Our Team

LaDawna D. Barnes is the Founding Advisor for Finance at OrbitIQ, where she supports the organization’s financial strategy, operational planning, and long-term sustainability. She brings a systems-oriented approach to growth, helping organizations align strategy, operations, and resources to achieve meaningful impact.

With extensive experience across consulting, government, consumer goods, retail, travel, and life sciences sectors, LaDawna has advised senior executives on strategic transformation, operational excellence, and organizational effectiveness. She currently serves as a Strategy Manager at Accenture, where she leads complex initiatives focused on cost transformation, operating model redesign, change management, and performance improvement. She is recognized for her ability to navigate ambiguity, build alignment across stakeholders, and translate strategy into execution.

OrbitIQ’s mission aligns closely with LaDawna’s commitment to expanding opportunity, strengthening organizations, and supporting leaders who drive positive change. Her expertise in financial stewardship, strategic planning, and organizational transformation helps ensure that OrbitIQ is positioned for sustainable growth and long-term impact.

LaDawna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Michigan, a Master of Public Administration from Kennesaw State University, and an MBA from Emory University Goizueta Business School, where she received the Faculty Award for Executive Leadership. She is Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Municipal Market Board for the City of Atlanta.

Kyla Byas-Smith is a Founding Advisor for Operations & Partnerships at OrbitIQ, where she helps design scalable operating models, partner strategy, and internal systems that support early-stage growth. She brings a builder’s mindset—translating vision into structure and enabling organizations to scale with intention.

With over a decade of experience, Kyla has led leadership development, operations, and systems-building work across education, nonprofit, and corporate environments. Her background includes senior leadership roles within complex, mission-driven organizations where she partnered closely with executives and boards, built governance and operating systems, and led large-scale talent development and onboarding efforts. She currently serves as Sr. Manager, Learning & Development at HD Supply, supporting enterprise-wide leadership and supply chain training initiatives.

OrbitIQ’s mission aligns with Kyla’s career focus on building access, clarity, and capability for emerging leaders. She is recognized for translating complexity into actionable systems that empower individuals and organizations to lead with confidence. Kyla is a Spelman College alumna and holds a Master’s degree from Georgia State University.

Mini’imah Shaheed is the Founder of OrbitIQ, a tech-enabled social enterprise advancing women’s leadership through data-informed insight and human-centered design. With more than 15 years of senior executive experience, she has led large, complex organizations through periods of growth, innovation, and change, working closely with boards and executive teams to drive alignment, performance, and organizational health.

A 2025–2026 International Women’s Forum Leadership Fellow, Mini’imah developed OrbitIQ through her Fellowship as a venture designed to make visible the often-unseen power dynamics shaping how women lead, influence, and advance at work. OrbitIQ integrates data, AI, and applied leadership research to equip women leaders with practical tools and perspective to navigate power, build influence, and lead without barriers to their brilliance.

Mini’imah is the author of Winning Leadership Teams and advises executives and boards on building high-trust, purpose-driven organizations across the public, nonprofit, and social-impact sectors. Her leadership has been recognized by Atlanta Magazine, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and Georgia Titan 100. She is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, Agnes Scott College, and Georgia State University.

Rebecca E. Thomas is the Founding Advisor for Strategic Partnerships at OrbitIQ, where she helps build and steward a mission-aligned ecosystem of institutional, corporate, and community partnerships that advance the organization’s growth and impact. With more than a decade of experience spanning the nonprofit, higher education, technology, and corporate sectors, she brings deep expertise in relationship management, partnership development, and stakeholder engagement.

Rebecca has led strategic partnership initiatives at both national and global levels. Her experience includes managing major corporate and philanthropic partnerships at organizations such as CARE and NPower, where she worked with partners including The PepsiCo Foundation, Comcast, Truist Foundation, MetLife Foundation, and the NBA Foundation. She currently serves as Director of Strategic Partnership Management for the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, where she helps organizations build talent pipelines through experiential learning and industry engagement.

OrbitIQ’s mission aligns closely with Rebecca’s longstanding commitment to expanding access, opportunity, and leadership development. She is recognized for her ability to connect people, ideas, and institutions in ways that create meaningful impact and lasting value.

Rebecca is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and is currently pursuing her MBA at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business. She also holds a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University and is actively engaged in civic and community leadership across the Atlanta region.

Nakaiya Turk is the Founding Advisor for Marketing at OrbitIQ, where she supports the development of clear, resonant messaging and go-to-market strategy for a new category of leadership technology. With more than a decade of experience across global, Fortune 500 organizations, she brings a strategic, insight-led approach to brand building, storytelling, and audience engagement.
Nakaiya’s career spans roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Johnson & Johnson, and Comcast, where she worked at the intersection of marketing, innovation, and business strategy. She currently serves as a Product Marketing Manager at LinkedIn, driving data-informed positioning and organizational impact within one of the world’s most influential professional ecosystems.
OrbitIQ’s mission aligns deeply with Nakaiya’s long-standing commitment to leadership development and community impact. A LEAD Atlanta graduate and She Leads alumna, she has contributed more than 400 volunteer hours to Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her work is guided by a passion for helping current and emerging leaders thrive, grow with intention, and build sustainable pathways to success.
Nakaiya is a graduate of Spelman College and Emory University Goizueta Business School.


Laura Voicu is the Founding Advisor of Product for OrbitIQ, a tech-enabled social enterprise advancing women’s leadership through data-informed insight and human-centered design. With more than 15 years of experience in technology and cybersecurity, she brings both technical depth and authentic insight as a woman in senior technical leadership navigating these dynamics herself.

Her background combines deep data science and AI expertise with proven ability to translate complex technical concepts into practical frameworks. Her cybersecurity experience ensures OrbitIQ is is built with trust and data responsibility at its core.

Laura is a co-founder and Chief Data Science Officer of the Enterprise Risk Quantification Institute (ERQI). She holds a PhD in Computer Science and serves as FAIR Institute standards committee member and Europe Ambassador Award winner.