Rachel Hile

Founder & Executive Director

Rachel's passion for others and her career as a hairstylist lead her to pursue finding opportunities to use her talent to impact the lives in her community.

During the launch of her career as a hairstylist she would pursue volunteer opportunities to use her talent to give haircuts to foster youth, women from the YWCA, and to do prom hair for girls who did not have the resources. In this pursuit she discovered the difficulty of volunteering as an individual hair professional, and spent hours researching nonprofits that could support her. Unfortunately, all her searches came up short of what she was looking for.

In 2015, The Beyond Project was founded after facing the tragic loss of her 2 year old nephew, Matthew just over a year before. Her heart for serving combined with her background in coordinating for a publication brought everything full circle. Since then she has watched thousands of volunteers serve women, men and children who are facing dire life circumstances in their local communities around the U.S., including Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Orlando, Kentucky, Las Vegas, San Diego and even Lebanon. She dreams about the day The Beyond Project reaches every region in the US to Inspire Change & Empower Lives of each individual to bring dignity, hope and restoration.

Executive Board

Our dedicated Board Members support in advising the growth strategies for The Beyond Project to empower more volunteers to serve more individuals.

Shelby Barnes

Board Chair

Shelby is our Board Chair and Strategy Advisor. She was at Amazon for 7 years focussing on financial and business analytics across a variety of industries. While working there, Shelby spent her free time providing pro bono business support to small nonprofits and social enterprises, where she soon fell in love with social entrepreneurship as the perfect harmonization of business and charity work. In response, she decided to extend her education, pursuing and earning a Masters Degree in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California, complementing her already-held Bachelors degrees in Economics and International Business. Since receiving her Masters, Shelby has redirected her focus away from the corporate world toward efforts in building solid, sustainable, impactful businesses. Her passion for combining clear business strategy and efficient processes with a people-focused mission helps guide The Beyond Project as it seeks to scale and grow well.

RK Cobban

Graphics Support

RK is the Production Director at Netrush, based in Portland, OR. RK is an Alaskan native, where he was born and raised. He attended the Seattle Art Institute and landed his dream job with the Seattle SuperSonics. He is an experienced Graphic Designer working in the health, wellness and fitness industry. Skilled in Photography, Graphics, Logo Design, Advertising, and Branding & Identity. He designed The Beyond Project logo based on a drawing Rachel Hile had given him, his added touch with the person in the middle truly brought it to life. He says "it has always been very important to me to give back using my God given gifts for projects that serve others." His wife, Rachel, has a special connection with Rachel Hile. Several years back, Rk's wife's foster daughter, at the time, was in need of some special love and attention. She brought her to Rachel Hile's salon and received a transformational cut and style which changed her outlook and softened her heart.

Marquetta Breslin

Board Member

As a licensed cosmetologist turned wig maker, Marquetta offers insight not only to business growth she has an extensive background in the beauty industry. She is a retired Air Force veteran, having served 9 years, she provides key understanding serving veterans. Her insight as an educator is an added value to our guidance as The Beyond Project creates programs to encourage volunteers to gain skills with all hair types. Marquetta is the co-founder of Breslin Media Group, LLC. She has authored several books. She has been featured in Sophisticate's Black Hair Magazine, BNB, Business 2.0, NBC, CNNMoney.com, and ABC. She is the creator of systems such as "Lace Wig Training System," "Cutting Mastery," and "Million Dollar Stylist," she has reached more than 70,000 customers in more than 70 countries. Marquetta recently founded the American Wig Association. She is married to Ricky Breslin and they have two young adult children Nya & Cal.

Kristen Miller

Board Member

Kristen brings her passion as an entrepreneur to support growth strategies for The Beyond Project. She is the VP Product Management – Style & Innovation at Neiman Marcus Group, is a retail executive and seasoned entrepreneur. Prior to Neiman Marcus, Kristen founded four companies in the home décor and retail industries including Stylyze, a SaaS platform that delivers enterprise solutions to home and fashion retailers. Neiman Marcus acquired Stylyze in 2021 providing Kristen with the opportunity to continue to grow Stylyze for their exclusive use as well as partner with other innovative technologies to deliver exceptional luxury experiences for customers. Kristen is also an angel investor, board member and advisor passionate about supporting female founded technology companies and non-profit organizations. She believes that everyone is uniquely beautiful, and something incredible happens when people know how to express their beauty with confidence.

Nate Haralson

Board Member

Nate has a heart for the underserved and enjoys partnering with organizations that help protect and empower people as they rise above their circumstances. He has been a successful business leader for over 20 years at respected global technology companies such as GE, Siemens, and SUEZ. Specializing in high-growth and emerging markets, he has led development initiatives where technology is critical to success. His background includes chemical engineering, sales and business development, product marketing, and business strategy. Specializing in high-growth and emerging markets, he has led development initiatives where technology is critical to success. As an Angel Investor, Advisor, and Board Member of various for-profit and non-profit startups, he is passionate about helping thought leaders navigate the competitive landscape of emerging industries through compelling storytelling. Nate is married with two young children and enjoys reading and investing in his spare time.

Annie Meade

Board Member

Annie Meade comes to The Beyond Project with over 20 years of experience in front line operations. Annie works for Starbucks Coffee Company and has held various roles from Field Management positions to Event Planning for Global Partners, and has been a part of the team that supports the updating and development of Retail Content for the organization. Her passion for The Beyond Project comes from years of volunteer service and time spent overseas in India supporting similar nonprofit work. She has a passion for working with communities in need of love and empowerment. Annie will be working with the team to communicate necessary information about projects. She is a results-driven servant-leader with a passion for strengthening leaders for the future generation. She has experience in operations, retail leadership, human resources, leadership development, talent management, and retail content development. and coordinate volunteers across the function.

Beauty Advisory Board

Coming Soon!

Bringing thought leaders together in the beauty industry to support The Beyond Project in the growth of the mission to Inspire, Empower & Connect those who want to serve women, men and children and brands that can support the growth through products and sponsorships to care for their hygiene needs. These leaders in the beauty industry will stretch over from education, to haircare, skincare, makeup, education, entertainment, and brand owners.

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