Meet our Board Members
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Sesheida Danielle Young, Chair
Sesheida is a dedicated entertainer and instructor, providing social conscious awareness through artistic performance, spiritual enlightenment, education and community betterment via inclusivism. She is an honored member of the International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute (IBWPPI); currently the Young Ambassador Fellow of Special Programs. Sesheida, is contracted with the Howard University Chapel Choir, teaches at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and is a past background vocalist for several Stellar Award winners and nationally-televised shows. She continues to perform solo with her own band receiving recognition by numerous music venues and hosts. As a lyricist, she writes her own music & publications. She aspires to be a successful entertainer, enlightened educator, and dedicated philanthropist. Sesheida, has received degrees from Virginia State University in Vocal Performance and Choral Education as well as a Master of Arts in Religious Studies Degree from Howard University School of Divinity, concentrating in Social Justice and Ethics. She is on the Pan African Young Adult committee with Bread for the World (BREAD).
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Dr. Khandra Tyler-Beynum, Vice Chair
Dr. Khandra Tyler-Beynum, a board-certified pediatrician and certified correctional health professional, currently serves as the Chief of Health Services for the District of Columbia’s juvenile justice agency, the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). In her current role, she oversees the medical, behavioral health and dental programs for detained and committed youth in Washington, DC. Dr. Tyler-Beynum is a native of Ridgeland, South Carolina and was initially drawn to the nation’s capital in pursuit of her aspirations to attend Howard University. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with honors from Howard and went on to complete her medical training at the Howard University College of Medicine. Dr. Tyler-Beynum completed residency training in pediatrics at Children’s National Medical Center/George Washington University School of Medicine. Following residency, she worked for several years at Children’s National as a community pediatrician and clinical informaticist/physician executive supporting the health system’s efforts to expand the use of technology in acute and subspecialty care settings. Prior to returning to DYRS in 2019, Dr. Tyler-Beynum served as the Director of Clinical Content at NextGen Healthcare in addition to previously serving as the Assistant Medical Director for DYRS. Over the last 13 years, she has enjoyed a beautifully blended career using her clinical training and passion for children to serve their needs across clinical academic, corporate and public healthcare sectors.
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Lois Fingerhut, Secretary
Lois serves on the board of directors of Adas Israel Congregation and is the chair of the Congregation’s community safety task force that focuses on violence prevention in DC, primarily facing our neighbors in Wards 7 and 8. She is a member of the Washington Interfaith Network research team on community and public safety whose efforts are focused on juvenile justice, police reform and accountability, mental health outreach and violence interrupters with the aim of education and sending recommendations to the WIN congregations. Prior to her retirement in 2009, Lois was an injury epidemiologist with the National Center for Health Statistics with a significant part of her career writing about the impact of firearm violence on the youth in this country. She is a past chair of Reading Partners DC and has been a tutor for more than a decade. She holds a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree from Georgetown University.
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Darrick "Andre" Early, Treasurer
Darrick (Andre), is the Deputy Regional Commissioner for the National Capital Region/Federal Acquisition Service (NCR/FAS) within the General Services Administration (GSA). Currently, Darrick oversees GSA’s largest regional Federal Acquisition Service operation with a client base of approximately 800,000 users. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Master of Public Management from East Tennessee State University, was a part of the class of 1801 Senior Executive Fellows at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, Executive Education, and currently pursuing his PhD in African American Leadership from North Carolina A&T State University. Mr. Early is a Project Management Professional (PMP) and certified at the highest levels of contract management (CPCM and FAC-C Level III). He is an instructor in GSA’s 10-month leadership cohort entitled Leaders Emerging and Developing Program (LEAD). In addition to his work with General Services Administration, he was an Adjunct Professor at University Maryland Global Campus where he taught general contract management, federal contract management, and project management. He is a native of Galax, VA and committed to bringing all his skills in the pursuit of serving the community.
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Dr. Meg van Achterberg
Meg is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice in Washington, DC. She also is a consultant psychiatrist to the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. She is a graduate of Brown University and Brown University School of Medicine. She completed her psychiatry training in New Haven, CT, and Providence, RI. She lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood with her husband and two children. Meg is co chair of the Temple Micah Gun Violence Prevention Committee.
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Cathy Feingold
Cathy Feingold helped to create the Jerry Black Memorial Fund at the TraRon to honor her husband who was killed in June 2021 by gun violence. She is a leading advocate on global workers’ rights issues. As director of the AFL-CIO’s International Department, Feingold is a committed and passionate advocate, strategic campaigner and policy expert. In 2018, Feingold was elected Deputy President of the International Trade Union Confederation, the organization representing 200 million unionized workers worldwide. She brings more than 20 years of experience in trade and global economic policy, and worker, human and women’s rights issues. In 2020, Speaker Pelosi appointed Feingold to the Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board, the body created under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to monitor and evaluate labor reforms and worker rights compliance in Mexico. Her work in both global and grassroots fora reflect her commitment to strengthening the voice of working people in global policy debates.
Feingold previously directed the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center’s work in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where she worked with local trade union partners to develop innovative campaigns to improve the working conditions of domestic, migrant and informal economy workers. The work led to a growing movement of domestic workers who affiliated to the Dominican labor movement. In Haiti, she developed labor law training programs and helped publish the first Creole language excerpt of the Haitian labor law, accessible to workers. She led the organization’s humanitarian response to the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Feingold’s professional experience includes work for the labor movement, large international organizations, small grassroots NGOs and a foundation. She leads coalition efforts to shape global labor standards, including the recently ratified International Labor Organization Convention 190 to eliminate violence and harassment at work. She has written about the impact of economic policies on market women in Nigeria and, as a Fulbright scholar in Nicaragua, she researched the impact of structural adjustment policies on women workers. She continues to be a strong advocate for gender equity and working women issues.
Feingold holds a bachelor’s degree from Pitzer College and an M.P.A. from Columbia University. She is a proud mother of two teenage sons.
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Shae Harris
Shae Harris is the Policy Advisor for the Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice in Washington, D.C, where she informs policies for people touched by the criminal justice system. In her role, she conducts in-depth research, analyzes programmatic initiatives related to returning citizens, and serves as the liaison between community-based organizations and local/national stakeholders within the criminal justice sector.
Shae strongly believes that systemic change happens at the policy-level which prompted her to obtain her Master of Public Administration from American University. She also holds Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from North Carolina A&T State University, received a Nonprofit Executive Management Certificate, and Project Management Certification both from Georgetown University.
Shae previously served as the Deputy Director at the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs, and in various capacities in the nonprofit sector where her efforts were dedicated to transforming the lives of the District’s most vulnerable residents. In 2016, Shae founded her own business, T.R.Y (Transitioning and Rehabilitating Yourself) LLC, to provide consultancy services that promote equity and sustainable change through policy and communication strategies. She has a wealth of experience from working to improve the lives of marginalized and underserved populations in the District, and sincerely believes that we are the change-agents that we are seeking.
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Jess Arnold
Jess Arnold is a reporter with WUSA 9. She joined the CBS affiliate in 2019, after reporting for nearly three years in the Midwest. Born in Takoma Park, MD, she feels right at home returning to the DC area. In college, she traveled to Greece to report on the plight of female refugees as they escaped persecution in Syria and produced an award-winning documentary. Back in DC, that passion for sharing the stories of mothers and their children facing unbelievable odds expanded into the families in our own community, who show an inspiring resilience in the face of gun violence. She believes stories have the power to create change in a community, and she hopes to help do that.
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Sarah Dachos
Sarah Dachos firmly believes that we can only make the greater world a better place by improving and building connections in our local community. In that spirit, she is an urban beekeeper who manages hives throughout the city; mitigates climate change by installing onsite composting in D.C. communities through Loop Closing; and advocates for gun sense legislation as a volunteer for the D.C. Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She has a Professional Science Masters in Urban Agriculture and Sustainability from the University of the District of Columbia’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Science. Sarah is also a military veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy for over 20 years. When not working on these social justice issues, Sarah can be found biking to the local playground with her two young sons and husband.
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Rev. Keisha Patrick Wilson, Esq.
Rev. Keisha Patrick Wilson, Esq. has been serving in youth and young adult ministry for more than 10 years. She desires to see children and teens have the best opportunities to grow and thrive. She currently serves as Youth and Young Adult Pastor at Third Street Church of God in Washington, D.C. She also serves the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) as a member-at-large on the Executive Committee to the General Assembly. Keisha has a passion for justice and equity. She aims to pursue them through her work in community organizations and through writing. In addition to the TraRon Center, Keisha serves on the board of directors for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit organization that advocates for faith freedom for all. Keisha co-authored an essay in the book African Americans and Religious Freedom: New Perspectives for Congregations and Communities, which the Freedom Forum published in 2021. She is also a contributing writer in the devotional book “This Holy Calling: Daily Wisdom for Women in Ministry,” published by the Wesleyan Publishing House in 2022.
Keisha is an alumnus of the Howard University School of Divinity, from which she holds a Master of Divinity. Keisha also holds a Bachelor of Journalism and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Currently, she practices law as a regulator in the financial services industry in Washington, D.C. Keisha is married to Ashland Wilson.