Hosts & Partners
Kenyatta Trice
Founder
Kenyatta Trice is the founder of TRICE OCS, a Black-owned, woman-owned consulting agency specializing in business and career development. She is dedicated to helping job seekers secure meaningful employment and assisting entrepreneurs in launching and growing successful businesses through strategic plan management.
Kenyatta’s journey is one of resilience and transformation. After surviving 9 years of domestic violence and spending another 8 years rebuilding her life, she emerged stronger, determined to create opportunities for herself and others. As a mother of two, she faced challenges of re-entering the workforce with being away from her skill set for 8 years, with bills to pay, and the scars of her past. Recognizing her own skills, strengths, and potential, she navigated her way to success, securing roles as a Recruiter, Director of Access to Capital, Program Manager, and Director.
Through her experiences in business development and human development resources, Kenyatta founded TRICE OCS to empower others facing similar barriers, helping them achieve stability, success, and financial independence through personalized career and business consulting.
Jamie Sedda
School Counselor
Jamie Sedda has been as a Social Worker, advocate, ally, Community Organizer, bridger, and educator for the past 25 years.
She has spent the last decade at Highland Elementary in Gresham as an incredibly proud School Counselor, and is most passionate about children and supporting them to grow into their power, and to truly love themselves and their neighbors.
Jamie wanted to host a performance of Notes from the Field as an opportunity to be in community amongst fellow educators. May we deeply consider the impacts of our profession and work towards liberation for all of our students in a system that continues to cause harm.
Joyce O’Halloran
President
Don Berg
Executive Director
During her 40 years as a mathematics professor Joyce O'Halloran experimented with a variety of classroom formats but found that personal connection was the key to success. Since retiring in 2019 she has focused on promoting Self-Determination Theory as essential to K-12 education transformation.
Don Berg is the host of the Agentic Schools Vodcast and author of the award-winning book Schooling for Holistic Equity: How to Manage the Hidden Curriculum in K-12. As the Executive Director of Deeper Learning Advocates he is on a mission to embed the psychology of learning in policy so policy stops undermining learning. He runs Attitutor Media and lives at the Joyful Llama Ranch in West Linn, Oregon, USA.
Denise Millhollen
Founder
February 23rd - African American Women of Lake Oswego & Surrounding Areas
Denise Millhollen is one of those retired persons who is busier during retirement than when she worked a 9-5! She definitely carves out time to do fun stuff but she also makes it a priority to creating positive change within our community.
Shortly after returning from a two month trip to Morocco, Egypt and India and after experiencing the power of women in these countries, Denise founded the African-American Women of Lake Oswego and Surrounding Areas as a support, informational and networking group for African-American Women. In addition to founding this group, Denise is Co-Host of Beautiful Black Women Events throughout the Greater Portland, Oregon Metropolitan Area, co-founder of the Women for Change Coalition, and serves on the Advisory Board for Good in the Hood (GITH) Festival. Along with the Co-Chair, she was instrumental in revitalizing the GITH Scholarship program, providing 12 scholarships per year.
Denise has volunteered for many organizations throughout the years including Lake Oswego MLK planning team, Big Sister Program, National & International Track Meets, and as a chorus member in the Portland Opera Chorus. She is a visual artist holding her first art gallery showing in June 2024, an avid golfer, has traveled close to 30 countries, and in her younger years was a downhill skier and took flying lessons aspiring to become a pilot.
Denise has been a nominee for the Phenomenal Woman’s Award International Women’s Month, and was recognized for her community work by Bahai Faith on Race Amity Day. She is devoted to her family, friends and the Portland Metro community.
BS Chemistry – Purdue & Butler University
MSA Business Administration – Central Michigan University
Graduate of Leadership Oregon and Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program
Melissa Salazar
Community Media Cohort Facilitator
Melissa Salazar graduated from Pacific Northwest College of Art and has worked as an educator, art instructor and professional mentor throughout the Portland Metro area. With over a decade of experience working with adolescent youth in preparation for their post secondary plans Melissa sought out opportunities to expand her work to all ages. Currently, she is the Production Cohort Facilitator at Open Signal, Portland Community Media. In this role she mentors community producers 16 years and up through a five month program that teaches them how to use an industry standard camera, lighting and networking with others through the completion of their media projects.
Melissa also served on the National Alliance for Community Media Nomination Committee, Inclusion, equity, and engagement caucus and Alliance for Community Media Pacific Northwest Region board which she is currently the Vice Chair. She believes in the future of community media and looks to learn from others with the same passion and drive to preserve public access media.
She has recently accepted an invitation to serve on the board of directors for Teens Grounded, a youth leadership program in her hometown in Texas. Her dedication to be in service to her community has led her to also serve within the Adult Congenital Heart Association as a peer 2 peer heart mentor as she understands the feeling of isolation being born with a rare congenital heart disease.
Simone Thomas
Program Manager
Simone Thomas is the Program Manager for iUrban Teen, a nonprofit dedicated to providing career exploration opportunities for underrepresented youth in STEM+Arts. Passionate about fostering creativity and learning, Simone designed and developed iMusic, an innovative program that teaches students to create their own music while reinforcing math concepts. Through iMusic, she not only builds a sense of community among students but also witnesses their unique creativity shine. Seeing young minds grow through music and self-expression is what makes her work so rewarding.
Nikki Weaver
Founder
Taimani Emerald
Founder
Alexia DeLeon
Program Director & Clinical Coordinator
Alexia DeLeon, PhD, is an Assistant Professor and Co-program Director at Lewis & Clark College for the Professional Mental Health–Addictions Specialization program. She has been involved in providing treatment for those impacted by addiction and recovery for many years and currently serves clients at the VOA Men's Residential Center here in Portland, OR. Her research interests include highlighting the intersection of communities of color and addiction counseling. Dr. DeLeon maintains a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion for communities of color seeking mental health services. She believes in healing the soul wound of her ancestors for the next generation by practicing cultural humility and trauma-informed counseling, along with other non-Western healing modalities for indigenous communities. Her clinical work and passion for BIPOC community wellness aims to transform and heal the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wounds of her ancestors by reconnecting with indigenous healing practices toward a road of recovery, collective empowerment and liberation.
cameron whitten
Founder & CEO
At the age of eighteen, cameron whitten (all pronouns are extremely welcomed!) worked themself out of youth homelessness in Portland and has spent over a decade giving back to the same community that was here when they needed it most. Cameron has been a leader in several movements for positive social change, and has served as the Executive Director for nonprofits such as Know Your City and Q Center. cameron is currently the Founder and CEO of healing justice nonprofit Brown Hope and Co-Founder of the Black Resilience Fund. cameron is excited to be launching a new healing and social justice inspired podcast, Heal Yeah! anticipated to begin Summer 2025.
Miranda Lattimore
Founder & Program Curator
Marcus Lattimore
Wellness Director
Miranda Lattimore is the Founder and Program Curator at ZEN:MNM. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Public Health and a minor in Women and Genders Studies. With the goal of bringing healing and wellness to communities of color, Miranda became a certified yoga teacher in 2020, and completed her drug and alcohol counseling certification in 2023 (CADC). She is currently training to become a certified Forest Therapy Guide, and offers private, group and corporate wellness experiences in Portland, Oregon and online.
Marcus Lattimore is a former collegiate and professional football player, coach, and Director of Student Athlete Development with over 12 years of experience in public speaking. After retiring from the NFL and earning his Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Marcus became the wellness director for Select Health of South Carolina, a medicaid provider, where he led wellness camps for 8 years. Marcus is a writer and spoken word poet in the United States. He was crowned the 2024 Grand Slam Poetry Champion of Oregon and enjoys teaching creative writing classes. He serves as the wellness director for ZEN:MNM.
Michelle “Yemaya” Benton
Executive co-Director
Michelle “Yemaya” Benton (MY) is originally from Northern California, and has been residing in Portland, Or for the last 17 years.Through her personal spiritual and soul searching journey, Yemaya has learned to interact with energy, assessing the need not only within herself, but also the people around her. In 2019, Yemaya’s Inclinations, A Spiritual Offerings Boutique was established. Yemaya’s Inclinations has continued to grow and encourage community healing in new ways; to our generation, but also traditional practices that are overlooked and not readily practiced. As an AWO (student of the mystery) and aspiring herbalist, Yemaya uses the knowledge gained coupled with her inclinations (God given gifts) and incorporates it in the healing provided to community members. MY is studying Ifa, an African Traditional Religion (ATR), and with further study and mentorship will be an initiated Ifa Priestess. In 2021, Yemaya took healing and connecting to the divine feminine to the next step and became a Yoni Steam Practitioner offering a deeper healing connection with Divine feminine.
Michelle Yemaya is a co-founder and one of two Executive co-Directors for the Black Community of Portland, a local Grassroots non-profit Organization. She has been dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of the Black population in Portland with areas of focus being Anti-Displacement and Housing Justice, Black Economics, and Self-Healing. In addition, as the Anti-Displacement Coalition organizer Michelle participated in the Covid-19 rent relief committee held by Portland Housing Bureau. Her proposal sparked a city wide housing hub (Extended Partner Network) of smaller groups and nonprofit organizations to reach the communities they serve, and otherwise those disproportionately experience housing insecurities. As a hobby she enjoys photography and painting.
Michelle Yemaya (yem -may- ya) Benton
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Goddess
Kendall Martin
Board President
Kendall Martin is a strategic communications leader and public engagement strategist with over 20 years of experience. He is Board President of the Oregon Black Resource Network (OBRN) and co-founder of Whalesong USA, a BIPOC-led consulting firm advancing inclusive communication and policy strategies. Kendall has led campaigns for a variety of Federal and regional organizations. He's produced a variety of media properties to promote racial equity and community resilience. His passion is using video production, storytelling and data mapping to deliver community-driven advocacy.
AJ McCreary
Co-Founder & Executive Director
AJ McCreary, a lifelong Portlander, is a community activist who has been working locally for 15 years. She specializes in marketing strategies and fundraising through an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion lens; AJ has brought her skills to such organizations such as Steps PDX, American Cancer Society, and Race Talks. Equitable Giving Circle was born out of a desire to create a model of resource distribution that is not rooted in white supremacy and transactional giving. AJ is deeply passionate about mutual aid and giving with no strings attached; she also knows that to be truly successful, an organization must be led by the people who are in community with the people being served. AJ’s bachelor in African American history and, equally as important, her lived experience coming from a working class, interracial family in North Portland has informed the full range of her work. When she isn’t leading revolutions, AJ is a full time Momma to her teenage son Sean-Hobbs; she finds relaxation in traveling, cannabis of all forms, and gardening.
Kali Thorne Ladd
Chief Executive Officer
Kali is a social entrepreneur, passionate about the neuroscience of love and belonging as a driving force for education transformation and human flourishing. Her background spans from teacher to program manager to policymaker over the last 22 years. After serving as Education Director for Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Kali Co-Founded KairosPDX, a non-profit and school dedicated to closing opportunity and achievement gaps for historically marginalized children and building a place anchored in the re-humanization of children in education. After nearly a decade of work with KairosPDX, Kali now leads the Children’s Institute a statewide organization in Oregon focused on all-children thriving.
In May 2012, Kali won election to the Portland Community College Board of Directors, Oregon’s largest higher education institution. She served for 7 years and is immediate past Chair. In 2016, Kali was appointed by Governor Brown to the Early Learning Council of Oregon where she currently serves. Kali was appointed to the Oregon Community Foundations, Metro Leadership Council in 2017. Kali was also appointed to the James F and Marion L Miller Foundation board in January 2019. The Miller foundation enhances the quality of life of Oregonians through the support of classroom education and the performing, visual, and literary arts.
In addition to her national work, Kali has worked overseas in South Africa teaching and supporting the development of two community-based projects: a community library and a women-owned bakery. In 2018, Kali was recognized by the Portland Business Journal as a Women of Influence and in 2017 as 40 under 40.
Kali resides in Portland with her husband, Billy, and two young children. For fun, Kali enjoys running, reading, writing, and cooking.
Kali received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Psychology from Boston College and earned a Master’s Degree in Education Policy from Harvard University.
