People

Shoes That Fit is honored to have such a dedicated and prestigious group of volunteers helping us achieve our mission.

“It's one simple, very concrete difference you can make in the life of a child.”

Amy FassCEO

Board of Directors—Officers

Scott Meden

Chair of the Board of Directors

Chief Marketing Officer (ret.), Nordstom
Seattle, Washington

Tony Ramos

Vice Chair of the Board of Directors

Municipal Management Consultant
Henderson, Nevada

Juli Hester

Treasurer of the Board of Directors

Vice President & CFO, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
Pomona, California

Ron Cohen

Secretary of the Board of Directors

Partner, LevatoLaw
Irvine, California

Board of Directors

G. Terence Balagia, Jr.

Investment Advisor, Asset & Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs & Co.
Los Angeles, California

Jeremy Bolds

Senior Director, Marketplace, Nike, Inc.
Beaverton, Oregon

Stephanie Crean

Wealth Advisor, Meristem Private Wealth
Upland, California

Penelope DeLeon, EdD

Superintendent, Newark Unified School District
Newark, CA

Christa Iacono

VP, Institutional Retirement Senior Product Manager, Capital Group
Los Angeles, California

Lynn Mason

President & CEO, Broadstep
Raleigh, North Carolina

Genoveva Meza Talbott

Attorney at Law, Meza Talbott Law
Claremont, CA

Bob Montgomery

Vice President (ret.), OnMedia
Des Moines, Iowa

Tacey Powers

EVP/GMM Shoes & Kids Apparel, Nordstrom
Seattle, Washington

Kate Schoff

Executive Director of Sports & Entertainment Marketing, JPMorgan Chase
New York City, New York

Cris Stark

Community Advocate
Claremont, CA

Karen Taylor Herring

Principal, T & H Consulting, LLC
San Dimas, California

Sarah Treasure

Director, M&A Advisory, ‎PwC
Los Angeles, California

Andrew Wong

Partner, Reed Smith, LLP
Los Angeles, California

Advisory Board

Julie Bauer

Chief External Relations Officer at OCC
Washington, District of Columbia

Alonzo Bodden

Comedian & Host
Los Angeles, California

Filipp Chebotarev

Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner, Cambridge Companies SPG
Las Vegas, Nevada

Polina Chebotareva

Vice President & General Partner, Cambridge Companies SPG
Las Vegas, Nevada

Julie Friedman

President, The Friedman Group
Los Angeles, California

Lesley Irvine

VP & Director of Athletics, Colorado College
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Brian Johnson

TV Host & Founder
Los Angeles, California

Michele Love

CEO, Sunrise Brands LLC
Columbus, Ohio

Ashley B. Lubetkin

Principal, Bosse Lending
New York City, New York

Richard Martinez

Superintendent (ret.), Pomona Unified School District
Pomona, California

Ann Morgan

Past Board Chair & Psychologist (ret.)
Claremont, California

Nichol T. Whiteman

CEO, Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation
Los Angeles, California

Executive Team

Amy Fass

CEO and Executive Director

Named Claremont's Community Hero in 2017, Shoes That Fit CEO has lived in Claremont and worked in nonprofit management and development for over 25 years.

When the opportunity arose to lead Shoes That Fit—a Claremont-based, national nonprofit that has been delivering shoes to children in need for 30 years—Fass knew the organization well and was proud to take on the challenge. Before becoming Executive Director in 2014, she had been a consultant for Shoes That Fit since 2008. Shoes That Fit was named California Nonprofit of the Year by the California State Assembly in 2017. In 2019, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation selected her for a scholarship to Stanford's Executive Program in Nonprofit Management.

Fass' development career began at Pomona College, where she served as Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations; she then worked for the University of California, Berkeley, securing major gifts for the campus’ $1.2 billion campaign. After the birth of her daughter, she began consulting non-profits on development and strategic planning, which she believes are intimately linked. She has been very active in the local community, chairing the Boards of Mt. San Antonio Gardens (retirement community), the City of Claremont’s Architectural Commission, House of Ruth (domestic violence prevention agency) and Claremont Heritage.

Amy earned her B.A. at Stanford University and in May 2019 completed an Executive Program in Nonprofit Management there; she also holds a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, dog and cat. Having lived in many parts of the country, she loves to travel and see how others view of the world.
As a mom and someone who spent a large part of her career in the education sector, she understands the importance of education and believes deeply in the Shoes That Fit mission that all children deserve to attend school with dignity and joy, prepared to learn, play and thrive.

Nekeda Newell-Hall

Chief Strategy Officer

Nekeda Newell-Hall has a golden contacts list.  She has been on the forefront of product placement and brand integration for many years having done one of the first ever product-gifting suites at FOX’s 2nd Annual Teen Choice Awards. Nekeda spent five years as the Associate Director of Entertainment Marketing at NIKE where she was responsible for overseeing entertainment marketing, operations, music, film, and television for the sports giant. In addition to placing product on top celebrities, Nekeda co-authored and executed Nike’s Music Influencer Program.  She has worked with music personalities like Madonna, Janet Jackson, Destiny’s Child, Justin Timberlake, Elton John, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Jay-Z, David Foster (music producer), Randy Jackson (American Idol), Celine Dion and many more.

Ms. Newell-Hall got her start working in Player and Talent Relations for the National Basketball Association. Booking celebrities for NBA events, games, and television shows helped spark Nekeda’s curiosity in the art of the deal.  Her negotiating skills were honed with stints at prestigious firms The William Morris Agency (WME) and ICM Partners. Pitching and booking celebrities and sports stars (NBA, NFL, MLB and MLS) for book deals, television commercials, voice-overs and sitcom appearances would later prove handy.

Nekeda added philanthropy to her career arc by joining Shoes That Fit to launch the Strategic Partners program.  She leads the team responsible for working with corporations, celebrities and athletes to help provide new athletic shoes for kids in need nationwide. Nekeda also helps to oversee the Marcomm’s function for the organization.  Some of the most notable partnerships Nekeda has helped to steward at Shoes That Fit include NBA stars, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, DeAndre Bembry, The Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Galaxy, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, LA Rams and Atlanta Hawks and Porsche Cars North America.

In addition to her work at Shoes That Fit, Nekeda continues to consult with brands and celebrities on their philanthropic efforts and marketing initiatives.  She is most proud of her work with Gatorade, Viacom, Diesel Footwear, Nautica, T-Mobile, Nickelodeon, and VolunteerMatch.

Ms. Newell-Hall is a partner in strut Agency and co-host of the podcast, The Sneaker Chronicles.  She resides in Los Angeles and is the proud mom of two teens and one fur baby.  She is actively involved in Grambling State University’s National Alumni Association and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.  Nekeda’s ultimate goal is to leverage her corporate, entertainment and sports relationships to help make the world a better and more joyful place.  She gets to do that every day with Shoes That Fit by giving kids hope in the form of new athletic shoes so they can remain physically active, learn, play and thrive.  In return, she gets to see all the little smiles.  Priceless.

Staff

Nathan Alvarez

Systems Manager

Jarret Bjornsen

Office Administrator

Sarah Costales

Director of Leadership Giving

Ramona Cross

Communications Manager

David Glick

Development Manager

Jazmin Guerra

Strategic Partnerships Coordinator

Sonia Gutierrez

Operations Associate

Janet Lang

Sr. Manager of Strategic Partnerships

Linda Matthews

Associate Director of Administration

Debra Moton

Head of Sports and Entertainment

Natalie Ovcharenko

Strategic Partnerships Associate

Kylee Paulson

Executive Assistant

Kelly Reyna

Strategic Partnerships Assistant

Dan Stump

Vice President of Operations

Michele Weatherholt

Manager of Strategic Partnerships

Stephanie Wood

Director of Strategic Partnerships

You can help kids attend school with joy, dignity, and confidence. Make a lasting difference today!