Meet Our Team

Lizzie M Harrington, Founding Executive Director

Meet Lizzie M. Harrington, Lizzie is a dedicated leader and passionate advocate for youth and young adults, particularly those in foster care and underserved communities. With over 15 years of experience in higher education, workforce development, and nonprofit leadership, Lizzie has devoted her career to creating pathways for independence, education, and career success for the next generation. Her unwavering commitment stems from her own life experiences and a profound desire to uplift and empower others.

Lizzie combines her expertise in post-secondary education and community development with her passion for mentorship and guidance. She works diligently to prepare youth and adults for the workforce, equipping them with the tools, resources, and confidence they need to thrive in their chosen fields. Her leadership bridges the gap between academic preparation and professional readiness, fostering strong partnerships with employers and providing individualized coaching to ensure students achieve their career goals.

Lizzie’s impact extends beyond the classroom into the community, where her work in workforce development has transformed countless lives. In her nonprofit roles, including past leadership positions, she has designed and implemented programs that address systemic barriers to employment. By developing innovative training models, building community partnerships, and managing multimillion-dollar workforce initiatives, Lizzie has helped young adults from marginalized backgrounds access meaningful employment and sustainable careers.

Lizzie’s educational journey is a testament to her lifelong commitment to learning and excellence. She holds an MBA in Human Resource Management from Walden University and a BBA in Management from Robert Morris University. Additionally, she earned an Agile Contract Management Professional Certificate from Villanova University, reflecting her strong foundation in organizational strategy and compliance. Currently, Lizzie is pursuing a Doctor of Public Administration degree, where her research focuses on designing policies and programs that advance equity and opportunity for underserved populations.

With a heart for service and a vision for systemic change, Lizzie believes in the power of education, mentorship, and collaboration to transform lives and communities. Whether she is guiding a first-generation college student toward their dream job, leading a workforce development initiative, or partnering with community organizations, Lizzie remains steadfast in her mission: to inspire hope, create opportunities, and empower the next generation to achieve their fullest potential.

Charmin Neil Sr. Marketing Manager

Meet Charmin Neil with over 10 years in corporate marketing, communications, and brand activation experience. She attended the University of Alabama during undergrad, eventually relocating to Chicago, IL, where she has resided since 2010.

Charmin sidelined her career in workforce development to pivot into her passion for storytelling through marketing. Specializing in startups, Charmin’s niche is creating and managing digital content to build relationships and incorporating obtained data into identifying strong-performance event marketing opportunities. She has reached audiences across the globe from New York City to Doha, Qatar throughout her journey. Charmin’s written and published work has been viewed millions of times as a thriving public voice of her community.

She aspires to create trails for women of the next generation in the same way she has been supported throughout her career and chatting about what grassroot organization you routinely support is what makes her smile. When Charmin isn’t strategizing on impactful campaigns, she enjoys traveling, hosting, and spending time with her family.

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Jillian Owens, Founding Board President

Meet Jillian Owens, MBA, M.Ed is a respected business professional who believes in delivering high performance results that benefit clients, partners, and organizations. Her mission and value proposition centers around helping others achieve success. Jillian spent 15 years developing a dynamic set of strategic, leadership, operations, and analytical skills as the Dean of Students, Professor of Business, and Business Manager for DeVry University, a for-profit institution. Her business skills allowed her to easily transition into other industries, most notably as an operations manager in the hospitality industry.

She also has extensive real estate experience as a top-performing licensed Illinois Realtor® and Managing Broker of her own brokerage, Inner Circle Real Estate Group, which services buyers, sellers, investors, and developers. Jillian’s education and business background intertwined with her passion for community service has served as a foundation for her work in mentoring and guiding youth for non-profit programs. Jillian has a M.B.A. in Business Management from Keller Graduate School of Management as well as M.Ed. in Educational Policy Studies and B.A. in Sociology, both from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Tracey Tooks, Founding Board Member

Meet Tracey Tooks, a dynamic entrepreneur and multi-faceted marketer with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. Her unwavering faith and commitment to “producing results by leading with service” is not just her personal motto, but a guiding principle that drives her success. As she strives to curate new opportunities to elevate her expertise, Tracey approaches everything from event planning to film productions with curiosity and creativity.

Her journey began at UP Entertainment, LLC, where she honed her skills and passion for supporting new writers. In 2011, Tracey had a groundbreaking idea and brought it to life by creating and producing the UP Faith & Family Screenplay Competition, a partnership between UPtv and the American Black Film Festival (ABFF). This innovative competition was the first to introduce a script-to-screen model featuring live table reads and a one-year production cycle. Thanks to her efforts, at least seven (7) television premiere movies by emerging talents were launched across two cable TV networks. In 2015, she returned to ABFF to launch “Flip the Script: Remixing the Development Pipeline,” its first series-based competition for UPtv. Not stopping there, in 2017, Tracey was honored to launch another screenwriter-focused competition and program for Kingdomwood International Film Festival (KIFF) and continues to enjoy a long-standing relationship with the festival.

As a personal challenge, Tracey wrote and collaborated with incredibly talented friends to produce “One Hour,” her first comedic short film airing now on AspireTV’s “Urban Indie Film Block.” A chance meeting at Atlanta’s Bronze Lens Festival introduced her to the Writer/Director of “Makeup x Breakup,” Eric Dickens. Together along with Melvin Brown, they formed 1 Degree Away Entertainment, LLC, and are co-producers of the series streaming now on Allblk TV.

Not one to take any of these invaluable experiences for granted, her time spent leading a cancer care ministry at her church is incredibly meaningful. Through innovative initiatives, commitment to fostering emerging talent, and passion for storytelling, Tracey’s journey exemplifies a dedication to making a positive impact and propelling others toward success.

Denise Davis, Founding Board Member

Meet Denise Davis, Denise is the owner of Glistening Galas, LLC., a small event planning company in Stone Mountain, Georgia. She designs and coordinates tailored events for individual and corporate clients. Additionally, she authors a book club S.U.R.E.Thangs for spiritually grounded women and a mentoring group, Girlz Gotta Have It for single women. Before starting the business, Denise worked as an educator for two very large school districts. She was a dedicated elementary classroom teacher for 15 years. During which time she honed her skills and deep desire to teach and help others. Denise was the type of teacher who gave her heart and soul to working in a classroom, and to the students she taught. As a passionate teacher, she believes that her role was to encourage students for active learning, and she promoted students’ intellectual and moral development.

After a successful career as a classroom teacher, Denise pursued a master’s degree in educational leadership and subsequently she secured a job as a human resources administrator. She worked for two very large school districts as the recruitment and retention administrator. In an effort to improve student learning, Denise ambitiously recruited the “best and brightest” teachers for hundreds of classrooms.

Currently, Denise dedicates her time to working on various community service projects which include several youth programs sponsored by her sorority. Additionally, she visits schools in the community to read and encourage students to write poetry. Denise enjoys dancing, cooking, traveling, and reading in her spare time. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority where she served for over 6 years as an executive board member. Additionally, she works with The Stewart Foundation and The Way International Fellowship, and she is a graduate of The United Way VIP Program.

Rosa M. Valdez-Mansilla, Founding Board Secretary

Meet Rosa M. Valdez-Mansilla, MOL Higher Education Latina Professional, empowering our underserved and underrepresented community by providing professional development services for those entering our challenging workforce. Over 15 years of experience in career exploration and planning. Rosa is passionate about working with DACA and undocumented youth. She enjoys guiding those interested in continuing their education either in trade schools, community colleges or 4-year universities. As well as bringing over 10 years of experience in training and development of new hires.

Rosa has served on several hiring committees in both entry-level and executive leadership positions as she currently serves on the Human Resources Management Program Committee at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Rosa is the Associate Director of Corporate Engagement in the Business Career Center at University of Illinois-Chicago. She is also an adjunct for both Governor State University and City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College teaching business courses. She earned her Master of Organizational Leadership from North Park University, a certificate in Conflict Management, Organizational Development and Leadership. As well as a Bachelor of Business Administration with a Concentration in Management from Robert Morris University.

Keith Clincy, Founding Board Member
Meet Keith Clincy With over 20 years of experience in Human Services and Youth Development, Keith Clincy is a seasoned professional dedicated to fostering growth, resilience, and success among young people. A proud graduate of National Louis University, Keith has spent his career building strong, vibrant communities and creating pathways for youth to thrive.

Keith’s passion for empowering young people shines through in his work, as he leverages his deep expertise to develop innovative programs and initiatives that address the unique challenges faced by today’s youth. Whether mentoring, organizing community projects, or collaborating with stakeholders, Keith’s unwavering commitment to making a difference has positively impacted countless lives.

As a leader, advocate, and mentor, Keith continues to inspire and guide the next generation, ensuring they have the tools and opportunities needed to succeed and contribute meaningfully to their communities.