Leadership

Staff

Nathan S. Hamme

Nathan S. Hamme

President

Nate is President of Ceca Foundation, accountable for the highest level of chief executive responsibilities. He has extensive experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, focusing on business strategy, product development, relationship management, partnerships, operating scale, and data analysis.

Nate has also been a consistent voice for the power of employee recognition to drive engagement and retention in the healthcare industry and has written and spoken extensively on staffing and retention issues facing care communities. He has had features on ABC News7 and articles in McKnight’s Senior Living, Homecare Magazine, Seniors Housing Business, and Authority Magazine, as well as dozens of continuing education sessions to some of the largest state and national healthcare and senior living groups. He regularly presents at conferences across the country, including AHCA and LeadingAge affiliates.

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Nate came to Ceca in 2014, after more than seven years at Mobile Posse, a mobile marketing and application developer in McLean, VA where he managed business development and revenue acquisition on behalf of some of the country’s leading wireless carriers. He also worked as a press and marketing assistant at an issue advocacy organization in Washington, DC and a writer/journalist for several different publishers in both online and print media.

At Ceca, Nate initially oversaw the development of Ceca’s software platform and led the design of Ceca’s easy-to-use mobile app, both enabling caregivers and patient/resident families to nominate caregivers for recognition. He additionally led the design and build-out of Ceca’s network of web-enabled CecaTVs, which feature Ceca Award nominations, honorees, award celebrations and program information. After the launch of Ceca’s pilot program, Nate was instrumental in growing partnerships through marketing and distribution, particularly with hospitals and nursing homes. He later assumed additional operating, financial and administrative responsibilities, progressing to Chief Operating Officer in 2017 and President in 2019.

Nate is a graduate of the University of Virginia, double majoring in Political Science and Anthropology. In his free time, Nate loves to travel and spend quality time with friends and family.

Nadia A. Cayce

Nadia A. Cayce

Chief of Staff

Nadia A. Cayce, Ph.D. is nationally recognized for nonprofit leadership with a focus on quality assurance performance improvement and value-driven care. She is well-known for her work in Systems of Care serving as 1 of 5 national subject matter experts on behalf of SAMHSA. She has also managed the government affairs efforts of Global 100 Companies. Under President Barack Obama, Ms. Cayce was a lead strategist for the Affordable Care Act. Prior to her national leadership, Ms. Cayce held a gubernatorial appointment to New Jersey’s Department of Human Services managing under federal court monitoring.

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In 2015, Ms. Cayce was the national recipient of the prestigious Presidential Award of Philanthropy for entrepreneurship development in communities of color and helped publish the National Blueprint, a product of the Child Welfare League of America where she served as Policy Commissioner for five years. Ms. Cayce holds a BA from Stockton University, Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Capella University. She also holds multiple certifications and professional diplomas including Project Management and Lean Six Sigma. Her passion for this work comes from being a caregiver of a family member with complex healthcare needs.

Michael Sapp

Michael Sapp

Director of Operations

Michael is responsible for Ceca’s program and day-to-day operations, on-boarding new healthcare partners, and its proprietary Ceca Award recognition platform and CecaTV network. He started his career with Marriott International in 1994. As a hotel manager, he found his passion for employee engagement and recognition. He believes engaged employees are the key to customer/patient satisfaction. Although Michael enjoyed creating more than a decade of positive experiences for both staff and customers of the hotel industry, in 2009, his passion for caregiving lead him to Doctors Community Hospital.

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At Doctors Community Hospital, he was responsible for onboarding, reporting HCAHPS and Employee Engagement survey results. As Program Manager, he was in charge of promoting and operating the Ceca Award Program for staff, patients, and family members. Michael partnered early on with the Ceca Foundation and brings a unique perspective and knowledge of the ins and outs of running a successful engagement and recognition program. Mr. Sapp earned his MBA and BS from the University of Maryland.

Michael spends his days off performing in an active cover band and enjoying time on the Chesapeake Bay with his wife and two daughters.

Michelle Stewart

Michelle Stewart

Director of Marketing

Michelle is the Director of Marketing for Ceca Foundation. In her role, she oversees the marketing and communications activities for the organization, at both high-level strategic and in-depth program levels. She is a core part of the team that manages the Ceca Award programs for healthcare partners, providing marketing expertise and guidance to encourage program growth and community engagement. She comes to the nonprofit sector with over 15 years of experience in marketing, graphic design, business management, and operations.

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Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Michelle relocated to the D.C. area in 2014 to pursue a career in nonprofits. She has previously worked at a nonprofit in D.C., as well as higher education and for-profit small business in a variety of marketing and operations roles. She holds a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and a Master of Arts (MA) in Philanthropy from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, both at Indiana University. Michelle also has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

She currently lives in Maryland with her husband, three kids and loveable pup, and enjoys outdoor activities, cooking, reading, and being creative in her spare time.

Lori S. Stewart

Lori S. Stewart

Senior Advisor and Board Secretary

Lori serves in an advisor to Ceca’s on a range of issues including marketing, fundraising and other outreach. She has extensive experience in both business and managing non-other profit organizations. She served in senior marketing positions with Lehman, Smith Barney and Online Resources.  In 2001, she founded AFTA Associates, a wildlife conservation organization to promote conservation through community enterprise.

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An award-winning author, Ms. Stewart runs Palmar Press, a publisher of multi-generational books. Prior to her writing and non-profit work, Ms. Stewart spent over fifteen years in the investment banking arena serving with Lehman Brothers and Smith Barney in New York, and then went to Washington DC to serve as founding group member and key leader in the funding, development, launch and management of Online Resources, an internet banking, payments and e-finance application services’ company. Ms. Stewart has broad experience in general management, business development, fundraising, product/project and relationship management, strategic planning, research, marketing, training and communications. Ms. Stewart has a BA in Economics from Santa Clara University.

In her free time, she serves on the Advisory Boards of the Read To Me Project, and The Ocean Candidates’ Forum, and enjoys skiing, tennis, yoga, hiking the Big Sur coast with her famous rescue dogs, reading, writing and travel.

Chablis Davis

Chablis Davis

Partnership Engagement Manager

Chablis is Ceca’s Partnership Engagement Manager, with her role being focused predominantly on fostering relationships with Ceca’s Healthcare Partners and ensuring the Ceca Award program runs smoothly. She supports both operational and marketing and communication efforts for the program, engaging with partner leadership and caregivers alike.

She originally hails from Chicago and relocated to the D.C. area in 2003 to attend Howard University. She has held communications and workforce development positions at various nonprofit organizations in the D.C. area,

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including Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), and Goodwill of Greater Washington. For the past seven years, she has been working in Talent Acquisition with companies such as Inova Health System, WireWheel, and Amazon Advertising. Chablis has a Master of Jurisprudence (MJ) degree in Labor and Employment Law from Tulane University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Print Journalism from Howard University.

She currently resides in Takoma Park, MD, with her beloved pups. In her free time, she enjoys staying fit, studying dog grooming, planning events, and experimenting with new recipes.

Michele Y. Shapiro

Michele Y. Shapiro

Senior Operating Advisor, Development

Michele assists with project management and research for Ceca’s major donor initiative. Michele has 20+ years of experience in development. She started her career with The Commonwealth Fund evaluating grant proposals. Michele later oversaw project development at Greater New York Hospital Foundation, which led to her founding of Good Giving Advisors. She holds a BA from Brandeis and Master of Public Policy from Harvard University.

Tricia Lloyd

Tricia Lloyd

Senior Marketing Advisor, Development

Tricia assists with marketing strategy and implementation of Ceca’s capital campaign. Over her 20-year career, Tricia has advised national, cultural, religious and community-oriented programs on improving their institutional advancement. Favorite positions include the Miss America Organization (DC), the largest provider of scholarships for women, and Pontifical North American College in Rome. She holds a bachelors in financial management from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

Shawn Howe

Shawn Howe

Director of Healthcare Partner Development

Shawn is Director of Healthcare Partner Development for Ceca Foundation. In his role, he performs business development and manages the sales process to garner new partners and healthcare communities to be a part of the Ceca Award program. Shawn has an extensive background working with hospital systems, physicians, Skilled Nursing and Senior Living facilities across the US. He has spent the past 20 years with high-level executive positions in healthcare with a strong focus on sales, business development and strategic partnerships.

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Originally from the Washington DC area, Shawn’s family relocated, and he grew up in Indiana. Today, he lives in the Louisville, KY area and has two sons. Shawn holds at Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations Crisis Management from Indiana State University. In his spare time he likes to travel to exotic locations (the Greek Isles and Aruba being his favorites), and you will typically find him at the soccer fields on the weekends watching his boys play.

Board of Directors

Ceca benefits from an independent Board of Directors. As a best practice, the Board reviews all key strategy, product, financing, risk management, marketing and policy decisions.

Matthew P. Lawlor

Matthew P. Lawlor

Co-Founder and Executive Chair

Mr. Lawlor focuses on our Board leadership, strategy, and Ceca’s financial sustainability initiative. He was recently honored as a “Top 100 Healthcare Leader” by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare (IFAH). For 20 years prior to Ceca, he built Online Resources from concept to a successful public company (Nasdaq: ORCC; acquired 2013). The firm pioneered outsourced web-based banking and processed $100 billion per year on its patented real-time payments platform. Matt holds a BSME from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard.

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Mr. Lawlor has built his career around new ideas, and the development of organizations to scale and achieve innovation’s promise.
Matt got his start in 1970 with RCA Corporation. He served as project engineer of recording systems for NASA’s Earth Resources Technology Satellite, a precursor of modern weather, navigation and intelligence satellites. After completing graduate business school, he joined Chemical Bank – then the nation’s 6th largest bank, where he last headed its international equity investment firm.
 
Matt moved to Washington DC in 1980 to serve in the White House under Presidents Carter and Reagan as a Presidential Exchange Executive (non-political appointee). He played a key role in the 1981 Presidential Transition and with OMB. After his public service, Mr. Lawlor formed US Multitrade, noted for early-stage venture capital financing of RSA Security Dynamics and other technology firms.
 
In 1989, he founded Online Resources Corporation, which he led for 20 years. The firm served several thousand banks and commercial billers, with 15 million consumer end-users. Under Matt’s leadership, the firm was widely recognized for its innovative services, and consistently named as one of the fastest growing publicly-held technology companies in the nation.
 
After retiring from Online Resources, Matt and his spouse Rosemary focused on their family’s caregiving needs and a variety of volunteer activities supporting those who are disadvantaged. This led to their founding of Ceca in 2013. Some of Ceca’s operating methods and recognition techniques were modeled after Online Resources, and later substantially improved and customized for health caregivers by Ceca. Matt denies retirement, plays lousy golf, but loves devoting his full-time with Ceca as a volunteer.
Rosemary K. Lawlor

Rosemary K. Lawlor

Co-Founder and Director

Aside from her board duties, Mrs. Lawlor ​is an active volunteer in selecting Ceca Award honorees, benefited by her experience as primary caregiver for an Alzheimer patient. She is active in community education programs and named Northern Virginia Volunteer of the Year for her work with Head Start. She was a schoolteacher and principal for 10 years. She ended her professional career as a senior marketing executive with Xerox. Rosemary holds a BA from Dumbarton College of the Holy Cross and a MS in Education from George Mason University.

Duane Erwin

Duane Erwin

Mr. Erwin is a healthcare system executive with 40 years of multi-disciplinary leadership experience. He was elected to Ceca’s Board in 2021, and chairs the Board Marketing Committee. Duane recently served as EVP Operations at the 11,000-employee Baptist Health System of Arkansas. After starting his career as an attorney, his interest turned to hospital marketing, then to strategy. He later served as a CEO or COO for five hospitals. Duane holds a BA from Kent State, a JD from Duquesne School of Law, and was a Fellow at American College of Healthcare Executives.

Mourine Evans

Mourine Evans

Ms. Evans is the Program Director for Conway Nursing Pathway Program at Children’s National Hospital helping aspiring nurses establish rewarding careers in pediatric nursing. She was elected to Ceca’s Board in 2019, and chairs the Board Governance Committee. She was previously Chief Nursing Officer of Providence Health and served in a variety of clinical leadership positions with Children’s National, Hospital for Sick Children, Howard University, and DC General hospitals. She holds a Nursing degree from the University of West Indies, a BSN from the University of the District of Columbia, a MS from the University of Maryland, and has completed her doctoral course work.

Michael Gordon

Michael Gordon

Mr. Gordon is Founder and CEO of CC Pace, a leading information technology and software development firm based in Fairfax, VA. He was elected to Ceca’s Board in 2022, after 6 years of service as a Senior Board Advisor, and currently heads the Board Finance Committee. CC Pace provides product design and the development the Ceca Award platform (Ceca’s payments to CC Pace have been deemed insignificant by the Board and Management, and Mr. Gordon does not vote when there may be a conflict of interest). He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and serves on a host of nonprofit boards.

Paul Grenaldo

Paul Grenaldo

Mr. Grenaldo has 35 years of experience in healthcare executive leadership. He was elected to Ceca’s Board in 2021, and chairs the Board Staff Development Committee. He recently served as President of Doctors Community Hospital (Lanham, MD), which was The Joint Commission’s top performer on key quality core measures for three consecutive years. Previously, Paul served as Chief Operating Officer of Providence Hospital (Washington, DC), a 400-bed hospital with a nationally recognized prenatal care program. He holds a BS from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Miami.

Lynn O'Connell

Lynn O'Connell

Ms. O’Connell is an accomplished executive director with over 20 years of success leading social entrepreneurship initiatives and driving nonprofits growth and long-term sustainability. She has extensive experience in administration, fundraising, and program management and previously served as Executive Director at the Physician Assistant Foundation and as Vice President at Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation. O’Connell is currently appointed a Fulbright Specialist and served as a U.S. Diplomat in years prior. She earned an MA in Philanthropy from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from Duke University, and a BA from Lipscomb University.