Haleh Karimi, PhD – Chair
Haleh is Assistant Professor of Management in Bellarmine University’s MBA program. She holds a PhD in Management and an MBA. She has served as a consultant, IT developer, startup CEO, and as the nonprofit executive director of Interfaith Paths to Peace. She was given the Women STEAM Leadership award in 2020 by the RockIT Women organization. Haleh is a Kentucky Colonel and a recipient of Kentucky’s 2017 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award.
Rada Halaseh – Vice Chair
Rada is a first generation immigrant from Jordan. She moved to the US at the age of 16 to attend Spalding University, where she majored in Business and Communications. She also earned a Master’s in Strategic Finance from Indiana University Southeast. She is currently senior financial advisor and first vice president with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. She is passionate about charitable causes that focus on education and social well-being and currently serves as the board chair of the Community Services Project.
Ashley Hicks, PhD – Secretary
Ashley A. Hicks is Clinical Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science and Director of the Ohio State University Couple and Family Therapy Clinic. Hicks is a sought-after teacher, supervisor and clinician. She is an independently licensed marriage and family therapist, an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing-trained therapist, an American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy-approved supervisor, and a 200 hour-registered yoga teacher. Ashley has worked in a number of clinical settings serving clients from diverse backgrounds including racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ populations, homeless and low socio-economic individuals and families.
Andrew Hamilton, CPA – Treasurer
Drew Hamilton is an Instructor of Accounting at Bellarmine University. Prior to Bellarmine, he spent 12 years in public accounting and specialized in the auditing and tax return compliance of business federal and state income taxes. He and his wife first moved to Louisville in 2015 to raise their children and they have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Louisville community.
Sr. Christine Beckett, SCN
Chris is a Sister of Charity of Nazareth and has vast experience in intercultural mission settings in Appalachia and the Southern rural areas of the US and as the Board Chair of the US Mission Association. After serving as the President of Presentation Academy for 11 years, she served as one of the Associate Directors of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, headquartered in Silver Spring, MD., an organization that serves the leadership of the Congregations of Religious in the US. With the above experiences she has traveled and led volunteer programs in the U.S. and Central and South America. With her background in Spiritual Theology, she also serves as a spiritual and retreat director/companion.
Annette Dangerfield
Annette Dangerfield graduated from Berea College in 2016 with a degree in Sustainable Community Development and received her master’s degree in human geography from the University of Ireland, Galway. She is a graduate of the New Leaders Council – Kentucky program and currently serves on the board as Institute Co-Chair. She also serves as an Ambassador for the Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL). She currently works as a program manager for Louisville Metro Government’s Office of Philanthropy.
Lisa DeJaco Crutcher, Esq.
Lisa is the Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Charities of Louisville, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization that carries out the social ministry of the Catholic Church in central Kentucky. Before assuming her role at Catholic Charities in April 2017, Lisa spent 17 years as a commercial litigator at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs LLP. A sixth-generation Louisvillian, Lisa holds a B.A. summa cum laude from Furman University, an M.A. from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Her community engagement has included Board service with Thrive By 5, Dare to Care Food Bank, the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation, the Earth & Spirit Center, St. Joseph’s Children’s Home, Boys and Girls Haven, Americana Community Center, the Junior League of Louisville, and Volunteers of America Mid-States.
Margaret Handmaker, JD
Margaret retired in 2023 from Louisville Metro Government, where she served in a variety of capacities, including as the Chief of International and Economic Development. Margaret previously served as the Interim Executive Director of the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) and then as a full-time consultant, overseeing the deployment of the American Rescue Plan funds. Prior to that, she was a partner, consultant, and attorney for Mercer, Inc., with a two-year leave to serve as the Secretary of the Revenue Cabinet for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. She has served on University of Louisville’s Trustees, Foundation, and Overseers boards, and many other boards, including chair roles.
Sharon Kerrick, PhD
Sharon is an Associate Professor & Assistant Vice President of the Digital Transformation Center at the University of Louisville. She teaches as well as publishes in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology. An entrepreneur and accredited angel investor, Sharon was also a founding member and co-owner of a technology firm with over 300 full-time staff. She has chaired the board of the Better Business Bureau and the Louisville Water Company, as well as serving on several other boards, such as Apmlify, RockIT, and FirstHour.
Br. John Monzyk, CP, PhD
Br. John has been a member of the Passionist community, a Catholic religious order, for over 50 years. He holds a doctorate in physics and has taught at the high school through university level. He currently serves as the Superior of the Sacred Heart Passionist Retreat, which founded the Earth & Spirit Center and on whose property the Center operates.
Gray Smith
Gray is Vice President of Business Partnerships for Louisville Public Media, where he has worked since 1997. Prior to that, he spent another 19 years in commercial radio. Gray is a frequent consultant to the industry on best practices, and was named by his peers as Public Radio Development Professional of the Year in 2011. Gray is a patent-holding inventor, fumbling musician, board game designer, and two-time gold medalist in the Kentucky Master’s division pole vault.
Sr. Caroljean Willie, SC, PhD
Sr. Caroljean is a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati and serves as the director of Earth Connection in Cincinnati. She has extensive experience working cross-culturally throughout the United States and in 48 countries across the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Asia, South and Central America as an environmental educator, teacher-trainer and cultural diversity consultant. She served two terms of office as the NGO representative at the United Nations for the Sisters of Charity Federation and continues to work with microfinancing projects in Africa.
Jim Wayne
Jim was the state representative for Kentucky’s 35th House District in Louisville from 1991 to 2019, recognized as an advocate for housing opportunities for the poor, as well as a leading voice in calling for tax reform and mental health care reforms. Jim is president of the Wayne Corporation in Louisville, providing Employee Assistance Programs for over 80 regional businesses and unions. He is a licensed clinical social worker and the author of the novel, The Unfinished Man.