Vanessa Miner (she/her) is a California native currently living abroad, who is deeply committed to social justice activism and is an avid community-seeker. She is insatiably curious about the concepts of identity and understanding how it influences one’s behavior, access to opportunity, and what one needs in order to feel welcomed and safe to be their authentic selves.

A deeply emotional person through and through, she is thrilled to have found an area in which she can harness and display her empathy rather than having to hide and bury it.

Inspired by everything related to mother nature, la querida Pachamama, on a regular day you can find Vanessa tending to her garden, caring for her cats, and/or pickling whatever vegetable she has in her kitchen.

Shanté DeLoach (she/her) is an office professional with 15+ years of administrative experience. Her positions have spanned the gamut, from managing the office of a car dealership, to sitting on the board of directors of Wildwoods-an organization built to introduce children in underserved communities to the benefits of sustainability.

With parents who have dedicated their lives to social services, she was raised to be of assistance to those around her, and she is deeply committed to being of service to marginalized communities.

A classically trained performer, she has worked in the entertainment industry in various capacities for the past 16 years, and is the Administrative Director of Eleventh Story Productions, a multi-media production company with a mission to amplify stories that are rarely at the forefront.

Shanté loves spending as much time as possible outdoors, and she is perpetually in training for the next Tough Mudder

Stevie Luna Ibarra (they/she) is a queer, non-binary, and neurodivergent Social Worker and spiritual practitioner from the Bay Area, who’s currently based in Long Beach.

With over 10 years of experience, her work spans across program development, clinical services, qualitative research, and systems-level advocacy.

They are passionate about reconnecting with Indigenous and traditional Filipino and Mexican practices that support others through times of transition, grief and loss, and death and dying.

In her free time, she loves learning about herbalism, sitting by the ocean, and spending time with her spouse and their senior guinea pig and 3 cats.

Katherine Forneret (she/her) is a seasoned professional with 15 years in consumer experience, as well as a recent Univeristy of Washington graduate, having received her MBA. With her wealth of experiential knowledge, she is positioned to adeptly curate, cultivate, and present content that resonates profoundly within the community, nurturing a sense of understanding, solace, and empowerment.

Katherine's steadfast commitment to our mission is rooted in her core values, extending beyond her professional role. When she's not immersed in her work, she finds solace in outdoor pursuits, cherishing moments spent with her husband and feline companion. Guided by a profound appreciation for community, Katherine derives immense satisfaction from actively participating in and contributing to her local surroundings.

As the Content Manager, Katherine is resolutely dedicated to establishing a platform that functions as a safe haven for our community—a virtual space where narratives intertwine seamlessly, knowledge flows effortlessly, and support transcends boundaries.

Stephanie brings a life-long passion and commitment to driving positive social and economic change for underserved, marginalized communities through philanthropy to PAUSE.

Her 18-year journey as a nonprofit leader and strategist includes a proven track record of securing millions of dollars and partnerships for organizations in the youth/children, education, and end-of-life (healthcare/mental health) sectors.

An avid traveler and lover of music, film, and the great outdoors, Stephanie earned an EMBA from the Quantic School of Business Technology and an MPA from the University of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy.

Dwetri Addy is the VP of Talent at Stitch Fix which includes the HR Business Partner, and Learning & Development functions. She has built a career around understanding the needs of stakeholders from marginalized groups and connecting them with the opportunities, products, and services that meet those needs.

She currently lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters who keep her on her toes and remind her of why the pursuit of equity is always the right work.

Nicole McCann-Davis serves as a Sr. Client Advisor and Research Director for Transcend Strategy Group. Prior to joining Transcend, Nicole served as the Vice President of Health Equity & Access for Accentcare and she continues to Chair the National Hospice & Palliative Care's Diversity Advisory Council.

Before pursuing a career in healthcare, Nicole worked in television production and corporate communications before realizing that her passion was calling her to use her skills and experience to make a direct impact on the people who need it most.

For almost a decade now, Nicole has worked to improve health literacy and increase access to vital health services for those in traditionally underrepresented communities. She holds a Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion Leadership from Cornell University, Bachelor's degree from Columbia College Chicago, Master of Science from Northwestern University, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Health Sciences from Northern Illinois University.

Lloyd Nadal is a results-oriented, capacity builder, grant-writer, community leader and management professional with over 20+ years of experience in health in both the public and private sector. Over the span of his career, he has been involved and passionate about work that supports the health and lives of people in the community especially youth.

Lloyd is currently the Community Health Manager for Kaiser Permanente Northern California managing the East Bay and Greater Southern Alameda areas.

Lloyd is a Bay native and received a Master's and Bachelor's Degree from the University of San Francisco. In his free time, he loves hanging with his family and being a parent to his two sons enjoying the outdoors.

Alua Arthur is a death doula, recovering attorney, and the founder of Going with Grace, an end-of-life planning and death doula training organization that exists to support people as they answer the question, “What must I do to be at peace with myself so that I may live presently and die gracefully?”

Going with Grace works every day to improve and redefine the end-of-life experience for marginalized communities. Alua was a keynote speaker at EndWell 2019, and has been featured in the LA Times, Vogue, Refinery29, The Doctors, and InStyle.

She is inspired by the gift of LIFE itself and is always on the quest for the best donuts!

Aubrey Blanche is The Mathpath (Math Nerd + Empath), Director of Equitable Design, Product & People at Culture Amp, and a startup investor and advisor.

Through all her work, she seeks to question, reimagine, and redesign the systems and practices that surround us to ensure that all people can access equitable opportunities and build a better world. Her work is undergirded by her training in social scientific methods and grounded in the fundamental dignity and value of every person.

Her professional expertise covers a broad range of equitable enterprise operations, from talent lifecycle programs and accessible product development to event design and communications & media.

Kelsey Crowe, Ph. D., founded Help Each Other Out, Empathy Bootcamp., and is a breast cancer survivor. She is the author of the empathy book There Is No Good Card for This that author Liz Gilbert described as a crash course in humanity that none of us got to take in school.

She earned her PhD in social science from the University of California, Berkeley and teaches social work at California State University.

Kelsey hopes for a day when no one suffers alone because others didn’t know what to do or say. She is originally from Brooklyn and lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter.