Our Staff
latisha Ilhan
Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director
Latisha has more than two decades of progressive experience in accounting and business management. Armed with a master's in business administration from Texas Woman's University, Latisha has successfully implemented effective business practices in both profit and nonprofit sectors. She firmly advocates for the necessity of a streamlined back-office support system in every thriving organization.
Throughout her extensive career, Latisha has dedicated herself to assisting organizations of various sizes and types. She specializes in creating or refining operational processes, aiming to enhance each client's workflow without unnecessary complexity.
Mrs. Ilhan's expertise extends across diverse industries, providing her with a wealth of experience and knowledge in internal accounting processes, budgeting, financial reporting, auditing, and key analytics.
Dione Friends
Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director
Dione Friends is a seasoned communications consultant who excels in bridging digital, organizing, and traditional media realms. With a strong focus on using both paid and earned tactics, she enhances visibility and garners support for mission-driven organizations. Her expertise lies in providing culturally competent, digital-first communications support to nonprofits.
Previously, Dione served as the Communications Director for Equality Federation and the ACLU of Texas, where she was responsible for branding, messaging, media relations, and digital strategies. Her commitment to social justice has been a constant thread throughout her career, beginning as an organizer for H.O.P.E. Local 123—the labor union for Houston city workers.
Dione holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science with a Minor in Art History from the University of Missouri Kansas City. Outside of her professional pursuits, she enjoys painting, playing basketball, and traveling, continuing her lifelong dedication to advocating for change and community engagement.
Shelby Taylor
Operations & Accounting
ManageR
Shelby Taylor (she/her) is an administrative and operations professional dedicated to supporting organizations advancing equity, civic engagement, and meaningful social change. She has supported executives and leadership teams across various sectors, including nonprofits, local government, and advocacy organizations, contributing expertise in scheduling and logistics, internal operations, and cross-team coordination.
With a background in voter protection and election administration, Shelby thrives at the intersection of people and processes. She is recognized for her calm demeanor, problem-solving approach, and ability to keep complex projects organized and on track. Whether she’s coordinating multiple stakeholder needs, improving workflows, or ensuring leaders have what they need to be effective, she approaches her work with intention, curiosity, and care.
Shelby is based in Houston, Texas, and enjoys writing, reading, community building, and finding ways to create structure that supports creativity and impact.
Our Consultants
Jenny Ryder
Program Manager
Jenny Ryder is a social justice focused communications professional with expertise in the creation and development of paid and earned media campaigns as well as extensive experience in organizational communications for nonprofits and foundations. She is currently a Digital Campaign Manager at Vision First, a project of New Venture Fund. She focuses specifically on issues of gender justice, abortion, and reproductive health, and has experience across a range of issues including LGBTQ+ advocacy, youth activism, and philanthropic reforms. She has previously worked as a Strategist with A/B Partners and as a freelance consultant to advocacy organizations and foundations. Jenny has been working with the Level Up team since January 2024.
Viviana Rennella
Grant Writing Consultant
Viviana is an accomplished executive leader with 35 years of experience leading social justice organizations. As Executive Director of Windcall Institute for 10 years, she designed national programming to nurture radical self-care and resilient leadership for 1200+ community and labor organizers. She developed diverse fundraising strategies growing the budget from $250K to $1.5 Million, raising over $9 Million overall. In her consultancy and coaching practice, Wave Walker Consulting, she has supported hundreds of organizations in their organizational and strategic planning development with an emphasis on building clarity and practices for sustainable team performance and the optimal personal wellbeing of each member. She applied ten years of personal wellness practices to a comprehensive curriculum, including workshops, retreats, and strategic coaching, to support community leaders to explore mind-body-spirit tools rooted in diverse cultural traditions and increase their effectiveness.
Viviana emigrated with her family as political refugees from Argentina in 1979. These early experiences shaped her early work on international issues, working with migrant communities across the country and internationally. She is the former Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of World Bridges, an international exchange and leadership development program for young organizers of color that shaped an international perspective for local youth organizing in the Bay Area, CA. She also served as Program Director of Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action, where she developed framework and analysis on economic justice for an emerging migrant remitters’ transnational network, Global League of Community Sustainers. She managed its multi-lingual international leadership council in six time zones worldwide; coordinated regional and global assemblies for 500 member organizations in busy migrant regions. For over 20 years, Viviana worked as an interpreter, developing language justice trainings and infrastructure for national and international forums such as the Language Access Coordinating Team of the US Social Forums in Detroit and Atlanta, as well as the World Social Forums in Venezuela and Brazil, plus consulted with hundreds of organizations on how to integrate language justice into their organizing work.
Currently based in Atlanta, GA, Viviana is passionate about ways for people and organizations to transform the spaces where they live and work into healthy and balanced environments that result in greater resiliency and organizations that are truly transformative.