Keep Pace with an evolving world.

Sheryl Carter is the daughter of Thomas (Factory Worker/Construction Worker who traveled north from the South during the second wave of the Great Migration), granddaughter of Frederick (Pullman Porter who died young because the local White hospital refused him treatment), great granddaughter of Floyd (an exceptional entrepreneur who was enslaved during childhood).

Sheryl is the principal consultant of the Carter Leadership Collaborative LLC. Her expertise includes devising and leading innovative skills enhancement, team building, organizational development, change management, and racial equity initiatives. Her clients have included private foundations, public sector organizations, government agencies, K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions, private non-profit companies, faith-based

entities and other companies.

Before establishing the Carter Leadership Collaborative, Sheryl held executive management positions with Negash and Associates L.L.C., the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Lynwood Unified School District, and Los Angeles Unified School District.

Sheryl has also held leadership positions with and served on numerous volunteer boards, including the Yale Black Alumni

Association, YaleWomen, YaleLA, and the Yale Alumni Association Board of Governors. Sheryl was recently awarded the Yale Medal, the highest honor given to 

alumni for service to and 

on behalf of the University.

Sheryl holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a professional mediation certificate from the Straus School of Law at Pepperdine University.

Heidi Hrowal is the daughter of Franz and granddaughter of Katharina, German immigrants who fled post-WWII Europe. Katharina supported herself as a housekeeper (even working for a family of one of Heidi’s classmates) and Franz was trained as a machinist, and with the additional benefit of being white, they were able to achieve the American dream for their family.

Heid has over 30 years of experience in the public sector, primarily in human resources-related functions. Her last several years were as the manager of a department responsible for training and performance management for over 20,000 employees. She specializes in leadership, communication, and implicit bias training. She is currently an adjunct professor, teaching organizational behavior.

Heidi is a major Collaborator with The Carter Leadership Collaborative. She joined Negash and Associates LLC in 2019, and has known and worked with Sheryl on a number of projects since 1984.

Victoria Garcia Tamayo is the daughter of Amparo (a homemaker who embraces others as if they were family) and Alvaro (a principled and compassionate engineer and human being), granddaughter of Herminia (mother of 12, grandmother of 19 and who grew up so poor she used to steal the bones at the candle making business where she worked to make soup for her family).

Victoria brings over 25 years of working in and with community. Before venturing into the consulting world, she had a varied career in the nonprofit and public sectors. Her expertise is in capacity building, organizational development, communications, and community health, development and engagement – all centered in equity and belonging. She has partnered with dozens of organizations including the King County Veterans, Seniors and Human Services, Communities of Opportunity, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, WA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Look Listen and Learn, City of Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment, Healthy King County Coalition, and the Center for Community Health and Evaluation.

Victoria coproduced the Emmy award winning documentary “¡Sí Se Puede! Connecting Farmworker Communities.” She is a proud immigrant and a native Spanish speaker. "

Pamela Y. George grew up in Oakland, California in the 60’s with parents who were Atlanta born and raised activists/educators. They were excellent role models and embedded the importance of social justice and civic education in Pamela's life from an early age. 
As a graduate student in clinical psychology, Pamela advocated for equity and inclusion within mental health and began a teaching and advising career at San Francisco State University in the College of Ethnic Studies.  
Pamela is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bridgeport where she has taught Introduction to Psychology courses and Multicultural Perspectives in Service Delivery.

For eighteen years Pamela was employed by Yale University as an Assistant Dean of Academic and Student Affairs as well as the Director of several programs, organizations and initiatives. These programs included multi-tiered academic enrichment for underrepresented students -- specifically in STEM, academic advising for freshmen, sophomore and transfer students and peer-assisted support programs. 

As part of extensive work with Yale’s cultural centers, she provided significant governance and guidance to an alumni funded multi-million-dollar renovation of the Afro-American Cultural Center and helped to establish a leadership development endowment honoring alumni founders. Additionally, first generation student programs and advising rubrics, community/civic engagement and alumni diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have become prominent fixtures within Yale College that help to round out the capacity building and impact her work has had over the years. 

Pamela is grateful for the culturally inclusive upbringing she had with enriching educational experiences all her life.  Her desire is to transform youth by deepening their critical conscious thinking, authenticity and joy.

Yvonne Marie Contreras-Wood, Ed.D. is the daughter and only child of Ernest and Esther Contreras. With eight generations of her family born in Whittier, California, She became the first in her extended  family to attend college. Yvonne graduated from Whittier College and earned a Masters Degree and a Doctoral Degree from the University of La Verne.  Her proud  grandparents lived to see her graduate from college with a BA in Spanish/Bilingual Ed and a reading specialist teaching credential; a milestone that her grandfather, Ralph Contreras, strived to instill in her from her earliest memories. 

Yvonne began her teaching career in the ABC Unified School District as a 7 and 8th grade reading teacher in Hawaiian Gardens, CA.  This small city of low-income and predominately Hispanic families instilled in her a  passion for supporting and serving under- performing and underserved students and  their communities. After 8 years of teaching, she moved into administration and continued to serve communities  of color, second language learners and develop transformational leaders to maintain and sustain school and community programs. Yvonne has served in the roles of principal, assistant superintendent, associate superintendent, deputy superintendent and director in ABC Unified School District, Lynwood Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Office of Education.   At LACOE she  directed  leadership programs designed to support those leaders in high need districts to meet the challenges of their diverse communities. The last 10 years she served as the Assistant Director and Director of Curriculum and Instructional Services for the county office. In that role she continued to support the curricular and instructional needs of the 80 school districts and 1.3 million students across LA County.  Since her retirement Yvonne in June of 2020, she continues to be involved with initiatives that are her passion. She along with a colleague from Los Angeles Unified School District have developed and implemented an online leadership academy for the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) entitled, Access and Equity for English Learners. This academy is designed to assist school and district leaders who serve populations of English Learners. Yvonne is also a certified leadership coach with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, working with credential candidates seeking to earn their Tier II Administrative Credential. Yvonne  continues to work to create transformational leaders whose desire is to create environments to ensure success of underserved students, their families and communities. 

Dani Nelson is the daughter of Charles and Ché, high school sweethearts who fled one of the nation's largest public housing projects nicknamed the ‘toxic donut’, because of all of the hazardous waste that was dumped into a community of Black Americans. Altgeld Gardens, considered the birthplace of environmental justice, is where our 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, began his community organizing work. Charles and Ché, as social worker and nurse, were also early advocates of healthy and thriving communities. And, as a result of what makes us stronger, their legacy of community building was passed on to their children.

Dani is a visionary creative director and project manager, with over twenty years of experience in integrated marketing strategies, specializing in advertising, product design, and creative management. Resourceful and comfortable with diverse clientele and colleagues, Dani has developed world-wide relationships and communicated with business partners in several countries. As an Artist and self-taught Creative her unique perspective has allowed her to forge a legacy in building community. She is her Ancestor's dream.