Meet the Charleston Promise Neighborhood Staff
Sherrie Snipes-Williams, Chief Executive Officer
Sherrie Snipes-Williams grew up in rural Ridgeville, S.C. in circumstances similar to many of the children in the area served by Charleston Promise Neighborhood. “I think I had the same things most kids in The Neck have: hardworking, caring parents; a strong church community; two or three teachers who encouraged me; discipline; and a dream to do and be more,” she notes.
Sherrie earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina in math and statistics, and studied in graduate school to be a math teacher. A skilled executive with strategic, operations, management, and business development skills, she has spent her entire career providing leadership to public and nonprofit community organizations in Columbia, San Antonio, and Atlanta before returning home to the Charleston region to take the reins of Charleston Promise Neighborhood.
She sees this position as an opportunity to enhance the “academic trajectory of our students, through the alignment of resources and the strengthening of our community.” Sherrie has the experience to lead an organization that employs evidence-based strategies to address the performance gap in academic outcomes among children in a low-income/high-potential neighborhood.
A wife and mother of “a brilliant, caring, curious, lovely 16-year-old daughter,” Sherrie lets down her hair by playing tennis, reading and doing things with her family, including worship. “I love God but (injustice causes me to) curse a little!” she admits.
Jill Hulsen, VP, Operations and Programs
If it sometimes seems as if Jill Hulsen is a trapeze artist in her role as Vice President of Operations and Programs at Charleston Promise Neighborhood, well, it’s because she is. Just a few years ago Jill performed a neat back flip in the piked position off a trapeze before a crowd of impressed onlookers.
The trapeze was a promotional ploy by a furniture store, but it helped fulfill Jill’s second life dream – after being an astronaut. That one will have to wait.
A native of the Buffalo area, Jill graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in hospitality management. Her career has been equally varied; she has worked in event planning, marketing and strategic planning from New York to Boston to Charleston. Prior to joining Charleston Promise Neighborhood, Jill helped Trident United Way create its strategic plan.
Jill’s parents prioritized education for their four daughters. She wants all children to have the same educational opportunities, regardless of their socio-economic status, and she believes Charleston Promise Neighborhood has a plan to create that opportunity in The Neck. “Trust the process,” she says.
When she’s not on the job, you’ll find Jill on the golf course or tennis court, curled up with a good book, or somewhere on the globe practicing her Latin, Spanish, German and Japanese.
Vicky Ingalls, Director of Programs
With family roots from the Philippines and Eastern Europe, Vicky Ingalls grew up in and around the nation’s capital, and says much of her education comes from the city itself. Educated in Maryland’s public schools, she fondly remembers her parents attending every recital and school event, and always being there for her and her sisters.
With her MBA in Information Systems Management, Vicky worked in management consulting for 25 years before moving into senior services and landing in an Alzheimer’s Respite agency in Summerville. She joined Charleston Promise Neighborhood in 2011, where she serves as Director of Programs and Volunteer Engagement.
A sense of respect for others and fairness drive Vicky at Charleston Promise Neighborhood. She wants today’s children to have the same opportunity to succeed, regardless of where a child starts in life, inspired by her own family stories of grandparents and a parent migrating to this country for a better life.
Vicky and her husband Chris have a daughter, Emily, who graduated from Academic Magnet High School and now studies biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University. They enjoy a menagerie of pets: a hound dog puppy, a dozen fish, two cats and one stray desperately trying to move in permanently. When she's not helping children in The Neck succeed in school, Vicky enjoys Charleston and its cultural offerings, reading, cooking, yoga and meditation.
Radia Heyward, Community Engagement Program Manager
Radia Heyward serves Charleston as the Community Engagement Program Manager at Charleston Promise Neighborhood. But that's not her main job. Radia is the mother of a 12 year-old and two college students, and if the results are any indication, she's doing stellar work.
Her eldest, Jayson, is a sophomore with a 3.5GPA at Howard University majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He plays football and serves as a student athlete mentor. Jarad is a freshman with a 3.5GPA at Claflin University majoring in Marketing & Communication with emphasis in Sports Management. He serves as a student mentor with a local community organization in Orangeburg. Twelve-year-old Jade sews, cooks and plays volleyball and basketball at Ce Williams Middle School, and she's a straight-A student.
Three kids. Three schools. Three top performers. Radia is a busy woman. But that's nothing new: she has been serving her community since she was 12 years old.
Radia grew up in Fort Campbell, KY and Columbia, SC before moving to Charleston to attend College of Charleston. She says her passion in life is to help others and do it selflessly. She volunteers with a variety of organizations, has managed numerous political campaigns and serves as a juvenile arbitrator for the Ninth Circuit Solicitor.
Radia is guided by two notions: “Put God first and the rest will follow," and “Teach them how to fish so they can fish FOREVER."
Tami Barlow, Director of Operations
Tami Barlow grew up the child of missionaries, moving from school to school every year, including a three-year stint in Mexico. That experience taught her to adapt readily to change and excel academically, spurred by interested parents and caring teachers.
Always motivated to help others, Tami seized the opportunity to join Charleston Promise Neighborhood as Director of Operations after years guiding the operations at a variety of healthcare organizations. “Staff and board members of CPN have the same desire to help others succeed and give 110% to our mission,” she says.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate of High Point University in North Carolina who is certified in Six Sigma systems, Tami moved to Charleston in 1999 just in time to evacuate for Hurricane Floyd. Tami believes that serving others is the key to life. One of her favorite quotes comes from motivational speaker and sales master Zig Ziglar: “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”
Karen Quadrio, Director of Development and Marketing
Karen Quadrio is New Jersey born and raised…she still loves the Garden State, but now calls Charleston her hometown.
Before joining Charleston Promise Neighborhood, Karen had had a very successful career in senior management in consumer products, specifically, toys. She grew businesses from the ground up, thinking strategically and making the big ask, eventually managing $235 million in revenue for one of the largest toy manufacturers in the U.S. Forming her own consulting business in 2007, she worked with international consumer products companies to bring their goods to the U.S. However, Karen has just very recently found her true passion.
In January of 2018, she followed her desire to serve those with far less opportunity in the world of education. In the short time since she joined CPN, she has already had significant impact. Now, as Director of Development and Marketing, Karen is lending her skills to the work of providing to the children of The Neck equitable access to education and opportunities for life success.
Karen and her husband Fred have been together for 40 years and they still make each other laugh. But their cat, Jack, also known as “the Mayor,” entertains them most. Karen’s superpower is that she can keep a secret, but she’s now making sure the great work of Charleston Promise Neighborhood is a secret no more.