Board of Directors

Kelly Nelson, M.D.

Dr. Nelson holds a B.S. degree from Davidson College with a concentration in medical humanities and an M.D. from University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Nelson is an associate professor in the department of dermatology and co-leads the Early Melanoma Detection and Prevention flagship of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Melanoma Moonshot in Houston, TX. Dr. Nelson specializes in the use of technology to support early melanoma detection as well as implementation and dissemination of early melanoma diagnosis efforts across Texas.

angela (Gigi) mcguire

Angela graduated with a BA in Communication from Pittsburg State University and received her JD from Washburn University School of Law. Prior to her current role as Vice President, Associate General Counsel at CoreLogic, Angela served as a trusted legal advisor to executive teams at Blockbuster, H&R Block and Sprint and honed her outsourcing legal skills at the leading global law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.

Patrick Ford - CFO

Patrick earned his BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University. Patrick worked in public accounting for 9 years, with his final year as Senior Manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Patrick also held Senior Vice President positions at Dean Foods Company. Patrick is currently the owner and President of Flexcel Company, an oilfield tools manufacturing business. Patrick’s charitable activities include being a past board member of the Dallas Chapter of Literacy Volunteers of America as well as Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.

Joanna Lin, J.D.

Joanna has a B.A. degree from University of California – Irvine and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. Joanna is currently a corporate partner at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery. Her practice focuses on corporate, securities and transactional matters. Joanna also regularly counsels clients on matters of corporate governance, reporting requirements and other general corporate matters. Joanna also provides pro-bono legal services for various nonprofit organizations.

Shawn Helms, J.D. - President & Founder

Shawn is a member of the Board of Directors and President of Helms Hope. He has a B.S. in Information Technology, Economics and Business Administration from William Jewell College and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Shawn is a partner at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery and is the co-head of the Technology & Outsourcing Practice. Shawn is an internationally recognized advisor on technology and outsourcing matters.

Misty helms

Misty has a B.S. in Education with a specialty in Early Childhood from William Jewell College. She has worked as a teacher and administrator for a private school. She currently is a part-time tutor at the Classical Conversations organization in Rockwall, Texas.

Jason Krieser, J.D.

Jason has a BS degree from University of Nebraska and a JD from University of Minnesota Law School. Jason is a partner at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery and is the co-head of the Technology & Outsourcing Practice as well as the office managing partner for Dallas and Houston. Jason is an internationally recognized advisor on technology and outsourcing matters. Jason is the co-author of a legal treatise on outsourcing law titled Outsourcing: Law and Business published by Law Journal Press (the treatise publishing arm of American Lawyer Media) and the co-author of a Bloomberg BNA portfolio titled “Technology and Outsourcing.”

Brittany helms wilson - coo

Brittany has a B.A. in Psychology and Biology from Wake Forest University. She has substantial event planning and fundraising experience. Before becoming Helms Hope's first and currently only full time employee, Brittany previously worked for Anchor Investments, a real estate investment firm in Nashville, TN.

Reese wilson

Reese has a B.S. degree from Vanderbilt University with two majors - Human and Organizational Development and Mathematics and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Reese currently works as a management consulting for Pariveda in Dallas. Previously, Reese founded Reezos, an athleisure shoe company with a social enterprise mission.