Advisory Board
Our advisory board is comprised of successful women professionals who want to make a meaningful impact in the lives of young women. Advisory board members help mold the strategic objectives and initiatives for Inspired Girls and offer their insight and resources.
Lisa Elia, the CEO of Lisa Elia PR, is a publicist and expert media trainer who has secured placements for clients in major media outlets, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Time Magazine, USA Today, CNN, Redbook, In Style and hundreds of others. She has positioned clients for book deals, endorsement deals, positions as contributing editors to magazines and even their own TV shows.
Lisa’s interest in the field of public relations began early: she earned her bachelor’s degree in communication with a public relations focus from the University of Delaware and has spent more than 20 years continuously building upon the strong foundation of her education. In 1990, after working for other firms, she formed Elia & Associates, a small marketing-communications firm in Wilmington, Delaware.
After working with many corporate clients, Lisa knew that her calling was elsewhere. After a brief stint in New York, Lisa moved to Los Angeles and founded Lisa Elia Public Relations in 1998, with the promise to herself to only work with businesses and people she feels passionate about helping.
Dr. Jaelline Jaffe is a Los Angeles based psychotherapist and counselor.
Kendra Kabasele grew up in Montreal, in the heart of Canada’s cultural crossroads. She developed her love of communication and the arts in this vibrant, cosmopolitan city that is rich with the linguistic and cultural influences of its international populace. It was in this creatively fertile environment that her writing talent and artistic vision was born.
Her love of ideas and communication led Kendra in a number of interesting directions.
Kendra earned a BSc. in Psychology and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Concordia University and having founded her own public relations firm called New Bein’ Media, she was eager to take on new challenges. From working in the marketing department of KCET Television (PBS) to assisting in production for one of the 2005 Los Angeles mayoral debates and for the 2005 NAACP Image Awards, Kendra has already worked in a range of areas in media and television in Los Angeles. In 2008, she co-produced her first stage play, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” by Ntozake Shange, which celebrated full houses each show. In 2009 she was 1st Assistant Director for Filmmaker Manny Mechan’s short film, “Fall”.
Kendra just wrapped up working at Corbis, one of the top photo licensing agencies in the world, where she worked as a leading Senior Account Executive in Media, overseeing the placement, distribution and licensing of the agency’s photography (news, sports, travel, lifestyle, fashion, celebrity portraiture, etc.) and film footage. She was in charge of licensing to television and film studios, magazines, newspapers, and other media outlets.
Charisse Nesbit is a Director in the Production and Development Department at Lionsgate. A graduate of The University of New Mexico where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia College Chicago in Fiction Writing. Deciding to expand her horizons, she came to Los Angeles through the Columbia College Semester in L.A. Producing Program, eventually landing at Lionsgate where she worked her way up from intern, to consultant, to her current position. She is also the author of the novella, “Learning to Scream,” had an essay featured in “Children of the Dream: Our Own Stories of Growing up Black in America, and was editor and contributor to the book “A Dream Deferred A Joy Achieved: Foster Care Stories of Survival and Triumph” which was published by Strebor Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. She is happy to be involved in bringing the Obie Award winning play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” to the screen as a Co-producer and is also working on two projects with Harpo Films, one of which will star Chris Rock.
Wadooah Wali is a communications specialist with more than 15 years of diverse experience who blends her passion for communications, social media and technology with creativity. As a self-proclaimed “Cultural Mediator,” Wadooah enjoys observing, engaging and commentating on the intersection of technology, innovation and civilization however, whenever and where ever that plays out with an entrepreneurial spirit and a unique flair.
Wadooah joined Demand Media, an innovative media and technology company as one of the two original founding communications team members in 2006. Currently, as Senior Director of Corporate Communications she manages internal and external communications and has since lead the many of the company’s communications activities. In addition to other business initiatives and corporate issues, she also worked closely with the executive team in taking the company public in January 2011 – the largest internet/tech IPO since Google’s in 2004.
Wadooah earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
Snezna Kerekovic is the creator of Bellaboo – a total youth girl brand. Bellaboo is all natural skin care. It is an online magazine covering all things girl. It is all about girl empowerment. It is about Making The Change!.One Girl At A Time.
