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We help people with disabilities to become independent and reintegrate, and add value to their communities. We provide people with motor disabilities with medical equipment and supplies, scholarships, psychological help and inspiration to make them independent and therefore more productive. By doing this, we believe that everybody wins. The Foundation is funded by the help of corporate and individual donors and by special events.
The Wheels of Happiness
Wheels of Happiness is a registered 501(c)(3) organization created in 2011 by Vincenzo Piscopo after suffering a life altering spinal cord injury. While hospitalized, he met Father Thomas, a priest from Uganda, who had suffered a similar injury but did not receive proper post-injury care to reintegrate to society. Father Thomas raised Vincenzo’s awareness of the needs of people with disabilities in under-privileged areas of the world. Thanks to the support Vincenzo received, he has been able to live a productive, fulfilling life. As a way to pay it forward, Vincenzo and his wife Gabriela, founded “The Wheels of Happiness Foundation”.
Wheels of Happiness’s mission is to support spinal cord injury survivors and people with motor disabilities in disadvantaged communities around the world, including the USA. WOH delivers mobility equipment and medical supplies; provides scholarships; funds required surgeries and offers psychological support so our beneficiaries can become independent, reintegrate to society, and add value to their communities.
Wheels of Happiness’s mission is to support spinal cord injury survivors and people with motor disabilities in disadvantaged communities around the world, including the USA. WOH delivers mobility equipment and medical supplies; provides scholarships; funds required surgeries and offers psychological support so our beneficiaries can become independent, reintegrate to society, and add value to their communities.
Vincenzo Piscopo
Founder
Board of Directors
María Gabriela
Piscopo
Executive Director
Gabriela Piscopo is a Professor of Marketing and International Business at Morehouse College, where she also conducts research in the areas of customer value, relationship marketing and entrepreneurship. She has a PhD in Marketing from Georgia State University, an MBA from the Tepper School of Business of Carnegie Mellon University, and a BA in Economics from Universidad de Carabobo in Venezuela.
Gabriela is a native of Valencia, Venezuela and has lived in the Atlanta area since 1996. Being a founding member of the Wheels of Happiness Foundation has been extremely rewarding for her. Among all things, she is most proud of her beautiful family which includes husband Vincenzo, son Rafael and daughters Antonella, Arianna and Sabrina.
Yaquarri
Adams
President
Yaquarri Adams is an energetic and passionate business leader with extensive experience in commercial finance, strategic planning and negotiation. Throughout his career, he has been highly effective in increasing revenue and profitability through strategy development, effective planning and operational execution. Guided by his belief that the greatest responsibility of leaders is to inspire others, he is well-regarded by many for his focus on enhancing the knowledge, skills and leadership behaviors of others through coaching and development. Among his many passions, being a strong, smart and respected voice for those underrepresented in society is a top priority.
Jim
Sanderson
Vice-President
Jim Sanderson is the Division Electrical and Automation Manager for Motion Industries in the Southeast. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After a 30-year career, he is responsible for the electrical and automation segment of Motion Industries, which is the largest industrial distributor in the US. As a product specialist, he has helped several large companies meet their maximum performance.
He has had a long history of community service and has held several board positions in charitable organizations. His passion is to help others achieve their goals.
Juan Carlos
Montalvo
Treasurer
Juan Carlos Montalvo has over 30 years of experience in accounting, auditing and finance.
He currently works for Habitat for Humanity International in Atlanta where le leads their global Internal Audit Department. Before joining Habitat, Juan Carlos spent over 20 years working in various financial, accounting and auditing roles for private and public companies in the USA and Venezuela, including Ernst & Young where he served as a Senior Manager in the Advisory Services Practice in Atlanta for over six years and three years in the Assurance Practice in Caracas, Venezuela. He has an MBA degree in Finance from Mercer University (Atlanta). He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Georgia Chapter of Certified Fraud Examiners. He lives in Woodstock, GA with his wife and son.
Ramona
Houston
BOARD MEMBER
Ramona Houston, Ph.D., PMP, enjoys a multifaceted career as a scholar, social impact strategist, and speaker. African American/Latino relations, social responsibility and higher education are the principal spheres of her work.
An American historian, Ramona specializes in 20th century American history, civil rights and race relations, specifically its African American and Mexican American dimensions. Through her publications and presentations, Ramona analyzes American race relations and promotes the importance of diverse groups working together to solve America’s most critical challenges.
Ramona is also host of the The Empowerment Zone podcast, where she explores issues pertinent to the African American and Latino/a communities.
Francisco
Montiel
Board Member
Francisco Montiel is originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela and moved to the US in August of 1992. He has a Bachelor degree in Architecture from the Universidad del Zulia and a Master’s degree in Architecture from Georgia Tech. After working in this field for 16 years, he decided to make a career move into Interior Design and is currently a Project Director at Blackdog Studio, a firm that specializes in the hospitality industry.
Francisco has volunteered for a couple of non for profit organizations in the past and is excited to be a part of the Wheels of Happiness Organization. He currently lives in Midtown Atlanta and enjoys working out and traveling in his free time.
Misael
Portillo
Board Member
Misael J. Portillo has a bachelor’s degree in economics from La Universidad del Zulia in Venezuela and an MBA from Babson College. Up to year 2001 he held several senior and top-level banking positions in Venezuela, with major focus in mortgage lending, as well as private and corporate banking.
In early 2010 he founded ProAmericas, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia and, in 2012, he was the co-founder and now Vice-President of IANAmericas, the Inter-American Network of U.S. Alumni Associations for the Western Hemisphere. He has been the Chairman and member of the Council of Advisors of other distinguished international organizations fostering lasting and prosperous relations with the United States of America.
Kelley Brooks
Simoneaux
Board Member
Kelley Simoneaux is an attorney and disability rights advocate based in Washington, DC. She is the founder of The Spinal Cord Injury Law Firm, PLLC where she represents individuals following a spinal cord injury. Kelley has committed her professional life to helping those with spinal cord injuries after she became a T-12 paraplegic as a passenger in a car wreck when she was 16 years old.
She graduated at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama and then law school at the University of Tennessee College of Law. She practiced at several nationally known law firms in Atlanta, Georgia before moving to Washington, DC.
Brandon
Winfield
Board Member
In 2008, Brandon Winfield (he/him) was injured in a motocross accident that left him with a thoracic spinal cord injury (paralyzed from the waist down). Only 14 years old at the time, he was faced with the decision to either let this dramatic event stop him from truly living the life he wanted or to turn it into an opportunity to triumph in the face of tragedy – Brandon chose the latter. He continued his love for racing in the form of four wheels, entered sprint kart racing, and won numerous events across the country. As he traveled, he realized that although some places he visited were compliant according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), many areas were grandfathered in and never forced to retrofit to accommodate the mobility impaired.
Boyd
Christian
Board Member
Boyd Christian is a Managing Director for CapTech Consulting, where he leads CapTech’s Atlanta office which provides technology and management consulting services to Fortune 500 companies. Boyd has 10 years of experience in corporate roles in Talent Management, Marketing, and Innovation, and he has 10 years providing management consulting and technology services to Fortune 500 clients. Boyd has an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and a BS in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University.
Boyd is a native of Arlington, VA and has lived in the Atlanta area since 2001. He currently resides in Milton, GA with his wife Tricia and two children, Anna and Grant.
Vincenzo
Piscopo
BOARD MEMBER
Seasoned Diversity & Inclusion professional Vincenzo Piscopo took the reins of United Spinal Association—disability rights pioneer and the largest membership organization of people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) in the United States—after a long foray in corporate philanthropy with the Coca-Cola Company.
An immigrant from Venezuela of Italian heritage with 25 years of experience working for multinational corporations, Vincenzo is an expert on how to leverage global citizenship to become a more effective philanthropist. Through Wheels of Happiness, he raises awareness of and gives back to his native Venezuela by assisting wheelchair users in need of basic equipment and supplies.
Operating Team
Ways to Help.
Get Involved
Are you passionate about what we're doing? Let us know! We are always looking for volunteers to help us make our vision a reality. We'll help you find a way to volunteer that best suits you. We're excited to have you join the team
How We're Helping
We are a nonprofit organization focused on helping children and adults with motor disabilities. We provide medical supplies and equipment, offer scholarships and fund mobility related surgeries. We hope to make a difference to the life of people with disabilities.
Thank You
Whether you help through monetary donations, volunteering your time, or spreading our mission through word-of-mouth, thank you. WOH Foundation couldn't accomplish our goals without the help of supporters like you.
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Wheels Of Happiness Foundation is a Registered 501(C) (3) Tax-Exempt Organization
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