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Power moves: Major changes for three women in leadership roles

March 17, 2020 Category: FeaturedLongPeople

1. Beth Miller departs Community Design Collaborative.

Beth Miller, who has been the executive director of the Community Design Collaborative for the past 19 years, is officially stepping down from her position with the organization. Miller has been on a leave of absence since September 2019, when she became a Loeb Fellow at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University; Jenn Richards has been functioning as the interim executive director in her stead.

In 2001, Miller became the first fulltime employee of the nonprofit that strengthens neighborhoods through design. “Beth dedicated a good portion of her life to the work of the Collaborative and to improving Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, really leaning into complicated issues around design and community with passion and sincerity,” said Community Design Collaborative board member Maria Sourbeer, via the emailed announcement. “She built a solid foundation from which the Collaborative will continue to grow.”

Miller is a board member (ex-officio) of the Center for Architecture + Design; she served as a commissioner of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, and as a steering committee member of the Design Advocacy Group.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

2. Erika Guadalupe Núñez becomes the executive director of Juntos.

Longtime immigrant rights organizer, artist and advocate, Erika Guadalupe Núñez, has been named the new executive director of Juntos. Núñez served on the board of directors of the the South Philly Latinx immigrant rights organization during the tenure of its former director, Erika Almirón.

Núñez comes to Juntos after serving as the manager of community programs at Fleisher Art Memorial where, according to the Juntos’ board announcement of her appointment, “she led core aspects of the organization’s engagement work in South Philly public schools and neighborhoods by developing accessible and culturally relevant art programming for local children and families.”

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Before working at Fleisher, Núñez served as community organizer for Migrant Power Movement (formerly DreamActivist Pennsylvania); as marketing and program manager for Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas; as interpreter at the Audre Lorde Project; and in various positions at Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College, and was the recipient of a Leeway Foundation Art and Change grant, and GALAEI’s David Acosta Revolutionary Leader Award (DARLA), both in 2015.

3. Alexia Doumbouya appointed Philadelphia city director for Walker’s Legacy.

Walker’s Legacy, a global platform for professional and entrepreneurial multicultural women with chapters in 15 cities nationwide, recently announced that Alexia Doumbouya will become its Philadelphia city director.

Doumbouya is the founder and CEO of Milestone Pros, a Bala Cynwyd agency offering job placement and operational solutions to individuals and companies. According to the announcement of her appointment, Milestone Pros facilitates “branding and development workshops through Temple and West Chester universities, along with a youth development program Be A C.H.A.M.P in partnership with local city-funded organizations in Philadelphia.”

She previously served as manager of BPO and customer experience at AmeriHealth Administrators/Independence Blue Cross; as a program manager at Corporate Call Center, Inc.; and as licensed health sales manager at The Hartford.

Doumbouya holds a bachelor’s degree from California University of PA, and a master’s degree from Rosemont College. She is a doula, and has served as a servant leader and project supervisor at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.

4. LISC Philly names Brandon Taylor as assistant program officer of Equitable Neighborhoods.

In February, Brandon Taylor became the assistant program officer at LISC Philadelphia, after serving for more than two years as program manager for the Trust for Public Land. According to the March newsletter announcing his appointment, during his tenure Taylor oversaw the design and construction of parks and playgrounds in Philadelphia.

Prior to his work with the Trust for Public Land, Taylor served as a project manager for LISC New York; as an applied research team member at Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development; and at posts at the Ithaca Youth Bureau and the American Academy of Rome.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, is the founder and president of Kids 4 Kidz (a community service organization in Indiana), and served as a community agency volunteer at Comunita di Sant’Egidio in Rome.

5. Nathan McWilliams becomes Philadelphia stewardship manager for Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership Inc.

Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership Inc. welcomed Nathan McWilliams as the organization’s Philadelphia stewardship manager via its March newsletter. McWilliams steps into the role vacated by Nagiarry Porcena-Meneus, who recently accepted the position of CDC program manager with the Philadelphia Commerce Department’s Office of Neighborhood Economic Development.

McWilliams comes to the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership after serving as GSI crew leader at PowerCorpsPHL. He previously served as a biological science technician for the National Park Service; a crew leader for Student Conservation Association; and as a USPS letter carrier.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Maryland Eastern Shore, is certified as a tree tender by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and holds an Osha 30 certification.

6. Caloua Zhané joins the board of directors of Hopeworks Camden.

Hopeworks, a Camden-based nonprofit focused on education, technology, and entrepreneurship, welcomed Caloua Zhané to its board of directors in early March. Zhané is an alum of the nonprofit, having served as a marketing intern before striking out on her own as a graphic designer and digital marketer.

Zhané has served as a social media manager at Seer Interactive and, as a freelancer, has worked with more than 50 clients across the nonprofit and for-profit sectors.

“Caloua is a perfect example of the talented professionals we have at Hopeworks,” said Dan Rhoton, the executive director of Hopeworks Camden. “As her career continues to grow, we’re honored that she will be joining us on the board of directors to help create more opportunities for more local youth.”

7. Catholic Charities Appeal appoints William J. Phelan IV as president of its board of directors.

The Catholic Charities Appeal (CCA) — the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s largest single fundraising initiative — appointed William (Bill) Phelan IV as president of its board of directors. At 37, Phelan is the youngest board president in the organization’s nearly 70-year history.

Phelan is the lead litigator for the Philadelphia office of Cordell & Cordell, P.C. Prior to that he was a partner at the Gowan Group Law Office in Washington, D.C.; a staff attorney with the American Bar Association‘s Commission on Disability Rights; an investigator for the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section; and was the principal of The Phelan Firm, also in Washington, D.C., which handled civil legal matters as well as disability-related cases.

He also served for seven years as a pro bono, volunteer attorney for Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.

Phelan has served on the CCA board of directors since 2016, and is on the LaSalle College High School Leadership Council, and is member of the board of advisors of Alpha Delta Gamma Educational Foundation.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Catholic University of America, and his law degree from Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America.

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