Disability Advocate and Founder & CEO of The Split Second Foundation Mark Raymond, Jr., Elected to Easterseals National Board of Directors

Board Chair and Select Current Board Members Elected to Additional Three-year Terms

At its recent annual meeting in Chicago, the Easterseals National Board of Directors named disability advocate and Founder & CEO of The Split Second Foundation (SSF) Mark Raymond, Jr., to its board for a three-year term.  Additionally, Genevieve M. (Genny) Winter was reelected Board Chair, and current board members including Second Vice Chair Wanda Hill, RPH, J.D., Vice President, GlaxoSmithKline; Pooja Rahman, J.D.; and Dr. Kaveh Safavi, M.D., J.D., Senior Managing Director of Global Health at Accenture, were unanimously elected to additional three-year terms.

A resident of New Orleans, Raymond’s commitment to disability advocacy was intensified following a shallow diving accident in 2016 in which he damaged the vertebrae at the base of his neck and lost the ability to walk.  Shortly thereafter, he founded The Split Second Foundation, a nonprofit healthcare startup based in New Orleans which promotes the holistic wellness of individuals with disabilities through fitness programs designed to improve mobility and strength, mental health services, case management, resource navigation, and advocacy.  With a deep-rooted history of community service, Raymond has played a vital role in advancing a number of equity-centered initiatives across the Greater New Orléans area. He serves as Chairman of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) New Orleans Board of Commissioners, responsible for overseeing the administration, operations, and maintenance of the agency.  His work within the community and through SFF has earned him recognition as one of New Orleans Magazine’s “Ones to Watch,” Gambit Newspaper’s “40 Under 40,” the Spear’s Group’s Millennial Changemakers Award for Service, and  Xavier University’s “40 Under 40” alumni honorees.

Board Chair Winter, a resident of Houston, accumulated more than 32 years in the energy sector with Shell before retiring in 2018.  A community leader for decades, Winter is a founding board member of the Gateway Academy, a Houston-based high school for children with learning disabilities established in 2005.  Gateway Academy has expanded its focus to include a post-high school transition program, Advance Houston, for which Winter is Board Chair.  Winter’s volunteer leadership throughout the years has impacted numerous nonprofit organizations including Easterseals of Greater Houston.  She holds a B.S. in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Alabama.

“Easterseals is honored to have the commitment of these exceptional corporate and nonprofit leaders on our National Board of Directors,” said Easterseals President and CEO Kendra E. Davenport.  “Their expertise and insight will help inform our work in leading the way to full equity, inclusion, and access to education, healthcare, employment, and transportation through our life-changing services and powerful advocacy for 61 million Americans with disabilities, including veterans and seniors, to ensure they can fully participate in society.”