Evan began his career as the International Business Manager at an early leading technology start-up, Quarterdeck Corporation. Bitten by the start-up bug, he spent following years in leadership and consulting roles at a variety of early stage enterprise including Bid.com (Northcore Technologies), Mediaseek Technology and Planesia Corp. Guided by a shift in personal and professional priorities Evan moved into the non-profit sector as Executive Director at YMCA Corporation of Los Angeles, leading the turnaround of an under-performing business unit. Driven by the value of social enterprises and the vision of a generative economy, Evan’s work with Project Equity creates strong collaborative partnerships across sectors. Evan is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (a proud supporter of Wildcat football!), and has certification from Stelter in Professional Fundraising Management. When not working he’s playing sports, walking his dogs or cooking a great meal from scratch.

Stacey has spent most of her career helping businesses examine their impact and aligning it with their values. She started as a CPA with Arthur Andersen, then moved into strategy and organizational development. Seeking to devote her financial expertise to social and environmental issues, she was an early mover in the field of sustainability and corporate responsibility in the US. She joined Business for Social Responsibility in 2001 to build their business consulting practice and spent the next decade guiding Fortune 500 companies to address their negative impacts. Recently, Stacey began consulting to nonprofits and foundations to strengthen their strategy, management, and governance practices. Through her work with the Public Equity Group and her own independent practice, she explored the structural barriers to wealth and other drivers of generational poverty. At Project Equity she is helping grow our team of professionals to accelerate the adoption of employee ownership as a key to building wealth and high-quality careers in communities. In addition to having been a licensed CPA, Stacey has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Vermont and has done coursework in International Business Studies at the University of Copenhagen. When she is not working, you can find her hiking the Bay Area hills, indulging in the restaurant scene, and playing with her family.

Miyaka is a multidisciplinary partnership manager who has spent time managing and growing businesses in food, accommodation, technology, and arts industries. In Texas he worked with small chain restaurant Freebirds to grow into a multi state brand by opening restaurants, implementing new procedures, and employee development. Returning to his home state of California, he transitioned into the accommodation tech world to help vacation home owners and managers expand their businesses through technology and partnerships. In 2017 he joined industry nonprofit HEDNA where he was elected and served on the Future Leaders board to shape the future of the industry. He studied ensemble based physical theatre at the Dell’ Arte International School, and continues to be active in the bay area theatre scene as an actor, clown, and puppeteer. He brings his skills of collaboration, communication, and problem solving from across industries to the business development team of Project Equity, working with partners and businesses to transition into employee owned business models.

After several years in nonprofit leadership, David started his career as an entrepreneur by opening a fair-trade retail store with Ten Thousand Villages, in Montreal, Canada. He later opened Full Circle Thrift, a boutique second-hand store in Pasadena, CA. Most recently, David led business development for one of Habitat for Humanity’s networks of ReStores in the San Francisco region. David is passionate about addressing the unique issues of businesses in transition. He excels in developing strategic governance plans that support growth and frees up vision holders to maximize their time and energy. With training and experience in conflict mediation, David helps groups have difficult conversations that lead to creative solutions. His observation skills and interpersonal dynamics build trust, develop leadership, and cast a vision for viable new realities. When not working, he loves cooking for his family and planning unique trips to explore new places.

An Oakland native with a passion for social impact in mid to low-income communities, Eric enjoys serving the public and was part of student government while earning his bachelor’s degree in Political Science at San Jose State University. Eric’s interest in Business and Economic Development grew during his time as a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. During his time with Coro, Eric experienced what it’s like to work in the nonprofit, corporate, and public sectors through various consulting projects, ultimately coming across Project Equity, and felt it was the perfect fit for supporting small businesses and the creation of employee-owned businesses. Having experienced the flexibility and financial stability of running one’s own business through his father’s private contracting firm, Eric now seeks to reproduce that sense of financial stability for others. You’ll find Eric enjoys visiting small mom and pop shops, regularly supporting small businesses in his own way.

Laura started her career as a community organizer and developed a passion for advancing equity and social justice. In her most recent role, she supported 10 nonprofit organizations to build operational infrastructure that drives their mission. As a Client Services Manager for Project Equity, she simplifies the process for owners to sell their business and for employees to become owners. She is an agile facilitator and capacity builder with a knack for making information accessible and engaging diverse audiences. She received her BA in Global Studies from the University of California Santa Barbara and an MBA from Mills College. She is a wannabe bookworm who enjoys a good cortado, meditating, and nurturing her creativity.

Patty Viáfara has built a career supporting small business through her work in tourism promotions, as a small business owner, and operations specialist. Her past experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors includes change management, business continuity, process improvement, and leadership development. She was a key player in the employee engagement and leadership development initiative at Bupa Latin America during three years of major growth. Prior to joining Project Equity, Patty worked with Beneficial State Foundation developing a new program aimed at lowering the cost of capital for social enterprises. As Sr. Client Services Manager, Patty has designed the infrastructure and programming to serve our clients, using her diverse business background to really understand the nature of the companies we work with.  She’s helped over 30 enterprises assess, transition, and thrive as employee-owned businesses. She received her B.S. in Travel and Tourism Management from Florida International University and an MBA in Global Impact Management from Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Patty is passionate about creating quality jobs where people love coming to work; in her free time, you can find Patty enjoying outdoor yoga, paddleboarding, and spending time with her french bulldog, Stella.

Kiara Williams passionately supports and advocates on behalf of people of color marginalized by negative statistics and cyclic struggles. Based in Orange County, CA, her work is largely driven by her desire to be of service to at-risk communities, and to eradicate barriers faced by socio-economically disadvantaged groups of people.

Kiara has over ten years experience as a community advocate in Southern California working on various initiatives and partnering with organizations to lift up low-income communities through high quality, accessible resources. For the past 5 years, she has built a solid background in the nonprofit sector working at social services organizations, serving homeless veterans and families affected by neurodiverse disabilities.

As the Development Associate with Project Equity, Kiara supports a range of efforts related to fundraising, grants and donor stewardship. She is eager to expand employee ownership by cultivating funder relationships that align with the mission of improving racial equity and minimizing unjust wage gaps nationwide. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, writing creatively and nurturing her family.

Sarah has spent her career committed to building shared prosperity and well-being.  She began her career in state-level economic development and most recently was an equity officer at a private, regional foundation in Arkansas.  She is driven by a commitment to economic and racial equity and passion for developing partnerships, collective strategy, and infrastructure to advance systemic change.  At Project Equity, Sarah focuses on building regional partnerships with government, non-profit, private sector, and philanthropic organizations to support, scale, and sustain a local employee ownership ecosystem.  Sarah has a joint Master of Public Service and MBA from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and Walton College of Business and BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Outside of work, she loves canoeing, camping, and hiking with her family.

Jim has over 20 years of nonprofit and for-profit experience, leading teams in Oakland, Atlanta, Washington DC, Dallas, Memphis, and Detroit. He has led marketing activities for world-renowned nonprofits and advertising agencies that include strategic planning, public relations, advertising, public affairs, and public speech writing for organizations such as Goodwill Industries, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Norfolk Southern, Orkin Pest Control, Nextel Communications, United States Virgin Islands, and JEEP. Jim believes in protecting the brand, strategic direction through analytics, team solutions, and working with organizations making a positive community impact. He’s a respected thought leader, having envisioned and co-hosted The Good Works Show on live radio throughout the Atlanta Metro market. In 2014, he was named The Corporate Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association. He is a passionate Green Bay Packer fan, cyclist, tennis player, and billiard competitor.

Genevieve has built her career around providing marketing direction, print and web materials and blog content for small and medium-sized businesses, including her own. She joined the Marketing Team after contracting with Project Equity for two years. Genevieve received her BA in Psychology and Film Arts from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and went on to take design classes from both The School of Visual Arts and Parsons School of Design in NYC. She also holds a Marketing Certificate from the University of Illinois. Genevieve excels at taking a creative project from concept to completion and providing the right approach for the target audience. At Project Equity, she helps increase awareness of employee ownership through local and national outreach. Genevieve is passionate about equality in all forms and is honored to use her creativity and knowledge to advance employee ownership. In her free time, she enjoys going to the ocean, being silly with her kids, and decorating her home.

Franzi has been an independent business owner in Asheville, North Carolina for nineteen years. She is the founder of the Asheville Grown Business Alliance and organized over 550 small business members to advocate for a strong and healthy local economy. She currently co-owns a vintage-inspired clothing shop in downtown called Hip Replacements Clothing. A first generation American, she grew up in a textile family in the South and experienced the devastation of mill towns with the loss of a core heritage industry. Franzi joined the team part-time at Project Equity because she is passionate about employee ownership and documenting its impact. She has a Bachelor of Science in Ecology as well as a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia. She is an avid photographer and loves jogging in the mountains.