Hopebound Staff
Dr. Michael Stevens
Executive Director
he/him
Antonio Richardson
Managing Director of People, Operations & Strategy
he/him
Araya McGee
Program Manager
she/her
Dr. Michael Stevens
(he/him)
| Executive Director
Dr. Michael Stevens is a nonprofit executive with 18 years of experience in youth development. Dr. Stevens currently serves as the Executive Director of Hopebound, a nonprofit organization that exists to ensure that every young person aged 10-18, especially those who hold marginalized identities, has access to therapy. Hopebound takes care of the youth of today while training the therapists of tomorrow to provide quality mental health care that is radically inclusive and norm-defying in its centering of BIPOC, queer, and low income communities.
Prior to Hopebound, Dr. Stevens had an extensive career with City Year. He started his career in service as a founding AmeriCorps member with City Year in Baton Rouge, LA. Dr. Stevens would later hold various leadership roles with City Year across multiple locations nationally. These locations include Washington D.C., Jacksonville, FL, Buffalo, NY and the national office in Boston, MA. During his tenure, he achieved a number of critical milestones in service to students and communities around the country. Some of those include securing a $1.5M grant from the Health Equity Fund to support the economic mobility of AmeriCorps Members who are parents and/or caregivers over the next three years in partnership with LIFT-DC. Dr. Stevens was recognized in the Buffalo Business Journal as a 2021 C-Level Executive for Excellence for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Stevens has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Keuka College, a Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from the University of the District of Columbia, a Master’s in Education from Northeastern University, and completed his Ed.D in Executive Leadership at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY.
Antonio Richardson
(he/him)
| Managing Director of People, Operations & Strategy
Antonio Richardson is a strategic HR and Operations Executive with deep expertise in leading organizational redesigns, aligning people systems with mission, and driving culture and operational excellence across public and nonprofit sectors. Recognized for his vibrant personality and composed leadership during complex transitions, he instills clarity, structure, and trust within dynamic and evolving teams.
He most recently served as Chief People Officer at Student Achievement Partners, where he architected and led human capital strategy during a comprehensive organizational redesign. In this role, he provided strategic oversight of all human resource functions, including talent acquisition, performance management, total rewards, compliance, and employee relations, while collaborating with executive leadership to realign the organizational structure, reestablish cultural norms, and drive operational stability. His work significantly advanced employee engagement and retention by reinforcing clear lines of alignment between individual roles and the organization’s broader mission.
Earlier in his career, Antonio held key operations and people development roles at Year Up in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington, and at City Year in Washington, DC, leading staff engagement and performance initiatives during large-scale change. At Year Up, he managed daily HR and operations across two offices in a hybrid environment, integrating in-person operations with remote workforce strategy. He also led onboarding, monthly all-staff programming, and internal communications while helping preserve organizational culture. At City Year, he guided AmeriCorps members and staff through compliance and programmatic shifts, using coaching, training, and feedback systems to foster clarity and cohesion.
Antonio is SHRM-SCP certified and brings a distinctive blend of human-centered leadership, systems-level thinking, and operational rigor. In addition to his internal leadership roles, he has served as a consultant to nonprofit organizations, supporting the development of equitable and sustainable HR infrastructure through strategic change management. He is especially committed to advancing talent strategy in mission-driven organizations that serve youth, elevate communities, and prioritize equity.
He resides in Louisiana, where he enjoys time with family and exploring his lifelong love of music.
Araya McGee
(she/her)
| Program Manager
During her career, Araya has supported the operations of various small businesses and nonprofit organizations. She earned her Masters in Business Administration as well as her Masters of Public Administration with a focus on nonprofit management. Araya went on to work with programs supporting people living with HIV/AIDS, those dealing with various mental health issues, as well as folks from underserved communities.
Araya was inspired to join the Hopebound team as her personal values closely align with Hopebound’s mission of revolutionizing mental health care for youth from historically marginalized communities. She is motivated to serve her community in a way that increases racial, economic, and health equity. In her free time, Araya enjoys hiking, going to concerts, and exploring the city of Decatur with her loving husband and energetic Jack Russell-Chihuahua.
Partners
Veronika McDougald
Program & Partnerships Consultant
she/her
Rochelle Thompson
Parent & Caregiver Liaision
she/her
Kayla Trotter
Communications Consultant
she/her
Ezra Brake
Intern
Agnes Scott College
they/them
Veronika McDougald
(she/her)
| Program & Partnerships Consultant
Veronika McDougald is a people-first program and partnerships leader with 14 years of experience designing impactful services, developing talent, and cultivating strategic relationships to unlock the potential in all young people. A former AmeriCorps member, Veronika has dedicated her career to scaling programs and aligning mission with measurable results across the education and nonprofit sectors.
Most recently, she served as Managing Director of Impact at City Year Jacksonville, where she oversaw over $2.2M in public grants annually, guided cross-functional teams supporting hundreds of AmeriCorps members over the years, and led a districtwide engagement strategy that spanned cabinet-level leadership to school principals. Her work strengthened alignment across the system and expanded school-based programming. Her leadership drove gains in partner satisfaction, staff retention, and program innovation—particularly during times of organizational transition and growth.
Veronika is known for leading with empathy, clarity, and a deep belief in the power of community. She’s committed to building systems that are equity-centered, data-informed, and grounded in the lived experiences of those they serve. Over the last two years, she has also served on the Duval County Public School-Based Mental Health Advisory Committee, helping to increase the number of credentialed school based mental health workers within the district.
Originally from Georgia, Veronika holds a B.A. from the University of Georgia and a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University. She’s also a proud alum of Leadership Jacksonville’s NextGen program and a former Board Service Fellow with the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida.
Based in Jacksonville with her husband, daughter and bonus daughter, Veronika brings heart and strategy to every space she enters. In her free time, she enjoys getting lost in ancestry research, riding her Peloton, spending quality time with her large family, and being in community and serving alongside her church family.
She’s honored to join the Hopebound team to consult on the program and partnerships work that places youth mental health and healing at the center.
Rochelle Thompson
(she/her)
| Parent & Caregiver Liaision
Rochelle received her B.A in Education from Georgia State University, and went back to pursue her M.ED and ED.S degrees in Language and Literacy. She has twenty years of experience teaching elementary, middle, and high school, founded two educational literacy organizations, and is an educational consultant for some of the largest book publishers in the U.S. When Rochelle learned about Hopebound, she signed her daughter up to receive services and inquired about how to get involved so that she could advocate on our behalf to prospective caregivers, prospective school partners, and the greater Atlanta community. As the caregiver of a child currently participating in Hopebound, a middle school teacher, and a community advocate for accessible mental health support for youth, Rochelle has been an invaluable member of the team since she joined in the fall of 2021.
Kayla Trotter
(she/her)
| Communications Consultant
Kayla Trotter is a passionate and rising leader in the nonprofit sector, currently serving as the Communications Consultant at Hopebound. Kayla earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the Delaware State University and she brings over seven years of nonprofit experience from City Year Washington, DC, where she began her journey as an AmeriCorps Member in the 2018–2019 service year. One of the highlights of her career was representing City Year, Inc. as a panel speaker at the National Service: Rebuilding America’s Civic Fabric event hosted by the Brookings Institution.
In her new role at Hopebound, Kayla is excited to continue advancing mission-driven work by leveraging her skills in communications strategy, event planning, and storytelling to expand access to mental health support for youth and adolescents.
Outside of work, Kayla enjoys spending time with her husband, Marcus, and their poodle, Ella Marie, attending church, planning events, listening to music, and playing the flute and piano.
