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Our Leadership Team
 Read about the committed, dynamic MatchStick team

The MatchStick Group Advisory Council

 

Josh Warner, Urban Planner, Camden Redevelopment Agency; Co-Owner, Salsita Dance Studio

 

Brandon Pankey, Co-Founder, Business of Entertainment Preparatory Charter School

 

Rodney L. Jackson, President and CEO, The National Center for Black Philanthropy, Washington, D.C.

 

John T. Childress, Founder, Black Economic Empowerment Network

 

Reginald Middleton, Vice President & Philanthropic Consultant, Wachovia Nonprofit & Philanthropic Services

Dr. Marybeth Gasman, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania

 

Rev. Dr. George F. Taylor, Assistant Minister, Bright Hope Baptist Church

 

Roman C. McDonald, President, First Genesis Financial Group

 

Naomi Christine Leapheart
Founder and Director
Naomi@matchstickgroup.org

A Detroit native, Naomi began her undergraduate career at the University of Pennsylvania studying philosophy and political science. She uncovered her passion for education after teaching part-time during her sophomore year and has since pursued an entrepreneurial career in educational and economic empowerment.

 

A musician and vocalist, Naomi also combines her love for the arts with her interests in education in her support of the Picasso Project, an organization that provides funding to public school teachers interested in bringing the arts to their classrooms. Her scholarly research interests include social justice philanthropy, behavioral economics, and womanist theology.

 

Naomi is enthusiastically engaged in board service for several regional and national organizations. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Sojourner’s Daughters: young black women on sex, femininity, and leadership, and was named a 2008 StartingBloc Global Institute for Social Innovation Fellow. In addition to managing MatchStick, Naomi is principal of InkWell Consulting, a professional writing services company.