Leadership
Our work simply wouldn't be possible without the above-and-beyond efforts of our incredibly hard-working volunteer Board and our small but mighty team of employees.
NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAIR
Theo Killion
Retired Chief Executive Officer, Zale Corporation
The Hill School, 1970*
Vice Chairs
Gregory T. Durant
Vice Chairman & Deputy CEO, Deloitte & Touche, USA, LLP
A. Louis Parker
Retired Corporate Vice President, General Electric
Philips Academy, Class of 1973*
BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE
Keith Evans
President, The Westminster School
Darrell Ford
Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, DuPont
Roxane Gay
Writer/Associate Professor
Phillips Exeter Academy, 1992*
Michelle Gittens
Walmart eCommerce
National Advisory Council Chair, Phillips Academy Andover, 1999*
Gennell Jefferson
Managing Director, State Street Global Advisors
Allison W. Lawrence
Vice President Staff Executive, Stanley Black & Decker
Sheila Marmon
Founder & CEO, Mirror Digital
Cate School, 1990*
Star McDade
Vice President & Portfolio General Auditor, American Express
Suzan Morno-Wade
Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Xerox
Francisco Tezén
President & CEO
Rhonda Trotter
Partner, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, LLP
The Hotchkiss School, 1979*
Kurt Van Wagenen
President & CEO, FirstLight Fiber
BOARD EMERITUS
Peter Allan Atkins
Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP
NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
The National Advisory Council is a group of professionals under 40 dedicated to helping A Better Chance carry out its mission to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. Founded in 2009, the goal of the Council is to initiate and boost engagement for A Better Chance through a combination of fundraising and volunteer efforts. Each year the Council hosts The Rising Stars Awards to celebrate the accomplishments of rising professionals of color.
For information on joining the National Advisory Council, please contact Nicole Bouknight Johnson, National Director of Development and Communications, at nbjohnson@abetterchance.org or 646-346-1356.
Council Leadership
Michelle Gittens
Walmart eCommerce
National Advisory Council Chair, Phillips Academy Andover, 1999*
Council Members
Najee Coverson
RXR Realty
David Cox
HBO
New Canaan A Better Chance*
Eric A. Logan
KPMG
Phillips Exeter Academy, 1992*
Nicole Madison
FTI Consulting
Ethel Walker, 1999*
Nicole Melwood
Northfield Mount Hermon School, 2001*
Jarron Smith
TIAA
Jasmine Wade
New York University
Westminster School, 2006*
A BETTER CHANCE STAFF
Small but Mighty
Our staff, which works from our headquarters in New York, several regional offices, and often the road, is listed below by category.
If you do not know who specifically can best help you, use our more general contact information: