Our FOUNDER

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​Kayla A. Hicks

​President & CEO

Kayla Hicks is the founder, President, and CEO of Sustain Equity Group (SEG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering professional equity for black women in violence prevention, justice, education, economics, the arts, and other fields. SEG’s flagship program, U-TRAIN, provides trauma-informed leadership development training, mentoring, and networking opportunities. 

Her unrelenting motivation to create a culture where the voices of Black women are heard and valued stems from Kayla’s personal experience with tragedy. As infants, Kayla and her identical twin sister endured malnutrition and dehydration. When this mistreatment caused the death of her sister at just 6 months old, Kayla became a ward of the state foster care system. Enduring years of sexual violence, family violence, gun violence, abandonment, and neglect, Kayla felt invisible as a Black girl, ignored by so many who could have intervened and helped. She was determined to help other vulnerable Black girls and ultimately managed her trauma, becoming a successful community organizer, coalition builder, and leadership development specialist.

Kayla’s impressive career is full of rich and varied experiences. She has worked as a constituency state director for the 2008 Obama campaign, strategic planning coordinator for labor giant SEIU, private detective for J.M. Richard Investigations, and director of outreach for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. In 2017, Kayla founded her own consulting firm, BridgeOver Consulting Group LLC. She has served as a managing consultant (for professional athletes and A-list actors/artists), transformational leadership coach, impact strategist, and trauma response specialist. Her volunteer work includes activities with Meals on Wheels, Feeding America, and the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance. 

Kayla holds a BS in interdisciplinary studies and MA in human services counseling, crisis response and trauma care from Liberty University. She is a certified member of the Association of Christian Counselors. 

"Together we can create a world where the voices of Black women are heard, respected, and valued."
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- Kayla Hicks, Sustain Equity Group CEO & President