Our Team
Dedicated nonprofit experts with a proven record of success.
Interim Executive Director
Lauren Taylor is a Darden MBA (1997) who brings over 20 years senior executive experience in various C-suite roles. She is also an entrepreneur and has founded multiple ventures including a global anti-slavery nonprofit, now operated by the Smithsonian-affiliate National Underground Railroad Freedom Center; a national network of college-student abolitionist organizations; a hurricane relief nonprofit; and a civic-tech platform.
Giving back is very important to Lauren. She has been a Big Sister four times, coached championship girls soccer teams, and serves as a mentor for small businesses through the Mentor Capital Network. She is also passionate about her volunteer work benefitting American Indian tribes and historic preservation.
Executive Director
(Pro Bono)
Laine Shakerdge has served for many years on the Board of Directors for: Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a global nonprofit that teaches low income high school students how to create their own jobs. She has also served on the boards of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the National Capital region, the acclaimed Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in Washington DC, and DC Casineros, an internationally renowned Cuban salsa dance company.
She earned two masters degrees at Washington University in St. Louis and is the principal at Whitestone Property Group.
Key Staff
Advisory Board
John Beard
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Michael Caggiano
Founder, Jewelry for Good
Angela Hartley National Industries for the Blind
Tim Hill
Blackboard Inc. (ret.)
Liz Scott
Brighter Strategies