MEET THE BOARD & ADVISORS

Leadership

Bradley Hall

President & Chairman of the Board

Bradley Hall is a trauma recovery coach, mindfulness instructor, and mental health advocate whose work has empowered countless individuals navigating an NPE experience.

Following his own DNA discovery, Bradley brought his full presence and expertise to the NPE community—creating spaces for education, emotional safety, and personal transformation.

As a former CEO of the NPE Network, Bradley helped expand the organization’s reach and visibility. Through public speaking, coaching, and his published work, Being Blessed Is a Choice, Bradley has offered tools for resilience, clarity, and growth to NPEs and others facing life-altering revelations.

Bradley’s legacy is defined by his transparency, compassion, and unwavering commitment to helping others reclaim their power and rewrite their stories with intention.

Board Member
Vice President

  • Since 2008, Stephanie Meyer has served in a variety of roles in public school business, bringing dedication and leadership to her work. She and her husband of over 30 years are proud parents to two grown children, and Stephanie has long been active in both her local and global community through her church and numerous volunteer roles. Over the years, she has contributed her time and skills on PTA boards, booster clubs, and other community organizations.

    In 2019, Stephanie experienced her own life-changing DNA discovery. That moment ignited her commitment to personal healing and inspired her to walk alongside others facing unexpected truths about their parentage. Today, she combines her professional experience, community service, and personal journey to help NPE Network offer understanding, resources, and hope to those navigating similar paths.

Stephanie Meyer

Board Member
Treasurer

  • Cleo brings 25+ years of strategic planning and organizational design expertise to her role as Treasurer. Her passion for team building and brand advocacy is rare in the financial world. As Head of Café Operations and Community Affairs for ING Direct USA, she helped build a culture that placed its cafés at the heart of the brand’s national identity—making community outreach a defining pillar of the company’s success.

    Before leaving her mark on America’s most successful online bank, she held executive roles in foreign exchange and international fund transfer at Custom House, Thomas Cook, and Deak International. She has since served as an independent consultant focused on guiding organizations through growth and transformation.

    Cleo has been instrumental in helping NPE Network reinvigorate our infrastructure during our rebrand transition (formerly, NPE Fellowship), lending her insight and leadership to strengthen both our operational foundation and long-term vision.

Cleota Brown

Board Member
Secretary

  • Jodi Brooks, MS, grew up on a rural Iowa farm with two white parents and two white siblings, always aware that she looked different but never asking why. Her family never spoke about it. A DNA test later revealed she was 46% West Coast African, a discovery that turned her life upside down. Learning that the father who raised and loved her was not her biological father was both devastating and freeing. For the first time, the reflection in the mirror made sense—she finally had people she resembled. At the same time, she faced the painful reality that the story she had told her whole life wasn’t true.

    Jodi is still navigating what it means to embrace her identity as a biracial woman, finding pride in both her white and Black heritage. She has cherished the chance to build relationships with new siblings and cousins and has found strength in the NPE community and in support groups such as NPE Friends. Sharing her truth has given her struggle meaning, and she hopes her story can help others navigate their own DNA discoveries, especially when they involve an unexpected shift in ethnicity and identity.

    She is a Family Service Worker in Kansas City and the proud mother of five amazing children. She lives in Lenexa, KS with her husband. In her free time, Jodi enjoys gardening, reading, cooking, and fossil hunting.

Jodi Brooks

Board Member
At-Large Representative

  • Doni Aldine is a globally mobile Afro-Latina and first-generation North American who, by age 19, had lived in and identified with seven cultures on four continents. She is passionate about creating a community for cross-cultural populations.

    Doni presents around the globe as a keynote speaker at conferences, universities, and in media as a lifestyle expert focused on media, marketing, and multiculturalism-specifically culturally-fluid identity and hidden diversity.

    She developed university curricula for global culture identity. She founded Culturs Global Multicultural Lifestyle Network, a team of seasoned professionals in 17 countries on five continents using media, products, and experiences to activate 21st-century cultural diversity, because "everyone should feel like they matter." Doni is a FOLIO Top Women in Media Honoree for her work with "Culturs," the global multicultural magazine for cross-cultural identity. Culturs Global team has published content reaching more than nine million people in email, mobile, digital and print editions featured internationally in major grocers, major booksellers, and university and independent bookstores.

    Doni serves on the NPE Network Board of Directors as an At Large Representative of the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and Costa Rica.

Doni Aldine

MA, CTRC-S
Founder IAOTRC

  • Bobbi Parish is a pioneer in trauma-informed care who transitioned from a background in Marriage and Family Therapy to establish a new path forward: Trauma Recovery Coaching. In 2014, after witnessing the profound healing impact coaching had on survivors, she became one of the earliest professionals to leave traditional therapy to focus solely on this emerging field.

    In 2017, Bobbi founded the International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching (IAOTRC) to formally train and certify others in this powerful approach. Her work has helped shape a profession grounded in empathy, lived experience, and neurobiological understanding of trauma.

    Today, her specialized and rigorously developed certification program uniquely positions the NPE Network to serve the needs of the NPE community with deep sensitivity and strategic care—offering trauma-informed coaching that meets people exactly where they are in their identity journeys.

Bobbi Parish

Board Member
At-Large Representative

  • Dr. Jessica Paulucci Cerdeña is a medical anthropologist and family physician with over fifteen years of experience championing social and health justice. She earned both her MD and PhD at Yale University, where she began blending scholarship and activism as tools for advancing health equity.

    In 2020, Dr. Cerdeña discovered her NPE status through her twin brother’s DNA test, an experience that deepened her commitment to advocacy. She is currently completing her family medicine residency at Middlesex Health and serves as an Assistant Research Professor with the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy at the University of Connecticut.

    As a Board Member, Dr. Cerdeña draws on her expertise in research, health policy, and clinical care to champion reforms that protect and support NPEs and others navigating unexpected DNA discoveries.

Jessica Cerdeña

FOUNDATIONAL CONTRIBUTORS TO OUR COMMUNITY

Legacy Advisors

Legacy Advisor
RebekahDrumsta.com

  • Rebekah Drumsta served in founding leadership at the NPE Network, helping guide the organization through its early development and public emergence.

    As former CEO, she played a key role in shaping the tone, structure, and survivor-centered approach that continues to define the Network’s work today.

    Her leadership reflected a collaborative and strategic approach, informed by a nuanced understanding of the complexities surrounding DNA identity disruption. From communications and resource development to advocacy and outreach, Rebekah helped establish the systems and values that made the organization both accessible and emotionally safe.

    Her influence remains present in the way the Network engages with families, clinicians, researchers and NPEs—grounded, clear, and committed to honoring the complexity of DNA NPE discoveries.

Rebekah Drumsta

  • Dr. Paulette Bethel is a pioneering voice in the NPE community whose leadership and scholarship have shaped the language, framework, and emotional understanding of DNA identity discovery.

    Following her own NPE experience, Dr. Bethel channeled her expertise into developing trauma-informed tools that have brought clarity, validation, and healing to thousands.

    She is the originator of the term NPE Identity Disruption and the architect of the NPE Identity Disruption Trauma Recovery Model. This groundbreaking framework centers the psychological and relational impact of unexpected DNA revelations. Her work has provided clinicians, advocates, and survivors with a shared vocabulary and a path toward recovery.

    Through years of volunteer service, Dr. Bethel has helped make the NPE space emotionally safe, growth-oriented, and grounded in compassion. Her contributions continue to influence how identity trauma is understood and supported across disciplines.

Dr. Paulette Bethel

PhD, MCC, CTRC-A
DrPauletteBethel.com

Legacy Brand Steward
Brand & Digital Strategy

  • Josie is a graphic designer and brand strategist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She played a foundational role in establishing NPE Network’s visual identity and digital presence, shaping the logo, brand system, and website to support the organization’s long-term mission and growth.

    Guided by her own NPE discovery in 2021, Josie’s primary aim has been to ensure that newly discovered NPEs can more easily find clear answers, supportive language, and trusted resources—without the burden of extensive independent research.

    She continues to support NPE Network through ongoing brand stewardship, helping maintain a public-facing presence rooted in clarity, empathy, and accessibility.

Josie Decker

to the best club you never intended to join!