“Education comes from within; you get it by struggle and effort and thought.”
– Napoleon Hill
Meet the leaders guiding DirectEmployers Institute in 2025–2026.
Board of Directors
Sharrell Norman Howard, MBA, M.Ed., EdD (c)
Board President
CEO, The STETRIS Group
Samuel Charles Hardeman, MSF, MSC, BBA, BSc
Director
VP, Equity Trading · Bank of America
Kendall Baten, MEng
Director
Engineering for Sustainable Development · University of Cambridge
Executive Director & Founder
Simone Murray
Executive Director & Founder
DirectEmployers Institute
Advisors
Organizational Leadership
Oluwadamilola Oyegbola
Intern Coordinator
DirectEmployers Institute
In Memoriam
Sophie W. Haywood
Emeritus Board Member
Former Associate Director, Center for P-16 Research and Collaboration, Indiana University. Sophie’s contributions to DEI’s founding years were invaluable. She is deeply missed.