Meet Our Team

Brianna Michelle

Founder & CEO

Brianna Michelle is on a mission to bring more awareness to the epidemic of sexual assault, and refuses to turn a blind eye to an act that has already affecting so many lives. A brutal rape and kidnapping while in college woke up a sleeping giant that said,”NO MORE” to sexual abuse and she began using her voice as power. Michelle aims to tackle the taboo issue of sexual assault and give a voice to men, women, and children around the world.

Bob Roach

Chief Financial & Compliance Officer

Bob Roach is a financial services and operating company executive with extensive experience in investments, finance, compliance (SEC & FINRA), and capital raising/investment banking. As a Chief Financial & Compliance Officer, Bob has established and maintained financials, financial reporting and compliance policies, overseen regulatory filings, reviewed marketing collateral, and managed infrastructures for broker-dealers, investment advisers, and investment funds as well as their respective clients.

Alexandra Richardson

Director, Community Engagement

Alexandra Richardson is a student from Ireland, currently undertaking an MPhil in International Peace Studies at Trinity College, Dublin. She has always felt deeply dissatisfied with the current injustices that many members of our society presently face, particularly in relation to sexual assault/abuse. This sense of injustice has led her to explore the different ways that she can address sexual assault/abuse, and encouraged her to play a more significant role in ending these prevailing social issues.

sarah Molyneux

Associate Director, Community Engagement

Sarah found a love for amplifying the voices of survivors while hosting our Survivor Connects series and managing the social media for VBA. She is now a credentialed advocate, and hopes to continue helping other people find their voice as she continues to find her own. She wants all survivors to know that your story matters and healing is possible, no matter who you are or what you’ve been through.

Curtisha Thomas

Director, Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives

Curtisha Thomas stands out in all that she does in philanthropy. She is a woman who is dedicated to ending the cycle of sexual assault/abuse and domestic violence. Curtisha knows first hand about the effects of abuse and is using her experience, skills, and passion for this area to make sure that Voices Beyond Assault (VBA) conquers its mission in empowering survivors. Curtisha is a highly analytical thinker and excels in identifying, scrutinizing, improving, and streamlining complex work processes.

Veronica Lawson-Vilches

Community Project Coordinator: VBA Françias

Veronica was born between two countries, two cultures and two languages, the United States and Spain. She likes to describe her childhood as “on the road” having lived in multiple cities. At the age of 19, she moved to Paris, France as a fille au pair. She graduated from Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne with a bachelors in History, where she also did her first year of Masters in History of international relations. Having been a storyteller all her life, she also believes that using one’s voice and sharing stories can help others. Veronica is a survivor.

Board of Directors

Gimari Ladd-JOnes

Board Chair

Gimari is a service driven Equity and Social Justice Leader, and Former Teacher whose life’s purpose is serving and uplifting people in communities most in need. Specifically, her work ensures that African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and low-income students are justly positioned to reach their highest potential in schools through the desegregation of advanced courses. Due to her repeated experiences of having had loved ones, colleagues, and even students during her tenure teaching who had been sexually assaulted, Gimari has personally witnessed the pain and anguish sexual assault causes, and its heavy burden on an individual’s voice.

Gary Smith

Board Member

Gary Smith is an experienced professional businessman and entrepreneur. A qualified CPA, he has worked as an Investment Manager in the City of London and established two movie businesses listed on the London Stock Exchange – as Chairman and Chief Executive. Gary has extensive philanthropic experience, and is extremely passionate about stimulating changing and empowerment for others.

Yvonne E. Mcnair

Chief Experience Officer, Captivate Marketing

Captivate Marketing Group is led by Yvonne McNair, the highly creative certified Entertainment Marketing Professional and Emmy Nominated Event Producer. Yvonne has a proven track record of conceptualizing and orchestrating small and large production events, marketing campaigns and programs to effectively create business development opportunities, and increase revenue and growth. She has worked with some of the biggest names and brands in the entertainment industry from grassroots organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and A-List artists.

Worldwide Ambassadors

Nora Hadj-Ali

Ambassador, VBA François

Nora comes from Hyères, France. Growing up with her mother as a role model, she has always been very aware of the deep strength women have to overcome the many obstacles they face. Since very young Nora has been very involved to help around in her community and is passionate about human and animal rights. Nora studied political science in Sciences Po in France and graduated with a Master of International Negotiation. She volunteered in many organizations and worked for Action Against Hunger in Madrid in Spain. Nora also studied in the US, in Texas for a year. She has always been very eager to discover the world, and dreams to create her own NGO one day to defend all the values she deeply believes in.

Thaqiyah Zain

Ambassador, VBA Sri Lanka

Thaqiyah Zain is currently a psychology student who is passionate in bringing awareness to sexual assault in hopes of creating change in Sri Lanka.

Riana Chatterjee

Ambassador, Blog Contributor

Riana Chatterjee is a current dual enrollment nursing student and High School senior. Her dream is to become a labor and maternity physician and deliver safe care to women in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology. As a survivor of sexual assault, she hopes to deliver patient-sensitive care to other survivors when dealing with the vulnerability of their vaginal health. Additionally, she hopes to open up a clinic in marginalized communities to deliver sexual education and opportunities for healthcare, especially for women of color. Riana believes dismantling the healthcare system's systematic discrimination towards women of color is a huge step towards attainable and safe healthcare for all.

Lidia Guillen

Ambassador, VBA Español

Growing up in a bi-lingual household instilled in Lidia a love of languages and culture, so at University she decided to study Spanish, German and French. Since then, she has lived in London, Miami, Berlin and Casablanca and has a range of work experience in many different areas. Lidia has travelled around Morocco visiting women's collectives and witnessed the life-changing impact of solidarity on disabled and other disadvantaged women. At the school where Lidia worked as a teacher in Berlin, she was a member of the collegial anti-racism team, regularly meeting with 3 other female colleagues to discuss and tackle discrimination in the workplace. As a feminist, and a sexual assault survivor herself, the camaraderie she finds in giving and receiving support from others is invaluable, and she strives to provide support whenever and wherever she can.

Ashwini Karunathilaka

Ambassador, VBA Sri Lanka

I’m a recent graduate holding a bachelor’s in Arts and Social Sciences, which helped me further understand the struggles faced by women daily. I am deeply passionate about the message put forth by Voices Beyond Assault as I come from an Asian country, where such topics are considered taboo, despite sexual and domestic violence being more common among the community now more than ever before. I believe that creating a safe space for all
survivors is a vital step in the healing process. My goal is to make as many people feel heard and understood.

Pearl Lin

Web Development Intern

Pearl is a high school student and an aspiring computer science major. She is the President of her school's chapter of Girls Who Code and enjoys introducing coding to new students. In her free time, she likes crocheting, creating fun Glitch projects, and jamming out to obscure Broadway musicals.

Voices Beyond Assault

Voices Beyond Assault

We are dedicated to supporting survivors of sexual assault across the globe. Join us in our journey.

Email:
info@voicesbeyondassault.org
Phone:
+1 (323) 949-7240

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