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.

Alicia is a well-seasoned business strategy and planning professional with prior experience supporting multinationals and organizations such as the United States Departments of State and Defense over the last two decades. She is passionate about business sustainability, quality jobs and financial security. At Project Equity, Alicia helps business owners and employees derive value from the ownership transition process. She also conducts employee ownership research through partnerships with other institutions.

She holds a BSc in Applied Mathematics from the State University of New York at Stonybrook, an MBA in Finance from the New York Institute of Technology and is currently working on a doctorate in Business Administration. Alicia also has a post graduate certificate in Data Science and Business Analytics from the University of Texas at Austin. When not working, she enjoys reading, crafting, exploring new destinations and sampling cuisine.

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.

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.

Dallas is an experienced nonprofit leader passionate about leveraging his talents to bring about real change. At Project Equity, he leads the communications and marketing team, helping to shape the narrative of employee ownership through storytelling and media engagement strategies.

With a background that spans both commercial and nonprofit organizations, Dallas has worked as a journalist, a filmmaker, a writer, an entrepreneur, a teacher, consultant and marketing strategist. Before coming to Project Equity, he served as a Director at National Arts Strategies, a nonprofit that provides leadership training and coaching for nonprofit leaders in the arts and culture sector. He also consulted with purpose-driven organizations on strategy, planning, leadership development, branding and communications.

He is an active volunteer in his hometown of Carmel, Indiana, where he is involved in state and local politics as a communications consultant, Democratic Precinct Chair and Indiana State Convention delegate. He also serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Carmel Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to students and innovation grants to teachers.

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.

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.

Ben brings 15 years of professional writing experience to his role at Project Equity, including two spent working in the employee ownership space. A dedicated advocate of economic justice, he was drawn to the powerful benefits employee ownership brings to workers, businesses, and their communities. Prior to joining Project Equity, Ben’s career ranged from overseeing  communications strategy for a growing real estate firm, to identifying housing options for homeless families in the Bay Area, to writing Saturday morning cartoons. As part of Project Equity’s development team, Ben supports the organization by spearheading grant requests and reporting, and crafting other written collateral to share the impact of our work with funders across the nation. Ben received his BA in English from Wesleyan University. When he’s not working, Ben loves food, travel, and exploring the Bay Area’s many parks and playgrounds with his family.

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.

Shermany has several years of experience utilizing interpersonal skills, excellent time management and problem-solving skills towards operational excellence in both the private and non-profit sectors. Through this experience, she developed a passion to take on the finer details allowing everyone to be rockstars individually and as a whole. As Operations Coordinator and Executive Assistant with Project Equity, she will be instrumental in maintaining internal records, a facilitator of internal and external events, and will be assisting Project Equity’s executive team.

Shermany holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Michigan State University. She also gives back to her local community as an advocate for mental health research. In her free time, she enjoys learning new languages, starting DIY projects, and wrangling cats. 

Max is a teacher, researcher, and organizer committed to unifying environmental and economic justice. Before joining Project Equity, Max taught college courses on food politics, German philosophy, and environmental fiction. He holds a Ph.D. in German Studies with an emphasis on the Environmental Humanities from Yale University and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago. Max was awarded a 2022-24 ACLS Leading Edge fellowship to join Project Equity’s work in public sector engagement, helping to foster a nationwide movement to embed employee ownership in local and state initiatives. He views employee ownership as a key element in building a sustainable and just economy. Outside of his work, Max is an avid cook, amateur woodworker, and transportation justice advocate in New Haven.

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.

Terron is an initiative builder from Miami, Florida. In 2008, he earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated magna cum laude and as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa. In 2015, he earned a J.D. from New York University (NYU) School of Law where he was the Student Convocation Speaker for his class. He then practiced law at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama, under the leadership of Bryan Stevenson, a world-renowned litigator, activist, teacher, speaker and author. He advocated against death sentences, children detained in adult prisons, and facilitated parole hearings. In 2017, he was selected to be a German Chancellor Fellow along with 29 other people from across the globe. He partnered with the Communications Sciences department at the Universität Leipzig to study the Holocaust, World War II, and denazification. He currently builds initiatives for corporate and nonprofit clients. Terron is advancing Project Equity’s Black Employee Ownership Initiative (BEOI), which centers Black employee ownership in all of our strategic initiatives.