Meet the Board of Advisors
Sharon Fitzpatrick
VOE Board of Advisors
Founder, The Fitzpatrick Group
Connecting People with their Core Purpose
Sharon Fitzpatrick founded The Fitzpatrick Group in 2003 with the vision of helping people in organizations grow and develop. As CEO of The Fitzpatrick Group, LLC., Ms. Fitzpatrick is a valued resource providing training and development programs that are highly interactive grounded in research and proven best practices.
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Sharon specializes in Organization Development, Diversity and Inclusion and Employee and Leadership Training. She brings a broad level of expertise and experience that reflects an understanding of the needs and challenges that businesses face today. The Fitzpatrick Group provides strategic learning and development solutions for organizations, leaders and employees to maximize performance and connect people with their core purpose.
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Ms. Fitzpatrick has proven beneficial in helping many organizations to implement and promote organizational development programs; and has personally trained over 30,000 executives, managers and staff level employees. She believes in building long term partnerships with her clients and is committed to providing the appropriate training, development tools and strategies that are aligned with an organization’s mission, vision and overall goals for success.
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Ms. Fitzpatrick Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Psychology from The Ohio State University and has a Master of Science in Organization Development & Strategic Human Resources from The Johns Hopkins University. In addition to her formal academic education, Sharon holds certifications in EEO Counseling, Diversity and Inclusion, DISC, Executive Leadership (USC), Project Management; and is a Zenger Miller Master Trainer. She was recognized as one of the “50 Women of Influence and Power” in Washington D.C.
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Sharon is a member of several professional organizations including the Society for Human Resources Management, Association for Talent Development, International Association of Women and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She designed a student mentoring program for “The School Without Walls” in D.C., tutored in Baltimore’s “Reading by Nine” program; and most recently joined “The Timothy Project” In Clarksdale Mississippi focusing on training volunteer mentors to work with High School youth. Sharon serves as a Board Member for The Women’s Round Table of Northern Virginia and works with community services for the homeless and displaced in Northern Virginia and the Washington D.C. metro area.
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Schinnell Leake
VOE Board of Advisors
Founder/Executive Director, Extra-ordinary Birthdays
Creating & Providing Birthday Parties for Homeless Children
After learning that more than 2,000 children live in homeless shelters throughout the Washington, D.C. area, it was the “extra special feeling” Schinnell Leake felt a birthday party brought to the ordinary moments in the life of a child that lead her to establish Extra-Ordinary Birthdays in 2010. As Founder and Executive Director Schinnell heads Extra-Ordinary Birthdays, the only organization of its kind in the capital area that throws personalized birthday parties for homeless children to make them feel recognized and valued. EOB brings the simple joy of birthday parties to homeless children from babies to teens in shelters in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia each month shining a light on homeless children and honoring them for who they are despite their circumstances.
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Schinnell was one of 10 women selected as an honoree from 6,000 women across the country for L’oreal Paris’ Women of Worth Award and became the 2015 National Honoree after receiving a record number of votes. L’oreal Paris Women of Worth Award recognizes extraordinary women making a difference in their communities which gave Schinnell the platform to create the Extra-Ordinary Moms (EOM) Program, a recognition program for homeless mothers with the purpose of inspiring and motivating their self-worth through positive reinforcement, personal development, and membership in a supportive community.
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