Staff - Together Women Rise

Beverley Francis-Gibson - CEO

Beverley Francis-Gibson is currently the CEO of Together Women Rise, a powerful community of women and allies dedicated to achieving global gender equality. With hundreds of local chapters across the U.S., members learn about and advocate for gender equality issues, give grants to organizations that empower women and girls in low-income countries, and build community to forge meaningful connections that increase our strength and collective impact.
Francis-Gibson previously served as the President and CEO of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. (SCDAA) based in Hanover, Maryland and has more than 25 years of experience serving non-profits and community foundations. She has an extensive background in philanthropy, fundraising, grant writing and organizational management. She has worked on behalf of women and girls through her professional and personal career and is very excited to work with the community of women at Together Women Rise.
She has also led organizations whose mission addressed issues of mental illness, HIV and AIDS, homelessness/poverty, domestic violence and women’s issues.
She has served on Duke University’s Women’s Services Advisory Council which was committed to gender equity and social change; participated in the YWCA’s Race Shall Not Divide Us Initiative and participated in the Women’s Giving Circle in Maryland. She participated in a women’s delegation to Kostroma through the Sister Cities’ Program in Durham, North Carolina and in 2019 was a featured speaker at the 63RD Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women which focused on social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Francis-Gibson is previously served as a Board Member of the Global Patient Advocacy Advisory Board on Sickle Cell Disease; founding Board Member of the Global Alliance on Sickle Cell Disease Organizations and co-chair of the Governance Committee and as a member of the Steering Committee for the Black Women’s Health Imperative met with the Biden/Harris Transition Team to discuss health disparities in the United States for women and girls.
She is Past Chair of the Board of Directors of Maryland Nonprofits. She is a 2009 Leadership Premiere Graduate and previous Board member of Leadership Howard County. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a provisional member of the Junior League of Charlotte.
Francis-Gibson created “Leadership Conversations” a quarterly gathering of nonprofit Executive Directors who share best practices, network and hear from engaging speakers on various topics. Currently, she mentors Executive Directors and Board Chairs through her affiliation with Maryland Nonprofits.
She has been a dynamic instructor on fundraising, grant writing and philanthropy at Duke University’s Nonprofit Management Program and at the University of Chapel Hill in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, respectively. She has been a popular speaker and webinar presenter at the Maryland Governor’s Conference on Grant Making for several years. She is the recipient of several leadership awards and recently received a Certificate of Congressional Recognition for her advocacy efforts in Washington D.C.
A native of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Francis-Gibson holds a B.A. in Public Relations and Communications and an M.A. in Industrial and Community Counseling from Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond Kentucky. She and her husband enjoy cooking, traveling and spending time with their adult children.Follow

Jenny Blakeney — Executive Administrative Coordinator

Originally from Illinois, Jenny moved to South Carolina 17 years ago and currently lives in Fountain Inn SC. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Marketing from Illinois State University and worked for many years in Medical Clinic Administration. Prior to joining Together Women Rise in May 2021, Jenny worked as Executive Assistant in the financial industry for 16 years. In her spare time, she likes to spend time with her husband, children, and dog, Poncho, and enjoys reading.Follow

Wendy Frattolin — Communications & Membership Director

Originally from Canada, Wendy has a degree in Journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. She has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of communications, marketing and development, having worked in both corporate and non-profit settings and as an independent consultant. Wendy joined the Together Women Rise staff in April 2014, where she oversees Together Women Rise’s Member Education and Engagement Program and has overall responsibility for the organization’s communications strategies and activities. She is a member of the Greenville-1 chapter and served as co-leader of this chapter for two years. Wendy has two children, Julia and Josh, and enjoys traveling, running, yoga, and reading.Follow

Kaitlyn Grigsby-Hall — Director of Development

Kaitlyn Grigsby-Hall joined Together Women Rise in April 2023 as Director of Development. In this role, Kaitlyn plans fundraising strategies and coordinates donor stewardship, cultivation, and communications. Kaitlyn has 10 years of fundraising experience, including previous roles as Grants Manager for Together Women Rise grantee CREATE! and as a development officer for Salisbury University. She has a BA in Environmental Studies, Biology, and Public Policy from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, as well as a MS in Environmental Studies and Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. She lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where she enjoys boating on the Chesapeake Bay and swimming in the ocean with her husband and young son. Follow

Quinn Hayes — Program & Grants Manager

Quinn Hayes is from West Palm Beach and joins Together Women Rise as Program and Grants Manager effective March 1, 2023. In this role, she will identify and nurture opportunities for affecting positive systemic change within communities and executing programming efforts that are aligned with this organizational direction. She is responsible for developing and promoting an open and inclusive Grants Program, including all proposal and grant tracking, grant-related compliance, and administration.
Quinn has more than 17 years of experience helping women, girls, youth, communities, and coalitions to drive transformative change strategies, and more than 15 years providing grant fidelity, direction, and support to partnering organizations. Prior to joining Together Women Rise, she served as the Women in Philanthropy Officer for the United Way of the Midlands in Columbia, SC and the Community Development Manager & Events Coordinator for Harvest Hope Food Bank.
In 2018, Quinn was named an innovative leader and Community Leadership Corp member by the Obama Foundation. She was chosen as a Gender Justice Advocacy Fellow by WREN (Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network) in 2022 and awarded a BIPOC Leaders Scholarship from the Central Carolina Community Foundation in 2021. She also serves as the Midlands rep for My Brothers & Sisters Keeper Alliance of South Carolina in Spartanburg and the Leadership Director for Lynn Brown Inspires Young Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow. She is a member of the board for the Equity Roundtable for Together SC, and for Young Men United, serves on the Child Advocacy Coalition, and is a part of the North Columbia Youth Empowerment Initiative (NCYEI) committee. In her spare time she uses and helps others to use the arts as a vehicle for healing through her work and founding of The Weight of Words.Follow

Kia Hunter — Volunteer Manager

As Volunteer Manager, Kia Hunter works with hundreds of amazing volunteers, from all across the US, who support Together Women Rise in achieving its mission. Her role includes recruiting, selecting, training, and recognizing volunteers and ensuring their experience is rewarding, empowering, and fun! After receiving a BA in History from Davidson College and an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University, Kia's work has focused on education, advocacy, and community engagement. Some of her major projects include establishing the International Spy Museum's first volunteer and intern programs and producing a 150th Anniversary of the Civil War series for C-SPAN's American History TV. Kia also serves on the board of the American Association for Museum Volunteers and Perisphere Theater. When not advocating for women's equality and collaborating with our volunteers at Together Women Rise, Kia enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, hosting book clubs, and visiting Broadway.Follow

Pam Menges – Chief Financial Officer

A native of Alabama, Pam joined the Together Women Rise team in December of 2020 and works out of our Greenville, SC home office. Prior to this, she worked for the Greenville Symphony Orchestra as their Finance Executive for 11 years. Pam became proficient in non-profit accounting while serving in several executive board roles with local units of District 1 – South Carolina PTA. Prior to her non-profit experience, Pam was employed in the banking and lending industry where she held various positions with Regions Bank and Regions Mortgage, Centura Bank (now PNC Bank), and SouthTrust Bank (now Wells Fargo). Pam holds a B.S. in Financial Management from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. In her spare time, you can find Pam spending time with her family, baking, and spoiling her three dogs, Beau, Sam, and Kona.Follow

Suzanne Metcalf – Communications Coordinator

Suzanne Metcalf joins the Together Women Rise staff on April 17 as Communications Coordinator. In this role, she will produce communications materials to increase awareness and understanding of Rise’s mission and work, and will coordinate our social media strategy. Suuzanne’s work has been dedicated to telling stories that move people to action. She has worked with non-profits and NGO’s and has supported agencies in corporate branding and storytelling. She lives with her family in Tryon, NC and enjoys traveling and spending time outside hiking and exploring.Follow

Amy West Moore – Technology Manager

Amy grew up on the coast of Virginia, then attended Carson-Newman University in east Tennessee and Wake Forest University School of Divinity in North Carolina. Before working at Together Women Rise, she worked in admissions at Pacific School of Religion and as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at First United Methodist Church, San Leandro. She lives in the Greenville, SC, with her husband, Stuart and son, Campbell. Amy enjoys watching college football (Go Deacs!), doing yoga, and singing in the church choir. Her primary responsibilities at Together Women Rise include helping to maintain our member and chapter database records, processing donations, managing our website, creating newsletters, and providing tech support for the Board’s and other committees’ Office 365 sites.Follow

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