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Meet The Board 

88 Unity Street Foundation is only possible because of our wonderful board members and their innovative ideas, commitment to inclusion and a willingness to make a difference.

Jackie Bertolette
Chief Executive Officer - CEO 
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Jackie is a lifelong advocate for inclusion and community. As an Editorial Fashion Photographer, she has spent her career advocating for a broader casting protocol in the fashion industry. She also operates from the core belief that beauty is in all humans and has written a bestselling book about just that, inner beauty. The Mission-Heartening Your Inner Beauty is a collection of inspiring stories of real models in the fashion industry who have overcome adversity and found their inner beauty through modeling. Jackie also promotes 100% diversity and inclusion in all facets of her fashion empire from her publication, Haute Ohio Magazine to her model management firm, DMSM and Ohio Fashion Week.

Laura Gorka
Chief Administrative Officer - CAO
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Laura Gorka serves as Chief Administrative Officer, assisting CEO Jackie Bertolette on day-to-day management of the Executive office in Ohio. Laura has applied her BA in Business and Organizational Communications in retail and non-profit organizations to help them streamline how they meet their goals.Laura comes to the mission of 88 Unity Street to help establish and build the organization so that it is prepared to support the Inclusion movement. 

Kathy Mayfield
Chief Financial Officer - CFO
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Kathy Mayfield is a tax accountant at Mayfield Consulting Services, LLC. She retired from the Internal Revenue Service in 2010, she took a leap of faith, started her own company, and never looked back. She has over 20 yrs. experience in accounting, financial and business consulting, tax preparation and tax law. Kathy is founder and CEO of Garfield Youth Empowerment Group, an organization geared towards keeping our youth engaged in positive activities while also giving them a platform where they can be heard and express themselves freely. She is also a girls basketball coach at Bedford City Schools, the official bookkeeper for men's basketball at Garfield Heights High school, and a DMSM model. Kathy is a native of Cleveland and a graduate of Ohio University. She has one son, Charles, a student- athlete in his third year of college.

LaShawn Conner
Chief Operations Officer - COO
With the position of Chief Operations Officer comes much responsibility and hard work. LaShawn will dedicate myself to this position and work hard to help build a more diverse and equal opportunity for all. Opening new doors will be his main focus and new opportunities for our growing community. All while going by our mission statement and bylaws at 88 Unity Place. Let’s grow together and make a difference. 

Kandi Robbins
Chief Inclusion Officer - CIO
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Kandi Robbins has been very active in the Cleveland community as a volunteer for The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Arthritis Foundation, The American Heart Association, Cleveland Public Theater and many more. She has also been published as a model in numerous magazines and walked many runways, including OHFW and NYFW. She is also a budding actress, having been in seven movies, to date, including productions for Netflix, Peacock and Universal. She has a daily blog, Kandi's Land (www.kandis-land.com) and is active in the support of her fellow trans and bi-gendered ladies. And she also has a day job!  

Vicky DePiore
Chief Marketing Officer - CMO
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Vicky is an HR professional with over 35 years of experience in numerous industries. Along with her generalist spirit, she has morphed into a person with a passion and excellence in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion field and has won awards being recognized by her peers by receiving the Diversity Award of NE Ohio by the Cleveland Society of Human Resource Management (CSHRAM). While using this passion, she held the position of VP of Diversity and Inclusion for the Cleveland Society of Human Resources for 5 years. Vicky has a BS in Industrial Relations from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s Degree in Labor Relations and Human Resources from Cleveland State University. She holds the certifications of Senior Professional in Human Resources, Global Professional in Human Resources and the Society for Human Resources Management – Senior Certified Professional. In addition, she holds the designation of Professional Coach from the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy). Vicky has been successful in making large changes in the field of diversity and inclusion by increasing the diverse ranks, processes and policies in a Fortune 100 company by 25%. She administered many tasks and projects to increase visibility of the company, embed herself and the company in diverse communities, and helped the employees understand the mission of diversity and inclusion for our world. She also manages her daughter, Olivia DePiore, who is an international model who advocates for inclusion all over the world. Olivia has also won awards for her inclusion efforts and her mantra is “advocate for inclusion…one runway at a time”. Vicky lives in Twinsburg, Ohio, with her husband, John, and her daughter, Olivia.

Olivia DePiore
Chief Research Officer - CRO
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Skylar Bertolette
Chief Development Officer - CDO

Dawn Kendrick
Chief Communications Officer - CCO
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The Good Stuff Family is Dawn Kendrick’s multimedia platform connecting businesses and private sponsors with good people doing exceptional things. We are a network of people who produce genuine stories that uplift, encourage and inspire. They are stories told through the lens of a repurposed news reporter who built a following that spans 30 years in four cities. Together, we offer an antidote to the evening news with a phenomenal cast of characters who rise up with personal stories of compassion, charity, faith and strength. Most recently, Dawn worked as a reporter for NBC’s Channel 3 News where she conceptualized The Good Stuff, producing exclusive stories with her signature style of storytelling on the 11PM newscasts. Her stories have been picked up by multiple national media outlets including NBC Nightly News and USA Today. She is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Dawn is an active supporter throughout Northeast Ohio for programs designed to better the lives of individuals and entire communities. She is so proud to be named Cleveland’s 2021 Top 10 Kindland Draft Picks by The Values In Action Foundation. In 2019, one of her favorite organizations, The Andy Nowacki Scholarship Fund, named Dawn an “Andy’s Hero” for her The Good Stuff Family brand of stories. The Ohio State Pharmacists Association presented Dawn with The 2016 Broadcast Media Award for “Kevin’s Story”. Some of Dawn’s speaking, emcee, and philanthropical engagements include: • Ohio Innocence Project • Super Heroes To Kids In Ohio • Fellowship of Christian Athletes • Greater Cleveland Police Memorial Service • Downtown Cleveland Alliance • Cleveland Hero’s Run • RHIZO Kids Ohio Chapter • Save A Smile Foundation • T2T Tunnel To Towers Run, Medina • Friends of the Cleveland Animal Shelter/City Dogs • Cornerstone of Hope • Lake County Humane Black Cat Ball • Deepwood Foundation For Developmental Disabilities • Hunger Network All About the Bag Fundraiser • Andy Nowacki Scholarship Foundation/Heroes For Andy Gala • Cleveland Police Foundation Greater Cleveland International Tattoo • GiGi’s Playhouse • A Prom To Remember • Alive Inside/Rock Against Dementia • Greater Cleveland Food Bank Celebrity Waiter • Pediatric Brain Tumor Ride for Kids • WELD Women for Economic and Leadership Development • Ronald McDonald House Wine, Women and Shoes • Badges For Bullies • Emily Jerry Foundation • Carolyn Farrell Foundation/Center For Artful living If you’d like to contact Dawn for a speaking engagement, partnership inquiries, or just to connect, please email her at dawn@thegoodstufffamily.com

Evelyn Smith 
Chief of Funding Development - CFD
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Chrystal Carlgren
Chief of Acquisitions for Grants & Funding - CAG
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