THE SEED IMPACT TEAM
SEED Impact Staff

Omera Begum
Visual Marketing Designer
Omera Begum joined SEED as a Communications/Social Media Intern. She is a graduate of Queens College, CUNY with a Bachelor's in Graphic Design. Omera hungers for innovation and loves to create visual products that represent meaningful change in the community.

Melinda Lackey
Executive Director and
Co-Founder
Melinda K. Lackey is Executive Director and Co-Founder of SEED Impact. Formerly a professional ballet dancer, Melinda holds a Master’s degree in Social Research and was a Kellogg National Leadership Program fellow.
Melinda contributes to the design…

Zoë Medley
Community Service Intern
Zoë Medley is volunteering at SEED Impact as a community service volunteer, gaining a deeper understanding of the needs of “people outside of her own bubble.” Zoë is a sophomore at Alexander Dreyfooes School of the Arts and is majoring in…

Gabriel Gallego
Operations Assistant
Gabriel Gallego is volunteering at SEED Impact as an assistant, gaining knowledge and experience while offering a helping hand. A recent high school graduate, Gabriel will be studying Photography & Sociology at City College aiming to gain a deeper…

Asha Malate
Contract Designer
Asha Malate is a Visual Communication Designer with over a decade’s worth of design experience. She specializes in brand identity and editorial design. Asha is a graduate of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis…

Stephanie Acosta Mohammadi
Contract Designer
Steph is a senior designer with over 18 years of in-house experience. She has a true passion for design and is experienced in both print and digital design. She has a broad range of design experience in areas such as corporate identity, layout and composition, visual…

Barry Kibel
Director of Innovation
and Research
Barry Kibel, Ph.D., is SEED Impact’s lead methodologist for evaluation and impact assessment. He contributes more than four decades of experience devising evaluation and planning instruments to support transformational work. His long-time passion has been the…

Norma Medley
Visual Marketing Designer
Norma Medley enhances our visual marketing efforts by designing and managing social media platforms. Norma has over 15 years of agency and in-house art department experience in both print and web design. She also has over 6 years’ experience in content marketing…

Lorna Nakell
Contract Designer
Lorna adds Illustration and Graphic Design talents to the SEED team. She has a BFA in fine art from Cornish College of the Arts, over 20 years of experience as a fine artist, 7 years experience as a Graphic Designer with focus on small businesses and nonprofits and…
SEED Impact Board and Special Advisors

Daniel M. Bloomfield M.D.
Co-Chair
Daniel M. Bloomfield M.D., M.Phil. F.A.C.C., F.A.H.A. is the first Chief Executive Officer of Cardurion Pharmaceuticals, a new Boston-based biotechnology company devoted to developing novel therapeutics for treatment of heart failure and cardiovascular diseases.

Anat Lechner
Board Member
Anat Lechner is a Clinical Associate Professor of Business Management at the Stern School of Business, New York University. Professor Lechner's research focuses on structural and managerial requirements for developing companies' innovation capabilities and outcomes.

Gil Ozir
Special Advisor
Gil Ozir is Managing Partner at Beringer Capital, a private equity fund based in New York, focused on the digital, marketing and communications sectors. Gil has over 15 years' experience in M&A and business strategy. He spent five years as Managing Director at boutique strategy…

Maria Romano
Special Advisor
Maria Romano joined the SEED team in May 2014. By 2016 she earned a Master’s of Education at Queens College, while working at SEED Impact. She now works for the New York City Department of Education as a Bilingual Schools Psychologist. Maria has a background in psychology…

Christopher A. Duda
Special Advisor
Christopher is a Vice President with Goldman, Sachs & Co., working in the Private Wealth Management Group. Christopher received his MBA from the Yale School of Management in 2001. Prior to graduate school, he was employed with ICG Communications…

Ellen Luo
Special Advisor
Ellen joined SEED in 2019 and brings 15+ years of nonprofit experience. She has provided guidance to nonprofits and individuals on philanthropy and creating meaningful impact around the world. Prior to her work in development and philanthropy in Asia, Ellen provided consulting…

Louise Burnham Packard
Co-Chair
Louise is currently engaged in a variety of volunteer and non-profit consulting projects after retiring from the position of founding executive director of Trinity Boston Connects in October 2019. She previously held senior development roles at Trinity Church, Harvard Business School, Stanford…

Jim Stuart
Board Member
Jim is retired and lives with his wife Dianne in Evanston, Illinois. He is currently writing a book on Jesus and the early church titled Jesus, We Hardly Knew Ye. Jim has a wealth of firsthand experience in executive leadership-having served as Executive Director to create the Tampa Bay Florida Aquarium…

Hubie Jones
Special Advisor
During his fifty years in the Boston area, Hubie has worked to create, nurture, and assist leadership in at least thirty community organizations across Boston. He is well-recognized for his appearances on local television, particularly as a panelist on WCVB’s public affairs…

Mog Obahor
Board Member
Mog is an expert in the new technology space. He has a strong understanding of Robotics & Advanced Technologies solutions (Cognition, AI, Machine-to-Machine, Natural Language Processing, Internet of Things) in the BPM industry. Mog has built or overseen the creation of more than 50…

Anthony W. Palma
Board Member
Anthony W. Palma, a partner at Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel, is a Board Certified Wills, Trusts and Estates attorney. Since receiving his certification in 1988, he has built a successful practice that is among the largest wills, trusts, and estates practices in Florida. Mr. Palma has received numerous awards…

Susan Nichols Wagner
Special Advisor
Sukey is SEED's board chair emeritus. Sukey initially became involved as a major donor, and then led the formation of a Growth Board focused heavily on business development to assure SEED’s long-term financial stability. Sukey is the widow of Rodney Wagner, former international financier…