Board & Staff

Virgil Roberts

Chair

Virgil Roberts, co-founder and chair, is managing partner and founder of the Bobbitt & Roberts law firm. He currently serves on the boards of Community Build, Families in Schools, Usher’s New Look Foundation, The Alliance of Artists and Record Companies, Southern California Public Radio, Broadway Federal Bank, The Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools and The James Irvine Foundation. Past board experience includes chairmanship of The Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project (LAAMP), the California Community Foundation and the Los Angeles Education Partnership. Roberts also served on the boards of CORO, Marlborough School, the Public Education Network (PEN), and the Bridgespan Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and a juris doctor from Harvard Law School, where he was a Felix Frankfurter Scholar.

Eugene Boykins

Eugene Boykins, founding board member, is president of the Boykins Business Managing & Marketing Consulting Group. He retired from Nestle USA after holding a range of marketing and executive management positions. Boykins has held executive positions or owned entrepreneurial ventures in both the U.S. and Caribbean countries. He has served on the board of the LA Business Development Center and on the Program Advisory Committee for KCET-TV. Other board experience has included Big Brothers of Los Angeles, the UCLA Foundation, Academic Advancement Program (AAP) Advisory Council, UCLA Anderson GSM, Lifesteps Foundation, Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) and the Advocates Foundation.

Boykins earned his B.S. in business administration from San Diego State University and his M.B.A. from UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management.

Yvette Chappell-Ingram

Yvette Chappell-Ingram, co-founder, is president and CEO of the African American Board Leadership Institute. Her work experience with nonprofit organizations spans more than 25 years, and she has served on numerous boards and committees. Appointed State Commissioner by Governor Edmund Brown Jr., Chappell-Ingram is a former member of the Dental Board of California. She currently serves on the board of Special Needs Network. Past boards include the national and local boards of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the University of California Irvine Advisory Board and the Accounting Careers Awareness Program. Chappell-Ingram received her Masters of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge.

Angel Roberson Daniels

Angel Roberson Daniels is executive director of Angell Foundation, a Los Angeles based private foundation that funds transformative opportunities in the Southern California and New England regions. In her role, she oversees the Foundation’s strategic direction and daily operations.

Throughout her career, Daniels has worked with foundations and community-based organizations to design and evaluate initiatives that produce positive outcomes for underserved and under-resourced communities. Prior to joining the Angell Foundation, she spent six years at First 5 LA, where she led organizational strategic planning efforts and was instrumental in the allocation of more than $800 million in investments designed to benefit young children and their families. As an evaluator with the UCLA Technical Assistance Group, she facilitated assessment and planning efforts for local public health agencies and worked on issues ranging from the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS to tobacco control.

An alumna of AABLI Class 5, Daniels serves on the board of the Liberty Hill Foundation and Boston Opportunity Agenda, chairs the Los Angeles County Arts Education Collective and is former co-chair of the Los Angeles Partnership for Early Childhood Investment. She is the facilitator for the Southern California Grantmakers’ Emerging Leaders Program and is a Leadership Fellow of The Association for Black Foundation Executives.

Kimberly Freeman, EdD

Kimberly Freeman, EdD, is an experienced corporate, community and educational leader. With nearly 30 years of experience, she has treated her career as a journey of self-discovery. In doing so, Dr. Freeman brings to the table a unique mix of formal and experiential education drawn from her interests at the intersection of business, government, and higher education policies affecting California’s most vulnerable communities. The first of her four degrees was earned at UC Berkeley in industrial engineering and operations research. She was awarded a master of public policy degree at USC, and earned an M.B.A. and a doctorate in educational leadership at UCLA.

Dr. Freeman currently serves as associate dean and chief diversity officer for the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Her vision is to achieve representational diversity and to create an inclusive culture for faculty, students, and staff by leveraging social connectedness and the wisdom of multiple perspectives.

Myeisha Peguero Gamiño

Myeisha Peguero Gamiño is the vice president of public affairs and advocacy at Pacific Clinics, where she directs the strategy driving the clinics’ public policy, communication and marketing efforts. With nearly 20 years of experience in philanthropy and public affairs, as well as community and government relations, Gamiño has held related roles at Fortune 500 companies including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Kroger Co.

Appointed by the Burbank City Council, Gamiño is a member of the municipality’s Park, Recreation and Community Services Board. She is active on the boards of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles, and is an AABLI alumna, Class 5. Gamiño received a bachelor’s degree from Scripps College and a master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University.

Yolanda J. Gorman, MBA, Ph.D.

Dr. Yolanda J. Gorman is senior advisor and chief of staff to the Chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Gorman has more than 25 years of experience as a successful organizational consultant specializing in nonprofit management. She has assisted nonprofit organizations with infrastructure and resource development, and has provided program and strategic planning, research and evaluation, board training and organizational development services.

The lead faculty for AABLI’s Board Leadership Program (BLP), Dr. Gorman conducts seminars and training sessions for the boards of local and national organizations, foundations, and academic institutions.  She is the author of several articles and papers on organizational capacity building, strategic planning and business management.

An active volunteer with multiple community, civic and cultural organizations, Dr. Gorman chairs the board of CalNonprofits Insurance Services, a for-profit insurance solution for nonprofit organizations in California. In addition to her service on the boards of AABLI and CalNonprofits, Dr. Gorman is a governor’s appointee to the Baldwin Hills Conservancy and a Los Angeles County Commissioner for Older Adults. She is a three-time UCLA graduate, with a BA in psychology, an MBA from the Anderson School, and a Ph.D. in educational psychology.

Beverly Ryder

Beverly Ryder, founding board member, is a retired executive with more than 35 years of corporate experience in the utility and banking industries.

Ms. Ryder retired as the Corporate Secretary of Edison International and its utility subsidiary, Southern California Edison Company. She also served as the company’s vice-president of community involvement, overseeing its philanthropic and employee volunteer activities.

As Corporate Secretary, Ryder served as secretary to the board of directors and staffed the CEO at all board and committee meetings. She and her team were responsible for the preparation and coordination of the content and preparations for all board meetings and the annual meeting of shareholders.

Ryder has had extensive nonprofit experience as a board member of numerous community and civic organizations, currently serving as a vice-chair of the board of Claremont Graduate University and as chair of the Trusteeship Committee. She sits on the advisory councils of the Colburn School Society and the Community Engagement Committee, and is a member of the Stanford University LEAD fundraising council.

Her previous board and leadership positions have included: Trustee emeritus, Stanford University; board member and audit committee chair, The Colburn School; board president, National Women’s Hall of Fame; commissioner, Western Association of Senior Colleges and Universities accreditation commission, and commissioner, Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System. Ryder also has served as a board member of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, CORO, Encore.org, the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Los Angeles Urban League, and the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles.

Ryder earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Monique A. Stennis

Monique A. Stennis is interim director of diversity initiatives at the University of Redlands. She provides multicultural leadership in support of the academic and social needs of students representing a variety of social identities. Before this role, Stennis served as the social media manager, leading the university’s social media program in addition to providing consultation and leadership to campus organizations with a social media presence. She played a critical role in developing the concept and creation of the university’s first official blog.

An educator at heart, Stennis’ career and educational experiences gave her the opportunity to teach undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of business, communication, management, and professional development. She has served on the boards of the Academy of Science and Engineering, SoCal Women’s Health Conference, National Council of Negro Women (San Gabriel Valley chapter), National Black MBA Association (Los Angeles chapter), and HBCU Campus Tours.

An AABLI alumna, Class 6, Stennis holds an M.B.A. in marketing from the University of LaVerne and a bachelor’s in communication with an emphasis in public relations and mass media from California State University, San Bernardino.

Trella Walker

Trella Walker is an associate director in Advisory Services with Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), in the Los Angeles office. Prior to NFF, Walker spent the majority of her professional career in the nonprofit sector working with impact driven organizations such as the U.S. Military College, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, United States Veterans Initiative, Pierian Springs School, and Health Net. She has served as a board member for the Robey Theatre Company, and is a proud AABLI alumna from Class 9.

Walker holds a B.A. in English and secondary education from James Madison University, as well as a Juris Doctor degree.

Carl Ballton

Emeritus

Carl Ballton is the former managing director and deputy group head of Corporate Social Responsibility of the Americas at MUFG Union Bank, N.A. He also served as president and chief executive officer of the MUFG Union Bank Foundation. Ballton is active on the boards of Occidental College, Southern California Grantmakers, Goodwill Industries of Southern California, Southern California Business Development Corporation, and the African American Board Leadership Institute. Ballton received his B.A. from Occidental College, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Reveta Bowers

Emeritus

Reveta Bowers is the former head of school at The Center for Early Education. A leader in her community and in the field of education, Bowers has served as board chair of the California Community Foundation, an outside director of the Walt Disney Company, as past president of the Fulfillment Fund’s Board of Governors, and as a board member of the National Association of Independent Schools. She is currently on the boards of The Fedco Foundation and the Board of Governors of the UCLA Healthcare System. After earning her degree in Humanities from the University of Southern California, she returned to graduate for a master’s degree in Development Psychology.

Paul C. Hudson

Emeritus

Paul C. Hudson is the founder of Hudson & Holland Advisors, LLC, a financial advisory firm that advises and assists nonprofit organizations with strategic restructures, including nonprofit collaborations, mergers, partnerships, cooperatives and other strategic alliances. His nonprofit practice includes executive coaching and financial workshops for senior executives and board members.

Hudson is the immediate past Chairman and CEO of Broadway Federal Bank, a certified Community Development Financial Institution that has operated in the underserved ethnic markets of South Los Angeles since 1947.

He serves on the board of the AABLI, UCLA Technology Development Group, Pacifica Graduate Institute, and the Ebony Repertory Theatre. He has previously served as Chairman of the Los Angeles City Community Redevelopment Agency and as President of the Los Angeles NAACP, and on the board of the California Community Foundation, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship Foundation.

Hudson earned his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and is a member of the State Bar of California and District of Columbia.

Yvette Chappell-Ingram

Yvette Chappell-Ingram is president and CEO of the African American Board Leadership Institute. Her work experience with nonprofit organizations spans more than 25 years, and she has served on numerous boards and committees. Appointed State Commissioner by Governor Edmund Brown Jr., Chappell-Ingram is a member of the Dental Board of California. She also serves on the board of Special Needs Network. Past boards include the national and local boards of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the University of California Irvine Advisory Board and the Accounting Careers Awareness Program. Chappell-Ingram received her Masters of Public Administration from the University of Southern California and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge.

Victoire “Vickie” Prothro

As director of communications and operations, Victoire Prothro leads the organization’s communications, marketing, and media efforts along with overseeing office management. Prothro is responsible for generating a dynamic creative strategy to raise the visibility of AABLI, to increase community engagement and to help drive awareness of the organization’s programs and accomplishments. She produced the organization’s first AABLI Board Talks video series. Prior to joining AABLI, she worked as an independent contractor, performing communications, outreach and program functions for a number of local nonprofit institutions. Prothro previously served as Community Affairs Manager/Associate Producer for a Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards Nominated talk show which gave community representatives a forum for discussion of local and national issues. A past board member and scholarship chair for the dissolved Nonprofit Communications and Media Network (NCMN), she currently serves as a board member for the Bloom Again Foundation. Prothro is a cum laude graduate of Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in business management.

Kayla Robinson

As programs and placement coordinator, Kayla Robinson serves the AABLI community as its relationship builder. Robinson’s responsibilities include program implementation and placement services as well as general office administrative assistance. Prior to joining AABLI, she worked with other nonprofits building relationships with corporate partners, donors, and volunteer stewardship in the Los Angeles and San Diego communities.  Robinson has experience as an advocate for low income members of the community, along with event planning and project coordination. She earned a master’s degree in juvenile justice from National University and a social science degree at California State University San Marcos.