Gilbert A. Smith, CPA, PMP

Elected: 2022 Gilbert A. Smith, CPA, PMP, Management Professional, holds a Public Trust security clearance. Mr. Smith is a member of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc., the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Project Management Institute. Gilbert serves as Board Chair of Shiloh Legacy Bequest Fund and is on the Board of Victory Village Development Corporation. He served as an Executive Council member, Treasurer, and member of the Publications and Conference Committees of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He previously served as Chair of the Finance and Audit committee of ASALH, Chair of the Trustee Board and Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee of Shiloh Baptist Church, Chair of Victory Village Development Corporation, and Chair of Howard University Accounting Advisory Counsel. Gilbert is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Project Management Institute, and the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. In 2008, Gilbert was recognized as the Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year by the Metro Washington, DC Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. He formerly served as President of the Metro Washington, DC Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc., Treasurer for Emmaus Services for the Aging, Inc., Treasurer of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington, and member of the Greater Washington Urban League Finance Committee.

Faye Cobb

Elected Spring 2023

Faye Cobb recently joined the Board in March of 2023 to support My Sister’s Place and their mission to end violence and empower lives. She brings with her over 30 years of senior-level experience in budgeting, finance, and public policy within the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government. Currently, Faye serves as a Clerk on the Committee on Appropriations for the United State House of Representatives. In this role, she supports Members of Congress in the drafting of legislation that funds the federal government’s vital activities. Faye lives by the words of the great Shirley Chisholm, “service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth”. With that in mind, in addition to her official duties, Faye has served in a leadership capacity on several national nonprofit organizations, including Drifters, Incorporated.  Faye received a B.S. from the University of Maryland and was a previous fellow with the American Political Science Association.   

Sara Adland

Elected: Fall 2021 Principal, New Product Development, Strategy and Growth at UnitedHealth Group. Sara leads UHG’s new product development to improve Provider experience across the business. Prior to joining UHG in 2019 Sara spent 5 years at Planned Parenthood Federation of America leading their healthcare innovation and business development strategies and growth. As a healthcare executive Sara has worked in inpatient and ambulatory care settings as well as in Government Relations. Her career started on the Hill working for Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) during the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Sara is a native Washingtonian and holds an MPH from the University of Michigan and received her Bachelor of Arts from Haverford College.

Deborah Berkowitz

Elected: Winter 2022 Fellow at Georgetown University’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. She is a worker safety and health policy expert and recently created and directed the worker safety and health program at the non-profit National Employment Law Project. Her past positions include serving as chief of staff and then the senior policy advisor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2009-2105). Debbie was also the health and safety director at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the health and safety director of the Food and Allied Service Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. For over three decades, she has worked with national and state partners to develop successful policies and campaigns that improve conditions for vulnerable, low-wage workers in dangerous industries, including temporary workers.

Jenny Brody

Elected: Fall 2018 Partner, Brody Kling pllc Jenny Brody has practiced family law in Washington, DC for more than ten years. As the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, from 2008 to 2016, Ms. Brody provided legal assistance to hundreds of domestic violence survivors in Civil Protection Order cases, as well as in divorce, custody and child support matters. As a member of the DC Superior Court Counsel for Child Abuse and Neglect Panel, Ms. Brody represented children as a court-appointed Guardian ad litem and also represented adoptive parents in adoption petitions. Ms. Brody has devoted substantial time to improving the court system, as a participant in the DC Superior Court Domestic Relations and Domestic Violence Implementation Committees. She also played a role in promulgating Guardian ad litem Practice Standards, through the Council for Court Excellence and in DC Superior Court. Ms. Brody is a recognized expert in domestic violence and family law issues, presenting numerous training programs in these areas for lawyers, judges, social workers, medical professionals and domestic violence advocates. Prior to practicing family law, Ms. Brody worked in private practice, at Rogovin, Huge & Schiller and at Powers, Pyles & Sutter. She also served as an attorney at the United States Department of Justice, Civil Appellate Staff. She clerked for the Hon. Irving L. Goldberg, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Michelle A. Kisloff, Esq.

Elected: Fall 2007 General Counsel, Optum Health Michelle has served on our Board for nearly a decade and has been working on domestic violence issues and advocacy for more than 20 years. “In law school, I helped women go to court to obtain Civil Protective Orders in court. I quickly saw that the court orders are an important step, but women need more than legal help alone to get on their feet and away from their batterers. I was thrilled to connect with My Sister’s Place, which provides DV survivors and their children with a safe place to live and connects them with the counseling and social services they need. MSP makes a big impact on our community, and I am proud to be a part of it.”

Tameika Pop

Elected: Fall 2024

Tameika L Pope is a C-Suite Human Resources Executive with 30 years of experience and expertise in a portfolio of work focusing on the discipline of strategic human capital and talent management (recruitment, employee development, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, organization development consulting, corporate training, human resources policy, and executive coaching.) With a passion for “authentic leadership through self-awareness,” she aims to help others enhance their own personal and professional growth opportunities.

Currently, Tameika serves as The Deputy Director and Chief Human Resources Officer for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, DC, which has oversight responsibility for the United States Federal Reserve System, also known as the U.S. Central Bank. Under Tameika’s leadership, The Federal Reserve Board has received multiple awards including The World at Work Seal of Distinction for its commitment to programs, policies, and practices that promote workplace flexibility and employee recognition initiatives. The Manderson Graduate School of Business recognized The Board with their Corporate Partner Award, which recognizes employers who have significantly contributed to the professional advancement, growth, and development of their current students and graduates. The Board was also a finalist for the University of Miami’s Toppel Award in the category of Employer of the Year, which recognizes outstanding employers for their commitment to the university’s student career
education and personal career development. The Federal Reserve System has been named as one
of America’s top employers by Forbes Magazine, ranking 50th out of 500 organizations based on
feedback received from 30,000 U.S. workers employed by organizations with more than 5,000
staff members. Prior to her appointment to The Federal Reserve Board in 2012 by the first Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, Tameika held a variety of executive human resources roles to
include Vice President of Global Leaming and Development for Morgan Stanley, and Vice President of Global Organization Development and Leaming for Legg Mason Global Asset Management. Tameika’s expertise has been nationally recognized in several publications and media outlets including Essence Magazine, Diversity Woman Magazine, The SheSuite, and Women to Watch Media. She is professionally affiliated with The World Coach Institute and The Society for Human Resource Management, and she serves on Boards for both the Institute for Corporate Productivity (14CP,) and The Ethics and Compliance Initiative. She is also a member of Del~Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Living in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. with her husband and their two daughters, Tameika enjoys spending time with her family, going to the spa to de-stress, and going to the movies. In her plans for her life after The Fed, she intends to study world religions and develop an organization that will provide professional development coaching to women of color.

Rebecca Carr Rizzo

Elected: Winter 2022, Special Counsel, Pillsbury Law. Rebecca Carr Rizzo counsels clients to ensure compliance and avoid litigation and investigates and defends clients against discrimination, harassment, retaliation and whistleblower claims. Rebecca also counsels clients on and litigates employment contracts, including non-competition agreements.

Michael Sahakian

Elected: Spring 2023 

Michael Sahakian is a Regional Investment Advisory Manager for the Greater Washington and Maryland regions within the Foundations and Endowments Specialty Practice. Since joining in 2015, he has provided leadership and oversight to the Investment Advisory and Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) roles for clients and team members. Michael is responsible for the articulation and implementation of the disciplined and consistent investment process employed by the Foundations and Endowments Specialty Practice in the Greater Washington and Maryland geographies. Over his 25-year career, he has held leading and senior investment positions including investment management for institutional type of accounts, consultative type services for retirement oriented accounts, specialist for OCIO services for institutional/not for profit clients and director of client service and marketing for a small regional equity boutique. 

Along with joining the Board of My Sister’s Place in 2023, Michael has served as the chair of the investment committee for the St. Mary’s Apostolic Church in Washington, DC for the past 10 years, and is currently a board member for Montgomery County Community College, located in Gaithersburg, MD. He holds a B.S. in Major Business Administration/Finance from the University of Richmond and a Master of Business Administration in Investments/Finance from George Washington University. 

Elaine Scivetti

Elected: Spring 2023 

Elaine Scivetti is a business lawyer with over 20 years of transactional experience. She focuses her practice on commercial finance across various industries, with an emphasis on financing in the healthcare, real estate, and manufacturing sectors. She represents commercial banks and other lending institutions in a variety of complex commercial lending transactions, including asset-based, cash-flow, and securitizing financings. In addition, she represents borrowers in connection with acquisition loans and unsecured and secured general purpose / working capital borrowings and recapitalizations.

Elaine began her career as a traditional corporate lawyer, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and related stockholder and contract matters. She continues to represent clients on general business matters, including structuring complex transactions and negotiating commercial contracts. While in law school, she served as executive director of the Boston University Law Review. She holds a JD from the Boston University School of Law and a BBA from James Madison University.

Bailey Williams

Elected: Summer 2018 Associate Director, Savills Studley Bailey Williams joined the Board in 2018 to help create and support safe environments for women who are seeking an escape from dangerous situations. “As the father of two girls, I want to be an example for them, and support healthy homes and relationships that are free of violence.” Bailey is a native Washingtonian, and an Associate Director at Savills Studley, a commercial real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents tenants. He serves the real estate needs of law firms, non-profits, associations and technology companies nationwide. Bailey received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Amherst College and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.