientation specialist.
Throughout her 26-year career, Williams has developed, implemented, and facilitated training programs designed to support and empower people from all walks of life. Williams is a bridge-builder and believes in the value of diversity of thought. She holds a PhD in Policy and Administration with a concentration in Management and Leadership from Walden University. She earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Troy University and completed her undergraduate degree in English at Clark University.
18. Nicole White
Chief Communications & Community Engagement Officer, Kansas City Public Schools
Nicole White is the Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer of Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS), a district that educates nearly 16,690 children and employs nearly 2,300 teachers and administrators.
White’s career journey took off when she graduated with her Certified Nonprofit Professional credential (formerly known as American Humanics) and stepped into the world of nonprofit work. She landed a part-time position as the Hungry and Homeless Coordinator for the City of Independence and worked for the Welch Family Foundation. Her involvement with Outward Bound, an organization dedicated to outdoor education, further propelled her career trajectory. Serving on an exploratory board, she was offered a position as a community organizer for what was supposed to be a one-year contract. Joining KCPS in 2011, White’s dedication to community engagement led to her role as a program coordinator. Her passion for making a lasting impact in education motivated her to transition into partnership coordination and volunteer management within KCPS.
In 2016, she became the first director of the Kansas City Public Schools Education Foundation and built the Foundation from the ground up, leveraging her connections and raising funds to support KCPS’s mission. In her current role with KCPS, White shines a light on the positive stories and achievements within the district, challenging negative perceptions and fostering understanding.
19. Kristin Lewis
EVP & Chief Public & Community Affairs Officer, Point32Health
Kristin Lewis is the Executive Vice President And Chief Public And Community Affairs Officer for Point32Health. In this role, she oversees the public policy, government affairs, corporate citizenship, and community engagement teams. Point32Health is a leading, nonprofit health and wellbeing organization that delivers a better healthcare experience to its members and the communities they serve. One of the top 20 health plans in the United States, Point32Health builds on the quality of their founding organizations, Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
Lewis leads Point32Health’s strategy and implementation of state and federal health reforms, as well as advises the organization’s senior leaders on the impact of political changes on Point32Health’s strategic goals and business agenda. Lewis also guides the development and implementation of Point32Health’s community engagement and corporate citizenship strategies, integrating social impact, civic engagement, and community into the values and business practices of the company.
Lewis has more than 30 years of health insurance experience. She serves as both a trustee and executive committee member for the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. In addition, Lewis is a board member of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, the Point32Health Foundation, and the New England Council. She also represents the organization, both locally and nationally, on several healthcare committees. Lewis received a Master of Business Administration from Boston College and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Vermont.
20. Stephanie Krah
Acting Chief Community Development Officer, Washtenaw Community College
Stephanie Krah is the Acting Chief Community Development Officer of Washtenaw Community College (WCC), a public community college in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan. Krah is committed to student development and engagement in academic and co-curricular programs; she has short and long-term strategic planning experience in the areas of student affairs, enrollment management, and academic affairs. She has earned numerous professional awards, presented at various higher education conferences and events, published in higher education journals, and is committed to teaching and research.
Krah’s passion is helping others achieve their dreams in life by helping them see their potential. Therefore, in 2019 she launched her company Free Your Mind Enterprises, LLC, which is a consulting, professional development, grant writing, and training firm. Krah specializes in strategizing with people and companies in identifying an area of opportunity they would like to improve and completing the necessary steps of enhancement.
Krah has served in higher education for over 17 years holding several leadership roles in a variety of colleges and universities. Previously, Krah was a vice chancellor, student experience at City Colleges of Chicago. Before that, she was a vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Central State University. Earlier in her career, she worked with the University of Toledo as an admission coordinator. Krah earned a PhD in Higher Education Administration from Ohio University. She has an MPH in public health and health promotion and education and an undergraduate degree in exercise science from The University of Toledo.
21. Julie Abedian
EVP & Chief Community Impact Officer, Columbus Regional Health
Julie Abedian is the Executive Vice President and Chief Community Impact Officer of Columbus Regional Health, a system serving a 10-county region in southeastern Indiana, an independent, integrated health system providing extraordinary care in a relationship-based culture focused on collaboration, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Abedian is an executive-level healthcare leader who leads teams focused on community-facing imperatives, including planning, marketing and communications, healthy communities initiatives, foundation, corporate responsibility, community health needs assessment and implementation strategy, volunteer services, workforce community engagement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.
Before joining Columbus Regional Health, Abedian was a marketing manager at Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. Before that, she was a public policy writer at the Independent. Earlier in her career, she worked with the Congressional Budget Office as a research associate. Abedian graduated from the University of Southern California with an MHA and from the University of Michigan with an undergraduate degree in economics and natural resources management and policy.
22. Kelly Sandridge
Chief Communications & Community Engagement Officer, Roanoke City Public Schools
Kelly Sandridge is the Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer of Roanoke City Public Schools, an urban school division in Roanoke, Virginia, serving a PreK-12 student population of approximately 14,000 in 17 elementary schools, five middle schools, and two high schools, as well as program locations, including Roanoke Valley Governor's School for Science & Technology and two Career and Technical Education Centers.
Sandridge is an experienced leader in marketing, communications, fundraising, and brand strategy who understands the impact vulnerability and empathy play in motivating others and driving organizational success. For more than two decades, Sandridge has led successful teams in a variety of industries, including education, nonprofit, financial, and retail sectors. Her experience spans diverse fields, including marketing, communications, public relations, fundraising, community engagement, learning and development, human resources, retail management, and public policy.
Sandridge first got her start in 1997 as a vice president of training and human resources at Member One Federal Credit Union. From there, she went on to Tanglewood Mall - Urban Retail Properties, before eventually rising to vice president, brand strategy and external affairs at Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, her most recent position before joining Roanoke City Public Schools. Sandridge graduated from Virginia Tech with an undergraduate degree in management science.
23. Christy Blashock
Chief Diversity & Community Development Officer at Erie Insurance Group
Christy Blashock is the Chief Diversity and Community Development Officer at Erie Insurance Group. Blashock was named community outreach manager last year and has worked closely with ERIE employees, the Charitable Giving Committee of ERIE’s Board of Directors, and many local community groups to advance and support ERIE’s philanthropic initiatives, in addition to supporting various community and economic development projects.
Blashock joined Erie Insurance in 2018 as an attorney in the Corporate Legal Department. In that role, she worked closely with different areas of the company, including those related to venture capital, Qualified Opportunity Zones, community and economic development initiatives, corporate governance, and agent relations. She participated in the first cohort of the Thomas B. Hagen Fellowship Program in 2020.
Before her work at ERIE, Blashock specialized in securities arbitration and was responsible for business development, case management, and leading the work of others at Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP and Eccleston Law, LLC, both in New York City. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Case Western Reserve University. She earned her JD from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and her Master of Business Administration from Pace University.
24. Stacey Gavrell
Chief Community Relations Officer, Valley View Hospital
Stacey Gavrell is the Chief Community Relations Officer of Valley View Hospital, an independent, nonprofit health system based in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Valley View was built in 1955 with funds raised by the residents of Glenwood Springs and the surrounding communities. Federal funds dedicated to building rural hospitals matched the funds raised. Since that time, Valley View’s commitment to the health of their community has been a cornerstone of their organization.
Gavrell has over two decades of experience. As a member of the administrative team at Valley View Hospital, she directs the revitalization of the community relations programs to align with the organization. She involves leadership, physicians, staff, and community stakeholders in the rebranding initiative. She launches marketing and PR campaigns to communicate the brand and support strategic growth priorities. She oversees the strategic planning for programs and develops and manages the staff team. She serves as the spokesperson and Public Information Officer.
Before joining Valley View Hospital, Gavrell was a director of marketing at JVA Consulting, LLC. Before that, she was a project coordinator at Colorado Common Cause. Earlier in her career, she worked with the Colorado Public Interest Research Group as a community organizer. Gavrell graduated from Colorado State University Global with an MHA and from William & Mary with an undergraduate degree.
25. Kinneil Coltman
EVP & Chief Community & Social Impact Officer, Advocate Health
Kinneil Coltman is the Executive Vice President and Chief Community and Social Impact Officer for Advocate Health, one of the largest, most comprehensive not-for-profit health systems in the nation. Atrium Health is now a part of Advocate Health. Coltman has executive oversight of the organization’s strategy to advance the well-being of communities that Advocate Health serves by improving healthcare access, addressing social drivers of health, and advancing health equity. Her areas of responsibility include community health, community engagement and corporate responsibility, government affairs, social strategy and impact, diversity, equity and inclusion, executive communications, and the Advocate National Center for Health Equity.
Coltman has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, having devoted most of her career to leading health equity and diversity initiatives. She joined Atrium Health in 2016 as chief diversity officer before taking on the role of senior vice president and chief community and social impact officer in 2019. Before joining Atrium Health, Coltman held dual appointments as chief diversity officer for Greenville Health System, now known as Prisma Health, and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. Her research interests are focused on interventions to promote equity within healthcare delivery systems, and she has lectured across the country on these topics.
Coltman earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, a Master’s degree in Cross-Cultural Studies from the University of Houston – Clear Lake, a Doctorate of Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina, and she was a Fellow in the American Hospital Association’s Cross-Cultural Leadership Fellowship.