Our Team

Ms. Skelton has a heart to serve children and adolescents.  She has 40+ years in the field of education with expertise on the CA Education Code, as a parent/student advocate, family/school/community connector, Homeless Education Program developer, and girls group program developer. She completed 3 years at LACOE, as the Homeless Education and SARB Coordinator; 32 years with LAUSD, as a Pupil Services and Attendance Counselor; 6 years at Pasadena City College, as a Counseling Assistant and EOPS Counselor.

Mrs. Lee has a passion for youth and a heart for assisting those in need of medical advocacy.   She has served her community for 40 years in a variety of capacities:

• Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office
• Los Angeles County USC Medical Center – Pediatric Hospital
• Social Worker in Merced County
• Teacher/School Support Administrator – Monrovia, Pasadena & Los Angeles Unified School Districts
• Staff Assistant/Teen Program Coordinator – Pasadena Youth Christian Center

Ms. Nicholson loves to inspire and promote self confidence in children through application and faith base empowerment.  She has 25 years of teaching experience.  She has expertise in K-12 math and has held various positions, including

• Math Dept. Coach
• Testing coordinator
• MESA coordinator
• Math / Science Family Night coordinator
• Leadership /Yearbook Coach
• Math team leader
• All Girls Math team
• After School Math Tutoring Coordinator

Additionally, she was the Homeless Afterschool Program Instructor.

In her free time, Ms. Nicholson enjoys traveling, live music events, dancing, and creating and designing jewelry.

Ms. Scott is a Pasadena native who was educated in the Pasadena public school system. She entered the workforce as an accountant and advanced her career working for various car dealerships for 35 years. 

She is the proud mother of 2 sons, the grandmother of 4, and a true believer who follows the principle of “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”    Philippians 4:13

Miss Combs was born and raised in Southern California.  

She is a freelance Film/TV Journalist and film critic and reviews films from film festivals like Sundance, Toronto, and SXSW. She has moderated and served on film panels, interviewed casts and crews of various films, and has been a juror for the New Orleans Film Festival. She is an approved Rotten Tomatoes critic. You can find her latest work on BlackGirlNerds.com, documentary.org, and TajiMag.com.

She is a member of:

• The Critics Choice Association (CCA)
• African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA)
• The Online Association of Female Film Critics (OAFFC)
• Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA)
• International Documentary Association (IDA)

Prior to her work in the film industry, Miss Combs worked for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses in the Parade Development and Marketing departments. She worked closely with the independent float builders, coordinating various aspects of the Rose Parade.

As a proud military brat, Mrs. Jefferson had the privilege of living among and being educated with diverse populations.  She learned to be sensitive to, patient with, and understanding of the variety of cultures at a young age.

Mrs. Jefferson has 20 years of elementary teaching experience in addition to being a First Lady in the CME Church prior to her husband’s death.  She loves to help people to become the best version of themselves.

Dr. Martin is the founder’s baby girl and part of the inspiration for developing G.I.R.L.S. Her most cherished accomplishment to date is achieving her PhD from Wake Forest University.

While pursuing her PhD, she served her community in a variety of capacities:

• President of the Black Graduate Student Association
• Graduate representative of the Student Wellness Center
• Lead intern for Wake Forest Best Health community wellness program 
• Lead membership recruiter for the Winston Salem Urban League Young Professionals
• Co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer of a biotech startup company spun out of an international case competition in partnership with the National Institute of Health.

Presently, Dr. Martin is a Senior Medical Science Liaison in the pharmaceutical industry and sits on 3 other boards aligned with her interests in health and education:

• The Arthritis Foundation DC Metro Local Leadership Board
• The Village Learning Place in Baltimore, MD 
• The Ingenuity Project in Baltimore, MD

Throughout her career, she has maintained her passion for community volunteerism.

In her spare time, Dr. Martin enjoys visiting family and friends, traveling to new places, participating in various classes (workout, sewing, salsa dancing,) and live music events. When she’s not traveling, she volunteers in her community.

Dr. Ray-Malone practiced Internal Medicine at Kaiser Permanente for 27 years.

During her career at Kaiser, she was keenly aware of the disparities in healthcare regarding patients of color, as well as the lack of representation of women and physicians of color in the community. Dr. Ray-Malone personally understands the need for young girls to establish connections with role models and mentors who look like them. She believes that she may be able to use her experiences to help assist in the planning and implementation of a program to successfully provide a link for them, that was missing for her.

She was inspired to join the board of G.I.R.L.S. after getting to know the founder. They shared a passion for encouraging young girls to build a strong sense of self confidence which will enable them to be successful, find joy and purpose in life.

In her free time, she enjoys running marathons, reading, taking long walks in nature, and spending time with her 3 granddaughters.

Mr. Smith is a divergent thinker who has had over 30 years’ experience as a teacher, district administrator, consultant and university faculty member. He specializes in working with marginalized persons whose abilities are often overlooked due to learning differences and diverse cultural perspectives.

He brings extensive expertise in using research-based, data driven strategies to solve real-life problems that involve overcoming obstacles to equal opportunity. He has lived, worked and traveled to North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Pacifica.

He is a proud father of two, a grandpa père of three of three little girls, and an avid tennis and pickleball player.