Chlo’e Edwards, Campaign Coordinator
Chlo’e Edwards is the Policy Analyst at Voices for Virginia’s Children. She leads policy and advocacy work in domains related to the social determinants of health (SDOH) with a focus on healthcare, family economic security, trauma-informed care, equity, and justice.
In 2020, Chlo’e launched Virginia’s first Racial Truth & Reconciliation Week, which was recognized by Governor Ralph Northam. Now, the initiative has evolved into a campaign that empowers the voices and experiences of marginalized communities in acknowledgement of truth to promote healing, reconciliation, and justice. In implementation, Chlo’e shapes the campaign’s policy priorities and provides support to the coalition. During the 2021 GA session, Chlo’e helped lead efforts to successfully recognize racism as a public health crisis in Virginia, making the state the first in the south.
Prior to Voices, Chlo’e served as director of Connecting Hearts to solve Virginia’s child welfare crisis. In 2021, Chlo’e was recognized by The Valentine as a Richmond History Maker for the social justice category. In 2020, she was named on Style Weekly’s top 40 Under 40. She also received the Outstanding Service Award from Connecting Hearts in 2018 and she was named Radio One Richmond’s top 30 Under 30 in 2017.
Chlo’e holds a Master of Public Policy in Leadership from Liberty University and completed the Minority Research and Law Institute Program at Southern University and the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Emerging Leaders program in 2019. Chlo’e currently serves as the founder of Chlo’e Edwards, INC and president of CEO and President of Black Lives Matter 804.
Chlo’e can be reached at chloe@vakids.org.
Melissa McGinn, Coalition Vice Chair
Melissa McGinn is a licensed clinical social worker and is currently Greater Richmond SCAN’s Director of Community Programs and State Coordinator for Virginia’s Trauma Informed Community Networks. Melissa is responsible for the management and coordination of all SCAN’s prevention programs, training, and consultation on becoming a trauma informed organization. Melissa has been an adjunct professor and field liaison at Virginia Commonwealth University for 15 years. Melissa worked at the Virginia Department of Social Services, re-establishing the Child Welfare Stipend Program at four universities across the state. Melissa spent the first 14 years of her career as a child and family therapist specializing in the treatment of complex trauma, working primarily with children in the child welfare system, in community based and outpatient settings.
Melissa can be reached at MMcGinn@grscan.com.
Audravette Jackson, Coalition Secretary
Audravette Jackson is the Hampton Roads Trauma-Informed Community Network (HRTICN) Coordinator with Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter: Child Advocacy Center and Secretary for the Racial Truth and Reconciliation Campaign. Before starting with HRTICN, Audravette spent the last eight years working providing direct service with the Hampton Roads Workforce Council (formerly known as Opportunity Inc), Virginia Housing (formerly known as VIrginia Housing and Development Authority), and Friends of the Portsmouth Juvenile Courts: Portsmouth CASA (Court Assisted Special Advocates). Audravette has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Old Dominion University, and an alumni of Tidewater Community College. Audravette is proud to go through this journey of life with her husband Avery Jackson and out of their union, have the most wonderful, curious, and playful daughter, Harper J. Audravette brings a variety of work experience, authentic engagement, and her full self to this position and the work of creating a more resilient Hampton Roads.
Audravette can be reached at Audravette.Jackson@chkd.org.
Kandise Nadine Lucas, Advocacy & Activism Committee Co-Chair
Kandise holds an undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry/Business. She has earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education and is licensed by the Virginia Department of Education to support families with Emotional Disabilities, Other Health Impairments, and Intellectual Disabilities. She is also licensed in Educational Leadership and Supervision through Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Department of Education. Kandise is presently in the final stages of completing her doctorate in Education Law with Liberty University, with a focus in research on improving access and the quality of culturally relevant special education services for communities of color.
Kandise has introduced the foundations of cultural humility to advocacy and educational organizations throughout the Commonwealth and nation, as a facilitator. She has also shared and promoted the concepts and implementation of cultural humility to Intercept Health’s foster family staff and families, and seeks to continue to expand this vital competency to all.
Kandise Nadine Lucas can be reached at Clucasklucas@yahoo.com.
John Richardson-Lauve, Education Committee Co-Chair
John Richardson-Lauve is a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience working in the field of community mental health. He is committed to the support and strengthening of individuals and communities that struggle with adversity. His experience includes work with chronically mentally ill adults, substance abuse, residential youth care, foster care, and outpatient mental health. He has worked with homeless veterans in New York City, in a hospice home for those with HIV in the early stages of the AIDS crisis, and 6 years living together with his wife in a home with 8 teenage girls in foster care. He is an experienced trainer, lecturer, and keynote presenter, presenting nationally and internationally. He is the Director of Mental Health and the Lead Trauma and Resilience Educator at ChildSavers, an outpatient mental health clinic which has served children and families in the Richmond, Virginia community for over 90 years. He and his wife have a 14-year-old son and have worked with over 50 children in foster care in their home.
John Richarson-Lauve can be reached at Jrl@Childsavers.org.
Ralph Roane, Education Committee Co-Chair
Ralph Roane is a community activist currently serving on the Voices for Virginia’s Children / Racial Truth and Reconciliation Executive Committee as the Education Committee Co-Chair. In addition Ralph is co-founder of Unity In the Community, an Admin for Black Lives Matter 804, a founding member of 100 Black Men and Women of Richmond, Va, and an Ambassador for Coming To The Table RVA.
Ralph’s specialty is leveraging his own connections, knowledge of, and experiences in the community to connect to individuals. He also acts as a conduit for both youths and elders to connect to programs and services that may benefit them and he acts as an advocate for underserved and undervalued communities. He has a “boots on the ground” approach to his work, involving direct in person community engagement with everyone from senior citizens to youth involved in gangs.
Previously, Ralph worked in the chemical manufacturing industry as a Quality Assurance Manager and Safety Representative for over 20 years. In this capacity he was responsible for a wide range of activities including everything from accessing the needs of new employees, training, procedure development, and product and program evaluation.
Ralph Roane can be reached at ralphroane@gmail.com.
Kyra Parker, Partnerships Committee Co-Chair
Kyra Parker serves on the executive committee of the Racial truth and Reconciliation coalition as Co chair of the Partnership Committee. Kyra is an advocate for youth and trauma-informed practices in community organizations and in schools. Through her work in schools, Kyra has become passionate about the experiences of students in schools and is committed to making the classroom a more equitable and positive experience for minority youth. Kyra has previously worked with the Concerned Citizens Network of Alexandria, where she coordinated a discussion on anti racism during the first Racial Truth and Reconciliation Week. Kyra graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and will begin her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Virginia in the fall of 2021.
Kyra can be reached at kyra.parker18@gmail.com.
Bianca Myrick, Partnerships Committee Co-Chair
Bianca Myrick serves on the executive committee of the Racial truth and Reconciliation coalition as co-chair of the partnerships committee. She is a native of Petersburg, Virginia, and the founder and executive director of Pretty Purposed, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering adolescent girls to grow and glow. As a middle grades educator, Bianca has a passion for working with adolescents and saw a need in her community where girls could have a safe space. She continues to work with the Pretty Purposed board, staff, and volunteers to build organizational capacity and increase opportunities for women and girls, through securing funding, building strategic partnerships, and developing its GIRLS program. In addition to her role as executive director of Pretty Purposed, Bianca is a consultant for Mentor VA, where she is a part of a team that supports the work of over 300 youth organizations around the state of Virginia.
She is a 2010 graduate of Virginia State University, where she serves as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Bianca also has a masters degree in public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, and hopes to receive her certificate in nonprofit management soon. Her goal is to continue advocating for women, girls, and families through her work as a nonprofit leader and her consulting career. While she has many roles, her most fulfilling one is that of being a mom to her son, Bryce.
Bianca can be reached at Biancamyrick@prettypurposed.org.
Sophia Booker, Engagement Committee Co-Chair
Sophia Booker serves on the executive committee of the Racial truth and Reconciliation coalition as Co chair of the Engagement Committee. She is a strong advocate in the foster care community. Currently, Sophia is the Youth Development Coordinator for Project LIFE at United Methodist Family Services and is a Master of Social Work Candidate at VCU. Sophia has advocated on behalf of several policy initiatives to improve the lives of children, including Fostering Futures. Sophia currently serves on the State Executive Council for Children Services with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, among many others. Sophia is also the lead facilitator of the first and only Youth MOVE (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience) local chapter in the state of Virginia. This chapter was recently awarded a national award for their hard work and continued dedication to youth voice. Some of her other accomplishments include Sophia co-presenting with a social work Ph.D. candidate on a pilot study on transition-aged foster youth and their social networks (connections in the community) in Dallas, Texas at the Council for Social Work Education Conference, the largest social work conference in the country during her senior year in undergrad. Sophia is defying the odds with her success. Her goal is to give back and ensure that all youth in foster care or aging out of the foster care system are well supported and have the same access to normalized experiences and opportunities that others have as they transition to adulthood.
Sophia can be reached at Sbooker@umfs.org.
Sophie Fontaine, Engagement Committee Co-Chair
Sophie Fontaine has lived in Virginia her entire life. After graduating high school in Fairfax, Sophie attended Virginia Commonwealth University and received her B.S. in Psychology and Sociology in 2018. She then returned to VCU to get her Masters in Social Work, Administration, Programs, and Policy Practice and graduated in May 2020. Sophie was the MSW intern at NAMI Virginia during the 2019-2020 school year and began her role as the youth and young adult programs coordinator in June of 2020. As a young adult with lived mental health experience, she looks forward to continuing to work with NAMI Virginia and to serve youth and young adults. Her other passions include advocacy and policy and hanging out with her corgi.
Sophie can be reached at Sfontaine@namivirginia.org.
To join one of the committees or the coalition, please fill out this form.