Dilsey Davis:

Dilsey Davis is the founder and president of Café con Leche Media (CCL Media). CCL Media is an independent production company based in Atlanta, GA, dedicated to creating high-quality, life-enhancing programming.  Dilsey was previously the Director of Media Advocacy for the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina (CRA-NC) for eight years.  As Director, she created television programs and short films that combined both entertainment and information to effectively reach underserved audiences.  Most notably, she was the creator, producer and director of the award-winning “Nuestro Barrio” (Our Neighborhood), a Spanish-language telenovela series that addresses financial topics.  She has also produced, directed and written media projects in South Africa, including the short film Wedding Day, starring popular South African actor Kenneth Nkosi.  In addition to film and television, she has also produced many commercials, PSAs, and e-learning video projects for corporate clients and non-profit organizations. Dilsey is also an actress and co-founder of One Human Family Workshops Inc., a non-profit organization that uses the arts to promote global unity.  The group has toured extensively both in the United States and abroad for over 12 years.  She received a B.S. degree from Duke University and her Master’s degree in Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Nelufar S. Mohajeri:

Nelufar Mohajeri is an experienced and accomplished non-profit executive with more than 25 years experience in strategic planning, organizational leadership, and stakeholder/partner engagement. She has extensive experience in developing innovative solutions while limiting risk, navigating teams through changing business environments, providing creative strategies for optimizing internal operations, and developing global programs, products and services.

She is the Managing Director of Concept to Reality Consulting, LLC. Prior to joining C2R, she was Head of Global Stakeholder Engagement at the US Pharmacopeia, with oversight of strategic relationships with over 1,000 organizations worldwide. Prior to joining USP, Ms. Mohajeri was head of industry relations at the American Chemical Society. She has also worked globally in Chad, Cameroon, Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, and Israel in social development programs and projects in collaboration with UNICEF and various Ministries of Health.

Ms. Mohajeri holds an undergraduate degree in biology/genetic engineering from the University of Virginia, a masters degree in international affairs from the George Washington University and a masters in international human rights law from University of Oxford.

Mahtaj James:

Mahtaj James received her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1987.  She has over 30 years of experience in internal audit, tax, finance and management.  She worked for GlaxoSmithKline for 23 years where she started as Tax Accountant and later rose to the Manager of Payroll operations, Financial Disclosure Manager, and the Director of Global Clinical Regulatory Information and System Support.

Mahtaj has a passion to work with children and has done so in underserved communities for a number of years where she helped the children to work on developing their character and becoming better citizens.  She is inspired by her daughter Anika to serve humanity and strives to follow Anika’s path of service to make a difference in the lives of young people.

Robert James:

Robert is a licensed psychologist.  He obtained his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994.  Working with adults, Robert does individual, couples/marriage, and group therapies.  He also provides diversity and other types of training for businesses, universities and other agencies.  His clinical interests include race and gender issues, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, grief and couples/marriage counseling, communication skills, stress management, assertiveness, hypnosis, and diversity training.  Robert has a private practice in Durham, North Carolina.  He is a native of Nashville, Tennessee, and has been a resident of Durham for more than 25 years.

Robert developed a tremendous interest in performing arts while proudly watching his daughter Anika excel in singing, dancing and theatre performance.

Mark Perry:

Mark is a playwright, dramaturg, and teacher.  He currently teaches play analysis and playwriting in UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art.  His play, A New Dress for Mona, about the wrongful execution of a young Iranian woman, and his one-man show, On the Rooftop with Bill Sears, are now published in a book of his plays called The Lover at the Wall: 3 Plays on Bahá’í Subjects (Drama Circle, 2011).  He also collaborated with UNC colleague Jiayun Zhuang in writing and directing a short horror film called The Only Child (2011), featuring youth from the local Karen community.  He has served as production dramaturg for Playmakers Repertory Company on productions of The Little Prince, Shipwrecked, The Parchman Hour, and Noises Off.  Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop and was a recipient of the 2005-06 North Carolina Arts Council’s Literature Fellowship for playwriting.

Aneesa Glines:

Aneesa Glines is the owner of Harmony Weddings and Events, The Graham Mill and a licensed Music Educator. She was childhood friends with Anika and is honored to be serving on the board in her honor. Aneesa grew up with a passion for the arts and began performing in musicals and taking voice lessons starting at just 5 years old. Aneesa attended UNC Chapel Hill and graduated with her Bachelor of Music license to teach music K-12. She has loved teaching voice lessons to children and adults, directing shows and offering musical camps to children throughout the years. She now owns and works full time with her wedding and event planning company as well as owns and operates her event venue.

Ladan Atai

Ladan is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Miami Law School.  She is a Legal and Risk Management professional in Durham, NC.

Jen Chingwe:

Jen Chingwe have over twenty years of diverse experience in learning design and earned her doctorate in the Design of Learning Environments from Rutgers University in 2018. She works as a consultant in learning design in corporate and government settings and uses her Six Sigma Black Belt to align process improvement with appropriate learning solutions.  Jen has a particular interest in using informal communities of practice to leverage peer learning as a way to collaborate and problem solve. Jen is also a part-time lecturer at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education, teaching aspiring teachers how to integrate technology in learning settings.