Explore our talented team of impact creators, board members and activists.
Deborah (Debby) Shore founded Sasha Bruce Youthwork over 40 years ago, transforming it from a small grassroots effort into a comprehensive network serving at- risk and homeless youth in Washington, D.C. Through her leadership, she has championed youth empowerment and resilience, helping young people build independent, fulfilling lives. A passionate advocate for youth rights, Debby has shaped policies on both local and national levels to address youth homelessness. Her achievements include the White House Champions of Change Award (2012), induction into the Washington DC Hall of Fame (2014), and being named Washingtonian of the Year (2016). Debby’s dedication continues to shape youth services and create a brighter future for countless young people.
Chief of Finance and Operations
Joining Sasha Bruce Youthwork in 2020, Jill Nelson leads Finance, Operations, and HR, optimizing resources to support the organization’s mission. Previously, she served as CFO of Education Week, transforming it into a digital media leader over a 15-year tenure and launching products like EdWeek Market Brief. Jill’s experience spans nonprofit and for-profit sectors; she previously raised $10M in financing for a tech startup and played a key role in its merger with Immersion Corp. Her strategic financial and operational expertise greatly benefits Sasha Bruce’s mission to empower opportunity youth in Washington, D.C.
Chief of Programs
Donnell Potts has been Sasha Bruce Youthwork’s Chief of Programs since 2019, with over 15 years in youth services. He oversees a wide range of programs, ensuring they meet the needs of D.C.’s at-risk youth. Donnell began his career at Boys Town, later advancing to Director of Residential Services and creating the innovative “Cool House” program. He also directed Sasha Bruce House emergency shelter, gaining critical skills in crisis intervention. Recognized with several awards, Donnell’s experience from direct care to program leadership empowers Sasha Bruce’s mission to support youth.
Clinical Social Worker
Liz Wolfe is the Clinical Director at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, overseeing mental wellness programs and adopting a trauma-informed, client-centered approach. As a licensed clinical social worker in D.C. and Maryland, Liz previously directed clinical services at Mary’s Center, managing a multidisciplinary team that treated various mental health issues. Liz’s expertise in somatic and psychodynamic methods enhances Sasha Bruce’s comprehensive youth support. With a Master of Social Work from Smith College and a B.A. from The Courtauld Institute, Liz brings clinical depth and creativity to her role.
Director of Monitoring and Evaluation
Accounting Manager
Director of People Operations
Operations Manager
Program Support Manager
Deputy Chief of Programs
We’re always looking for awesome, passionate, dedicated, inspirational individuals to join the Sasha Bruce Family!
The Executive Director reports to SBY’s governing Board of Directors. The Board has fiduciary responsibility for the agency and is active in fundraising, strategic planning, public policy, and overseeing SBY’s finances. The full Board meets at least five times per year, and its committees meet every other month. As outlined in SBY’s By-Laws, each member has equal and full voting status as outlined in SBY’s By-Laws. Board membership is a voluntary commitment, and SBY does not compensate members.
The Executive Director reports to SBY’s governing Board of Directors. The Board has fiduciary responsibility for the agency and is active in fundraising, strategic planning, public policy, and overseeing SBY’s finances. The full Board meets at least five times per year, and its committees meet every other month. As outlined in SBY’s By-Laws, each member has equal and full voting status as outlined in SBY’s By-Laws. Board membership is a voluntary commitment, and SBY does not compensate members.
Chair | Senior Counsel – Corporate Legal | GEICO
Vice Chair | Shareholder |
Littler Mendelson P.C.
Treasurer | Managing Director | Chevy Chase Trust
Founder & Executive Director
Vice President, Social and Environmental Impact | Twilio
Term Expires June 2025
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Shaunda Patterson-Strachan, formerly a Partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, has over 20 years of experience addressing complex legal issues for life insurance and financial services companies. She specializes in life insurance, annuities, and financial products and was recognized by Best Lawyers® in Litigation – Insurance (2021–2024). A leader in national professional associations, she has chaired the ABA’s Life Insurance Law Committee and is active in the Association of Life Insurance Counsel. Introduced to Sasha Bruce Youthwork by a former Board member, Shaunda joined the Board in 2012 and continues to support its mission to empower youth under Debby Shore’s leadership. She champions civic engagement and diversity in law, participating in the 2002 Young Leaders Program at Oxford University, serving on the 2012 DNC Credentials Committee, and advancing equity through the ABA’s Judicial Division. In 2015, she was named a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow and featured in Law360’s Minority Powerbrokers Q&A Series. Shaunda concluded her tenure at Faegre Drinker on December 31, 2024, as she transitions to the next phase of her career.
Nathan Oleson is a highly regarded expert in complex employment litigation and counseling, with a particular focus on advising employers on wage and hour and discrimination matters. He represents professional sports associations in high-profile disputes with athletes and officials. He defends employers in cases involving wage and hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state laws and discrimination claims under Title VII, ADEA, ADA, and FMLA. Nathan’s expertise extends to handling labor issues under the NLRA and workplace safety investigations by OSHA. He has been involved in several precedent-setting cases, particularly in wage and hour and sports law, earning recognition as a Washington, DC “SuperLawyer” and a leader in employment law by The Legal 500. 2012, Law360 named him one of the top five “employment lawyers under 40 to watch.” Nathan has also served on the editorial board of the ABA’s Section of Labor and Employment Law’s treatise on the FLSA, published by Bloomberg/BNA, for nearly 20 years.
With more than 20 years of proven investment experience, Alan manages relationships and portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients. He is responsible for developing and overseeing the firm’s investment strategy and process at the firm and is a member of the Global Thematic Investment Team.
Prior to joining Chevy Chase Trust, Alan was President and Chairman of Asset Management, Inc., an independent investment management company with over $1 billion in assets under management. He managed the company through a successful sale and integration with Chevy Chase Trust. Before that, he managed the Equity Investment Strategy and Research Initiatives at Asset Management, Inc.
Alan was previously with FBR & Company’s Equity Research and Investment Banking Group, where he was Vice President and Senior Equity Research Analyst. He began his career working as the Chief Equity Market Strategist at Legg Mason and later joined the firm’s Equity Research and Investment Banking Group.
Alan graduated from Denison University with a degree in Economics. He is the Chair of Maret School’s Alumni Fund and served two terms on the Board of Directors at Green Acres School.
Debby Shore founded Sasha Bruce Youthwork over 40 years ago with a deep passion for empowering at-risk and homeless youth in Washington, D.C. What began as a small, grassroots effort has grown into a comprehensive support network, thanks to Debby’s leadership and unwavering commitment. She has always focused on building the strengths and resilience of young people, helping them overcome challenges to lead independent, fulfilling lives.
Known for her warmth and dedication, Debby has been a tireless advocate for youth rights, influencing policies to address youth homelessness on both local and national levels. Throughout her career, Debby has received numerous accolades for her groundbreaking work and leadership in the nonprofit sector. Some of her most notable recognitions include:
Through her unwavering dedication, visionary leadership, and tireless advocacy, Debby Shore continues to shape the landscape of youth services, changing lives and building a brighter future for countless young people in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Natasha is the Vice President of Social & Environmental Impact at Twilio, where she leads teams focused on crisis response, environmental sustainability, employee impact, grants, and impact investing. She collaborates with the Legal team on ethical product use. Previously, Natasha served as an executive leader at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she shaped multi-million dollar impact projects that improved the well-being of individuals and communities worldwide, from education initiatives in Chicago to health programs for young mothers in Nigeria. With extensive experience driving social and environmental change alongside multinational corporations, universities, and humanitarian organizations, Natasha began her career in private legal practice at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, where she advised nonprofits, including the largest corporate foundation dedicated to women’s causes. Her expertise in social impact and tax law has made her a sought-after speaker and leader, and she has served on various nonprofit and governmental boards, including the IRS Advisory on Tax-Exempt and Government Entities. Natasha holds a BA in Economics, an MA in Sociology from Stanford University, and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. She became involved with Sasha Bruce Youthwork after hearing a transformative story from a youth whose life changed due to the organization’s support, and she is also passionate about coaching girls’ sports to foster confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills.
Debora Both is an experienced advocate in the nonprofit sector, having worked with organizations such as the Rand Corporation, The National Academy of Sciences, the Office of the First Lady at the White House, the Aspen Institute, and the Democracy Alliance, focusing on initiatives that aim to improve the lives of children and their families. She served as president of DC Action for Children in the early 90s. Debora’s commitment to public policy has centered on issues like poverty, child poverty, housing, homelessness, and youth voting, making Sasha Bruce Youthwork a natural fit for her passion and expertise. After meeting Debby Shore and witnessing the impactful work of Sasha Bruce, she was inspired by the organization’s vision and leadership. Beyond her work with Sasha Bruce, Debora is passionate about progressive politics, youth voting, and the welfare of her family and grandchildren.
Charlie Bruce is a dedicated public service advocate and recipient of the Frederic S. Bocock Public Service Fellowship (2022) at UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, where they interned at the US Department of Justice in the Office of Policy and Legislation. They developed programming code during their internship to visualize daily violent crime data in real time. Inspired by their aunt, for whom Sasha Bruce Youthwork is named, Charlie is motivated to carry on her legacy of service to youth experiencing homelessness in the DMV. They previously volunteered as a barista at the Housingworks Bookstore Café in NYC, where proceeds supported services for unhoused neighbors. Additionally, Charlie serves as a Young Alum Trustee on the Board of Trustees at Bryn Mawr College, passionately advocating for higher education access and affordability.
Nancy Chockley, CEO and founder of NIHCM LLC and NIHCM Foundation, has dedicated her career to improving health care for vulnerable populations. Inspired by her childhood experiences in Calcutta, Nancy earned an MBA with distinction from the University of Virginia and became an expert strategist. She established NIHCM as a leading organization in healthcare policy, research, and journalism,gaining national recognition for pioneering work on critical issues like pharmaceutical pricing and the opioid crisis. Through NIHCM, she has significantly influenced healthcare policy and practice while also contributing to charitable causes addressing food insecurity and homelessness.
John’s work in business development, finance, strategy, and information systems has spanned across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. He has led product launches in healthcare, sports marketing, specialty materials, telecommunications, executive search, scholastic testing, direct marketing and other industries. He also advises clients on strategic acquisitions.
In addition to his consulting activities, John serves on the board of Mobile Doctors 24-7 International, an organization committed to bringing quality, affordable health care solutions to developing markets.
Prior to 452, John co-founded Vorbeck Materials where, as vice president of strategy and business development, he negotiated multi-year research agreements with multinational firms and government institutions. Previously, John served as head of the service innovation team at the newly merged Sprint-Nextel. His entrepreneurial roots date back to his days managing information systems at a privately held direct marketing company and, prior to that, co-founding an executive search firm in the Slovak Republic.
John received his bachelor’s degree in French literature and international relations from Georgetown University, with honors, and a master’s of business administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He speaks French and Slovak, in addition to English.
John joined the Byte Back Board in 2014. As a Board member, John feels privileged to have the opportunity to support Byte Back and help open the doors of opportunity for so many.
Carl Davis, Jr. is the Chief Development Officer at United States of Care and a twenty-year veteran in the nonprofit sector, known for his expertise in fundraising, organizational growth, and operational effectiveness. A frequent speaker and writer on these topics, Carl’s journey with Sasha Bruce Youthwork began during a dinner conversation with a friend on its board, igniting his desire to connect with his community after the pandemic. He is inspired by Sasha Bruce’s mission to ensure that stable, adequate housing is not a barrier for young people pursuing their dreams, and he appreciates the joy that permeates the organization’s work despite daily challenges. Passionate about investing in young people, Carl has served on the board of Public Allies D.C., focusing on developing the next generation of community leaders, and on the Ball State University Miller College of Business Advisory Board, where he mentors students navigating their paths to adulthood.
Toni Irving, Ph.D., is the Frank M. Sands Sr. Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, where she focuses on leadership, social impact, and corporate responsibility. With a Ph.D. from New York University and extensive experience in finance, healthcare, government, and non-profit management, Dr. Irving has made significant contributions, including leading the Get IN Chicago social impact fund and advising Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on human services and public safety. She has been recognized for her work in juvenile justice reform and serves on several prestigious boards.
Josh Raymond is co-chair of Venable, advising some of the nation’s largest companies on advocacy, lobbying, and compliance strategies in response to evolving public policy and regulatory developments. With a background that includes serving as executive counsel of government affairs for General Electric (GE) and chief of staff to Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Josh has played pivotal roles in major legislative and regulatory initiatives, including GE Capital’s designation as a Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI). His career began as a policy and budget analyst at the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Sherri Rossoff is Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at RockCreek, where she focuses on firm management and legal matters. With a background as senior counsel at the World Bank, she specialized in pension investments and asset management. Sherri also serves on the Global Board of Directors of 100 Women in Finance and has held leadership roles in various financial and non-profit organizations. She began her career at Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton in New York and holds a law degree from New York University School of Law. Sherri is an active supporter of initiatives focused on community inclusion and health.
Heideh Shahmoradi is a partner at O’Keeffe Shahmoradi Strategies LLC, which provides strategic, government affairs counsel and transportation consulting services to corporations, trade associations, and public-sector organizations. With 24 years of federal service and many years in the private sector, she is an expert in transportation and housing policy.
Prior to co-founding the firm in 2018, Ms. Shahmoradi served as the Clerk/Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies, overseeing nearly $140 billion in budgetary resources. One of her achievements in this role was creating the Youth Homeless Demonstration Program at HUD, which was designed to help communities across the country reduce and prevent youth experiencing homelessness.
As a former resident of SBY’s Independent Living Program during her senior year of high school, she experienced first-hand the great work SBY does to provide young people with the resources and guidance to become successfully independent. When the Obama Administration set out to end homelessness by 2020, Heideh’s role in appropriations allowed her to support the initiative, but to also expand upon it and separately target funding for youth homeless. She knew from her time spent at SBY that these resources can assist in preventing youth from becoming homeless as adults. T testimony of Deborah Shore and Cyndi Lauper, before the appropriations subcommittee, that highlighted and helped generate support for a new youth homelessness demonstration program at HUD. Since its creation, Congress has appropriated $500 million and continues to grow. This effort helped reconnect Heideh back to SBY in her post-Congressional staff years and to proudly serve on the board.
Heideh has been recognized as a Top Lobbyist by Bloomberg Government, The Hill, and the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics have recognized Heideh as a top lobbyist.
Tim is a real estate lawyer who represents real estate owners and equity investors in complex transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions of office buildings, multifamily projects, hotels, and mixed-use developments. He has extensive experience with joint venture agreements, portfolio sales, and tax-advantaged transactions. Tim also handles leases, property management, and listing agreements. He is an editorial board member for his firm’s retail blog, Retail Law Advisor. In addition to his legal work, Tim serves on the Board of Directors for Sasha Bruce Youthwork and actively fundraises for Kageno Worldwide, Inc., and Middleburg Humane Foundation.
Jill Zuckman is a seasoned communications strategist who manages complex issue campaigns and reputational challenges for prominent corporations, particularly in tech and crisis situations. With over two decades of experience as a national political correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and The Boston Globe, Jill has received prestigious awards, including the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Coverage of Congress. She has also led successful campaigns to free Americans unjustly imprisoned abroad. Jill is a board member of Sasha Bruce Youthwork and has served on the boards of the National Press Club Journalism Institute and the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes boards.
Phyllis was born in Alexandria, Virginia and has been a resident of Northern Virginia all her life. She attended school in Fairfax County and continued on to study at Northern Virginia Community College. Phyllis started working for Fairfax Hospital Association, now known as INOVA-Fairfax, in Human Resources and Payroll/Accounting. Taking time from work outside the house to raise three children, she was involved with PTA committees and volunteering in the classroom. The enjoyment of working with children became a focus and she pursued teaching in the early childhood education area. Teaching Preschool was her passion and she taught for 15 years. With retirement came the opportunity to travel, spend more time with family, focus on giving back and helping the youth in the community. For Phyllis, the rewards are endless and the experience is priceless when working with young people.
Donna Greenfield Belser. A lawyer by training, Donna Greenfield became a pioneer in the field of professional services marketing after a 1977 Supreme Court decision – Bates v. Arizona — reversed years of ethical prohibitions against lawyer advertising and marketing. In 1981 she and her husband, Burkey Belser, created Greenfield Belser Ltd. to provide professional service firms a full range of marketing communications services from strategic communications planning through creative implementation. In its 35-year history the firm worked for over 400 law firms, including more than 50 of the AmLaw 100, 16 of the Top 50 Accounting firms as well as some of the world’s largest consultancies and Fortune 500 companies. During this history, Greenfield Belser earned over 500 design awards from every leading national and international awards program.
As early as 1989, when the field of marketing communications for lawyers was still very new, Donna was voted “Creative Legal Marketer of the Year” by the California Lawyer in recognition of the body of work produced for law and law-related firms for over a decade.
Greenfield/Belser was the recipient, in 1991, of a Presidential Design Award from President Bill Clinton for the design of the FDA’s Nutrition Facts food labeling system which appears on billions of food packages in the United States.
Donna served on the Board of Directors of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) and was elected a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management. She was an articles editor for their publication, Law Practice Management.
As a name partner and general counsel to Greenfield Belser, Donna managed client projects, participated in the creative development of client work and played a key role in the financial and human resources operation of the business, especially in recruiting and hiring talent. One of her favorite roles was to help design, build and furnish the firm’s studio offices on N Street NW, which were recognized as one of the five best office spaces in D.C. by the Washington Post Style section, sharing honors with the White House West Wing and Director’s Office in the new wing of the National Gallery of Art.
Donna also directed the firm’s numerous pro bono contributions to, among many others, SMYAL, ICRW, the Aspen Institute Artisan Alliance and Sasha Bruce Youthwork. For Sasha Bruce she worked on branding and on outfitting a community center at one of its buildings. In 2015, she engineered the acquisition of Greenfield Belser by the international PR firm, Finn Partners. She retired in 2017.
Since retiring, she has become involved in several organizations supporting the economic empowerment of women artisans all over the globe, serving on the Advisory Boards of the Aspen Institute Artisan Alliance and the IBU Foundation, which give financial and marketing support to artisan women. She negotiated the acquisition of the assets of the Aspen Artisan Alliance by IBU and has participated in planning IBU’s travel program to Morocco in May 2024.
Mr. James served as senior counsel to several national and international labor unions. He was the General Counsel to the Allied Pilots Association, the collective bargaining agent for the pilots at American Airlines, for twenty-five years. He has also represented thousands of individual workers in the private and public sectors in collective actions under the FLSA.
Edgar James specializes in labor, employment and non-profit organization law before state and federal courts as well as administrative agencies. For many years, Mr. James was a Senior Editor of the ABA’s treatise on the Railway Labor Act and frequent contributor to the ALI-ABA seminars on Airline and Railroad Labor Law. In the 1980’s, Mr. James was active in the efforts to oppose Frank Lorenzo in the airline industry and in the litigation surrounding the mineworker union’s fight to preserve retiree health care at the Pittston Company. In addition to his labor practice, Mr. James advises a number of marketing, polling and public relations firms on matters involving campaign finance, intellectual property and other issues related to their work.
Mr. James graduated with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1979. While at Harvard, Mr. James conducted several seminars at the John F. Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, was an articles editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, and authored a law review article on union democracy and the LMRDA. Prior to law school, Mr. James ran the insurgent campaign against W. A. “Tony” Boyle in the mineworkers election following the murder of Joseph A. Yablonski, his wife and daughter and later served as a senior staff member and organizer with the union. Mr. James received his undergraduate degree from Portland State University in 1969 and attended Columbia University as a doctoral candidate in history.
Mr. James serves on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations. He is a member of the courts of the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland and is admitted to practice before most federal appellate courts and the Supreme Court. He is a member of the District of Columbia bar, the Maryland State Bar Association, the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, the Federal Bar and American Bar Associations. He has been awarded an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating achievable by attorneys, was named the 2023 Lawyer of the Year for Labor Law – Union in Washington, D.C. in Best Lawyers in America, was voted a District of Columbia Super Lawyer and Lawdragon identified him as one of the
Priot to her recent move to Gartner Consulting, Mary Ann was with Boeing. With extensive professional expertise, her role as Sr. Director of Transportation, Warehousing, and Logistics at Boeing had been about transforming the movement of freight to Boeing factory, a critical part of supply chain efficiencies. This was a multi-year journey and involved bringing in modern software to help Boeing manage the Transporation operations. Prior to the role in TWL at Boeing, Mary Ann led the Boeing data analytics software development team in bringing critical capabilities to their manufacturing partners. She successfully led this team for over 6 years. Mary Ann was recruited to Tapestry Solutions to be its VP of worldwide operations and was later promoted to COO. As COO, Mary Ann managed Tapestry worldwide operations with customers in the Middle East, Europe and the UK. This led her to the transition to Boeing in leading analytics solutions. Prior to Tapestry Mary Ann founded a Supply Chain management consulting firm where they delivered systems integration solutions with a focus on AIT Technologies. Mary Ann eventually sold her start up to Cubic Corporation. Having a passion for educating the next generation of leaders, Mary Ann served as an adjunct Professor of supply chain management at the University of Maryland.
