HELP A YOUNG PERSON ACHIEVE THEIR LIMITLESS POTENTIAL​

Let's Get InnerConnected

Innerconnected

Meet the Team and the Board of directors

Evette Minns

President (She/Her/Hers)

Evette is a user experience designer for American Express. Evette brings to InnerConnected significant organizational development, training, and performance management experience. Learn More 

Kyra deGruy Kennedy

Secretary (She/Her/Hers)

Kyra is the Rocky Mountain Director of a policy non-profit, Young Invincibles, based in Denver, CO. Working with patients who couldn’t afford basic preventative care, she realized the healthcare delivery system was broken Learn More 

Latoya Malcolm

Treasurer (She/Her/Hers)

Latoya has over 9 years of experience in the educational field as a teacher, working with a diverse group of learners with special needs.  She also served in the US Peace Corps for three years as a Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Worker . Learn More 

Lynise Harris

Auxiliary Board Member (She/Her/Hers)

Lynise began her career as a human resources professional where she developed a love of helping people reach their full potential. After a rewarding U.S. Peace Corps experience, she further developed this passion by becoming a certified executive coach. Learn More 

Megan Swindro

Megan Swindro

Executive Director (She/Her/Hers)

Megan believes strongly in our individual and collective capacities to heal. Drawn to service throughout her life, she spent her early career in Social Work and Coaching, then transitioned to the healing arts prior to her Peace Corps South Africa experience.  Learn More

Evette Minns
President (She/Her/Hers)

Evette is a user experience designer for American Express.  In this role, she designs performance-based learning solutions to meet the needs of over 13,000 employees world-wide.  Prior to this role, she held several positions as a Learning and Performance Director developing and implementing learning strategies, designing eLearning courses, and managing performance consulting staff.

 

Additionally, Evette is a managing partner for Kawambe Omowale African Drum and Dance Theatre.  She began as a dancer over 20 years ago. Since then, she has brought African history, culture, and traditions to life for audiences throughout North America and abroad.  Her time in Africa ignited a fire and has driven her to continue to learn and share African culture throughout the world.  

 

Evette has a Bachelor of Arts in Management and recently completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program. She is especially excited to use yoga as a tool for healing and exercise within the Black community.

 

Evette brings to InnerConnected significant organizational development, training, and performance management experience; along with diverse viewpoints that will ensure InnerConnected continues to grow and thrive, far into the future.

Kyra deGruy Kennedy
Secretary (She/Her/Hers)

Kyra is the Rocky Mountain Director of a policy non-profit, Young Invincibles, based in Denver, CO. She left college with degrees in Integrative Health Care and Chemistry, and worked in a primary care clinic for a number of years, both as a care manager and a yoga therapist. Working with patients who couldn’t afford basic preventative care, she realized the healthcare delivery system was broken and shifted her trajectory into changing public policy. With nearly a decade working in health policy, higher education policy and local and statewide politics, Kyra has dedicated herself to public service. 

 

Her yoga asana and meditation practice have been the cornerstone of her successes. Sharing the practices that gave her the strength to work through trauma and wake up to the present moment continue to be important aspects of her service work.

In her free time, she gets outside to ski, climb, bike, or walk her dogs and talks politics with her husband, Chris. They live in Lakewood with their two dogs, two cats, six chickens, and two goats.

Latoya Malcolm
Treasurer (She/Her/Hers)

Latoya has over 9 years of experience in the educational field as a teacher, working with a diverse group of learners with special needs.  She also served in the United States Peace Corps for three years as a Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Worker in rural and urban communities. 

Latoya believes approaching life holistically is necessary to the strengthening of oneself and community. She believes this approach allows us to see each other’s humanity, therefore providing the pathway to be empathetic, compassionate, and loving to each other, and brings forth a space for dialogue, respect and mutual understanding. She believes these skills can only be achieved through learning and practice, and that IC’s belief in empowerment and development through educating young people on the practice of yoga harmonizes with her methodology. 

 

Latoya strongly advocates that education is a powerful tool, and through this compass, she believes we can build capacity to provide the skills for empowerment, peace, mindfulness, and improve the overall well-being of individuals. 

 

As an educator, she practices capacity building for empowerment daily through creating lesson plans for student exploration, critical understanding, self-development and self-reflection. Furthermore, her love and passion for the youth, showcased through both professional and community work, is one that continues to push her to ensure that programming will be strengthened and sustained.  

 

She believes that hate and division is taught, and through a program like IC, the world can learn to be kind, caring, and respectful of each other and perceived differences, as well as gain the strength from within to challenge oppressive states of being in order to build a more inclusive and compassionate world.

 

Lynise Harris
Auxiliary Board Member (She/Her/Hers)

Lynise began her career as a human resources professional where she developed a love of helping people reach their full potential. After a rewarding U.S. Peace Corps experience, she further developed this passion by becoming a certified executive coach. Since 2002, Lynise has supported students and professionals in reaching their goals and achieving personal and professional success. 

 

Lynise supported the grant writing efforts, train the trainer, and implementation of academic coaching programs at several higher learning institutions in Hawaii, Alabama and Florida.  She served as the Chief Program Officer at Lighthouse Academies focused on college persistence planning and talent management and is President of College Ready Now, a nonprofit focused on providing scholarships for students in need. 

 

She is drawn to InnerConnected because of its focus on empowering children through a holistic approach focused on encouraging health and vital life skills. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband.

Megan Swindro
Executive Director (She/Her/Hers)

Megan believes strongly in our individual and collective capacities to heal. Drawn to service throughout her life, she spent her early career in Social Work, then transitioned to the healing arts prior to her Peace Corps South Africa experience. As an Ambassador, Megan integrated her training and self care tools to deliver our programming to youth. She has studied with the Unschool of Yoga, Shambhava Yoga and BodyTalk, lived at an ashram in the Rockies and earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Megan appreciates her teachers, both formal and informal, with heart-felt gratitude and feels honored to serve as InnerConnected’s Executive Director.

 

HELP A YOUNG PERSON ACHIEVE THEIR LIMITLESS POTENTIAL​

Let's Get InnerConnected