About CLD

Staff Directory

Ronald Brown
Manager of Fund Development, ext. 201

Ron plans, organizes, and coordinates various fund development activities and opportunities with an emphasis on donor research, grant writing and reporting and event planning. His interest and passion come from a desire to see African American youth succeed at unsurpassed levels to affect change in their lives, their family’s lives and the life of their communities.

Yalonda Brown (CLD ’83)
MSOL, Indiana Institute of Technology
Program Coordinator, ext. 302

Yalonda is responsible for planning, organizing and implementing CLD’s Self-Discovery/Career Exploration Project, Precious Miss and Role Model/Advisor Experience programs. Committed to improving the lives of all she touches through her efforts, she believes in leading by example and using her talents in such a way as to give back to the community. Yalonda engages with schools and community organizations, all with a purposed effort to teach students life skills necessary for success and advance the college admission, persistence and completion rates of minority youth. She is the mother of a 2010 CLD Alumn.

Jeanette Caston
Receptionist, ext. 200

With over 20 years of customer service experience, Jeanette services CLD guests via phone and/or face to face inquiries. She provides general information regarding the organization to customers and assists in general administrative and clerical support.

Jeniece Fleming
BS, Northwestern University MS, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Licensed Guidance Counselor, ext. 207

As a CLD guidance counselor within the College Prep Institute (CPI), Jeniece provides academic, career and college counseling services for students and their parent and/or caring adult. Jeniece credits career and academic success is in part because of the resources available to her and her support network. She is sincerely interested in assisting students with their journey to make their aspirations a reality despite the obstacles that may lie in the way.

Nita Gates
BS, Indiana State University MS, Indiana State University
Licensed Guidance Counselor, ext. 207

As a CLD guidance counselor within the College Prep Institute (CPI), Nita provides academic, career and college counseling services for students and their parent and/or mentor. With more than 8 years of experience, Nita’s passion is helping families with testing and finding scholarships and affordable institutions. She is currently a high school counselor in a local township.

Joi Harmon
BA, Manchester University
Marketing & Recruitment Associate, ext. 418

Joi is responsible for building awareness of CLD throughout central Indiana with the goal of ultimately enrolling participants (students and parents) in CLD programs and initiatives. She uses the community and school connections to engage individuals and organizations on CLD’s social media sites and for recruitment efforts. Joi is responsible for the maintaining the organization’s website

Lena Hill(CLD ’99)
BS, Indiana Tech
Director of the College Prep Institute, ext. 206

Lena leads the College Prep Institute team in fulfilling the CLD mission to prepare African American youth and parents for academic, college and career achievement. Lena is passionate about providing college readiness resources to all families, especially underrepresented populations. Additionally, Lena assists in designing initiatives to increase knowledge and access to academic requirements and career pathways.

Shelley Jackson
BS, Northern Michigan University, MA, Ball State University
College Success Coordinator, ext. 306

As the College Success Coordinator, Shelley works with CLD Alumni to help advance their college success and completion. Previously working in higher education, Shelley collaborates with collegiate staff and community partners to identify resources that maximize student achievement. Additionally, Shelley is responsible for planning, organizing and implementing CLD’s college success programs: Emerging Scholars, College Prep, College Goal Sunday, and all internship/job shadowing programs.

Jeff Johnson
MA, Indiana University MS, Butler University
Licensed Guidance Counselor, ext. 419

As a CLD guidance counselor within the College Prep Institute (CPI), Jeff provides academic, career and college counseling services for students and their parent and/or mentor. Jeff has worked in education for more than 20 years at the middle school, high school and college level.

Jonathan Jones(CLD ’00)
BS, Indiana University
Program Coordinator, ext. 303

Jonathan is responsible for planning, organizing and implementing the following CLD programs: Business Orientation Project, Imani Book Club, Jr. Self-Discovery and Project MR. His passion for youth development throughout our community aids him in creating quality initiatives.

Carolyn Ladd
BS, Martin University MBA, Indiana Wesleyan
Office Manager, ext. 307

Carolyn organizes and coordinates office operations and procedures in order to ensure organizational efficiency and effectiveness. She is the Administrative Assistant to the President. Carolyn is the mother of a CLD Alumn.

Deborah Ross
BS, Indiana University-Bloomington
Manager of Program Administration, ext. 300

Deborah manages the coordination and delivery of all administrative program functions for efficient planning, delivery and data management of all programs. Prior to joining the CLD team, Deborah and her husband volunteered for the organization. They are proud parents of 3 CLD Alumni.

Erika Smith(CLD ’99)
Database Coordinator, ext. 304

Erika oversees, maintains and improves CLD’s data collection, tracking and reporting process to enable the organization to identify access, evaluate and accurately report on the performance and outcomes of CLD programs and Fund Development efforts. She also provides assistance to the Fund Development department in identifying and maintaining CLD’s alumni and donor base.