Meet Our Faculty

Pamela D. Bass, Esp. is a partner at Thomas, Drohan, Waxman, & Petigrow LLP in the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. She received her undergraduate degree with honors from Brown University, her M.Ed. from the University of Texas at Austin, and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Ms. Bass serves as labor/employment and general counsel for k-12 public school districts and higher education clients. She is involved in collective bargaining, employee discipline, and labor relations. In addition, she counsels clients in the areas of board governance, Title IX, sexual harassment, civil rights, interscholastic/intercollegiate athletics, student discipline, bullying and harassment, and the creation or review of policies/regulations/handbooks. Ms. Bass has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star from 2021-2025 for her work in labor/employment law and school/education law. Prior to receiving her J.D. degree, Ms. Bass had 19 years of experience in higher education and intercollegiate athletics, serving as an NCAA Division I Head and Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach. She has extensive experience in NCAA compliance and served on university and athletic conference committees on leadership, gender equity, and diversity. Ms. Bass is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and the State of Connecticut. She frequently presents on labor/employment and education matters across the State of New York. She served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Connecticut School of Law teaching Higher Education Law. Ms. Bass joined the firm as a law clerk in 2014, while she was in law school, hired as an associate in 2016, and named partner in 2023.

Natasha Johnson currently serves as the Director of Program Operations for Communities in Schools of the Tr-Cities. She previously served the same organization as a Site Coordinator for 8 years connecting students with resources and services to support their growth and development. Natasha is passionate about helping youth access the services and support they need to be successful in school and in life.

La Wonder is a Queer African American pastor, chaplain, and full-spectrum doula. She serves as Chaplain at an HBCU, where she provides interfaith spiritual care and advocacy for students, especially LGBTQIA+ voices. As founder of Womb to Wings, she supports people through life’s sacred passages, from birth to death. She is a passionate advocate for reproductive justice, women’s health, and self-care as a radical act of survival. La Wonder also creates through her podcast Good Morning Vaginas, celebrating the sacredness of Black queer womanhood.

Dr. Cathy Moffitt most recently served as Senior Vice President and Aetna Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health. She and her team lead the integration and delivery of clinical and population health solutions in support of Aetna members, customers and provider partners. Dr. Moffitt began her career in managed health as a Medical Director for Vista Health Plan, a legacy company of Coventry Health Care and then Aetna. She also served as the company’s Executive Lead of State Programs, overseeing the Medicaid, CHIP and long-term care programs. Dr. Moffitt served as the Chief of Hospital Pediatrics at Broward Health from 1997 to 2005. Dr. Moffitt completed her residency training in general pediatrics and fellowship training in pediatric infectious diseases at Duke University Medical Center. She received her MD from the University of South Florida, College of Medicine and her BS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Daileann Hemmings is an accomplished nursing leader with over 25 years of experience advancing clinical practice, education, and health equity. She is currently the System Director of Maternal Health Equity at Hartford HealthCare, leading strategic initiatives to improve outcomes and ensure equitable, patient-centered care.

Rael Kukule Akoru is a public health professional from Kenya specializing in menstrual health, community health, and public health advocacy. She is an independent researcher, author, and menstrual health consultant with training from AMREF International University, where she was recognized with the Best Entrepreneurial Award in 2023. Rael is also a recipient of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health MOOC Scholarship for Menstruation in Global Context: Policy and Advocacy and is committed to advancing menstrual health awareness through research, education, and community-based initiatives.

Dr. Bismah Nayyer is a public health practitioner, researcher, and founder of Global Health Connect, a social impact organization focused on menstrual health, gender equality, and behavior change advocacy. Her work centers on designing community-driven campaigns, research, and policy engagement to advance menstrual health and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) at the intersection of Gender and climate change. She has worked with international organizations, including WHO and global feminist funds, on research, advocacy, and program design. Bismah is currently pursuing an MSc in Public Health at King’s College London. She is passionate about breaking menstrual stigma and creating inclusive, rights-based approaches to menstrual health.

Dr. Erika Pugh is a neuropsychologist completing postdoctoral training at The Ohio State University. Her work focuses on understanding how life experiences, social conditions, and health inequities shape brain health and aging. She is passionate about helping ensure that all communities, especially those that have been historically underserved or underrepresented in research, have opportunities to achieve healthy aging and better cognitive health.

Erika is especially motivated by partnering with communities to translate research into meaningful action and to amplify the voices and experiences of those most affected by health disparities. Through her research and outreach efforts, she strives to advance a future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive cognitively, emotionally, and physically throughout life.

Krystal Laryea is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Memphis. Dr. Laryea studies how people make meaning, how groups and communities “hold” difference, and how cities and societies move towards racial and cultural integration. She earned her PhD from Stanford University in 2024 and was a Faculty Fellow at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (2024–2025).

In 2017, after 12 years in clinical, management, and teaching roles in healthcare, a search for STEM activities for her son sparked Vaishali Shah's entrepreneurial journey. Wanting more than a traditional career, she took a leap, investing her savings with no partners, investors, or financial backing.

Without an MBA, a background in marketing or tech, or a business blueprint, Vaishali relied on determination and resilience to build a 7-figure tech education business: four theCoderSchool locations in Connecticut, hiring 400+ people. This mission to prepare the next generation earned her a spot as a Hartford Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree.

Today, she holds multiple Anthropic certifications and is AI Agent Mastermind certified by Open Machine (Allie K. Miller, CEO), one of only a few hundred worldwide. She teaches and implements Agentic AI for operators who built businesses the hard way, empowering those who know real-world revenue, ops, and teams to lead the AI era.

The key lesson? Leadership and AI aren't about titles or model names—they're about resilience and putting tools to work in real businesses.

Rachel (Plett) Hofbauer is a founding partner at Hofbauer Consulting, where she helps nonprofits make smarter decisions about technology, data, digital strategy, and AI. She brings more than a decade of experience leading complex technology products and initiatives across the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Rachel’s work focuses on translating emerging technology into practical, human-centered solutions that strengthen organizational capacity and advance mission.

Liliana Serrano is an entrepreneur, marketing strategist, nonprofit leader, author, and community advocate with extensive experience in business development, communications, philanthropy, and community engagement.

She is the Owner and Chief Marketing Officer of Innomarket LLC, where she helps businesses and organizations strengthen their brands, develop effective marketing strategies, and connect authentically with their audiences. Liliana also serves as Director of Development & Marketing at Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders (BCYL), leading fundraising, communications, partnerships, and philanthropic initiatives that expand opportunities for thousands of youth and families.

A committed civic leader, Liliana has served two terms as President of the South Windsor Chamber of Commerce, working to strengthen connections between businesses, nonprofits, and the broader community.

Originally from Quito, Ecuador, Liliana brings an entrepreneurial and multicultural perspective to her work. She is especially passionate about online philanthropy and digital engagement, believing that successful organizations must be present where their audiences are and communicate with messages that genuinely connect with them.

She is also the author of The Power of Starting Over, a personal story centered on resilience, reinvention, and the courage to begin again.

Chrystyan brings a multidisciplinary background grounded in education, behavioral health, and reproductive health advocacy.   

With 17 years of experience in K–12 public schools, Chrystyan has worked as a Special Education Paraprofessional and in Literacy and English Language Arts (ELA), supporting diverse learners across grade levels. She also has 2 years experience in Applied Behavioral Analysis(ABA), working with autistic, AuSD, ADD, ADHD, and non-verbal adolescents age s2–17.   

In addition, Chrystyan has 9 years of experience in reproductive health advocacy, informed both professionally and personally as an endometriosis and PCOS/PMOS Patient for over 20 years. Chrystyan created her podcast & platform ThaMonthly in May, 2022 to advocate for the reproductive health & rights of all, with a priority to BIPOC individuals.   

She then founded grassroots organization The Inkk Advocates of Oklahoma, servicing local institutions & other community orgs by implementing free access to menstrual products & education in the Greater OKC area & across the state. Along with her activist & advocacy work in reproductive health, she is a Guardian Member of the ACLU of Oklahoma to work with others on eradicating period poverty amongst other reproductive health issues in the state.  

Ms. Cross is also a self-published author, public & TEDx Speaker, TED Member & TEDEd Ideas Contributor.

Shefali Grant, MPH, is a seasoned research and project management professional with more than two decades of experience in the nonprofit sector. She has held leadership roles at Yale/YNHH, where she served as a Research Project Manager, and at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, where she was Research Lead in the Department of Surgery. She is dedicated to building programs that advance equity through evidence informed, community centered work.