Our Team

Our Board of Directors

Robin Anthony Kouyate, PhD, MA, Director

Robin Anthony Kouyate, PhD, MA, Director, CFF Board of Directors.
Dr. Anthony Kouyaté has over 25 years of experience providing social and behavioral science leadership to support chronic disease, maternal/newborn/child health (MNCH), nutrition, and reproductive health programs in 15 countries in the U.S., Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Her experience spans a range of behavioral domains including chronic illness self-management, medication adherence, postpartum contraceptive use, breastfeeding and infant nutrition practices, adolescent resilience, cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness practices, and parenting with emotional intelligence. Since 2010, she has provided behavioral science leadership and expertise leading teams in designing digital and non-digital health solutions that support chronic disease self-management, in the private sector retail pharmacy, start-up and biotech industry settings.

Dr. Anthony Kouyaté has served as a consultant, a volunteer, on advisory boards, and on professional society committees for organizations focused on supporting health and wellbeing, as well as mentoring BIPOC youth and peers. These pursuits reflect her passion for supporting people of color, women, and particularly BIPOC youth in their development, professional pursuits, and overall well-being. In 2005 - 2006, she served as the Lead Research Consultant for the National Council of Negro Women, documenting the efficacy of NCNW partnerships with African women’s empowerment organizations and presenting findings to the funding organization. She has served as a mentor for first generation BIPOC students for the America Need You Program, Los Angeles (2021-2022) and a professional peer mentor, Amgen Black Employee Resource Group Mentor-Mentee Program (2021).

She has been appointed to two presidential committees for the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM): Committee Chair for the Microcredentialing Committee (2019-2020) advising on additional fundraising approaches; and Committee Member for the Industry Connections Committee (2022 – present) mandated with supporting the Membership Council by developing industry connections for SBM and its members. Dr. Anthony Kouyate has served on advisory boards as behavioral science subject matter expert for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals (2012) and Motiv, a digital health start-up (2023).

She received her PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, her MA in International Economics and American Foreign Policy from the Paul H Nitze Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, her BA in Comparative Area Studies – Africa and the Middle East from Duke University, and is fluent in French. She is a Maryland resident.

Margaret Bass, PhD, MA. Director

BIO

Margaret Bass, PhD, M.Ed., Director, CFF Board of Directors. Dr. Bass was Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Inclusion at St. Michael's College in Vermont. She served as a Restorative Justice Panel Manager with the City of Winooski's police department and a member of the School Board in Winooski School District. She is a retired Associate Professor of English at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. In addition to teaching, Dr. Bass has held several administrative positions, including Interim Dean of Students and the Director of the Center for Diversity and Social Justice. She is an avid traveler and student of world cultures. She has led student groups on experiential learning trips in and out of the U.S. Dr. Bass writes extensively on diversity and social justice in predominantly white academic institutions. She has won several awards for outstanding undergraduate teaching. Dr. Bass holds a BA in English from Wilmington College in Ohio, a M.Ed. in Special Education from the University of Mississippi, and a PhD. in English from Louisiana State University. She is a Vermont resident.

James Bentil, BS. Director

BIO

James Bentil Bio, BS., Director, CFF Board of Directors. Mr. Bentil is a results-oriented strategist who provides integrated business and analytical solutions to diverse stakeholders in both public and private industries, including high valued individuals, executive leadership, and fast-growing organizations. For the past eight years, he has worked with the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where he presently serves as a Supervisory Analyst and
Advisor. Mr. Bentil deeply understands how dynamic business can be and values organized implementation plans to achieve optimal results. His strengths are in quantitative and qualitative data analysis, managing cross-functional teams, client briefings, project management, and strategic planning.

He is a first-generation American with parents who hail from the diverse African nation of Ghana.
Ever since 1999, he would travel to Ghana for about a month to learn more about his ancestral history,
about each geographic region and its attributes, and for vacation purposes. Mr. Bentil’s family has resided in Vermont for nearly 30 years. They chose Vermont for its high standard of quality of life as well as its community-based approach to improving the well-being of its residents.

In past years, Mr. Bentil has volunteered in various capacities including serving as the National Chair for the University of Vermont (UVM) Alumni Association’s NextGen Council with University of Vermont Foundation, a Board Member with Chittenden County Court Diversion Program, an Alumni Networker with the UVM Alumni Association, and the United States Attorney's Office Representative for Vermont Crime Victims’ Week. Within the federal landscape, Mr. Bentil served as a DHS/USCIS Special Emphasis Program Manager. His focus was to support the Office of Equal Opportunity and Inclusion's (OEOI) mission of promoting and sustaining a diverse workforce and utilizing data-driven strategic collaborative approaches to workplace inclusion. Mr. Bentil provided insight and recommendations concerning equal employment opportunities and personnel management policies/practices.

Mr. Bentil has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Vermont with a focus on Human Resources and Macro/Microeconomics.

Steven Berbeco, EdD. Director and Secretary

BIO

Steven Berbeco, EdD., Director, CFF Board of Directors, Secretary.
Dr. Berbeco believes that our greatest impact comes from sustained and committed work to validate and empower the voices of the community. He serves on several boards for the local community, including the Winooski School Board, and his work previously has included leadership in state, federal, and tribal education and social services. As superintendent for geographically isolated schools on a Native American reservation, Dr. Berbeco increased the graduation rate and reduced instances of youth self-harm and pregnancy. He earned a doctorate in education from Boston University and is continuing his education as a graduate student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Vermont State University. Dr. Berbeco’s greatest love is for family and community. He and his family love exploring in the woods, with his wife leading the search for hard-to-find mushrooms and their two children collecting as many rocks and leaves as can fit in their pockets. He is a Vermont resident.

Lydia Clemmons, PhD, MPH, President and Executive Director

BIO

Lydia Clemmons, PhD, MPH President, CFF Board of Directors.
Dr. Clemmons is a medical anthropologist with a 35-year career leading ethnographic research and community development programs in the US and more than 20 African countries. She has more than 20 years of senior executive-level experience managing national and global program annual budgets of $20-$50 million dollars. She is internationally recognized for her innovative work integrating arts and culture into effective public health and social change programming.

Dr. Clemmons began her international work as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Democratic Republic of Congo. She has worked for the US Agency for International Development, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and numerous US nonprofit organizations working in international development.

She grew up on her family’s farm in Vermont and returned in 2013 to help her parents preserve the farm- one of just 0.4% of all farms in the US that is African-American owned- for future generations. As President of the Clemmons Family Farm, Inc., she provides leadership for the farm’s transition into a 501c3 nonprofit organization and oversees its programming. She is fluent in French and Lingala.

Dr. Clemmons is the recipient of the 2021 Con Hogan Award from the Vermont Community Foundation, the 2021 Arthur Williams Award for Meritorious Service to the Arts from the Vermont Arts Council, and the 2022 NAACP-Rutland Branch Lifetime Achievement Award.

She holds a PhD in Medical Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, a Master in Public Health from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University. She is a Vermont resident.

Kay Johnson, MPH, MEd, Director and Treasurer

BIO

Kay Johnson, MPH, MEd, CFF Board of Directors, Treasurer. Ms. Johnson is nationally recognized for her work in maternal and child health policy, as a researcher, advocate, and consultant. Reducing the impact of poverty and racism and increasing access to services for women, children, and their families are two of her lifelong goals. She is founder and president of a small, woman-owned business—a national firm based in Vermont since 1998 and currently known as Johnson Policy Consulting.

Her work at the Children’s Defense Fund, March of Dimes, George Washington University, and Johnson Consulting have shaped the direction of maternal and child health (MCH) and Medicaid policy since 1984. she has been active in health policy at the federal level and provided consultation to 45 states. She has written more than 100 policy reports and professional journal articles. She previously held academic appointments as Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth (1998-2016) and as Lecturer in Healthy Policy at the George Washington University. Ms. Johnson has demonstrated skills in leadership and strategic planning. She served as senior consultant for development of the new strategic plan for the HHS-HRSA-Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) (2020-2021). As staff director or chair for several national panels (e.g., US HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality, National Newborn Screening Task Force, Committee on Perinatal Health, CDC Select Panel on Preconception Health), she fostered consensus among diverse stakeholders which led to recommendations and many action strategies being implemented.

In addition to her appointed advisory roles on many entities, Ms. Johnson has held positions on
various boards including All Kids Count, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, Partnership for Prevention, National Perinatal Association, Vermont March of Dimes, Chapel Hill NC Women’s Center, and DC Mayor’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Panel.

Before moving to Vermont and starting her consulting firm, Ms. Johnson was a Senior Research Staff Scientist at the GWU Center for Health Policy Research (1996-1998). She held roles as senior advisor (1991-1992) and national policy director for the March of Dimes (1992-96). Working at the Children’s Defense Fund in senior health staff positions (1984-91), she founded the first federal MCH advocacy coalition and coordinated efforts for passage of six major Medicaid expansions for pregnant women and children and other policy change.

Prior to her policy work, she worked for seven years providing direct services to low-income families in child care centers devoted to equity and justice for diverse groups of families in Buffalo, NY and Chapel Hill, NC. During her years as a teacher/provider, she also was active as a volunteer in community organizing and community-based organizations focused on social justice and equity.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH) from the University of North Carolina (1984), as well as a Master’s Degree in Education (MEd) from the University of Buffalo where she studied child development (1978). She is a Vermont resident.

Leslie McCrorey Wells, MA, Director

BIO

Leslie McCrorey Wells, MA. Director, CFF Board of Directors. A lifelong resident of Vermont, Ms. Leslie McCrorey Wells grew up in Charlotte. She has long sought to balance a passion for fine food and entrepreneurship with a call to social action. As co-owner of Burlington restaurants Pizzeria Verità, Trattoria Delia and Sotto Enoteca, she has found fulfillment in building successful, employee-centered businesses with strong environmental practices, local sourcing and a commitment to community engagement.

Hailing from a long line of educators and activists, Ms. Wells and her siblings learned a wide array of life lessons from their parents, including the understanding that since racism is learned, it could be un-learned. This instilled in her a deep belief in the power of education, a hunger for social justice and a desire to take direct action.

In past years, Ms. McCrorey Wells has served on the Vermont Commission on National & Community Service, the UVM Coming Home Project, the Burlington School District Strategic Planning Committee, and Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle’s Anti-Racism Task Force. She currently serves as a board member for the Fleming Museum and Mercy Connections, a Vermont-based non-profit organization with an enduring concern for women. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Master's degree in History from the University of Vermont. She is a Vermont resident.

Donna Sherard, MPH, Director

BIO

Donna Sherard, MPH. Director, CFF Board of Directors. Ms. Sherard is a seasoned global health marketing and behavior change communication professional with more than 20 years’ experience designing and leading high-quality behavior change programs. She is skilled in strategy design and implementation (Social Marketing, Human Centered Design and Social Behavior Change), audience and market insight application, capacity building and change management in a range of health areas – HIV, TB, family planning, adolescent reproductive health, maternal and child health, nutrition and malaria.

After nearly 10 years in private sector healthcare marketing in the United States, Ms. Sherard spent seven years in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda leading a number of behavior change communication and advocacy programs. Her work included five years as Deputy Regional Representative to Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs where she was responsible for leading an award-winning, regional health communication and advocacy project addressing HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health.

Upon returning to work and live in the United States, Ms. Sherard spent six years at the world’s largest social marketing organization, PSI. She led PSI’s social behavior change initiatives as the Deputy Director for HIV and TB, provided technical assistance to product and service marketing interventions and brand strategies in over 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia and Central America and the Caribbean.

In 2014, Ms. Sherard founded Changeable, a global health marketing and behavior change firm. In the past 7 years of operation, she has led the small, woman owned business, doubling annual revenue through delivering client centered, consultative services to a range of clients including several US federal government agencies (USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation), the commercial private sector (Johnson and Johnson), private foundations (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Nike Foundation) and large not for profits (One Acre Fund, FHI 360, JSI, PSI) working globally to improve health and social well-being.

She has an MPH from Columbia University and a BS in Marketing from Hampton University. She is a Maryland resident.

Our Program Leadership Team

Lydia Clemmons PhD, MPH, Executive Director

Kia'Rae Hanron BA, Windows To A Multicultural World K12 Arts Learning Director

Our Windows To A Multicultural World
Core K-12 Teaching Artist Team

Our core team of teaching artists is below. We also collaborate with other Vermont artists of African descent to deliver tailored teaching artists engagements for special programs.