EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
Steve is a C-suite marketing executive. He is noted for producing global, strategic viral success stories. Steve helmed STORM FILMS the content agency that produced the famed Budweiser Whassup campaign. He’s run global Advertising accounts for L’Oreal, P&G, Toyota, McDonald’s, Kraft foods and Verizon.
Steve is also an Emmy nominated writer/film director/DP. His entertainment work includes developing and writing for Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, and Nickelodeon.
Steve has mentored and trained hundreds of mentees through mindful exercises and practices. His core belief is people can evolve when there is purpose, meaning, and a sense of service.
SHEILA CONNER- Chief Operating Officer
Sheila is a highly experienced and accomplished COO with over 30 years of experience leading and growing businesses across multiple industries. She has a proven track record of driving operational excellence and increasing profitability. Her extensive experience in strategic planning, financial management, and operational processes has enabled her to develop and implement successful strategies that have enabled organizations to reach their full potential. Sheila has a passion for building teams, driving process improvement, and delivering results. She is an expert in developing and maintaining effective relationships with customers, vendors, and stakeholders.
OPERATING BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kevin is the president and founder of K Group, a full-service qualitative consumer research company founded in 1992. Prior to K Group, Kevin worked for nine years at Proctor and Gamble/Richardson Vicks. He has extensive graduate studies in Marriage and family therapy, an M.S. in Statistics, and a B.S. in Mathematics.
Kevin is the rare mix of left brain and right brain thinker. He introduces a unique energetic style into facilitating that is unmatched in the industry. Kevin loves to bring in new techniques and approaches that help peel back the onion. He has brought his innovative research approach to several industries.
Michael began his career inside the halls of justice defending the rights of individuals as an attorney in criminal matters, civil rights cases, and civil litigation in the administrative, municipal, state, and federal courts in New Jersey.
For over 13 years, Michael has been a consultant with SSP Blue, a leading advisory firm for online Safety, Security, and Privacy challenges facing corporations, governments, and individuals worldwide. He has served as an independent assessor of human rights, privacy, freedom of expression, and safety.
Michael is an Advisor to Veepio, a technology company that developed an SDK that integrates seamlessly into mobile applications allowing fans to interact with photos and video content to explore information, purchase fan gear, or learn more about sponsors. He was instrumental in the company’s partnership with Philadelphia Eagles.
Michael served as President of ‘nPLAY for eight years. This foundation focused on childhood obesity awareness and created a coalition of 40 active and retired professional athletes to develop programs for physical activity and nutrition for children. Michael serves on the Board of Directors of The Collab-Orators, an organization that teaches women and youth from high-need communities the 21st-century skills necessary to succeed in this new era.
Michael earned his Juris Doctorate from New York Law School, served as Law Clerk to the Honorable John S. Triarsi of the Superior Court of New Jersey, and received a Bachelor’s degree in History from The George Washington University.
Lionel (Leigh) Knight is the founder and president of an international development consulting firm, LK Unlimited (LKU). LKU provides financial advisory services and capacity building to financial institutions, development organizations, governmental agencies and private sector enterprises in transitional economies and emerging markets both internationally and within the United States the urban, rural, and Native American communities.
Mr. Knight has been engaged globally on projects funded by US Department of Treasury, Chemical Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB), European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and African Development Bank, among other development finance funding institutions.
Mr. Knight’s advisory engagements have included: Financial Institution Strategic and Business Planning; Access to Capital; Credit Policy Development; Loan Portfolio Review, Risk Assessment and Management, Financial Product Development; SME Financial Services Development; Capital Markets Development; Enterprise Valuation; Privatization Advisory; Enterprise Restructuring; Competitiveness Analysis; Economic and Sector Assessments. In the capacity building arena, Mr. Knight has developed and delivered training on Credit Risk Assessment, Portfolio Management, Problem Loan Management, Operating a Community Development Financial Institution, Conducting Financial Projections of a Community Development Financial Institution, Financial and Bank Analysis for Technical Assistance Providers, Business Planning, Company Valuation and Appraisals, Angel Investing, Small Business Planning and Financing and Financial Literacy Training.
The following are the transitional and emerging markets that Mr. Knight has been engaged as a consultant: Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Republic of Georgia, Macedonia, and Ukraine; Sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana, Cote D’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe; Middle East & North Africa: Jordan, Egypt, and Tunisia; Asia: Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Indonesia and Mongolia; Central and South America: Belize and Costa Rica.
Prior to founding LKU, Mr. Knight enjoyed a distinguished 16-year banking career at Chase Manhattan Bank and First National Bank of Chicago, respectively (currently merged as JP Morgan Chase Bank) as a Vice President- Global Corporate Finance Executive and Trade Finance banker. In these roles, he provided financial services including acquisition, expansion and working capital and structured trade financing for clients. Mr. Knight’s clients included international Fortune 500 companies based in the US and the US subsidiaries of Japanese, Taiwanese, and European based chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Immediately following his banking career, Mr. Knight was the Co-founder and Managing Director of the Africa America Group, a private equity firm that invested in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr. Knight is a graduate of Villanova University with a BA in Liberal Arts/Social Sciences and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He currently resides in New York City and is an avid photographer, swimmer, cyclist, and art collector.
