Sheltering Arms is pleased to announce the appointment of a new board chair and addition of six new members.
 
Leona Rapelye, vice president at UPS Capital Corporation, previously served as vice chair and will now step into the role of chair, succeeding Jeff Kammerer, who will continue to serve as a board member.  New members include: Kathy Bremer, Dan Goerlich, Safia Icgoren, John Morabito, Kay Vermeulen and Patrick Warren.
 
“We are thrilled to welcome this dynamic group of accomplished leaders to our board,” said President and CEO Blythe Keeler Robinson. “They share our organization’s strong commitment to provide high-quality early education to children, regardless of family income. I look forward to their contributions as they bring a wealth of varied experiences to help us secure a solid future in aiding families and building communities.”
 
·         Kathy Bremer is managing director of BoardWalk Consulting. Kathy joined BoardWalk in 2007 after eight years as managing director of Porter Novelli, where she oversaw ten-fold growth. Prior to that, Kathy served as senior vice president of fundraising and marketing for CARE. During her tenure, private resources grew 40%. At BoardWalk, Kathy has led executive searches for ADL, Heifer, Save the Children, CDC Foundation, Oxfam, Research!America, Jane Goodall Institute, The Trustees, MissionWorks and numerous other nonprofits.  She has served on or chaired a dozen boards, and is the current president of International Women’s Forum of Georgia.
 
·         Dan Goerlich is a deals partner at PwC with over 14 years of experience in public accounting, servicing clients primarily in the financial services, mortgage banking, payments, automotive, industrial products, and real estate sectors.  Dan focuses on assisting clients with transformative and complex transactions with specialization in accounting and financial reporting.
 
·         Safia Icgoren is a parent at Sheltering Arms’ Educare Atlanta Center. Safia is originally from Johannesburg and runs a family farm, Urban Sprout Farms, with her husband where they provide educational programs, workshops and tours. Safia also has been the lead for Villages at Carver YMCA Senior Garden for four years and has grown seasonal vegetables with members of the YMCA, advocating growing and eating more seasonal fruits and vegetables to her community.
 
·         John Morabito is senior vice president of RBC Wealth Management. He recently moved his investment practice to RBC after more than 10 years with Merrill Lynch. John previously worked in field sales and marketing for large multinational companies. He is a partner in Saratoga Beverage Group, taking the company from zero revenue to $165 million.
 
·         Kay Vermeulen is a senior vice president at Carter’s, where she directs advertising, store design and other creative expressions for the Carter’s family of brands. She was previously chief creative officer at Lands’ End.
 
·         Patrick Warren is a principal in PwC’s internal audit, risk management and regulatory compliance practice. Rick brings deep experience helping companies enhance their internal control environment. Rick has advised Fortune 500 clients on risk, controls and governance matters. Prior to joining PwC, Rick was a partner in the risk consulting practices at Deloitte & Touche LLP, Dixon Hughes, and the market managing partner of Crowe Horwath LLP.
 
Returning board members include:
 
·         Leona Rapelye, UPS Capital Corporation – Chair

·         Martha Taylor Greenway, Greenway Strategy Group LLC – Vice Chair

·         John C. Pelick, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta – Treasurer

·         Martha Abbott-Shim, Georgia State University Professor Emerita – Secretary

·         Jeff Kammerer, PricewaterhouseCoopers (ret) – Immediate Past Chair

·         Chad Aron, Pandera Systems LLC

·         Leah Austin, Southern Education Foundation

·         Ashley Brightwell, Alston & Bird LLP

·         Helen Cease, SunTrust Bank

·         Steve Floyd, August House Publishing

·         Kevin Hamada, UPS

·         Michelle Horstemeyer, PulteGroup Inc.

·         Lori Kaczynski, Graphic Packaging International Inc.

·         Nicole Layne, The Home Depot

·         Jill MacRae, Anisa International, Inc.

·         Pegui Mariduena, StarMar Consulting LLC

·         Andrew McConnell, Rented.com

·         Ursula McNeill, IBM

·         Kshipra Pitre, Qmatic Corporation

·         Grant Rivera, Marietta City Schools

·         Dr. Yasmin Tyler-Hill, Morehouse School of Medicine
 
Sheltering Arms also wishes to thank its outgoing board members for their years of service, support and leadership to the organization: Mark Dvorak, Golin; Julie McNulty, CohnReznick LLP; Brian D. Granville, Granville/Shy LLC; John Mears, Rivers Residential LLC; and Canditra McLemore, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.