Board of Directors

The Innerwork Center’s Board of Directors provides visionary leadership and strategic guidance, ensuring we remain true to our purpose: creating safe spaces that inspire curiosity, cultivate mindfulness, and awaken the spirit. Their commitment and expertise help shape our impact, foster connection, and uphold the values that make the Innerwork Center a beacon for transformation and growth.

Cheryl Groce-Wright, President

President

  • Cheryl is Founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope Collaborative, a Richmond-based consulting firm serving as a proactive champion for racial equity, empowered communities, and inspired citizens. She has worked in educational settings and held positions in nonprofit management, youth programming and development, fund-raising and fund development, academic and social science research, substance abuse and family counseling, and college student development. She is the mother of two outstanding sons and is an avid runner having completed numerous half and full marathon races and currently serves as Head Coach of Sports Backers Half Marathon Training team and also directs a Jeff Galloway Training program in Richmond.

Lisa Halberstadt, Secretary

Secretary

  • Lisa Halberstadt, M.S., began her career as a psychotherapist in college counseling centers before turning to psychiatric research.  She spent 20+ years at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at VCU, working on studies of the etiology of psychiatric and substance use disorders.

    Retiring early to engage in family elder care, she pursued a long-held interest in contemplative practices. Lisa’s curiosity about the intersection of mindfulness meditation and Judaism led her to complete the Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training program (Institute for Jewish Spirituality). She also is a trained teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion and Wise Aging. In addition to the Innerwork Center board, Lisa

    serves on the boards of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom and Congregation Or Ami. Recent and current volunteer activities include Feed More,

    REPRO Rising,

    IRC refugee resettlement, VA Medical Reserve Corps,

    and OCRA Survivors Teaching Students.

    Lisa enjoys weaving, hiking, traveling with her husband Jeff, and spending as much time as she can with their two amazing sons, their wonderful partners, and two precious grandchildren, all in NYC.

Danielle Robertson, Treasurer

Treasurer

  • Danielle Robertson serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.  Danielle has held progressive leadership positions in private, nonprofit and governmental sectors to include her role as Assistant Controller for the City of Richmond. Her areas of expertise include leadership, financial operations, including budget, cash management and cost control, grants, fixed assets and fleet management, internal controls and compliance, financial reporting, and audit planning.  

    Danielle obtained a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Virginia State University and a Master of Business Administration from Canisius University.  Additionally, Danielle is currently preparing for her Certified Public Accountant’s exam and upon completion will return to finalize her doctoral dissertation in Advanced Accounting.

     Danielle is a proud native of Buffalo, New York and is a huge Buffalo Bills fan! She and her husband Lamont live in Chesterfield County with their three daughters and bonus children who consider their home a safe haven. Danielle is a woman of deep faith, prayer and contemplative practices, who also works in several service capacities in her church. In her free time Danielle enjoys traveling, spending time with loved ones, and helping others.

Sheila Battle, Past President

Past President

  • Past President

    Philadelphia native Sheila E. Battle is a transformational leader, change agent, and human services advocate. Her passion is to see people grow from the inside out, through practical teaching and application of basic principles. Whether managing a team or leading a workshop, her enthusiastic style motivates and inspires from the boardroom to the pulpit. Sheila’s fusion of real-life stories and her conversational techniques connect with her audience at an intimate, intense, and individual level. Sheila and her husband, Frank, live in Richmond, VA and are the visionaries of The Battle Station.

Susan Brock Wilkes

  • Susan Brock Wilkes, PhD, is a psychologist, award-winning instructor, and Certified Teacher in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindful Self Compassion. An adjunct professor at University of Richmond, she owns her own consulting firm and is a frequent facilitator with nonprofit and faith-based organizations. Her community engagement is extensive, including her service on the Board of Health Brigade, on the founding leadership team for Impact 100, and as past-President of the Chrysalis Institute. Currently on the faculty and board for The Innerwork Center, Susan is a past recipient of the Spirit Award.

Kelly del Campo Marricks

  • For more than 25 years Kelly has served the greater Richmond community by connecting donors’ passions to community needs.  She spent the first years of her career with the Arthritis Foundation, American Red Cross, and the Central Virginia Foodbank (now FeedMore), followed by 11 years with Westminster Canterbury Richmond where she managed their foundation, public relations, and volunteer services departments.  In 2014, she joined Sheltering Arms Foundation where she helped reignite philanthropy and make Sheltering Arms Institute, a collaboration with VCU Health a reality. After exceeding the $50 million capital campaign, the Sheltering Arms Foundation team and their community of donors are creating the “Margin of Excellence” that makes Sheltering Arms Institute the number one rehabilitation hospital in Virginia and among the top in the nation (US News and World Report Best Hospitals 2023-2024)

    Kelly is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, holds an MBA from VCU, and is a Leadership Metro Richmond’s class of 2024 graduate.  She served on the board of trustees of Richmond Montessori School for 7 years, chairing the advancement committee and serving on the committee on trustees.  She is a former board member and past president of both AFP Central Virginia Chapter and Virginia Gift Planning Council.  She currently serves on the University of Richmond’s Institute on Philanthropy advisory board and is an instructor in their Fund Development program.  Kelly was recognized by her peers as the 2024 Nina Abady Award recipient for excellence in the field of development.

    Kelly is married to her lifelong friend Jason Merricks.  They have a rising junior at James River High School and a five-year old COVID puppy.

  • Jeffrey Fielo (he/him) studied Psychology and Information Systems at Yale and VCU. Currently retired, Jeffrey had two careers, first as a counselor specializing in work with adult and adolescent survivors of childhood abuse, and second in Information Systems, where he developed software then guided teams through conflict. Jeffrey has served on six boards, with a focus on governance and strategic planning. He enjoys travel, having been to all seven continents, taken a helicopter flight to Everest, been held captive by three lions in Tanzania, fished for piranha on the Peruvian Amazon, gone SCUBA diving all over, and been surrounded by a pod of killer whales while floating in a rubber raft off the coast of Antarctica. Jeffrey exercises, volunteers, and loves caring for his grandchildren.

Kristin Lennox
Rob Phillips

  • Kristin Lennox is a human who practices social work. Kristin is the owner of Onward Consulting and Care Services. Kristin also provides therapy as a contracted licensed clinical social worker with Roots to Results Counseling and Fraser & Associates Complete Therapeutic Services. Kristin brings over a decade of experience in nonprofits, with her most recent work focusing on community engagement and youth development to evoke advocacy with state-wide partners. Before working in policy change, Kristin was a crisis and trauma therapist for 2–17-year-olds for almost 7 years. Kristin continues to provide therapy as a licensed clinical social worker. Kristin is an Adjunct Professor at her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work (BSW 2011, MSW 2016). She is a graduate of Virginia Civic Engagement Table's Virginia Progressive Leadership Project and has returned as a contributing facilitator and mentor to the program. Kristin has completed Flourish Agenda's Healing Centered Engagement Practitioner Certification and is a Certified SoulCollage® Facilitator. In her free time, Kristin loves to dance and perform with her Filipino dance troupe, read fiction and non-fiction, journal and collage, and go on adventures with her family. 

  • Rob is a native of Richmond, Virginia, an alumnus of Virginia Tech and the University of Richmond, and the transformative Vice President of a locally-founded technology consulting company. With a passion deeply rooted in the outdoors and on the water, these places infuse peace and innovative fluidity into his leadership style. At work, Rob leads, utilizing a relatable and personable approach that resonates with individuals on a meaningful level. Married with two daughters, his family values transcend into his professional environment, creating a harmonious blend of empathy, innovation, and unwavering commitment to excellence in the technology sector.

  • Nana Korantema Pierce Williams is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Facilitator, Teacher Trainer, and Consultant. She serves as Board member, Chair of the Mindfulness Advisory Committee, and faculty with the InnerWork Center where she curates creative, culturally sensitive safe spaces via her training and facilitations. A Priest (Spiritualist) for almost 25 years in the Akom Tradition (Ghana, W. Africa), Nana Korantema has degrees from Howard University (BS) and Saybrook University (MS). For decades she has served as a bridge between traditional and modern practice through her Richmond, VA practice, ConjureWorks, where she honors both traditional practice and ancestral facilitation. Nana Korantema is a conduit, wife, sister, mother, daughter, godmother, and life-long learner, ever humbled by the healing powers of compassion, forgiveness, and love.

Vicki Saunders

  • Honorary

    Vicki Saunders has been involved with The Innerwork Center for over 25 years, including 2 terms as President, 5 years on the Executive Committee, and is one of our most loved faculty members. Vicki has over two decades experience working in Human Resources, Coaching and Business Management. She has her PhD in Organizational Systems and Master’s degrees in Human Resources Development and Jungian Psychology. Vicki has been married for 43 years to an amazing man who really “gets” her and has two fabulous sons who are married to two incredible women who are all leading their best lives. Vicki is also the proud grandmother of four grandchildren. She continues to be inspired by all her work at the Innerwork Center. It is a privilege to share this journey we call life with you.

John Taylor

  • John is an active member of the Greater Richmond community where a primary focus of his work has been on racial equity and reconciliation initiatives, facilitated community dialogues and board service. He has a decades long meditation practice and currently serves on the Board of the Innerwork Center where he teaches Mindfulness programs as a Certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher. He also serves as a Teacher Trainer and Mentor for aspiring MBSR teachers through the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness. John lives in North Chesterfield, VA with his partner, three children, and two small but mighty dogs.