Leadership Team

Teniel Jones
President & CEO
With a passion for STEM and for people, Teniel transitioned from a stellar career in engineering leadership to human resources. Prior to Base 11, she worked with the world’s largest aerospace firm and Fortune 500 company for 15 years.
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As a Director of Learning & Development and Innovation, Teniel partnered with tech, space and defense industries, as well as with top academic institutions, to promote new ways of learning through collaboration and leveraging technology. She guest speaks, mentors / coaches, and teaches students ranging from K-12 to university level and professional adult learners via forums such as Elevate, a Partnership with UC San Diego, UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton, the UC Office of the President—MESA, & Spectrum Knowledge. She also serves on the advisory board of EmpowHer, which impacts girls in marginalized communities. As a strategic leader with systems thinking, Teniel is focusing these strengths on Base 11 to successfully create and implement student learning programs, which embody community. Teniel earned a bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Southern California. She holds several accelerated leadership certificates, a Project Management certificate from UCI and an HR Management certificate from the University of La Verne.

Landon Taylor
Founder
Landon Taylor is the founder and chief executive officer of Base 11. He sets the organization’s strategic vision and leads the national expansion of Base 11’s STEM workforce and entrepreneur accelerator model by partnering with industry, academia and philanthropy to transform high-potential, low-resource students into the STEM talent most in demand by industry.
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Prior to Base 11, Landon spent 25 years in senior leadership positions in industry which span launching start-ups to leading the development and deployment of nationally-implemented corporate strategies for FORTUNE 500® entities such as The First American Corporation (FAC) Family of Companies and CoreLogic. At FAC Landon was appointed to the Board of Directors for First American Title Insurance Company, the corporation’s largest subsidiary.
Landon strives to balance his affinity for capitalism with his commitment to human development and economic empowerment for underserved communities. As CEO of Base 11, he is dedicated to fulfilling his personal mission of building a sustainable middle class in America inclusive of all Americans.
Landon earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Pepperdine University and completed advanced management and executive persuasion training programs at Stanford University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

John D. Beneventi
Chief Financial Officer
John D. Beneventi is the chief financial officer for Base 11. With over 25 years of finance and accounting experience, John is a social entrepreneur, focused on technology as an industry change agent. He has over a decade of experience leading the design, creation, and deployment of market-leading technologies and process improvements for the real estate, mortgage finance, housing counseling, and aviation industries.
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As president and co-founder of 5x Solutions and Center for Innovation in Education, John implements streamline processes and provides scalable solutions — resulting in disruptive technology achievements that redefine industries. As Chief Financial Officer for Base 11, John oversees all economic strategy and forecasting for the organization.

Ingrid Ellerbe
Senior Strategic Advisor
Ingrid serves as Senior Strategic Advisor of Base 11. Previously, as Senior Vice President of Programs & Partnerships and then Executive Director, Ellerbe oversaw exponential growth in Base 11’s student impact, programming, geographic footprint, corporate donors, and academic partnerships. These expansions resulted in the organization’s cumulative student impact growing from 300 students in 2016, reaching a cumulative of more than 12,400 students.
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Douglas R. Bender, Sr.
Board Chairman
Douglas R. Bender is the Board Chairman for Base 11. He has worked for some of the most exciting organizations in corporate America including Miller Brewing Company, Uncle Ben’s Foods, Dove, International, M&M/Mars, and Kal Kan Petcare, and held a number of corporate and manufacturing HR positions of increasing responsibility which included international assignments. His last corporate assignment for Mars, Incorporated prior to entering private consulting practice was as Head of HR Support Services for North America and Co-Chair for Global HR Support Services over seeing the management of a combined budget of over $200 million dollars annually.
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Doug is a passionate community leader having served as Chairman of the Community Services Foundation for the City of Villa Park, California for several years. He is currently Chairman of the Human Rights Commission for the City of Greensboro, North Carolina and an inaugural member of the Cultural Affairs Commission of the city.
Doug is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California and past Adjunct Instructor at the heralded California State University campuses at Long Beach and Fullerton and has lectured many international business leadership delegations from around the world including The Peoples Republic of China.
Along with many published professional articles written over the course of his career he has also published the award winning book titled The ABC’s of Leadership in 2008 (Axiom Business Book Awards) and a second book, Caution: Smiles At Work (lulu.com, 2014). In addition, he is a Contributing Author to bestseller The Leadership Challenge Activities Book by Kouzes and Posner (Pfeiffer, 2010).
Doug grew up in the South and West of the U.S. and graduated from Alcorn State University with a BA in Political Science and Economics. He went on to receive a Master’s degree in Human Resources Counseling from North Carolina A&T State University and studied law at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina.

Jade Kim
Advocacy and Engagement Manager
Jade Kim is the Advocacy and Engagement Manager for Base 11, ensuring all of Base 11’s student programs run seamlessly and effectively while serving as the organization’s chief first impression officer.
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As a public relations professional and STEM enthusiast, Jade has worked in both the nonprofit and educational sectors, combining her passion for science with her love of story-telling. Previously, Jade has worked at Griffith Observatory as a public speaker, where she gave exciting astronomy presentations and helped produce their nationally-known monthly show series, “All Space Considered.” She has also worked with local nonprofits [email protected] and RYTMO, launching their social media platforms, creating strategic partnerships, and fundraising. Helping people has always been at the heart of Jade’s personal and professional goals, having spent her 21st birthday in Ghana volunteering at an orphanage and doing science outreach in the local villages. She is excited to continue along the same journey, enriching all students with invaluable STEM opportunities.
Corporate Board Members

Al Bunshaft
Senior Vice President, Dassault Systèmes Americas
Al Bunshaft is the Senior Vice President of 3DExperience Edu, Americas, for
Dassault Systèmes. He is also the President of the Dassault Systèmes US
Foundation, the charitable arm of the company’s US presence.
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Bunshaft’s expertise in 3D visualization, computer graphics and engineering-related software tools has been a special focus of his career. He is Dassault Systèmes’ leading voice for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States.
Bunshaft’s expertise in 3D visualization, computer graphics and engineering-related software tools has been a special focus of his career. He is Dassault Systèmes’ leading voice for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. From 2014-2017, Bunshaft was co-chair of the STEM Innovation Task Force of STEMconnector, a consortium of organizations concerned with STEM education and the workforce of the future. He was named by the organization as one of its Top 100 CEO STEM leaders. He represents the company on the US Council on Competitiveness, which advances a pro-growth policy agenda to US government representatives, and has been a representative to multiple National Academy of Engineering committees. He serves on the Massachusetts Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and is a board member of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, the New York Hall of Science, the American Technical Education Association, and Base 11 (a non-profit, 501c3 workforce and entrepreneur development company). He is a member of the President’s Council of the Olin College of Engineering and the Advisory Board of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY).
He received his bachelor of science degree in computer science and mathematics from the University at Albany, SUNY. He has a master of science degree in computer systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Regina Stanback Stroud
Chancellor, Peralta Community College District
Former Chancellor, President, Vice President and Faculty member, Dr. Regina Stanback is a scholar – practitioner of racial equity and literacy. She served President Barack Obama on the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans. She is recognized for her work by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ Regina Stanback- Stroud Diversity Award and the Western Regional Council on Black American Affairs’ Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud Leadership Achievement Award. She holds a Doctorate and Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Mills College, a Master’s Degree in Human Relations from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Sciences from Howard University.
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Regina Stanback Stroud holds a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership (Mills College), a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Sciences (Howard University), a Master’s Degree in Human Relations (Golden Gate University) and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership (Mills College).
Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud is highly regarded at local, regional, state, and national levels for her knowledge, background and perspective on Student Equity and Diversity, education/industry collaboratives, economic empowerment and anti-poverty strategies, community workforce and economic development and regional and state system policy implications for successful programs and services. She served as an appointee of President Barack Obama to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans to make recommendations on strategies and policies that help improve the financial well-being of young people. Dr. Stroud serves as a Board of Directors member on Sierra Nevada Journeys, a nonprofit organization that delivers innovative outdoor, science-based education programs for youth to develop critical thinking skills and to inspire natural resource stewardship.
In honor of her work on equity and diversity, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges established the Regina Stanback-Stroud Diversity Award. The Western Regional Council on Black American Affairs established the Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud Leadership Achievement Award.
Dr. Stanback Stroud periodically teaches both in the Mills College and SFSU Educational Leadership Doctoral Programs.
Under her leadership and in partnership with Base11, Skyline College developed the state of the art STEM Center complete with the MIT inspired fab lab. She also launched the Skyline College Promise Program supporting students’ access to higher education at no cost so they can Get in, Get through, and Graduate…on time!”

Tonie Leatherberry
Principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Tonie Leatherberry is a Principal in the Risk and Financial Advisory practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP where she serves Fortune 100 manufacturing, retail and consumer business clients. Additionally, she is the Board Relations Leader for the Risk and Financial Advisory practice. She also serves as the President of Deloitte Foundation, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to drive initiatives that develop future leaders through education.
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She has received numerous accolades, most notably as one of the top 25 consultants by Consulting Magazine and by Black Enterprise as one of the Most Powerful Women in Business. Tonie has also been recognized as one of Pennsylvania’s Top 50 Women in Business, The Network Journal’s annual list of 25 Influential Black Women in Business, Savoy magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America and one of the Top 100 under 50 Leaders by Diversity MBA Magazine.
Currently, Leatherberry serves on several advisory boards including the Executive Leadership Council, Widener University Board of Trustees, Boston University College of Engineering Advisory Committee, Boston University Board of Overseers, and STEMConnector’s Innovation Task Force.
She holds an MBA in Operations from Northeastern University and a B.S.M.E. with a concentration in Manufacturing Engineering from Boston University.
Advisory Board Members

Art McCoy, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Jennings School Distric
Art McCoy, Ph.D., is a champion for students and an inspiring education leader who has led over 120,000 students in the St. Louis region and supported over 1 million students and 2,500 schools and colleges across America.
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In 1996, he became the youngest certified teacher in Missouri teaching mathematics in the Rockwood School District at age 19. He became a Grade Level Principal in 1999, District K-12 Gifted Director in 2002, and Associate Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UM-St. Louis) as well as guest lecturer and speaker at the College of William and Mary, Lindenwood, Maryville, and St. Louis Community College from 2003 to date. In 2005, Dr. McCoy became the Executive Director of VICC and Student Services for Rockwood and created scores of programs and added new procedures for greater student support, access, and achievement. In 2008, he became Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education, was later named the youngest and, also, the first African-American Superintendent of Ferguson-Florissant School District in December 2010 at 33. Dr. McCoy led the district to earn much recognition including the Urban Overachiever Award for outstanding graduation rates. Dr. McCoy was a state and national leader for Harvard’s Pathways to Prosperity Initiative developing college and career pathways for students (grades 7-14). In 2014, he served as an education adviser to the Missouri House and Senate and helped write state laws for education equity. He is the founder and president of SAGES Consulting LLC and SAGES Academy, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, as well as Superintendent-in-Residence of MIND Research Institute and Base 11, where his emphasis is on creating STEM workforce development programs for students and serving on Base 11’s national advisory board.
Dr. McCoy earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Education with an emphasis in education leadership and policy studies and Masters in Education Administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from Harris-Stowe State University. He is an alumnus of Harvard University’s Leadership Institute for Superintendents post-graduate program.

Dain Ehring
Tech Investor, Entrepreneur
Dain Ehring is an experienced C-level executive, entrepreneur and speaker with extensive experience in high technology leadership and engineering.
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A dynamic leader and motivator, Ehring is particularly skilled at raising capital; strategy, vision and mission planning; contract negotiations and strategic alliances; and team building and performance improvement.
Most recently, Ehring was founder and CEO of Dorado Corporation, a pioneer in cloud-based applications for mortgage bankers. Under Ehring’s leadership, Dorado became the market leader in demand chain management solutions for the mortgage industry, achieving an average annual growth rate of 200% over a seven-year period. At its peak, Dorado’s patent-protected software was used by 150 of the largest U.S. banks. Ehring raised $120 million in funds from CrossPoint Ventures and other capital sources and structured the company’s successful sale to CoreLogic, a publicly traded, multi-billion dollar technology company.
Ehring began his career recruited out of college by the U.S. government to head up the National Reconnaissance Organization’s (NRO) global technology modernization initiative. Ehring then took on sales and marketing for NeXT Computers, founded by visionary Steve Jobs. Other roles include VP of worldwide sales at Lighthouse Design, a startup applications developer acquired by Sun Microsystems; director of sales at JavaSoft, a Sun Microsystems subsidiary; and senior VP of CoreLogic.
A gifted speaker and team builder, Ehring is a strong advocate for an engaged, collaborate and diverse workforce. He serves as a investor, advisor or mentor at several technology incubators, startup organizations and university programs. He also sits on several technology and philanthropic boards and has authored dozens of thought leadership articles on topics ranging from science, technology, politics and financial services. Ehring holds a Master’s degree in Space Physics from UCLA and is an avid traveler and blogger.

Michelle Flowers Taylor, Ed.D.
Founding Director of the Institute for Engineering Community and Cultural Competence at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering
Michelle Flowers Taylor, Ed.D. is an educator with expertise in promoting cross-cultural education through research, media, and service.
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To this end, she has worked in the STEM disciplines to further diversity and achievement of underrepresented student populations, particularly African American and Latina girls and women. Additionally, she has served as an applied anthropologist with specialized training in the visual aspects of culture to develop interactive and educational video game based content that taught the languages and cultures of various parts of the world for the U.S. military. Her work has garnered the U.S. Distance Learning Award and has taken her to several countries including Australia, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and various locations in the U.S. She completed her doctoral research at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA, where she conducted narrative analysis research with academically high-achieving African-American female students to assess the language and literacy strategies that they have used to excel in school and in their roles as community leaders.
As the founding director of the Institute for Engineering Community and Cultural Competence at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, Dr. Taylor leads the development and implementation of intervention strategies, programs, and ongoing research aimed at eliminating the gender gap in STEM with emphasis on the high-demand fields of computer science and engineering. IEC3 is specifically focused on empowering African American and Latina girls and women to enter STEM fields, and advancing their career readiness in technologies of the future.

Dr. Andrew C. Jones
Senior Advisor
Andrew C. Jones, Ed.D., serves as senior advisor for Base 11 and has been an executive administrator for over 30 years.
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He served most recently as Executive Vice Chancellor for Education and Technology at Contra Costa Community College District and previously as Chancellor of Coast Community College District, CA; Executive Vice Chancellor of Educational Affairs for the Dallas County Community College District, TX and President of the Community College of Baltimore County, MD.
Much of his career has been spent at the four-year college and university level, but the last dozen or so years have found him in the dynamic associate degree arena where he has been a staunch advocate for equal access and student success. Andrew has led several recent national initiatives to address the declining role of males of color in higher education, to promote increased faculty diversity and to promote student success through the use of technology, process improvement and predictive analytics. Jones has also been a champion for elevating student learning outcome assessment as the major metric for institutional success. Most recently, he has been involved with leading regional workforce efforts in California and developing STEM based entrepreneurial accelerators to enhance the working learner.
In 2009 Andrew completed a certificate in Strategic Forecasting from the University of Houston to add to his doctorate degree in education and public policy from Temple University. He holds a master’s degree in library and information sciences and undergraduate preparation in economics from the University of Maryland.

Raquel Tamez
CEO, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Raquel Tamez was named CEO of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), in June 2017 a national network of more than 300 chapters and over 10,000 professional and student members
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Founded in 1974, SHPE’s mission is to change lives by empowering the Hispanic community to realize its fullest potential and to impact the world through STEM awareness, access, support and development. SHPE provides a variety of programming, services, and resources including hosting the largest Hispanic STEM conference in the nation.
Before serving as the CEO of SHPE, Raquel Tamez served as the Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, and Senior Vice President of Legal at SourceAmerica. She speaks fluent Spanish and has received national recognition as a recipient of the Hispanic Corporate Achiever Award bestowed by the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. Raquel is a 2011 Fellow in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Talent Development Program. Raquel was featured in the “Leading Latinas” June 2013 issue of Hispanic Executive and was subsequently selected for the magazine’s “Best of 2013” tablet edition. In the Summer/Fall 2013 issue, Raquel was featured in Hispanic Career World published by Equal Opportunity Publication.
Raquel graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary’s University School of Law. She is a native of Texas and currently resides in Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

Carver Gayton, Ph.D.
Author and Public Historian
Carver Gayton is an author and public historian who has written two books about his great grandfather Lewis G. Clarke, an escaped slave and abolitionist leader.
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Gayton retired as founding executive director of the Northwest African American Museum in 2008, after successfully leading a $23 million capital campaign to renovate the Seattle building that houses the museum and low-income housing units.
Gayton also enjoyed a long career with Boeing, where he retired as Corporate Director of College and University Relations. In that role he was responsible for managing policy development, research, recruitment, contributions programs and activities relevant to Boeing’s interface with colleges and universities throughout the nation. He also served as Boeing’s Director of Training and Educational Relations. Gayton and Boeing were both recognized nationally for the school-to-work program that he created during his tenure there.
In 1997 he was appointed by the governor of Washington to serve as Commissioner of the Washington State Employment Security Department, overseeing unemployment benefits and federal workforce training programs.
A respected public servant in his hometown of Seattle, Gayton is a member of the Foundation and the Alumni Association at his alma mater, University of Washington, where he was a decorated football star, assistant coach, and professor. He has served on a wide variety of other boards including the National Advisory Panel for the National Center for Postsecondary Governance and Finance; the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges; the Independent Colleges of Washington Board of Trustees; and the Seattle School Board.

John W. Hines
Managing Director – Chief Technologist, JH Technology Associates LLC
John Hines is Managing Director and Chief Technologist at JH Technology Associates LLC, a California-based Technology Consulting and Advisory Services company.
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He specializes in the areas of Space Technologies, Medical and Biological Technologies, Technology Aggregation, Life Cycle Technology Product Development, and Technology Program/Project Management.
Prior to establishing his consulting practice, he was Chief Technologist, NASA-Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, CA.
He has an extensive technical skillset covering Program and Project Management, Technology Product Development, Advanced Technology R&D, Sensors and Instrument Technology Development, Spacecraft Payloads and Space Systems, Small Spacecraft and Missions, Medical and Biological Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Technology Test, Evaluation, and Demonstration, Systems Management and Engineering, Technology Integration and Validation, Proposal Writing; Technical Writing, Technology Team Definition, Design and Implementation and Advocacy.
John attended Stanford University where he received his MSEE with a concentration in Electrical/Biomedical Engineering. He earned his undergraduate degree from Tuskegee University in Electrical Engineering.

Bryan Kent Wallace
Assistant Professor of Physics, Director of Physics Laboratories, and Coordinator of Rocketry Department of Life and Physical Sciences Fisk University
Bryan Kent Wallace is a native of Chicago and attended Grambling State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics.
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He attended Fisk University where he earned his Master of Science in Plasma Physics and went on to obtain his Doctor of Education Leadership at David Lipscomb University.
Dr. Wallace became a Research Assistant in Fisk University’s Physics Department, upon completion of his master’s degree and accepted a full-time faculty position in the fall of 2002. Currently, he serves as a physics faculty member and is the Director of Physics Laboratories. In that capacity, he is responsible for the modernization and instruction in all physics undergraduate laboratories, as well as, laboratory curriculum. Under his supervision, the Physics laboratories have advanced from partial to full computerization of data collection and received numerous improvements by way of renovation, organization, and utilization of more efficient equipment.
He is also Primary Investigator for Fisk University’s Rocket Science Program, entitled Altitude Achievement Missile Team (F.A.A.M.T). This program was built from scratch to compete in a NASA competition known as University Student Launch Initiative (USLI), where students design, build, launch and recover a sounding rocket carrying a scientific payload, which must achieve an altitude of exactly one mile. In its first year of this competition, Fisk University placed 4th overall and placed 2nd in reaching the one-mile target altitude. Fisk placed above Alabama A&M, Mississippi State, and Auburn University. All of the aforementioned schools have engineering, aerospace engineering programs or both. Fisk competed with a Physics program, only.
Dr. Wallace engages in extensive work pipelining university students into Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers as well as engaging in mentoring programs aimed at building self-efficacy in under-represented populations in K-12. The goal of these efforts is to encourage them to become full participants in their STEM curriculum and eventually go into STEM-related careers.