Leadership

Rachel Hile

Founder

Executive Director

Rachel Hile, Founder & Executive Director, is a Seattle native and graduated from college with a degree in Communication from Western Washington University. Two years after college she went after her true passion to become a hairstylist, she received her cosmetologist license in 2006. Rachel's heart for serving combined with her background as an event planner and marketing coordinator for a publication has brought everything full circle. 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 girls from low income inner city high schools in preparation for prom. In this pursuit she discovered the difficulty of volunteering as an individual hair professional, and spent hours researching nonprofits that could support her. In 2015, The Beyond Project was founded after facing the tragic death of her nephew just over a year before. Since then she has watched thousands of volunteers in the beauty industry 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, and more. 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.

RK Cobban

Marketing Guru

RK Cobban Production Director at Netrush, based in Portland, OR. RK was born and raised in Alaska. He moved to Seattle to attend the Art Institute and landed his dream job working for 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.

Shelby Barnes

Strategy Officer

Shelby Barnes, Board Chair and Strategy Advisor, received her Masters from USC in Social Entrepreneurship. She acquired her business skills through her education studying economics and international business. Shelby for Amazon for 7 years, where she focused on financial and business analytics across a variety of industries. While working at Amazon, she also spent her free time providing pro bono business support to small nonprofits and social enterprises. 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 with healthy growth.

Marquetta Breslin Board Director

As a licensed cosmetologist turned wig maker, Marquetta Breslin 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 into serving our veterans well. Her insight as an educator is an added value to our guidance as The Beyond Project strives to create programs to encourage volunteers to gain skills with all hair types and wig making. Marquetta is the co-founder of Breslin Media Group, LLC. She has authored several books including Million Dollar Stylist, 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," which have reached more than 70,000 customers in more than 70 countries.

Kristen Miller Board Director

Kristen Miller 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 decor 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 which is where her passion comes for advising The Beyond Project.

Nate Haralson Board Director

Nate Haralson brings 20 years of entrepreneurship at heart with 20 years of experience leading engineering, technical sales, business development, and product marketing teams and initiatives for respected global companies, such as GE, Siemens, and SUEZ. Specializing in high-growth and emerging markets, he has led development initiatives within several industries where technology is critical to success, including Data Centers, Semiconductors, Oil & Gas, and Mining (Lithium). Throughout his career, he has been committed to challenging the status quo through the conceptualization, development, and implementation of new processes and solutions for improved business results and lasting social impact. As an Angel Investor, Advisor, and Board Member of various for-profit and non-profit startups, Nate is also passionate about helping thought leaders navigate the competitive landscape of emerging industries through compelling storytelling. He currently leads strategy, sales, business development, and product marketing for SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions within the Microelectronics and Data Centers markets.

Annie Meade Board Director

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.