Our Team and Advisors

Heather Wallander (She/Her)

Founder, Disrupting Discrimination

Heather never planned to become an employee advocate, but after experiencing workplace discrimination herself she realized how easy it is to find yourself in a fight you never wanted, simply because you asked questions when something felt off. She knows what it's like to navigate the system without experience and how critical early guidance and support is once the harm starts. Through her work with others, she has seen how the harmful effects of discrimination, retaliation and gaslighting can be amplified when forced to face this alone. All of this is why she has set out to make the tools, community and guidance she once needed and benefitted from available to others.

Marija Dokic (She/Her)

Advisor

Marija Dokic is a People and Culture leader dedicated to advancing workplace equity, dignity, and inclusion. Experienced in human resources and labor relations, she has built a career on ensuring fair treatment, empowering diverse voices, and fostering organizational cultures rooted in respect and accountability. Marija believes that every employee deserves not just a seat at the table, but a workplace where they can thrive without fear of bias or discrimination.

Kate Penne (She / Her)

Advisor

Kate is a seasoned technology and finance leader with over 10 years of experience leading global teams at the intersection of engineering, financial operations, and strategy. She is committed to fostering psychologically safe and inclusive workplaces, championing practices that reduce bias and elevate diverse voices. Kate is honored to join Disrupting Discrimination to help ensure every workplace is rooted in equity.

Israa Alrawi

Advisor
Founder, The Winbox

Israa Alrawi came to her work through a simple conviction: that integrity, transparency, and ethics aren't constraints on success but the foundation of it. Whether building an honest business, treating employees with dignity, or being straightforward with customers and subscribers, she has seen that earning real trust is what drives lasting growth. To me (Israa), ethics and results have never been in tension; trust is the mechanism that turns one into the other.

That conviction shapes how she approaches fairness, equity, and inclusion. She believes that organizations do their best work when people are treated honestly and with dignity, and when transparency is the default rather than the exception. The same principles that build an honest business build a fair one.

She brings ten years of experience as an email marketing strategist and deliverability specialist, helping DTC, B2C, and B2B businesses scale through sound fundamentals rather than shortcuts. That same belief, that organizations do their best work when people are treated fairly and honestly, is what she brings to this council.

Afryea Charles

Advisor
Founder, Ecolexica

From an early age, Afryea became deeply aware of the realities of discrimination. Whether it was because of her skin tone, natural hair, accent, body type, or background, she experienced firsthand how bias and exclusion can shape a person’s opportunities, confidence, and sense of belonging. As she grew older, those experiences expanded beyond childhood into educational institutions, workplaces, and other professional environments where inequity often operates subtly but powerfully.

Rather than remaining silent, she chose to become an advocate for others navigating similar experiences. Known by many as a “social justice warrior,” she has consistently used her voice to challenge inequity, support marginalized individuals, and create spaces where people feel seen, heard, and respected.

She brings more than 25 years of experience across communications, marketing, human resources, and organizational environments spanning multiple industries. Her professional background is complemented by an MBA in Sustainable Energy Management and over a decade of humanitarian and advocacy work across the globe.