These awesome professionals are very passionate about serving single parents. Take some time to get to know them by reading below.
Board Members
Steven Dowdley
Board Chair
Steven Dowdley | Board Chair
Steve is a seasoned healthcare executive with broad experience in management, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, business development, and R&D. He currently serves as Global Director of Regulatory Affairs for a medical device firm, where is responsible for setting the strategic regulatory direction for the company and leading a global team of professionals who work with health authorities around the world. He also serves on several international industry boards, focused on proactively influencing healthcare policy and establishing industry guidance.
Steve is passionate about helping others and believes that life is too short to not live it to its fullest. He believes that every day gives us a second chance to live, laugh, love, and learn better than we did the day before.
Lisa Larry White
Secretary
Lisa Larry White | Secretary
Lisa Larry White is a native of Bessemer, Alabama, and has resided in metro-Atlanta since 1996. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), receiving a B.A. in Mass Communications and Journalism with a minor in English. Over the course of her career, she has worked in various industries including healthcare, pharmaceutical, property management, and currently in tax and financial education. She currently works as the Office Manager for Protax Plus Financial Services, LLC, a full-service tax preparation and accounting firm, located in Stone Mountain, Georgia. She also serves as the Vice President of Operations for the firm’s satellite offices in Alabama, Virginia, and South Carolina. Lisa was recently promoted to EVP Platinum with myEcon, the Personal Financial Success Company, located in Snellville, Georgia.
Lisa is passionate about her community and uses her life experiences and “gift of gab” to motivate others. It is her desire that through her written and spoken word, people are inspired, encouraged, and strengthened as she shares her knowledge. She works tirelessly to ensure that the community is educated on matters that impact their daily lives in the areas of taxes, credit repair, and financial literacy. She is also a motivational speaker, writer, editor, and entrepreneur. Lisa is the mother of three young adult children; D’Lisa, Davida, and David Jr.
Wassia Kamon
Treasurer
Wassia Kamon | Treasurer
Wassia graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Since then, she accumulated over a decade of progressive experience in corporate accounting and finance, with a focus on strategic planning, financial analysis, and business process improvements. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), with a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). She currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at ACE | Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs.
Aside from work, Wassia enjoys gardening, cooking, and of course eating, while trying to keep up with her 2 young children. She believes that happiness is a choice and loves to spread positivity around her.
Ann Leal
Director
Ann Leal | Director
Ann is an energetic motivator who creates extraordinary workplace dynamics by building strong business relationships, supporting business growth, and aligning objectives with the company’s mission and vision. She currently serves as the Director of Training and Development for a publicly traded logistics company, where she is responsible for elevating excellence in education and team development, ensuring best practices along with compliance with policy and procedures. She also serves as a co-active coach, assisting people by being the spark that ignites their joy to the surface.
Ann is passionate about servant leadership and believes that to make a difference, you need to be part of the difference. She’s a certified digital photographer and enjoys sharing God’s natural beauty through her lens as one way to inspire adventure.
Cynthia Hayes
Cynthia Hayes|
Cynthia Hayes is a seasoned operations and communications executive with over two decades of experience leading organizations through growth and transformation. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at Tarkenton Companies, where she aligns leaders across the company to translate strategic vision into operational success for marketing and technology brands. Her leadership focuses on building strong, inclusive cultures while optimizing performance and scalability. Previously, Cynthia was Managing Partner at Liger, a full-service marketing firm recognized on the Inc. 5000 list and honored as a “Best Place to Work” for three consecutive years before its acquisition. Cynthia began her career in marketing communications and nonprofit development, including grant writing and strategic messaging for mission-driven organizations.
She holds a master’s degree in Corporate and Organizational Communication from Northeastern University, but will always be a Virginia Tech Hokie at heart after earning her bachelor’s there. Cynthia is married with two children who are both University of Georgia graduates and are now pursuing their graduate degrees.
Advisory Board
Mike Villa
Mike Villa
Michael Villa’s professional background includes over 33 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Michael served in senior executive roles (President and COO) of companies in the outpatient diagnostic radiology industry as well an entrepreneur in the health and welfare benefits industry. With experience building and leading organizations from start-up to multi-state, multi-site organizations with thousands of employees and revenues in the the hundreds of millions Michael can speak into a wide array of business subjects including Sales and Marketing, People and Culture, Process Engineering, Reporting, Management, and Finance.
Michael is an Elder of Perimeter Church and has served on the leadership teams of the church as well as Kingdom Investments, the grant-making arm of the ministry. Michael is married with three adult children.
Trey Tompkins III
Trey Tompkins III
Trey Tompkins serves as President of Admin America, Inc. Admin America is based in Alpharetta, Georgia and is an independent administrator and consultant for ERISA plans including Section 125 Flexible Benefit Plans, Section 105 Health Reimbursement Arrangements and COBRA. Admin America works primarily with for small to medium-sized employers. In addition to managing Admin America’s 15 full-time benefit professionals, Trey’s area of expertise is providing plan design consulting services for clients and their benefits advisors. Prior to his current position, Trey served as the in-house legal counsel for Admin America beginning in 1996.
Trey is a native of Atlanta. He earned an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. Trey recently earned his MBA degree from Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. Prior to joining Admin America, Trey worked for two years in private legal practice in metropolitan Atlanta.
Trey is a frequent Continuing Education presenter to health insurance professionals around Georgia regarding implementing and administering tax qualified health reimbursement plans and on continuation of health insurance coverage. Additionally, Trey’s role at Admin America allows him to present employee benefit plans to thousands of employees each year through their employers’ open enrollment education meetings.
Trey currently serves as President of the National Association of Health Underwriters’ (NAHU) Georgia Chapter. Trey also serves as a regional member of Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner Ralph Hudgens’ Health Insurance Advisory Committee. Trey also has previously served as President of NAHU’s Atlanta Chapter and other various board positions within the organization’s state and local chapters. Trey is also a past Chairman of the Political Action Committee affiliated with NAHU’s Georgia Chapter (GAHUPAC) and currently serves as GAHUPAC’s Treasurer. He has also previously served on NAHU’s national Consumer Driven Health Care working group and has been a contributor to the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) published series on Employee Healthcare Benefits.
Trey lives in Johns Creek, Georgia with his wife Angie and their four children. They attend North Point Community Church in Alpharetta and enjoy traveling attending sporting events in their free time.
Click here to access Trey’s Linked In profile.
Tuwanda Williams
Tuwanda Williams
Tuwanda Rush Williams is “Of Counsel” at the law firm of Thompson, O’Brien, Kappler & Nasuti in Peachtree Corners. She is formerly a Gwinnett Deputy County Attorney, where she supervised and managed the work of Senior Assistant County Attorneys who handle both transactional and litigation matters for Gwinnett County Government elected and appointed officials, departments, offices, and the court system. Her 31 years of legal experience is expansive, as she has formidable knowledge of over twenty-five areas of the law. For most of her legal career, she has been a local government lawyer, and her practice has been concentrated in section 1983 civil rights and constitutional law and litigation, state law claims of assault, battery, unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution, tort claims, tax appeals, eminent domain, public procurement and contract disputes, personal injury, property damage, and elections litigation. She was also a seven-year member of the Gwinnett County Indigent Defense Governing Committee, responsible for recruiting, managing, and reviewing the invoices of lawyers who represent indigent criminal defendants.
Tuwanda served as an officer of the Gwinnett County Bar Association for five years, culminating her service as President from 2012 to 2013, and she holds the distinction as the first African American officer of the Gwinnett Bar Association in its 70-year history. In addition, she co-established the Gwinnett Chapter of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers while serving as Statewide Chair of the Association’s Membership Committee, and she is a Past President of the Chapter. Tuwanda currently holds active memberships in the Gwinnett County Bar Association, the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the 1818 Club, the Gwinnett Giving Girls, the Gwinnett Section of the National Council of Negro Women, the Peachtree Rose Club, and the Gwinnett County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She is also a 2015 graduate of the 30th Anniversary Class of Leadership Gwinnett.
Tuwanda has performed dozens of hours of community service through several nonprofit organizations in Gwinnett, and she currently serves on the Advisory Board of H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Be Empowered) Inc., which is a nonprofit that helps single parents complete their college education. She is also the recipient of multiple awards and honors from bar associations and civic associations. Lastly, Tuwanda is a longtime member of Friendship Baptist Church in Duluth, where she has co-taught Wednesday Night Bible Study to high school students and served on the Finance, Greeters and Marriage Ministries. She is married to Dr. Anthony Williams, and they have two adult children and a daughter-in-law.
staff
Kenita Smith, MBA, MA
Founder & CEO, H.O.P.E Inc.
Kenita Smith | President/CEO & Founder
Danielle Hodge
Director of Operations and Program Director
Danielle Hodge | Program Director
As a young, single mother herself, Danielle understands the struggles and challenges that come with raising children, working, and attending college full-time. Danielle’s life experiences have taught her how to have compassion and empathy for others and have led her to the career path that she is on today. Danielle graduated from Colorado Technical University in 2013 with a B.B.A. in General Business Management, and in 2015 she obtained her M.B.A. concentrating in Human Resources.
As a Certified Life Coach, Danielle is passionate about helping other young women find their purpose in life and overcome obstacles that prevent them from reaching their goals. She believes that life is a gift, and each day should be lived to the fullest. In her spare time, Danielle enjoys reading, gardening, and hiking North Georgia with her 3 girls and their dogs, Duke, and Lenny.
Abbey Dean
Program Coordinator
Abbey Dean |Program Coordinator
Abbey is a devoted wife and mother to a lovely baby girl. She graduated from West Georgia University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and an associate’s degree in business management, accumulating three years of experience in administrative roles. During her bachelor’s studies, Abbey discovered her passion for enhancing the mindsets and habits of families and children. She thrives on seeing results and helping others overcome challenges by setting achievable goals. Abbey’s primary mission is to support those in need, striving to uplift, motivate, and encourage individuals aiming to improve their lives for the sake of their children and future generations. She believes in the saying, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Everyone has the opportunity to change their life’s direction; it’s a choice, and with the right support, nothing can hinder you once you commit. In her free time, Abbey enjoys cooking, traveling, and cherishing moments with her family.
Bianca Miller
Administrative Coordinator
Bianca Miller|Administrative Coordinator
As a former H.O.P.E. participant, Bianca Miller understands firsthand the challenges that many single-parent families face while working to create a better future for themselves and their children. Her own journey through the program helped her earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Business Management from Gwinnett Technical College and showed her the life-changing impact that support, opportunity, and community can have on a family's future.
A devoted mother of four daughters, Bianca has always been drawn to finding better ways to help people navigate challenges and move forward with confidence. Over time, she discovered that one of her greatest strengths is creating clarity where there is confusion and building systems that remove unnecessary obstacles. She believes that when paperwork, processes, and technology work the way they should, staff can spend more time serving, donors can more clearly see their impact, volunteers can contribute more effectively, and participants can focus on growth rather than frustration.
As Administrative Coordinator for H.O.P.E., Bianca is passionate about helping create experiences where people feel seen, heard, valued, and respected. Whether working behind the scenes or directly alongside families, she believes every person deserves to be treated with dignity and encouraged to recognize their own potential. One of Bianca's favorite quotes comes from Marianne Williamson: "As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." That belief guides both her work and her life, reminding her that growth, courage, and hope are often contagious.
