HERSTORY

Twyla N. Turner is an influential Cleveland native with over 15 years of experience creating profitable growth and impact opportunities for leaders and organizations across northeast Ohio. As a trusted advisor and strategist to executive leadership teams, she helps cultivate their commitments into actions by creating sustainable processes for improvement and success by identifying ways to heighten what they do in a better, more rewardingly inclusive, and equitable manner.

Her less-than-traditional career path has led her to opportunities in development, marketing, event design & logistics, project management, leadership education, and DEIAB projects with the continuous underpinnings of advancing women and under-resourced communities.

Twyla is an authentic and compassionate trailblazer crediting her lived experiences over her education to her success. She brings her extensive experience from the various organizations and corporations she worked and volunteered with during her professional journey: Saks Fifth Avenue, YWCA of Greater Cleveland, JumpStart Inc., Family Promise of Greater Cleveland, The Soul of Philanthropy Cleveland, and the Cleveland Public Library. Executives, managers, and colleagues recognize the value in the extraordinary energy, organization, and attention to detail she brings to every project.

After rounding out a wide-ranging career in the non-profit sector and a professional life constantly on the move, she has recently transitioned into a slower-paced, passion-driven career dedicated to work-life balance and philanthropy as a consultant. This transition has allowed her to use her vast experiences in a beautiful way where she can focus on projects and opportunities she feels called to on her terms.

Her devotion to enriching women, including herself motivated Twyla to seek higher education and to be a continuous life learner. She earned an associate degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications (Cum Laude) from the renowned Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, a bachelor's degree in Apparel Merchandising and Product Development, and an Executive MBA from Bowling Green State University.

She has a plethora of certifications from notable leadership development organizations such as the YWCA of Greater Cleveland, Mia Beatty & Associates, Corporate College, and the Racial Equity Institute.

Twyla recognizes that while the amount one gives is essential, it is just as important as how one designates their gift and time. Therefore, as a commitment to service through advancing women and strengthening her community, Twyla's nonprofit career and board work has allowed her to envelope herself with philanthropic opportunities in the heart of Cleveland.

Her recent redirected career path has allowed her to successfully bring her unique flair for incorporating style and creativity into every philanthropic project she touches. As a committed philanthropist, Twyla gives back as a proud board member of the Providence House, a crisis nursery committed to child abuse prevention and family preservation in the Cleveland area. In addition, she is an active member of South Euclid United Church of Christ and serves on their BIN Ministry, providing monthly meals to over 200 families. Through serving and donating, she supports and advocates for Black philanthropy with The Soul of Philanthropy Cleveland (TSOPCLE) efforts.

As an only child, Twyla learned early on the importance of being comfortable in her skin and standing up for herself. She can be a bit quirky, a bit nerdy, and has slightly dry humor at times. However, she can be the life of the party with a chosen few or the quiet loner in a room full of strangers. She is a wife, mother, and life member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., and when she has the opportunity to let loose, you can find her in someone's line dancing class or on a flight traveling around the world.