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Kilsys Payamps-Roure is the Founding Executive Director of Braven in New York City. In this role, she leads strategy, management, and the development of key partnerships with universities, employers, and stakeholders to support underrepresented young people, particularly first-generation college students and students from low-income backgrounds. Prior to joining Braven, Kilsys held leadership positions at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and Enterprise Community Partners, where she played pivotal roles in organizational strategy and workforce development programs. She has a B.B.A. in Accounting from Hofstra University(THE ORG)(NYC Employment Coalition)(NYC Employment Coalition).
As CEO of The Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education Group (The CAFE Group), Liz Thompson is deeply engaged in the social innovation and philanthropic communities. The CAFE Group provides financial and programmatic support to Leaders of Color whose proximity to current and historic challenges in education allows them to influence philanthropic decisions and create meaningful and relevant solutions. By leveraging lived experiences and the genius within our communities, The CAFE Group creates a glidepath from College Intern to Established Leader designed to catalyze lasting systemic change.
Liz began working with nonprofits in 1993 as founding Executive Director of City Year Chicago, a national service organization that was the template for the AmeriCorps Program. Then in 1995, Liz served as Executive Director of Family Star Montessori School in Denver, where she led a multi-million dollar expansion of their Early Head Start program. In 1998, she became active with nonprofit boards in the San Diego area, which further fueled her interest in philanthropy and education. Before following her passion in the nonprofit sector, Liz had a successful ten-year career with Ameritech Corporation after having received an Electrical Engineering degree from Purdue University.
In addition to her commitment to serving students, professionals, and communities, Liz and her husband, Don Thompson, are co-founders of the investment firm Cleveland Avenue, LLC. Cleveland Avenue provides financial resources, expertise, and individual support to entrepreneurs to grow and scale their businesses. Their collective work was highlighted by World Business Chicago through their Corporate Ambassador Award, by Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center with their Innovator Award for Social Impact, and most recently by the Chicago History Museum with their Jane Addams Award for Distinction in Social Service.
Liz is currently a Director of the Lamar Advertising Corporation and a Director for Chicago Public Media/WBEZ. She is a National Director for Braven and Chairman of Braven’s Chicago Board. She serves on the board of the Partnership for College Completion, and as Special Advisor to OneGoal.
Liz is an alumnus of the Nonprofit Leadership Program of Denver and Leadership Greater Chicago, where she served on the Board for ten years. Liz is a past Trustee of the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Liz received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology where she was the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2023. She was recognized The Chicago Urban League as the Lester H. McKeever Jr. Individual Service Award Recipient, by Chicago Statue University with the 2023 Cougar Servant Leadership Award in Education Equity, as an IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy 2023 Black Women Give Back Honoree, an inaugural Crain’s Chicago Business’ Women of Note and is a member of the distinguished Aspen Institute’s Pahara Fellowship. She has received the Chicago Public Media’s Amplifier Award, YWCA Chicago’s Community Leadership Award, the Outstanding Community Leader Award from The Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Dream Builders Award from the Chicago Child Care Society, and the John J. Dugan Award from OneGoal. She was featured in Make It Better Magazine as one of Chicago’s Top Black Women of Impact. She has appeared as a keynote speaker for the Grantmaker’s for Education Conference, The Walton Family Foundation, the National Center on Family Philanthropy, the Forefront Annual Luncheon, the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, and the Chicago Venture Summit.
Liz has been married to Don for 30 years. They have two adult children and live in the southwest area of metropolitan Chicago.
Portia Blunt is the Sr. Vice President of Global Product at Reebok. She currently leads the global Product teams to drive product excellence across all product categories as well as the overarching creative direction for the brand. Her teams are responsible for apparel, footwear product marketing, design, creative direction, and are the center of product creation for the brand.
Before being named Vice President of Global Apparel at Reebok she served as Director of Apparel Operations at New Balance, leading the functional areas of innovation, material design and global integrated operations. During her 13-year tenure, she held a variety of roles in the apparel business, including leading innovation, where she was responsible for ideating, visioning and implementing new product for commercial concepts.
At New Balance, Blunt also served as a member of the Diversity Council, where she was instrumental in the development of the current diversity, equity and inclusion strategy for the brand. She led the creation of their employee resource & affinity group framework and has been a fierce champion for diversity and inclusion efforts throughout her career. Today at Reebok she has also assumed the leadership role over Reebok’s social impact initiatives such as the Human Rights Award program, and Human Rights Now Platform that falls within the companies United Against Racism umbrella of community and DE&I efforts.
Portia was honored by the Black Footwear Forum with the 2024 Women’s Icon Award, for her work and advocacy of women in the industry. In 2022 Portia was included in the Women in Retail Top Women in Retail list and over the past few years Footwear News named Blunt one of the “Trailblazing Black Leaders in Footwear and Fashion.” As well as being named on the Business Insiders 2020 “POWER LIST of Persons of Color Transforming the Sneaker Industry.”
Portia began her career in apparel design with the U.S. Marine Corps in Quantico, VA where she was responsible for designing men’s and women’s uniforms. She holds degrees in Clothing and Textiles with a focus in Apparel Design from Virginia Tech. Portia resides in Clifton VA, with her husband and two sons.
Aliyah Saleem is the Founder of Hope for Health & Hygiene. She’s inspired to build a future where no one has to choose between food and basic hygiene necessities. H4HH directly tackles the intersecting issues of poverty and health. By providing essential hygiene products and promoting hygiene education, the organization contributes to improving the quality of life for individuals facing hygiene poverty. Additionally, by advocating for systemic change and challenging the perception of hygiene products as “luxury items,” H4HH aims to create a more equitable society where everyone has access to the resources necessary for good health and well-being. Through this experience, she has come to understand the importance of public service and its power to create positive change. Aliyah recently graduated from Rutgers University Newark, majoring in Public and Nonprofit Administration and minoring in Health and Society. Previously, she has interned at the U.S. House of Representatives in the office of Representative Nydia Velázquez, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine and TE Connectivity. She is a 2023 Rutgers University – Newark SPAA Service Awardee, 2022 Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service Recipient, Johnson & Johnson Pathway to Success participant, Former New Jersey Orator (Plainfield Chapter), Vital Voices: Grassroots Voices Fellow, and Johnson & Johnson Bridge to Employment Alumna. She resides in Plainfield, New Jersey, and has a history of volunteering for several organizations. Ms. Saleem has dedicated well over 300 hours of community service. She is inspired to lead, educate, and empower others, take on new challenges, and make a lasting impact in communities worldwide.
Ken Ohashi is a highly-regarded industry executive with over two decades of experience in fashion, consumer products, retail and business development. In his role as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ohashi leverages his vast expertise to provide strategic, financial and operational leadership for Brooks Brothers, a $800M brand with 600-plus retail doors worldwide. He works closely with the brand’s Board of Directors, senior leadership and international network of partners to drive the global business.
Prior to joining Brooks Brothers, Mr. Ohashi was President of International and Global Retail for Authentic Brands Group (ABG), leading the brand management, business development and marketing of ABG’s $4 billion portfolio of iconic and world-renowned brands outside the U.S. Additionally, Mr. Ohashi oversaw the formation of SPARC Group, a joint venture between ABG and Simon Property Group that supports 3,600-plus retail doors and shop-in-shops, a leading eCommerce platform and $4.7 billion in global retail sales annually.
Before ABG, Mr. Ohashi was Senior Vice President of International and Global Licensing for Aéropostale, where he was responsible for overseeing the brand’s business development, merchandising, planning, corporate and store operations. Under Mr. Ohashi’s leadership, the brand’s international business experienced tremendous growth. In less than five years, Aéropostale expanded into new markets across Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America and opened over 300 stores in 17 countries. Prior to his role as SVP, Mr. Ohashi served as Aéropostale’s Vice President of Investor and Media Relations. In this role, Mr. Ohashi managed the company’s $3 billion market cap, as well as relationships with over 30 equity research analysts, the company’s shareholders, media and Board of Directors. Mr. Ohashi first joined Aéropostale in 2002 to transition the company from privately held to publicly traded. He played a core role on the team that led the company through its $275 million initial public offering.
Before joining Aéropostale, Mr. Ohashi spent several years in Arthur Andersen LLP’s Business Assurance and Advisory Group, where he specialized in audit and consulting to retail, fashion, advertising and pharmaceutical companies. Mr. Ohashi’s work has been recognized by some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. In February 2010, Mr. Ohashi was ranked first in Institutional Investor (II) Magazine’s annual Wall Street survey in the ‘Best Investor Relations Officer’ category, and was named to the publication’s 2010, 2011 and 2012 All-American Executive teams. In February 2011, Mr. Ohashi was also named “Best IRO” in the mid-cap 400 by Bloomberg and Investor Relations Magazine. In 2015, Mr. Ohashi was also named one of 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business by the Asian American Business Development Center.
Mr. Ohashi also serves on the Board of Delivering Good, which is a non-profit organization that connects fashion and consumer product companies with victims of poverty and natural disasters. To date the organization has collected over $2 billion in new product from over 500+ companies to support those in need.
Sam Lalanne is a Managing Director and Chief Diversity Officer at Morgan Stanley. As Chief Diversity Officer, Sam works with leaders across the Firm on innovative strategies for attracting, advancing, and retaining top diverse talent. In addition, Sam is the Head of Strategy for the Institute for Inclusion, leading the critical work of the Institute in supporting internal diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts, driving equity in education and careers, and investing in diverse communities and businesses.
Prior to his current role, Sam was the Head of D&I for the Institutional Securities Group (ISG), Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), and International. In this role, Sam served as a strategic partner and trusted advisor across institutional businesses, and integrated regional initiatives across the global footprint to deliver to our colleagues, our communities, and our clients.
Sam joined Morgan Stanley in 2019 from Citi where he had a distinguished career spanning 19 years. During his tenure, Sam held leadership positions in the Talent & Diversity, Institutional Client, and Private Banking organizations.
Sam holds his B.S. in Finance from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and two daughters.
Yaa Boakye, MBA, RDN, LPT, CPT, is a dedicated health and wellness professional with over a decade of coaching experience. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, followed by a Certificate in Nutrition and Dietetics from Dominican University and a dietetic internship at the University of Chicago Ingalls Memorial Hospital. She recently completed her MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Currently, Yaa is a Product Manager at Medline Industries, where she oversees a multi-million-dollar vitamins and supplements portfolio. In addition to her professional role, she is a 4x Braven leadership coach at CCNY and a newly appointed Board Member of Polaris Charter Academy on the West Side of Chicago.
Prior to her current role, Yaa contributed to the development of a 0-1 stealth health tech product as a Consultant at Walmart Store No. 8. Before that, she was a Sales and Implementation Consultant at Ortho Molecular Products, focusing on their supplement patient education arm, LMRC.
