MEET OUR FOUNDER
Karen Newsome
Karen Newsome is a Parent Coach and a certified Group Leader of the Chicago Parent Program. She has facilitated various parenting programs for over 20 years and served on boards of organizations focused on supporting parents and children. She has provided parent training to parents at Baltimore City Schools, Catholic Charities, The Family Tree, Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Alfred Street Baptist Church, and Prince George’s County Schools.
Karen served on the Advisory Board for Moms Mentoring Moms and U2Can. She completed training in the following: Common Sense Parenting Program; Active Parenting Today Leader Training; Strong Parents, Strong Children Parent Educator Program, and the Positive Parenting Program.
She is the Founder and Executive Director of Purpose Parenting Inc, a nonprofit organization. Karen has a BS in Biology and MA in Human Resource Management.
MEET OUR BOARD MEMBERS
Dr. Valerie Garcia
Dr. Valerie Garcia is an Assistant Professor of Medical Education at Morehouse School of Medicine, where she merges her background in Psychology (Florida A&M University- BS, MS) and Biobehavioral Health (Penn State- Ph.D.) to better understand the bi-directional relationship between mental and physical health. She is an advocate for the protection and improvement of Black women’s health. Her research is focused on understanding the social, cultural, environmental, and structural determinants of chronic disease disparities, and the development of culturally appropriate health interventions using the PEN-3 Cultural Model.
Chelsi Chang
Bio coming soon
Sidney Carter
Sidney Carter-Wong is a Policy Analyst in the Duty to Serve program at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where they contribute to policy development, credit score and market analyses, and oversight of Enterprise performance. Before joining the Duty to Serve team, Mrs. Carter-Wong served as a Policy Analyst in the Office of Fair Lending Oversight, supporting fair‑lending monitoring, policy analysis, and initiatives that promote equitable and nondiscriminatory access to housing finance. Prior to entering federal service, she worked as a criminal defense attorney in Tallahassee, Florida, representing clients across a range of felony and misdemeanor matters. Their combined legal and policy experience supports their work in advancing sustainable access to financing for underserved markets and informing cross‑divisional affordable housing initiatives. Outside of work, she enjoys playing tennis, watching movies and television, and supporting Arsenal FC.
Robert Merry IV
Bio coming soon
MEET OUR ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
Gwen Clavon
Gwen Clavon is the Chief Operating Officer at BlackLynx Technologies. She has over 30 years of experience in government and commercial industry. Gwen received a Bachelor of Art in Political Science from University of Maryland Baltimore County; Master of Science, Computer Systems Management with a concentration in Information System Management and an MBA from University of Maryland. Gwen currently volunteers as the Food Branch Director for Tree of Life Ministries, she is a STEM mentor working to increase the presence of minorities and women in the technology Industry.
Father John Mudd
Father John Mudd has been a priest for over 40 years serving as Pastor, Associate Pastor and Assistant Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Social Development. He continues to be active in urban and social justice arenas and provides pastoral services to many communities. He established a Development Office and built a firm base of individual, corporate and foundation support for Archbishop Carroll High School and continues to assist with fundraising.