LNA Charlotte

Victoria Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:38:59 +0000

Victoria Moore

Youth Academic Facilitator (Lakeview Resident)

Biography Report

Shakeema Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:32:33 +0000

Shakeema Grier

Youth Support Specialist

Shakeema ‘Keema’ Grier is the Youth Support Specialist with LNA. Part of Shakeema’s personal mission statement is to “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Shakeema is a Daughter, a Mom, and a Sister. When she’s not working she spends her time overthinking life as a mom, loving on her kids up close and from a far. She describes herself as being able to do a little bit of a lot of things because she’s always willing to learn and grow. Her primary focus working with LNA is to employ her engagement skills to cultivate relationships with Lakeview residents. Shakeema gained the skill set of engaging people through over 25 years of experience as a Social Worker. The bulk of those years were spent within the Department of Social Services in Mecklenburg County in Charlotte, North Carolina. In this role she obtained recognition for her ability to manage caseloads of families dealing with concerns related to child abuse and neglect. Within this area of her work she made an insurmountable effort in ensuring families understood the ecosystem they were a part of along with their contribution in society. Her passion to help families gain understanding of the system and obtain a level of self-sufficiency was demonstrated via families she served and the outcomes produced. Shakeema wants people in concentrated poverty to understand that financial education is critically important to all other basic needs for their overall well-being.

Tonnette Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:24:21 +0000

Tonnette Bowles

Data Entry Specialist (Lakeview Resident)

Tonnette Bowles is a believer, follower of God, and was led to the Lakeview Community as a resident in 2016 and as a staff member after completing the Peer Learning Program in 2021 as a Community Engagement Specialist. She is currently the Data Entry Specialist for LNA ensuring that the organization has complete and accurate data to support the work being done in the community. Tonnette has a Bachelor’s Degree at UNCC in Communication (Rhetoric, Culture & Social Change) with a minor in Psychology. She has a background in customer service and that helps her to love, engage, support, and serve the Lakeview residents.

Tonnette has two adults sons and she enjoys spending time with them through travel and trying new foods.

Tamalia Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:17:30 +0000

Tamalia Hemphill

Neighborhood Ambassador (Lakeview Resident)

Biography Report

Chelsey Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:13:38 +0000

Chelsey McIvor

Community Engagement Specialist (Zones 1,2,3)

Chelsey McIvor has been a staff member of LNA since 2020 in Community Engagement. She has a Bachelor’s in Human Development & Family Studies with a concentration in Early Care & Education (2012) as well as a Nonprofit Management certification (2016) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is the mother of 3 handsome boys and spends most of her time creating adventures and memories with them.

Chelsey believes that everyone is entitled to basic human rights which includes shelter, food, and clothing. With her background in early childhood, she believes that if the well being of families are being met then children have better outcomes to grow and thrive in a more nurturing and positive environment.

Marlo Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:07:31 +0000

Marlo Navarro

Community Engagement Specialist (Zones 4,5,6)

Biography Report

TK Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:58:17 +0000

TK Cunningham

Youth Program Coordinator

T-keyah, professionally and affectionately known as TK, currently serves the Lakeview Community as the Youth Program Coordinator. TK is a Charlotte and proud West Side native with personal roots in the Lakeview community. After earning her High School Diploma from Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, TK went on to pursue higher education earning a total of 3 degrees and 2 minors, with her most recent being a Masters in Higher Education & Student Affairs. TK has plans to pursue a Doctoral Degree in near upcoming years. TK enjoys traveling, learning, sports (especially volleyball), cooking, movies, gardening, reading, and is working to improve her quality of life through her building healthy habits for herself. Having worked in colleges & universities, k12 schools, and corporations, is a well rounded contributor to the LNA Staff and seeks to grow in her position, in every way possible, to better serve our community.

“My heart and my existence belongs with my people. My why is rooted in the values of humanity, authenticity, self-sustainability, collectivism, health, and love itself. All of these qualities were historically valued and demonstrated through communities of color. We exist, survive, and thrive through the unity and love between us. My why is being the greatest & wildest aspirations of my ancestors and the exemplification of Black excellence, pride, and love to, for, and with my people. I truly am because we are”

Adrian Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:19:44 +0000

Adrian Sundiata

Culturally Responsible Strategic Operations Director

Adrian is the Son of Lula and Wesley Glover, a Pan Afrikanist, Huemanitarian Visionary, Liberation Theoretician and Strategist who has over 30 years of experience in helping to develop Culturally Responsible People and Institutions.

My Why?

“We recognized that in order to bring the people to the level of consciousness where they would seize the time, it would be necessary to serve their interests in survival by developing programs which would help them to meet their daily needs…these programs satisfy the deep needs of the community but they are not solutions to our problem. That is why we call them survival programs, meaning survival pending revolution.”

— Huey P. Newton

Brandi Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 17:26:01 +0000

Brandi Cagle

Director Of Operations

Hailing from Sumter, South Carolina, Brandi grew up as a “military brat”, affectionately termed. It was in this community of resilience that her service-oriented character was born. With hardships and toughness being inevitable things in life’s journey, the importance of being proactive, anticipating needs, being a good listener, building relationships, and having a positive attitude hold deep value. Brandi attended Coastal Carolina University, studying Early Childhood Education, before migrating to Charlotte more than a decade ago. She found great success in the service & hospitality and sales industries where she implemented cost reduction initiatives, achieving top revenue growth for multiple concepts. Brandi spends much of her free time in her second job as a Dance Mom. If you know you know! She truly wouldn’t have it any other way though.

As LNA’s Director of Operations, Brandi is growth focused. The path to self-determination, self-sufficiency, and self-governing is long, when it begins at the root causes of the issues and problems that working class communities face today, and furthermore historically. Having the lived experiences, Brandi knows the exhaustion felt when doing all that you can do just doesn’t seem to be enough. Working together, cooperatively, we are able to lift not only ourselves, but each other into upward mobility.

Jamaal Biography

Admin — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:09:23 +0000

Jamaal Kinard

Executive Director (Lakeview Resident)

As a community organizer/cultural equity consultant, he devotes much of his time as the Executive Director of the Lakeview Neighborhood Alliance (LNA), where he is leading the charge on revitalization efforts in his community. LNA’s mission is to Engage the residents of Lakeview, Educate them on opportunities and connect them to resources, while advocating for Lakeview’s growth and Empowerment. He has also been a resident of Lakeview since 2017. LNA is a Community IMPACT Organization. IMPACT stands for Individuals Making Progress And Change Together. Those individuals who have come together to form LNA are all residents of the Lakeview Community, and they have organized themselves around a 3E Strategic plan. Those Three E’s are Engage, Educate, Empower and their strategic plan contains four main components 1)

Child & Family Stability
Prevention of Displacement
Economic Mobility
Civic Awareness

Jamaal is also the founder of Conscious Leadership, a cultural equity and trust-based philanthropy consulting firm. His ultimate goal (My Why) is to create a CIO- “Community IMPACT Organization” (Individuals Making Progress And Change Together) blueprint/model and movement of principles for communities, organizations, and institutions to follow, creating an environment where truth and justice are celebrated, strong families are cultivated, and poverty is dismantled. Kinard obtained a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Computer Science from Gardner-Webb University, where he was also one of the league’s most prolific lead-off batters and defensive specialist. While at GWU he received Atlantic Sun’s All-Academic Team Honors in 2007 & 2008, Atlantic Sun’s All-Tournament Team, Lead the team in Stolen Bases & On-Base Percentage in 2007, and was considered to be “a strong prospect for the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. Kinard, also received his Master’s Degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University, and Nonprofit Business Management Certifications from both Wake Forest University and Duke University.

Hobbies: Listening to music (Favorite Artist – J.Cole, Favorite Genre – 90’s R&B), working out, trying new restaurants, singing karaoke, shoe shopping, watching stand-up comedy, visiting museums, enjoying skyline views, learning new things, and sitting on my porch in my rocking chair reading a book.