Community Initiatives

Who We Are

Break the Cycle Staff

Amy Sánchez – Chief Executive Officer

Vanesa Perez – Operations & Finance Manager

Jasmine Uribe – Chief Program Officer

Melissa Garcia – Social Impact & Partnership Manager

Policy and Legal Services

Washington, DC

Tamiaya Mosesly – Managing Attorney

Nicole Beck – Staff Attorney

Los Angeles, CA

Amy Lee – Managing Attorney

Aila Ferguson – Staff Attorney

Board of Directors

Kathy Beiser is senior vice president and chief communications officer for Kaiser Permanente. In this role, she provides leadership, management and oversight of communications strategy, policy and performance for communications activities across the organization and co-leads the development of the organization’s brand and reputation management strategy. She has oversight of public relations, media relations, internal communications, executive communications and issues management functions. Beiser joined Kaiser Permanente in January 2018 and is a member of the national executive team, reporting directly to Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and chief executive officer. Beiser has worked across a broad range of global industries during her nearly 30-year career, including hospitality, financial services, health care, professional services and consumer products. Her experience as both a chief communications officer and public relations agency executive has included developing campaigns to shape organizational culture and drive performance, leading corporate reputation programs, serving as a corporate spokesperson, facilitating complex financial transactions, and managing issues and crises. Most recently, Beiser served as global chair of the corporate practice at Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations firm. Before that, she was executive vice president of corporate communications for Hilton Worldwide, where she was responsible for global corporate and brand communications, executive positioning and corporate responsibility. Her experience also includes nearly 20 years with some of the world’s leading public relations firms, where she specialized in highly regulated industries such as health care and financial services. Beiser serves on the board of Break the Cycle, a nonprofit organization aimed at ending domestic violence and promoting healthy relationships among teenagers, and is a member of the Northern California chapter of the International Women’s Forum. She also has served as a trustee of the Arthur W. Page Society, the professional organization of chief communications officers, and the Institute for Public Relations. Beiser holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University and a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern.

Dionne Smith Coker-Appiah, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She received a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a Master’s degree in Counselor Education at Wake Forest University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology at the University of Virginia. She completed a psychology internship at The Ohio State University and completed postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Coker-Appiah has been a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry since 2008.

Jonda K. Martin is the President and Owner of Cable Data Corporation, a data collector on cable systems’ statements of accounts filed with the Licensing Division of the Copyright Office. During her 25 years of working at CDC, she has actively been involved in all aspects of the company, including research, data-entry, report generation, data analysis and administration. Jonda received a Bachelor of Science/Business Administration degree from American University in Washington, D.C., with concentrations in international business and management of information systems. She has also received an MBA from the University of Maryland. On a semi-annual basis, Jonda testifies as an expert witness before the Congressional Copyright Royalty court (formerly known as the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (“CARP”) regarding data collection and data analysis methodologies as it pertains to the distribution of copyright royalties paid by cable and satellite companies.

Sharyn Micheli is the administrative director of the Emerging Businesses group for The Allstate Corporation, the second-largest personal lines insurer in the U.S. and the largest that is publicly held. The group is comprised multiple business units and contributes approximately $5 billion in annual revenue to The Allstate Corporation. As the administrative director, Sharyn manages the program management office, governance oversight, technology portfolio planning and cybersecurity, resource and expense management, sales incentive compensation programs and sponsorships/fundraising for the company’s annual Sprint and Stride race. She joined Allstate in 1992, serving in other financial and strategic roles in the organization. Sharyn began in Personal Lines Finance where she led several teams including claims, underwriting, sales, and distribution as well as FP&A (financial planning and analysis). She also worked in Allstate Investments, LLC where she led the strategy team and managed incentive compensation plans, relative performance investment analysis and benchmarking, resource management, succession planning, and business communications. Prior to joining Allstate, Sharyn worked for Ogilvy & Mather Advertising as an account executive. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Communications and earned an MBA in Finance from Georgia State University.

Jane Randel is Co-President of Karp Randel LLC, a social responsibility consultancy, and a co-founder of NO MORE, (nomore.org). Ms. Randel is currently serving as a consultant to the NFL and NASCAR as they look to address issues of domestic violence and sexual assault within their organizations as well as in service to the public at large. Ms. Randel was Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Brand Services at Kate Spade & Company. She led corporate, business and crisis media relations, managed the annual report and oversaw internal communications, including the corporate intranet. Ms. Randel spearheaded Love Is Not Abuse and served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fifth & Pacific Foundation (now the Kate Spade & Company Foundation) until December 2014. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape/National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s Honorary Board and the immediate-past President of the Board of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. In 2005, Ms. Randel was named one of 21 Leaders for the 21st Century by WomensEnews; in 2006, she was included on the Crain’s New York Business list of “40 under 40;” in 2009 she was honored by the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York for her work on teen dating abuse; and in 2012 she received the Hero with a Heart Award from the Joyful Heart Foundation. Ms. Randel also co-authored an award-winning paper, “Coming into the Light: Intimate Partner Violence and Its Effects at Work” with Anne O’Leary-Kelly, Emily Lean, Carol Reeves of the University of Arkansas School Department of Management at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. Ms. Randel is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and lives in New Jersey with her husband and three sons. Jane serves as the President of Break the Cycle’s Board of Directors.

Teresa Huang was raised to be a doctor but born to be an artist. A genuine MIT graduate, she gave up problem sets and thermodynamics to become a writer, actor, and producer. Her parents are still scratching their heads. Teresa recently wrote her first produced episode of television for SUPERSTITION on SYFY. Her short story collection HEARTBORN is available at Amazon and her sci-fi romance novel is coming soon. As an actor, she has made numerous television appearances, including CRIMINAL MINDS, GREY”S ANATOMY, and RIZZOLI & ISLES, though she is best known for playing Kimmie, Eddie Izzard’s assistant on THE RICHES on FX. Her superpowers include powernapping, parallel parking, and spending too much money at farmer’s markets.

Daniel Herndon is a strategist and principal of branding agency MilesHerndon. He is a speaker and author sharing thoughts on brand strategy, innovation, and charcuterie. His background includes trading metals, commercial insurance sales, and playing in a touring rock band. He started his practice in marketing and brand consulting over a decade ago when he started a record label, and later a branding agency Redwall, which soon became MilesHerndon. Today, MilesHerndon is based in Indianapolis, IN and focuses on brand strategy, brand marketing, and brand voice. Daniel is among those recognized in Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40”, he is also co-author of Facebook All In One For Dummies (Wiley Publishing, 2012), a regular blogger, and national public speaker. He has consulted corporations and nonprofits on brand strategy and messaging, notably including the national NO MORE campaign, and organizations in the fields of public health, education, and more. Daniel enjoys visiting trendy restaurants with his wife Carrie, cycling, and pretending to be gluten-free. In his spare time he studies philosophy, charcuterie, and other cured meats. He’s a devout bourbon enthusiast but religiously abstains from soda. Follow him on twitter if you’re interested in that sort of thing.

Latoya Pousa is an educator, writer, speaker, doula, and lifelong learner. She infuses her passion for diversity and social justice into her everyday life. Her commitment to serving those without a voice grew out of her personal experiences while navigating trauma and abuse from a young age. She has partnered with various organizations in Charlotte, North Carolina that advocate for reproductive justice, education, equity, domestic violence and sexual assault awareness and prevention, homelessness, and mental health awareness to name a few. Much of her work has been centered around educating, empowering, and supporting young people. Believing in the power of a single story, she has used spoken word poetry to highlight the pervasiveness of injustice and propel her audience into action. She is currently writing an autobiographical book of poetry and short stories about overcoming obstacles and “breaking the cycle.” She earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work degree from the University if North Carolina at Charlotte and works in educational leadership.

John W. Micheli serves as Senior Vice President of Enterprise Services, where he oversees approximately 2,300 domestic and offshore resources encompassing Enterprise Programs Strategy & Implementation, Enterprise Operational Services, Enterprise Centers & Solutions, ABO Integration & Global Delivery Transition, and Pune Operations. In his 30+ years with Allstate, John has held positions in the Field as well as Home Office, primarily in the areas of Finance and Strategy. He began his career in the New York Metro Region, moving to positions of increasing responsibility in many parts of the organization. John was the Controller of Allstate New Jersey, then moved to Encompass as the Vice President of Finance and Strategy. From there he went to Emerging Business, where he led the acquisition of the Partnership Marketing Group, and then on to the role of CFO of the Protection organization. John helped form the Strategic Operations group and, before coming to Operations, led the work on Allstate’s Cost Structure initiative. John received his BA in Economics from the University of New York at Stony Brook and his MBA in Finance and Investments from Adelphi University.