Brooke Wheeldon-Reece, MBA

President, Chief Executive Officer

813-662-6920 Ext. 102

BrookeR@thesparkinitiative.com

Brooke Wheeldon-Reece, MBA, is the President/CEO of The SPARK Initiative, Inc. – a non-profit organization in Tampa, FL. dedicated to working with youth at-risk, sex trafficking survivors, and incarcerated juveniles, military veterans, and adult women. After her brother in law’s suicide and her husband’s subsequent battle with depression in 2012, Brooke knew there was more to the mind than she understood. She found her home with The SPARK Initiative after watching her husband emerge from a deep depression with seemingly little effort through a simple but profound understanding of the mind. Since 2014, she has led the SPARK Initiative in teaching her community’s most vulnerable population how the mind works and how a deeper understanding can be the catalyst to uncovering wellbeing. She is the creator and co-author of the evidence-based SPARK Mentoring Programs and the Insight to Wellbeing program. Combined, these programs are taught in 40 states across the US and 36 countries worldwide. In 2019, after a 2-year process, she and her husband adopted their niece and two nephews through the foster care system, and in 2021 she co-authored 4, peer-reviewed, published journal articles on the efficacy of the SPARK programs and the mental health education in which they are founded.

Brooke works daily to advocate for the protection and resilience of victims of abuse and promote suicide prevention by reaching young people’s minds and teaching them about their unbreakable SPARK inside.

Brooke lives in Tampa, Fl with her husband of 19 years and their 5 children.

Ashley Hunt is the VP of Learning and Development at The SPARK Initiative, Inc. – a non-profit organization in Tampa, FL.Since joining SPARK in 2015, Ashley has been instrumental in mentoring the community’s most vulnerable youth, driven by her passion for community service.

Ashley’s innovative approach has led to the development of engaging, visual activities designed to help young people realize their limitless potential and discover their inner strength. She is the co-author of the evidence-based SPARK Mentoring Programs and the Insight to Wellbeing program. Combined, these programs are taught in 40 states across the US and 36 countries worldwide. In 2018, Ashley expanded her role to include training, bringing her hands-on classroom experience to educators. Her unique perspective ensures that her training sessions are both fresh and impactful, continually evolving with the latest educational practices.

Ashley resides in Florida with her husband of 18 years and their two children, ages 16 and 13.

Nicole Wilson is our Community Programs Manager and Youth Mentor. Since joining the SPARK team in 2016, Nicole has mentored over 2500 youth, helping them understand their mind, potential and resilience through our SPARK Mentoring Programs. Delivering SPARK to our community’s most vulnerable youth populations, Nicole has created partnerships with juvenile justice facilities, rehabilitation centers, residential facilities and with sex-trafficking survivors that temporarily live in a local safe house. In the beginning of 2021, Nicole began leading our SPARKING Change Youth Leadership Program, working with young interns that joined our team to gain more understanding of their minds, potential and to be a guide as they create their own community initiatives. Prior to her work here, Nicole worked as a part-time elementary school aide while studying as a student at the Paul Mitchell School Tampa, receiving her license in Cosmetology. As she found passion in making people feel better about themselves, she quickly discovered there was more to it than polishing up their physical features.  Nicole later found her home here at The SPARK Initiative, helping people see beneath the surface by uncovering their resilience and confidence, seeing their potential and pointing to their SPARK inside. Nicole lives in Florida with her daughter Anelise, and loves to visit the beach, theme parks and to travel around the world.

Jena Travise is the Human Resources and Operations Manager at The SPARK Initiative, Inc. She oversees our administrative and organizational processes to ensure productivity and quality assurance of day-to-day operations. In addition, Jena is very passionate about her role as a SPARK mentor. Since joining SPARK in 2016, Jena has mentored more than 2500 youth in schools, detention centers and residential facilities helping them to uncover their confidence and find their SPARK inside. Prior to joining SPARK, Jena served as an enlisted member of the United States Air Force where she traveled all over the world and served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. She has a huge heart for our military veterans and is very passionate about facilitating our Insight to Well-Being Program with the incarcerated veterans at our local jail. Outside of SPARK, Jena enjoys kayaking, mountain biking but mostly loves watching, playing and coaching soccer. Jena lives in Florida with her husband and two kids, ages 13 and 17.