Our Staff

 

Our Staff from left to right: Marcus Littles, Brian Baughan, Germaine McIver, Ryan Bowers, Bianca Williams, Karen Cherfils, Micah Gilmer, Dannese Mapanda, Loren Harris, Ricky Hurtado

 

Marcus Littles
Senior Partner

Marcus Littles specializes in organizational development, particularly within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. His work experience includes TCC Group, the Ford Foundation, where he served as a Program Associate in Community and Resource Development, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Littles is the founder of Frontline Solutions, and provides leadership to projects in organizational development, policy advocacy, and philanthropic engagement. A native of Mobile, he is a graduate of Auburn University and holds a master’s degree in Public Administration, with a concentration in Nonprofit Management, from the University of Delaware.

 

Ryan Bowers
Partner

Ryan Bowers is a community engagement and policy advocacy specialist. At Frontline, he directs applied research projects, provides consultation on policy solutions, and partners with clients to develop community engagement strategies. He recently served as Community Engagement Coordinator for the office of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. In his role there he worked to ensure the voices of parents, students, and community stakeholders were heard in the development and implementation of education policy and reform. Before serving in the mayor’s office, Bowers worked for Public/Private Ventures and taught 6th grade with Teach for America.

 

Micah Gilmer
Partner

Micah Gilmer is a specialist in applied research and social enterprise with a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University. He currently serves part-time as Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Innovation at UNC Chapel Hill. His academic work focuses on the intersection of cutting-edge youth development practices with “mainstream” contexts like education and athletics. At Frontline, Gilmer provides leadership to applied research teams, directs the creative process for reports, and oversees public communication.

 

Karen Cherfils
Director of Operations

Karen Cherfils manages the daily activities of Frontline's virtual office space while providing administrative and project management support to its physical offices in Philadelphia, PA, and Durham, NC. Recent projects include supporting an organizational assessment of the Black Male Donor Collaborative, managing the Ford Foundation’s iCount Campaign, and contributing to a Frontline report on Black males and the 2010 Census. A former NIH Health Policy Fellow at the National Center on Minority Health & Health Disparities, she received a Master of Public Health degree from Drexel University School of Public Health with a concentration in health management and policy.

 

Brian Baughan
Director of Communications

Brian Baughan oversees Frontline’s communications and public relations ventures, connecting the company to the diverse set of fields it serves. He also contributes to Frontline’s ongoing research, and since joining the team he has co-authored The State of Black Male Commissions: A Survey, Changing the Face of Integration: Tides Foundation’s Africa Family Planning and HIV Integration Fund, and Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in the Gulf/Midsouth Region. A native of Philadelphia, he has ten years of experience in educational publishing and nonprofit development.

 

Bianca Williams
Associate Director of Research

As the Associate Director of Research, Bianca Williams develops projects, partnerships, and alliances with researchers in philanthropy and the academy. At Frontline, she has worked on projects with the Ford Foundation, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and the Scholars Network on Black Masculinity. Williams is also an Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where her research centers on theories of race and gender within African diasporic communities, and investigates the various strategies Black men and women utilize to pursue happiness and maintain good mental health. Williams earned her BA and PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University.

 

Ricky Hurtado
Project Associate

A Morehead-Cain Scholar, Ricky Hurtado graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with honors in Business Administration. At UNC, he had the opportunity to experience community development firsthand in various communities throughout South America and Africa. He joined Frontline in 2010 as an intern among the inaugural cohort of HPJ Fellows. His experience with financial modeling, business development, and social innovation provides valuable support to many of Frontline’s projects.

 

Germaine D. McIver
Administrative Assistant

Germaine McIver is currently a junior at North Carolina Central University seeking her bachelor’s degree in Social Work. She brings to the Frontline team a strong background in customer service and finance, which she gained as a Business Banking specialist at SunTrust Bank for eight years before returning to school. During her stellar tenure at the bank, she worked in various departments including Central Operations, Vault Processing, and Internet Banking. In June 2008, Germaine launched a small eBay Internet business that she still manages and operates today.

 

Michael Ishimoto
Research Associate

Michael Ishimoto conducts research and provides logistical support for Frontline. He has worked on projects with the Philadelphia School District, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation. Before joining the Frontline team, he conducted research in education policy and student affairs with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a master’s degree in Education in Higher Education.

 

Tiffany Hunter
Chief Financial Officer

Tiffany Hunter, founder and CEO of Opulence Group, has worked closely with entrepreneurs for several years. She is dedicated to assisting professionals in identifying and obtaining their business goals through accounting and financial services. In addition to operating Opulence Group, Tiffany is currently an adjunct professor at Mountain View College in Dallas, TX. She is also a business counselor with the Fort Worth Business Assistance Center and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter. Tiffany holds an MBA in Business Management and a BS in Finance from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.