Board Of Directors

Jan Desper Peters
Jan Desper Peters, MPA, began her career as a young professional with a degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland College Park. Imbued with exceptional writing skills and an interest in effectuating societal change through public policy, Peters secured a position with an elected member of the District of Columbia Board of Education and earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration at George Washington University.

After a brief stint as a grant monitor at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Jan was tapped to serve as the fourth Executive Director and first woman in that role at the Black Mental Health Alliance for Education and Consultation Inc. (BMHA). This led to a 30-year journey as maven of all strategies that relate to the world of nonprofit management, capacity building, innovative program development, people connecting, and engaging community outreach.

Jan charted the course during a seven-year tenure that resulted in the organization’s income increasing 500%, quadrupling staff positions, and curating an annual regional Optimal Mental Health Conference that hosted many of the greatest Black minds of that era. This included Iyanla Vanzant, Susan Taylor, Dr. Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant, Dr.Naim Akbar, Haki Madhubuti, Dr. Wade Nobles, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Dick Gregory, Ruby Dee, among others. These conferences became BMHA’s signature event that allowed the Baltimore community the intimate opportunity to bask in the brilliance of these beautiful minds. While Jan received recognition from her colleagues in the conference curating space, she landed her first consultant opportunity at Harvard University on a Baltimore based childhood obesity research project.

After leaving BMHA, she started two businesses and gained a myriad of experiences for 13 years before returning to the BMHA to level up and rebuild! As the lead strategist for the Water 2 Wine Consulting Group, Jan enjoys being a highly sought-after speaker and nonprofit capacity-building training consultant. This includes curating the plenary and workshop suites for national conferences, including the Boris L. Henson Foundation’s inaugural Black mental health conference, Can We Talk.

Jan also is a Maryland Nonprofits Certified Standards for Excellence Trainer. These experiences place her in the unique position as practitioner and trainer while serving as Executive Director of seven nonprofit organizations. One of her strongest skill sets is cultivating and sustaining relationships. These relationships have led to the engaged agencies receiving grants and contracts in the millions.

Ric Wilson
is a seasoned sports marketing executive with more than 25 years of experience leading initiatives at the intersection of sports, leadership, and global business. A proud graduate of George Mason University, Ric launched his professional journey on the basketball court—playing internationally in Europe and Southeast Asia, as well as briefly in the NBA. Following his athletic career, Ric joined Nike, Inc., where he spent over two decades in a variety of leadership roles at the company’s world headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

Known for his collaborative leadership style, Ric developed and managed high-impact partnerships with professional athletes, teams, and global sports organizations, including the Olympics. His ability to drive strategic growth while fostering inclusive and high-performing teams earned him widespread respect within the organization and the broader industry. Believing strongly in lifelong learning, Ric pursued and completed his MBA while serving as a Vice President at Nike—an experience that deepened his perspective on leadership and business transformation. Ric and his family are now living in Bowie, Maryland.