Announcing New Board Members
Play Like a Girl is pleased to announce the addition of six new members to the Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023: Jessica Bliss, journalist for The Tennessean; Judith Engelsen-Daub, Vice President of Client Success Organization at GEODIS; Mon-Kisha Porter, Customer Receivables Manager at Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation; Ashlie Summer, Vice President of Operations at FLEETCOR Technologies; and, Vibhav Veldore, Sales and Marketing Director — Agriculture & Off the Road Tires (LATAM) at Bridgestone Americas Inc. Also joining the Board as an ex-officio member is Michaela Kirk, Business Development Engineer at Turner Construction. Kirk will chair the newly-established Play Like a Girl Young Professionals Board. For more information about our team, visit iplaylikeagirl.org/team.
The Board provides leadership for carrying out the Organization’s mission to advance the health and empowerment of girls and women everywhere through sport. Dr. Chevis Shannon, Director of the Surgical Center for Kids at Monroe Carroll Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University, serves as chair of the 2020 Board of Directors.
More will be shared on these new Directors over the next several days. Please follow their stories on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @iplaylikeagirl.
Play Like a Girl Announces New Board Members
Yesterday, we announced the appointment of nine new members to the Play Like a Girl Board of Directors effective July 1, 2019. These members will join the full slate of 13 professionals including officers and renewing board members for 2020.
"We are pleased to welcome nine new directors to Play Like a Girl's board and especially value the constructive discussions we have had with each of them about the vision and enthusiasm they bring to the organization," said Celeste Bell, Play Like a Girl's Chairwoman and Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Publicis Media. "They join our team at an exciting time as we continue to drive our five-year strategic plan forward and build deeper relationships with industry in Nashville to fulfill our goal of helping young women develop the leadership skills they need for careers in the STEM workforce."
The Board regularly evaluates its composition to ensure it includes the appropriate skills, experience and perspective necessary to drive impact and growth for the organization, and with these director additions, Play Like a Girl has many exciting new opportunities. "We believe the refreshed, new local board and the management team led by our founder and CEO Dr. Kimberly Clay are committed to achieving outstanding results and maximizing opportunities for girls across Nashville and Middle Tennessee as we expand," said Bell who will serve for the duration of her board term as Chairwoman, alongside Board Secretary Dan Werly, Partner and Sports Attorney at Sievert Werly, LLC, Board Treasurer Sara Toussaint, VP of Sports Marketing at Wells Fargo. These board officers lead the recent search as members of the nominating and governance committee, chaired by renewing Director Jodie Gleason, VP Controller of Broadcast Music Inc.
[bctt tweet="The addition of these directors complements our board of directors' skills and experiences, and we are confident they will provide valuable perspectives as we continue to execute our strategic plan, drive change and enhance the investments of our donors in the girls we serve. We look forward to their contributions and are excited they chose Play Like a Girl," said Clay." username="iplaylikeagirl"]
Newly-elected directors include Celeste Bishop-Stein, president and CEO of Bishop, Stein & Associates PR; Lindsey Ellis, Account Manager of Crosslin, PLLC; Missey Garcia-Smith, Vice President of Convention Services at Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation; Danielle Gaw, Director of Corporate Partnerships of the Nashville Sounds; Ellie Grove, Account Manager of Community Brands; Katie Grubbs, Account Executive of the Tennessee Titans; Campbell Mobley, Curator of Exhibitions of Cheekwood Estate & Gardens; Dr. Chevis Shannon, Research Associate Professor of Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and Ashley Wallace, Corporate HR Manager of Dollar General.
Play Like a Girl is a Nashville-based 501(c)3 charitable organization on a mission to harness the natural properties of sport to develop girls' potential to become impactful leaders in the STEM workforce.
We accomplish this by keeping girls active in sports through their middle school years, translating their athletic skills to leadership in the workplace. With the help of the Board of Directors, we are building a robust pipeline of diverse, motivated and well-prepared women leaders for the next generation of game-changing innovation.