Board
Neville Vakharia
President & Treasurer
Neville Vakharia is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Drexel's graduate Arts Administration & Museum Leadership program, teaching courses in management, strategic planning, innovation, entrepreneurship, and related subjects. His research centers on the role that technology, innovation, and knowledge play in building sustainable, resilient, and relevant organizations and communities. His work has been published internationally and he has developed new tools and resources to benefit the cultural and social sectors. Prior to Drexel, Neville was the director of the Cultural Data Project at The Pew Charitable Trusts (now SMU DataArts), a growing national initiative created to improve the management and financial capacity of arts and cultural organizations, inform grant-making strategies, and serve as a powerful tool for research and analysis. At Pew, he oversaw the program’s strategic direction, operations, and expansion from a start-up enterprise to a national organization. Neville also spent 10 years in the corporate sector, working in new product development, marketing, and global product management for W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., manufacturer of GORE-TEX products. He holds two international patents and has developed new products and technologies. He earned his bachelor of science degree in Materials Engineering and his master of science in Arts Administration from Drexel University, where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Information Science. He serves on the board of directors of CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and is the co-editor of Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts. Neville also serves as an advisor to creative, start-up, and social enterprises.
June Washikita O’Neill
Vice President & Secretary
June O’Neill is currently Strategic Relationship Manager for the nonprofit accounting firm Your Part Time Controller LLC (YPTC), focusing on building the Greater Houston marketplace. Prior to her role at YPTC, June was Special Projects Manager at Houston Arts Alliance. Before moving to Houston, June was the long-time Executive Director of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established by Philadelphia's Mayor and City Council where she worked for 12 years to support and enhance the cultural life and vitality of the City through general operating grants. June is responsible for leading a policy change at the Fund to embrace fiscal sponsorship, and the Fund was among the first grantmakers in Philadelphia to publish a comprehensive fiscal sponsorship policy and toolkit for grant seekers. After receiving a BS in Arts Management from Northern Arizona University, June moved to Philadelphia to work for Joanne Rile Artists Management. She has worked for several Philadelphia non-profit arts organizations, including Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays and Settlement Music School. She later helped establish the Pew Fellowships in the Arts program and continued to work with individual artists as the first Executive Director of the Leeway Foundation. June has served on numerous non-profit boards, including the Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park, Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, and CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia. She has also served as a music panelist for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. For eight years, she was Judge of Elections at her neighborhood polling place in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.
Carla Dartis
Board Member
Carla Dartis is Executive Director of Movement Strategy Center (current Organization Member of Impact Commons). Carla has spent over 30 years in nonprofit management and economic development, providing support to vital community building efforts. Prior to joining MSC in October 2020, Carla was senior vice president at Tides Network, as well as vice president of Community Investment for the East Bay Community Foundation, and program officer for Children, Families, and Communities at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Carla has a BS in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and an MS in Public Policy from California State University, Long Beach. Carla enjoys Creole cooking, traveling with her teenage son and her jazz musician husband, and playing with her dog, Foo Foo Strawberry Jack BeBop.
Pratichi Shah
Board Member
Pratichi Shah is an HR strategist and thought leader with twenty-five years experience in all aspects of talent management, human resources, equity and inclusion, and organizational development in the nonprofit and for profit arenas.
Pratichi is the founder and CEO of Flourish Talent Management Solutions (FTMS), a firm focused on increasing impact through talent strategy development; strategy and culture alignment; training and organizational development; and coaching for executives and emerging leaders. FTMS works exclusively with the nonprofit and philanthropic communities and has helped to strengthen the impact of national and global organizations focused on issues such as civil rights, international development, social service, health research, women’s rights, education, environmental conservation, and public policy.
Prior to launching FTMS over a decade ago, Pratichi was the Chief Talent Officer (CTO) for Independent Sector, a nonprofit membership coalition that leads and mobilizes the charitable community. As the CTO, she led all human capital programs and processes for the organization, resulting in significant culture change and greater employee engagement. Before returning to the nonprofit sector, Pratichi was the Global Director of the Employer of Choice function for Willis Towers Watson (then known as Watson Wyatt Worldwide) and was part of the organizational Effectiveness department at the George Washington University and Hospital.
Pratichi often speaks about talent issues to national audiences, has been published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Stanford Social Innovation Review, and has been quoted in the New York Times annual “Giving” section regarding talent issues in the nonprofit sector. As an involved community leader, Pratichi was a founding board member for ProInspire (incubating Equity in the Center) and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the BBB Wise Giving Alliance as well as the League of American Orchestras, developing their first organization-wide Code of Ethics and serving on its Equity and Inclusion committee. She is also part of the Leap Ambassadors Community of thought leaders and Catalyst Ed’s DEI Expert Hub.
She holds an MBA in Human Resources from American University, a BA in the Psychology of Management from Eckerd College, and an executive coaching certification from the Newfield Network.
Sandra St. Fleur Wright
Board Member
Sandra St Fleur Wright is Vice President, Talent and Equity for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.Sandra brings more than 20 years of experience building diversity, equity and inclusion systems and cultures within organizations and leading change management and professional development. Prior to her position at the Boston Symphony, she was Lesley University’s inaugural Vice President of Equity, Inclusion and Justice, a new leadership position created to prioritize equity and social justice. Sandra has also served as senior director, organizational development and learning at UCLA Health, leading a team of a dozen staff at the 25,000-employee healthcare system.