Project Yoga Board Members

Bobbie Boyd (Project Yoga Board Chair) has been involved with Project Yoga for many years. She started as the Project Yoga Coordinator and teacher for Bethany House and more recently has led the renewal of the Strategic Plan.

Since retiring from the Procter & Gamble Company, Bobbie has served as a volunteer consultant for the OneSource Center of Excellence for Non-Profits and as a board member for Gorman Heritage Farm. She has recently completed training in Board Orientation and Leadership Development (BOLD) and Strategic Planning / Fund Raising for Non-Profits.

A chemical engineer by training, Bobbie spent her entire working career (36 years!) at the Procter & Gamble Company. Prior to retirement, she was Associate Director overseeing 50 global employees and with responsibility for Beauty and Skin Care products. Her organizations have helped develop products for leading brands including Head & Shoulders, Olay, and Pantene. Bobbie’s skills include organizational leadership, strategic planning, talent management, coaching, mentoring, and training. 

Michael W. Hawkins is a partner at Dinsmore and community volunteer having served as Chair of the American Red Cross, Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, Bridges for a Just Community and President of the Cincinnati Bar Association.  Mike is currently on the Board of the World Affairs Council, Immigrant Refugees Law Center and Bridges of Faith Trialogue.  He also serves as a Mediator and Arbitrator.  Mike has been volunteering as a Project Yoga assistant teaching 3 and 4 year olds yoga at a YWCA Day Care.  He started his yoga journey with Lilias Folan.  Mike is now a 200 E RYT with a Reiki certificate and also teaches yoga at the Health and Wellness Program for his colleagues at Dinsmore. Mike is a graduate of University of Kentucky Business and Law School.

Sandra Mills (Project Yoga Board Treasurer) is the Controller at Xavier University. In the past, Sandra served as the Chief Financial Officer of Union Institute as well as a finance officer for the Cincinnati State Foundation, which supporting the programs, services and capital improvement projects of both institutions. In her various financial administrative positions, she oversaw all budget, projects and other activities – including the foundation’s comprehensive fundraising campaign.

Before her service at Xavier, Sandra also served for six years as the chief financial officer/vice president of finance and administration at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion. She also served at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for six years. Early in her career, she served several Cincinnati-area nonprofit organizations, including Hoxworth Blood Center and the YMCA.

Mills earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, majoring in business administration and accounting and finance. She is a certified public accountant in the State of Ohio.

Amanda Fronk is a Senior Business Intelligence Analyst with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She has responsibility to provide data analysis and data visualization support to projects in the Emergency Medical Division.

Amanda came to Project Yoga after completing formal Board Service Training through the Board Orientation and Leadership Development (BOLD) Program. Amanda has a Master of Health Services Administration from Xavier University and a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Services and a Minor in Psychology from Wright State University.

Amanda enjoys baking, crafting, gardening, and being outdoors. You can often find her taking hiking adventures with her husband, Christopher, throughout the year.

Lauren Albarella is a Certified Yoga Therapist. She completed her foundational yoga therapy training in 2021 through Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy. She recently completed the advanced 875-hour training certification to receive the “C-IAYT” from the International Association of Yoga Therapists, the highest level certification in yoga therapy.

She meets with yoga therapy clients one-on-one for various conditions such as anxiety and depression, trauma recovery, chronic pain, and autoimmune disorders. She also teaches group classes at Kindred Flow Yoga in Wyoming. Lauren considers herself a yoga student first and foremost and is committed to lifelong learning. She is also passionate about sharing yoga’s healing and therapeutic benefits with others. Laurenstrongly believes that yoga is for everyone and that there should be no limit to access.

Lauren started as an assistant teacher with Project Yoga in 2019, just before the myriad of closures due to the pandemic occurred. She was thrilled to join the Project Yoga“Curriculum Committee” in 2021, and in 2023, she became a lead teacher for Bethany House Services.

Her previous work experience includes 13 years in the financial services industry. She spent eight years working in New York City with Lexington Financial Advisors, RSM McGladrey, and KPMG, respectively. She held a variety of positions in marketing and relationship management.

Mary Beth Shipley Hines is a speech-language pathologist, RYT 200®, and podcast host. She is committed to helping individuals communicate, self-advocate and rediscover the joys connection through her work at Life Speech Pathology and Voices for Parkinson’s Inc. Mary Beth is the host of Keys for SLPs, a continuing education podcast offered by SpeechTherapyPD.com.

Through her yoga practice and teaching as an RYT 200®, she has discovered the transformational power of trauma informed yoga and mindfulness. She is honored to share yoga’s healing benefits through Project Yoga as a Board Member and Teacher. In her role as Co-Chair of the Development Committee, Mary Beth looks forward to helping Project Yoga grow through the Project Yoga Sponsorship and Yoga Studio Partnership Program.

Madeline Nueslein is currently a Commercial Portfolio Manager at Fifth Third Bank. She has been with Fifth Third Bank since she earned her bachelor's in Finance from Miami University. Madeline completed the Commercial Leadership Program at Fifth Third upon graduation and has served as a volunteer Program Ambassador and Wellness Champion.

She recently completed the Board Orientation and Leadership Development (BOLD) Program to gain more insight and formal training on non-profit board service. The program brought her a wealth of new knowledge and an introduction to Project Yoga, which aligned strongly with her interests.

Madeline's passionate towards living a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle and sharing that with others. She enjoys strength training, running, yoga, golf, tennis and traveling. Madeline is a firm believer in the benefits that yoga and mindfulness can provide and is thrilled to help share that.

Liz Ranz (Project Yoga Board Secretary)is a Senior Manager in the Internal Audit and Financial Advisory practice at Protiviti. In this role she provides internal audit and risk assessment services to clients primarily focused on information technology and operational risks. She is a graduate of the University of Dayton where she earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and economics. She has experienced the benefits of mindfulness and a yoga practice and is passionate about sharing these tools with those who have not yet had the opportunity to experience them.

Why did you become a Project Yoga board member?

I became a Project Yoga board member to help support the mission of bringing yoga and mindfulness to underserved communities in Cincinnati. The tools that these practices teach us can help us to enhance our mental and physical wellbeing, and I’m passionate about providing access to these practices to individuals who may have never had exposure to them before.

Dr. Linetta Collins-Durand has over 25 years’ experience in K-12 education and Higher Education, serving as a high school Health and Science teacher in various school districts in Columbus and Cincinnati Ohio. She received her B.S. in Health Science Education from The Ohio State University and began her career in advocacy through working as an HIV/AIDS education specialist for various organizations, including the American Red Cross and the Early Prevention and Intervention Project (EPIP) sponsored by the Central Community Health Board. She began her leadership career in 2001 as Dean of Students and has served as an Assistant Principal, Principal and Community School Superintendent for school districts throughout the Greater Cincinnati area and St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Durand earned both a Masters and Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati, in Educational Leadership and Urban Educational Leadership respectively. She is a licensed Teacher, School Principal and Superintendent for the State of Ohio.

She now serves in a full-time capacity as the CEO of AtteniL Leadership and Management Consulting Group (formally AtteniL Inc.) a consulting firm she began in 2001, providing business development, grant writing services, along with non-profit fiscal development, fundraising, educational, leadership and diversity training workshops. Her clients span the nation with a heavy concentration in Ohio, Georgia, Maryland, Illinois, Tennessee, Utah and Florida to name a few.

Dr. Durand’s research agenda and interests include: HIV/AIDS infected youth in schools and teachers and administrators attitudes toward them, a topic she chose for her dissertation research and was awarded the Garvin Distinguished Dissertation Award from the College of Education in 2005. Teaching tolerance, student and parent advocacy, eliminating heteronormativity within organizations, launching various diversity initiatives and serving children who live in marginalized areas, are the passions in which she dedicates her time and professional talents to. She has taught collegiately since 2001, and was one of the developers and grassroots instructor for the Masters of Educational Administration on-line program at the University of Cincinnati. She has public community service experience with the City of Cincinnati, by serving as a Board of Health member for five years at the pleasure and appointment of the City Mayor commencing in June 2004, chairing the board for two consecutive terms.

Dr. Durand is a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and Pride of the Valley Chapter #71, Order of Eastern Stars, Prince Hall affiliate.

Dr. Durand is very active with Domestic Violence Awareness and HIV/AIDS Prevention. She resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and children. She believes that effective leadership must begin with serving others and showing the love of Christ through that service.

How did you become a Project Yoga Board member? 

I became a Project Yoga Board member to help the people of Cincinnati. I’ve seen first-hand how yoga helps to cope with stress and build stronger personal relationships. By helping people make their world better, one person at a time, we can make our community better for everyone.

*The terms 200 E-RYT and 500 E-RYT refer to the designation of an individual registered with the Yoga Alliance, one of several key national non-profit associations that promote and set standards for learning, teaching and best practices in yoga and mindfulness. All Project Yoga instructors are certified yoga teachers (CYT).

HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS

Wendy Andersen

Deb Bagley

Beth Brendamour

Faith Bryan

Joan Donnelly

Karen Grass

David Knowles

Katy Knowles

Peter Levin

Deana Podvin