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Deesha Dyer
FOUNDER & CEO
Deesha Dyer is the Founder and CEO of Hook & Fasten, a social impact agency that specializes in transformational relationships between corporations and communities, diversity & inclusion and executive operations. Dyer is an award-winning strategist, on-the-ground community organizer and operations expert who cultivates and executes ideas and causes that create tangible change. For nearly two decades, she has produced social-impact campaigns across entertainment, politics, philanthropy and business. Dyer served as White House Social Secretary under President Barack Obama, completed a two-year tenure at the Ford Foundation, and in December 2019, finished a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics where she designed and taught a study course entitled, “From Imposter to Impact.”
Named to Marie Claire’s ‘new guard of women changing the world’, Dyer’s personal journey has been guided by an unwavering passion for servant leadership, civic engagement and social justice. In 2015, Essence called her “one of the most powerful women calling the shots in the Obama Administration.”
Dyer is a sought-after keynote speaker known for delivering engaging talks on a range of topics spanning women in leadership, confidence, diversity and social change.
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Jemima Lauriston
ASSISTANT TO CEO & FOUNDER
Jemima Lauriston is a Boston native who studied early childhood education at Mount Ida College. She started her professional career as an intern for Congressman Bobby L. Rush (IL) through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF). Since then, she's worked in recruitment for both tech and security sectors through companies like Meta, Apple, and the Security Industry Specialists. She now spends all of her free time, writing and performing sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in LA (UCBTLA); while also studying to be a personal trainer & nutritionist.
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Caroline Sweet
RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT
Caroline Sweet has over fifteen years of experience in executive assisting, recruiting, branding and writing. She began her career in public relations and quickly expanded into executive recruitment. When not assisting Hook & Fasten, Caroline is an actor, writer and producer. Classically trained in improv and sketch, her writing centers on film/tv for social change and first-person narrative essays covering a range of topics from mental health, family dynamics, pop culture and all the things we go through as humans. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA and holds a BA from the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
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Lani Rodriguez
GRAPHIC DESIGN CONSULTANT
Lani Rodriguez is a graphic designer and visual artist born and bred in the Bay Area. She is the co-founder of Backtalk Videográfica, a design studio that informs, provokes, and re-visions to meet today's urgent need for complex storytelling. Over the past 7 years she has worked with creative entrepreneurs and organizations working in film, social impact, and cultural strategy. She holds an MA in Media Studies from The New School and currently resides in Boston, MA. See her work at backtalk.studio/design.
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Kimberly Stokes
PROJECT RESEARCH CONSULTANT
Kimberly Stokes is a Project Research Consultant for the Hook & Fasten team committed to using data in equitable ways to support systemic change for underserved groups. She serves as a psychotherapist and doctoral student focused on Black maternal health and wellness. Kimberly is a certified elementary educator who holds master’s degrees in education and counseling psychology.
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Nathalia Tavares
PROJECT COORDINATOR - IOAV
Nathalia Tavares is a Project Coordinator for Impact of a Vote, a newsletter dedicated to amplifying opportunities for underserved groups to begin careers in politics and public service. As a senior at Columbia University majoring in Ethnicity and Race Studies with a specialization in Protest Performing Arts, Nathalia has a background in community-devised theatre and is committed to examining how the arts can be used for social change.
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Wesley Moe
SENIOR DIRECTOR
Wes Moe is a nonprofit expert and professional volunteer manager with 20+ years of experience. In previous roles, Wes was responsible for creating custom employee skilled volunteer programs for Fortune 500 companies. While with New York Cares, he oversaw the annual work of 62,000 volunteers, managed the training of over 17,000 new volunteers, and the training, recognition, and development of over 1,200 volunteer leaders. He also engaged both corporate and non corporate partners on large multi-site days of service and led the largest local winter coat donation program in the country distributing more than 120,000 coats as part of the New York Cares Coat Drive.
Earlier in his career, Wes served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jordan where he worked with a community center for adults with disabilities and organized communication campaigns to raise disability rights awareness and improve accessibility to public spaces. He also served as an AmeriCorps NCCC member. Wes holds a Masters of Public Affairs from Baruch and has a BA in Sociology and History from Loyola College in Maryland.
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ShanTorrian Rayewood
STRATEGY & RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
ShanTorrian graduated Cum Laude from George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and a double minor in History and Sociology. She has extensive experience in JDEI, project management, strategic communications, brand development, creative marketing, and sustainable social impact. She is passionate about community engagement, people operations, and DEI. In her free time she enjoys everything fashion, hosting her own podcast, reading, and traveling.