NAMIC Philadelphia Committee Chairs
Lakshmi Balaji, Programming Chair
Lakshmi Balaji is a Senior Manager at Comcast Business within the SMB Sales organization. She has over a decade of experience in operational roles across leading large-scale technology firms. Over the course of her career journey she has found that her passion truly lies in improving the quality of the human experience. This passion for people has been the primary motivating force in all her professional roles as well as her involvement with Comcast’s employee resource groups, mentorship programs and developing DE&I programming. Outside of work, Lakshmi is very active in several external organizations including NAMIC and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Philadelphia.
Lakshmi received a bachelor’s in English from UMBC and a master’s in communication from Villanova. She loves trying international cuisines, traveling to new (warmer climate) places, and driving manual transmission. She lives in Philadelphia with her crazy but very much beloved dog Krishna.
Khalilah Lawson, Membership Chair
Khalilah Lawson joined Comcast in 2018 as Director, Executive Search. She focuses on VP+ recruitment focused on functional areas as human resources, finance, strategic development, government affairs and communications. Recently her role has expanded to include diversity initiatives across the enterprise working closely with her fellow Comcast Executive Search (CES) directors to assist in their strategies around diversity initiatives. She has more than 15 years of experience in executive search, and has a thorough understanding of the search process, a keen attention to client and candidate needs, and an appreciation for building long-lasting relationships.
Khalilah Lawson served as a senior associate in Witt/Kieffer’s Education practice. Based in Philadelphia, Khalilah supported recruitments for college, university, and preparatory school presidents, provosts, deans, and various other academic leadership functions. She co-led and developed the Chief Diversity Officer practice, where she placed more than 20 diversity officers at universities and colleges.
Prior to joining Witt/Kieffer, Khalilah was a vice president and senior associate at Diversified Search, where she managed a full slate of search assignments in education, the not-for-profit sector, healthcare, and other industries. She has also been a legal assistant and researcher for the law firm Drinker, Biddle and Reath.
Khalilah is dedicated to volunteering and community causes and has supported Philadelphia area organizations including YouthBuild Philadelphia, Diversified Community Services, and Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Khalilah is an impactful amplifier in diversity, equity and inclusion. She was educated in public schools in the city of Philadelphia, before attending and graduating from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kerrivah Heard, Marketing & Communications Chair
Kerri Heard is a public programming and content creation coordinator on the Town Hall team focused on providing client and production support. Kerri began her Comcast journey in 2015 as an employee communications co-op for Comcast Business. She then worked for the internal communications team for 2.5 years, before becoming a TV news intern at NBC10 for 3 months and returning to Comcast as a full-time employee within Ebonne Ruffins Local Media Development department.
Throughout her experiences at Comcast NBCUniversal, Kerri has specialized in communications – specifically writing and editing articles, building microsites for ComcastNow (the company's intranet), media analytics, social media strategy, managing relationships with the Local Artists and Makers, curating art tour experiences, and overseeing development and an editorial calendar for the company's campus app.
Born, raised, educated and active in Philadelphia, Kerri is a proud member of NAMIC Philadelphia where she serves as the Marketing and Communications Chair. Kerri was a previous member of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists (PABJ).
Kerri graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Master of Science in Public Journalism. She also has a writing and publishing certificate and a minor in sociology.
Cassandra Moore, Sponsorships & Partnerships Chair
Cassandra is the Founder and CEO of TMYK Group (The Moore You Know). She provides professional coaching to individual, group and company clients in the areas of leadership and career success. Cassandra holds an ICF Professional Certified Coach credential. She is a Certified Professional Coach and Master Practitioner of the Energy Leadership Index, both certifications obtained from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC).She also holds a BA in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo.
Cassandra is known as the motivational Leader of the Human Capital Movement -- a movement dedicated to helping people grow, pursue their passions and feel a greater sense of purpose. She has a dynamic Human Resources background with over 20 years of experience working for major corporations such as Comcast, Siemens and Staples. Her core specialties include employee engagement, executive coaching, leadership development, career management, diversity equity & inclusion, talent management, executive presence, and personal branding.
Claude Cornish III, Social Media Chair
Claude Cornish started with Comcast in 2013, working for Comcast Business in Horsham as a Tier 1 Representative, and transitioned in 2015 to a Specialist 2 for Digital Care. Currently, Claude serves as Customer Advocacy Supervisor, where he leads a team focused on providing social media data with product partners. During his time at Comcast, his focus has always been on the customer experience, using compassion and empathy as a guide. Claude is proud to share that he was given the nickname “Hollywood” early in his career, because peers respect his style (both fashion-wise and presentation-wise). He’s proud of the relationships he’s developed at Comcast, both with his teams and his customers. In his spare time, Claude is an avid amateur astronomer, participating in local star parties at the Franklin Institute, where viewers look at planets, stars, comets, and other celestial objects. Claude currently serves on the governance committee for the Ryan Observatory in Holtwood, PA, one of the closest dark sky areas to Philadelphia. The observatory hosts free monthly star parties and STEM events for the students in the Philadelphia/Lancaster area using their 14” telescope and 14” binocular telescope to discover the cosmos and beyond.