Because I said I would owes so much of our success to our full time, part time employees, and especially our volunteers. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this movement what it is and what it will become.

Full-Time

Alex Sheen

Founder & CEO

Alex Sheen is the Founder of because I said I would, the international social movement and nonprofit dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept. Sparked by the loss of his father, Alex began sending promise cards to anyone who requested them at no cost. Since his father’s passing on September 4th, 2012, because I said I would has sent over 12.8M Promise Cards to over 153 countries. Alex’s commitment to the betterment of humanity has inspired millions around the world. The story of his promises have been shared virally throughout social media and international news.

Before his life as nonprofit leader, Alex was a Corporate Strategy Lead at Hyland Software, an organization featured in Fortune’s 2014 Best Companies to Work in the United States. As the youngest manager in a global company with over 1,500 employees, he established and managed Hyland’s corporate-wide Innovation Program. Alex decided to leave this life and pursue a life of philanthropy and service after the loss of his father.

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Kimchi Sheen

Chief Promise Dog

Our office dog, Kimchi, is the daughter of our Founder, Alex Sheen. Her black and white colors match our brand and the essence of a promise perfectly. Promises are either kept or broken, there is no grey area. She loves to visit our rooms throughout the day for progress updates and official petting time. Kimchi spends her afternoons snoring on the office couch and dreaming of a world where everyone loved their fellow humans as much as they loved their pets. Kimchi is 12 years old, diabetic and a cancer survivor.

In her spare time, Kimchi enjoys snoozing, giving kisses, bringing each of us toys and cuddling with her mom.

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Amanda Messer is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at because I said I would. At a young age Amanda learned the effect that promises broken have on relationships. Her father struggled with addiction and was not good with keeping his commitments to his little girl. Amanda was drawn to helping start because I said I would knowing that there are other children whose lives are deeply affected by broken promises. In November of 2013, Amanda became our first full-time employee after over a year of volunteering her time to the cause.

As Co-Founder, Amanda’s main role is to fill the gaps. Taking over any open position or task that the organization needs of her. From sales, to bookkeeping, HR, legal, facilities, and any other way that she can be helpful. Amanda feels that she is best at technology though. She manages all of because I said I would‘s tech from our website, our Salesforce administration, G Suite, printers, cell phones – you name it, Amanda will take it on. 🙂

Amanda’s tech journey started in high school with CompTIA A+ training, Cisco CCNA courses and an internship at NASA working in space experiments. From there she studied Electronics and Computer Technology at DeVry University. She started her full-time career in network security for a consulting and management firm then moved to a help desk role at a bank. She eventually landed at Hyland Software where she worked in the technical support, quality assurance and development departments during her time there. She helped start their usability team and was their first full-time usability specialist on staff. Amanda has also served as the Vice President for the Cleveland User Experience Professionals Association.

On September 5th, 2012, Amanda saw a Facebook post from fellow co-worker Alex Sheen. In that instance, she knew that she needed to be a part of because I said I would. Amanda would leave her promising career to pursue a passion she didn’t even know she had. Helping the world understand the importance of a promise.

Amanda is the youngest of five children and grew up in Lorain, OH. She currently resides in Lakewood, OH with her son, Trent, and her dogs, Miska (pronounced Meesh-ka), Rocket and Nacho.

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Kay Spatafore joined because I said I would in July of 2018 as the VP of Character Education. Kay is a seasoned educator with experience in educational administration, curriculum development, management, coaching and mentoring, and classroom instruction. Most recently, Kay was the Director of Programming for an educational nonprofit in Cleveland, OH where she developed programs for Middle school, high school, and parent engagement including internship programs and summer camps.

Kay is a native of Ohio but spent much of her adult life in California, where she was the Director of Fine Arts at a large southern CA high school. In that role, she participated in the development of state curriculum, created a Mentor teacher program, and pioneered programs in the Arts and classroom education.

In her spare time, Kay connects with her adult children, Dylan, Taylor, Katherine and Rhys, reads, writes, builds things and spends time outdoors with her two furry kids, Leo and Tug.

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Sherry joined because I said I would in June 2018 as the Vice President of Chapters Programs. Sherry’s 30 years of nonprofit experience includes volunteer leadership recruitment and engagement, chapter and regional management, major gifts, fundraising, programs and professional development.

Prior to coming to because I said I would, Sherry was a Regional Director, Vice President for the national walk program and created the volunteer engagement strategic initiative for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. She spent 21 years at the March of Dimes and held several national and regional positions. She was also the State Director for the Ohio Chapter.

Sherry is passionate about supporting volunteers and ensuring that they maximize the impact they want to make in their communities. Sherry attended the University of Wisconsin and received her Masters Degree from John Carroll University in Cleveland Ohio.

Sherry enjoys to read and is an avid sports fan, especially the Cleveland Indians baseball team. She walks 12 miles per week and even completed a half marathon. She is very proud of her son and twin daughters who are all doing important work in their respective cities.

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Heidi Bermudez – Martin joined because I said I would in September of 2019 as the Executive Assistant to the Founder. Heidi is a highly experienced executive assistant, project coordinator and corporate trainer.
Prior to coming to because I said I would, Heidi was an Inflight Trainer for a major airline. She also worked 14 years with NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio in various administrative, educational and public relation roles.
As a native of South Lorain, Ohio, Heidi knows the need to inspire others to make positive changes for the betterment of their future. When she learned about because I said I would’s mission to better humanity through promises made and kept she knew it was something she must become involved with.
In her spare time, Heidi loves spending time with her adult children, Sinead, Hector Jr. (Chino), granddaughter Olivia, and teacup Chihuahua Roxy.

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Paul McKinney

Director of Content Development

Paul likes to think of himself as a storyteller, and it’s through that lens that he views his work developing and refining Character Education content for a global audience. With a degree in Visual Communication and 10 years under his belt in the design industry, Paul’s mission is to lend his broad experience toward communicating the message of because I said I would by any means necessary, including print materials, web development, video production and animation.

Paul lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with his wife Mercedes and his best friend Rufus.

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Jim Bucci

Director of Speaking Engagements

As Director of Speaking Engagements, Jim’s main responsibility is to fill our presenter’s schedules with speaking engagements to help spread the because I said I would message and raise funds for the organization’s programming.

Jim is a native of Lorain, OH. His background includes sales and management positions at The Glidden Company, JPMorgan Chase and The Gillette Company. He is also an adjunct professor in the accelerated bachelor’s program at Ursuline College teaching finance and economics. He served nine years on the board of the Community Foundation of Lorain County, acting as Investment Committee chair for three of those years. Jim has volunteered his time at many organizations including The Lorain Palace, Lorain Youth Athletics, St. Peters PTO & Athletics and Elyria Catholic High School.

In his free time he enjoys watching his son play high school basketball and his daughter competitive dance.

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Pete Whitehead

Senior Motion Graphics Designer

Pete has been interested in creating images and telling stories ever since he was a little guy. As he got older, he realized that all the time he spent drawing, (to avoid homework), was actually a skill set that he could use in his adult life. He went to Rhode Island School of Design and majored in “old school” Illustration. Pen & ink, watercolor, oils…no computers back then, no sir! Upon graduating, he spent the next 20 years creating greeting cards, kid’s books, as well as magazine and newspaper illustration. After animating his first eCard, he was hooked on motion graphics and has been making pixels move ever since. When not talking kid’s book ideas with his wife, Jenny, film projects with his daughter Bailey, or watching Chelsea hitting home runs in softball, Pete likes to carve wood, tie fly fishing lures and test them out on the Rocky River.

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Cassie is a Senior Chapter Relationship Manager at because I said I would. She manages Chapters across the country, developing relationships, leading meetings and weekly calls, and streamlining processes. Cassie received a degree in Apparel Merchandising and Product Development with a minor in Marketing from Bowling Green State University in 2013. Having worked in sales and merchandising for some time, she greatly enjoys being able to use her knowledge to work for an organization that helps others and can truly make a difference.

As a native of Lakewood, OH, Cassie heard of the movement by chance, stumbling upon our previous location on Detroit Ave. Looking up the movement online led to many hours watching promise stories and she joined the because I said I would team in September of 2015.

In her spare time she enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends.

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Abby brings her experience working with high school students and developing curriculum to her role as Chapter Relationship Manager at because I said I would. Her work involves developing relationships with student leaders and advisers, streamlining processes, and leading meetings and weekly calls. She was drawn to the movement because of her commitment to bringing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and leadership training to students at a critically formative time in their lives.

Abby received her Bachelor of Arts from Boston College, majoring in Secondary Education and English. Prior to joining the team at because I said I would, Abby taught English at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron where she also advised students in the Student Ambassadors Program and Competitive Creative Writing Team.

Abby lives in Ohio City with her fiancé, Keith, and cat, Frank. In her spare time, Abby enjoys adventuring outdoors, traveling to exciting places, cheering on the Cleveland Indians, and trying as many local restaurants as possible.

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Monyett is the Fulfillment Manager at because I said I would. She helps execute functions related to order processing, order shipment, and product management.

Prior to joining the organization full time, she was a volunteer and is a former adult chapter member.

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Ann Nagy is the Account Manager for because I said I would. Before her life at because I said I would, Ann entered the Buyer Trainee Program at the May Company in the mid-80’s and then moved onto representing various manufacturers like Carole Little, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Nygard, Nike, Perry Ellis and most recently, Sodastream. In 2012, Ann started her own business called Sorority Charmlets, where she created reversible charm bracelets and ready-to-where for the ZTA Sorority. Ann has had experience with grant writing for Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), as well as event planning for IHN and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

Ann has always been a singer and she participates with the Gathering Band at the Medina UCC Church every Sunday. She loves to sing Classical and Gospel, along with the Contemporary Christian genre and has sung with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and the Blossom Festival Chorus. In her spare time, she connects with her adult sons Christopher and Cameron, along with enjoying daily swimming, reading, traveling and routing for the MSU Spartans, her alma mater.

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Interested in joining our staff?
Check out our open opportunities!

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Part-Time