Consultant Team
Cultural Dexerity. Cultural Humility. Emotional Intelligence.
Mariah Murrell
DEI Auditor and Consultant
Dr. Mariah Murrell is a dynamic and engaging EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) auditor, researcher, curriculum developer, and trainer. For over a decade, Mariah has been working to help businesses and institutions address EDI’s challenges. She began her professional journey as a K-12 educator and immediately noticed firsthand the inequities associated with various aspects of our nation’s educational systems. This led her to seek ways to challenge structures that marginalize members of underrepresented groups. She went on to earn her Doctor of Education from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where her work centered on increasing equitable and culturally relevant learning opportunities for students.
Mariah also began consulting with organizations in 2013 to help support their EDI initiatives and provide thought leadership to improve the workplace climate for members of underrepresented groups. She employs a multi-faceted approach to this work through research, training curriculum development, and training facilitation and has worked with dozens of groups to help drive strategic initiatives related to EDI. She has a passion for assisting businesses to discover ways to become more culturally competent, globally-minded, and social justice-oriented. To quote the late Rep. John Lewis, Mariah’s mission, both personally and professionally, has always been to “…Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
Shanice Coppedge-Nicholas
Social Media Consultant
Shanice Coppedge-Nicholas is the eldest daughter of our founder and co-founder Mr. & Mrs. Coppedge and the new Social Media Support and Cultural Consultant in Training at Coppedge Consulting. She supports all social media platforms and provides technical assistance during trainings.
Shanice has a love for learning new things and has gravitated toward the field of DEI and Cultural awareness work. She has been a true asset with her go get it attitude, willingness to transition, and flexibility to manage the social media platforms at a moment’s notice.
Trish Bonica
Cultural/Data Consultant
Over the past 20 years, Trish Bonica has led strategic and functional initiatives in and beyond Human Resources. In Trish’s view, HR enhances its value within organizations when it uses data, technology, and dialogue to include, engage, and recognize team members throughout the employee lifecycle. Consistent engagement is a key strategy for building an environment of belonging in which team members experience safety and share accountability for an organization’s culture and results.
As a new member of the Coppedge Consulting team, Trish strives to approach projects with the patience and humility necessary to gather observations and attend to others before taking substantial action.
Doing antiracism work is important to Trish because she believes that she has a unique set of responsibilities as an aspiring white ally. These responsibilities include acknowledging the many areas of unearned benefit afforded to Trish as a function of her race and class privilege, working to reconcile her contributions to past and current harm to people of color, and joining with others in a call for racial and economic justice.
Also, Trish is the founder of the community-advised Survivors Recovery Fund and is a member of board of the Women’s Fund of Western MA.
Cultural Consultant
Valerie Francis, Vice President of Employee Benefits at HUB International New England, formerly Insurance Center of New England (ICNE), has a strong understanding of Employee Benefits practices and managing and implementing the agency’s health care reform initiatives. Her passion and desire to create diverse and equitable collaborative partnerships with carriers, clients, and leading staff have contributed to her maintaining high retention rates and marketing new business to meet the department’s sales goals. Valerie is a 15-year veteran in the insurance industry. She has served as a Sales Executive with Health New England, and held management positions in Member Services and Claims departments at Aetna and Health New England. Valerie is a well-respected expert in her field and is recognized as one of the leading experts in managing healthcare costs and exposure. She and her staff provide services and education that set them apart.
Valerie is a graduate of LEAP, formerly known as Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) class of 2014, and a valued member of the Western Massachusetts community.
As a new member of the Coppedge Consulting team, she brings her dedication and expertise in navigating systems to empower leaders to diversify benefits to meet staff and their family needs equitably.
Valerie strives to widen pathways for change and educate today’s leaders to engage in a narrative that promotes anti-racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as core values.