EDUCATION ALLIANCE - Key Persons

Aaron Walker

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee

Adam Krason

Job Titles:

Chairman of the Executive Committee
Principal and Architect, ZMM Architects & Engineers - Board Chair

Allison Stickel

al..@educationalliance.org

Job Titles:

Communications Coordinator

Allison Stickel is the Communications Coordinator for The Education Alliance. She completed her Master's in Data Marketing Communications from West Virginia University in December of 2019. She served as a student assistant for WVU's Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at the Office of Outreach and Enrollment for three years prior to her service with The Education Alliance. In her assistantship role, she helped bring STEM concepts to children throughout West Virginia by teaching technical classes and designing informative material for events. She joined The Education Alliance in August 2020 to use her combined talents in quantitative marketing and STEM education to help The Education Alliance support West Virginia students grow and prosper no matter their circumstances.

Alys Smith

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Co - Founder, Wing 2 Wing Foundation

Amber Nichols

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
WV School Teacher of the Year

Andrew Means

an..@educationalliance.org

Job Titles:

Federal Programs and Community Coordinator

Andrew Means is a recent graduate of West Virginia University School of Law, with Bachelor's degrees in both Philosophy and English from West Virginia University. Before coming to The Education Alliance in July of 2019, he had experience in municipal government at the Charleston Municipal Court and state government through the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office, and the West Virginia Senate. Andrew was born and raised in Charleston, WV, where he currently resides.6

Andy Feeney

Job Titles:

Member of the Executive Committee
President - West Virginia, at & T, Member - at - Large

Beth L. Hammers

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Chief Executive Officer, Marshall Health, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine

Beth Winkler Bowden

Job Titles:

Program Coordinator

Beth Winkler Bowden is a Program Coordinator for The Education Alliance. Beth joined The Education Alliance in September 2016 and assists in coordinating many of the Alliances programs including the WV Ready Summer Internship Program. Beth serves as the coordinator of the Alliance's Financial Literacy program, College visit program, and social communications. Beth received her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and a Master's Degree as a Literacy Specialist from Marshall University. Prior to joining the Education Alliance, Beth served as a School Support Specialist for RESA 3, and also has experience working in Kanawha County and Cabell County as a Reading Specialist. Beth is a native West Virginian, born and raised in Logan County. She currently resides in Charleston with her husband Craig and their sons Trent and Dane.

Bill Powell

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
of Counsel, Steptoe & Johnson, PLC, Martinsburg, WV

Brett Staples

Job Titles:

Chairman of the Executive Committee
Member of the Board of Directors
Senior Vice President / Financial Advisor, Truist - past Chair

Caroline S. Goodall

ca..@educationalliance.org

Caroline S. Goodall joined The Education Alliance in October 2010 and her background includes both the non-profit sector and corporate America. She has 20 years of experience as the Manager of Administrative Services with INROADS/West Virginia, Inc. a national non-profit career-development organization for minority students and nine years with Chesapeake Energy Corporation (formerly Columbia Natural Resources) with the Geology and Geophysics Department. Caroline is a native West Virginian and currently resides in St. Albans. Her son, James, and his wife, Suzanne, reside in Mebane, NC with her two grandchildren, James and Lily.

Carolyn Long

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Campus President, WVU Institute of Technology - Member - at - Large

Christina Brumley

Job Titles:

Chairman of the Executive Committee
Member of the Jackson Kelly PLLC - past Board Chair

Dale Bowyer

da..@educationalliance.org

Job Titles:

Education
Education VISTA Leader

Dale Bowyer is the Education VISTA Leader for The Education Alliance. Dale joined The Education Alliance in 2016 as an AmeriCorps Mentor at Williamstown Elementary School. In his current role, Dale is responsible for building the capacity of Williamstown Elementary and High Schools to encourage, educate and advocate for students to have the tools and a path to becoming "life-ready" individuals. Dale is also responsible for enhancing mentoring program that support at-risk students across the state by developing education resources that support the One Caring Adult initiative. Dale completed his Associates Degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management from West Virginia State University. He has more than 20 years of experience in the hotel industry. Dale began his career at the Ramada Inn in South Charleston when he was a sophomore in high school. He went on to help build, open and operate the Hampton Inn and Wingate Inn. After his career in the hotel industry, Dale sold Yellow Pages ads for Verizon. Dale is a West Virginian, currently residing in Williamstown with his wife Mary and son Brody.

David Roach

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
State Superintendent of Schools, West Virginia Department of Education

David Rosier

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
President, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, Inc

Despina "Dee" Kapourales

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Executive Committee
Owner, Kapourales Enterprises

DF Mock

Job Titles:

Member of the Executive Committee
Regional President - West Virginia Operations, United Bank - Board Treasurer

Dr. Amelia A. Courts - CEO, President

Job Titles:

CEO
Member of the Executive Committee
President

Dr. Amelia Courts has extensive leadership experience in the education sector and a track record of career accomplishments. She is a highly effective leader who excels in vision setting, consensus building, and productive systems management. Since 2013, Amelia has served as the President/CEO of The Education Alliance. The Alliance is a non-profit organization based in West Virginia that mobilizes business and community support to advance a quality education for all West Virginia students. Under her leadership, the Alliance has been a leader in advancing innovative workforce initiatives including the Governor's STEM Council, work-based learning programming, and career pathway initiatives. Dr. Courts is passionate about helping develop West Virginia's human capital by investing in our students. By working collaboratively with the Board of Directors and a dedicated team, she has grown The Education Alliance programs to serve more than 176,000 students over the past five years and leverage $6.7 million dollars for students. Program data shows that 70% of students showed academic improvement and 49% increased career readiness. Two key initiatives include: the WV Ready Work-based Learning initiative that provides quality, real-world career readiness courses for high school students; and the Education Alliance AmeriCorps Mentoring program that provides a caring adult role-model to help struggling students succeed in school. Prior to coming to the Alliance, Amelia served as Assistant State Superintendent at the West Virginia Department of Education and is both locally and internationally local experienced. She taught English as a Second Language (ESL) for approximately six years in Japan and China, and at Marshall University. She speaks fluent Japanese and Chinese. Amelia completed her doctoral degree in Education Administration at West Virginia University. Dr. Courts serves as an Emeritus Board of Directors member for the West Virginia Children's Home Society and is a member of the Pittsburgh Remake Learning Council. In 2020, she completed a certificate in Successful Negotiation with University of Michigan and in 2022, completed a fellowship with the Appalachian Leadership Institute. Amelia is active in her local church youth program, and along with her husband, is the proud parent of two children.

Dr. Daniel Foster

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Executive Committee
Retired, Charleston Area Medical Center

Dr. MaryLu Hutchins

Job Titles:

Chairman of the Executive Committee
Director of Fluency Project, Carnegie Mellon University Create Lab - Board Vice - Chair

Dr. Priscilla Leavitt

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Executive Committee
Director, Counseling & Wellness Center

Erica Mani

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Regional Chief Executive Officer West Virginia, American Red Cross

Erica Steratore

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Assistant Vice President, WVU Innovation Corporation

Gat Caperton

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
President / CEO, Gat Creek

Greg Hefner

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Manager of Regional External Affairs, FirstEnergy

Herchiel Sims Jr.

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Executive Committee
Retired Business Executive

Howard Seufer

Job Titles:

Chairman of the Executive Committee
Emeritus Director
Partner, Bowles Rice, LLP - Nominating and Governance Committee Chair

James W. Thomas

Job Titles:

Chairman of the Executive Committee
Emeritus Director
Counsel, Retired - Development Committee Chair

Jeri Matheney

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Executive Committee
Retired, Appalachian Power

Jessica Alsop

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Associate General Counsel, WVU Health System

Joanne Jaeger Tomblin

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Executive Committee

Jonell Carver

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Manager - Gas Operations, Dominion Resources

Joseph McDonie

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Executive Committee
President, Citation Investment, Inc

Judy Gemma-Sjostedt

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Executive Director, Parkersburg Area Community Foundation

Lacy Rice Jr.

Job Titles:

Emeritus Director
Member of the Executive Committee
Retired Executive, Bowles, Rice, McDavid, Graff & Love

Leah Summers

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee

Mallie Combs

Job Titles:

Member of the Executive Committee
Executive Director, Hardy County Rural Economic Development Authority - Member - at - Large

Michelle Rotellini

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
President / CEO, Beckley Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce

Olivia McCuskey

ol..@educationalliance.org

Job Titles:

Director of Strategic Engagement

Olivia McCuskey joined the Education Alliance in August of 2019 as the Director of Strategic Engagement. In her role, Olivia works to develop, cultivate and strengthen the Alliance's relationships with business, education and community stakeholders throughout the state to actively engage them as partners in the organization's work. She also assists with several of the Alliance's programs, including WV Ready Graduate. Prior to joining The Education Alliance, Olivia spent four years with Inspire U.S., a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that worked with high school students on peer-led civic engagement efforts through voter registration, voter participation and voter engagement. She was the Regional Manager with the Inspire WV program for three years before joining the Inspire U.S. national team as the National Program Manager. Olivia is a West Virginia native and grew up in St. Albans; she currently resides in South Charleston. Olivia attended Ohio University on a full athletic scholarship as a member of the Ohio University Women's Basketball Team, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology with a minor in History in May 2014.

Paula Flaherty

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Executive Committee
Research, Writing, and Evaluation Specialist, Self - Employed

Robert Crawford

Job Titles:

Deputy Director of Partnerships
Deputy Director of Partnerships and Innovation

Robert Crawford serves as the Deputy Director of Partnerships and Innovation for The Education Alliance. In his role, Robert is responsible for sustaining federal programming initiatives that support student success, including the Alliance's AmeriCorps Mentor program. He also engages with statewide stakeholders to promote successful existing school-business partnerships and to help advance new and innovative, learner-centered approaches that strengthen student learning outcomes. Robert has 25 years of experience working in the field of education. Prior to joining The Education Alliance in June of 2022, Robert served five years as the principal for an internationally recognized Spanish-English Dual Language Immersion school. The school served as an AmeriCorps member site, integrating reading intervention supports. Preceding his principalship, he served as an assistant director in the Office of Federal Programs for the West Virginia Department of Education. His other educational work includes classroom teaching and mentoring at each of the three K-12 programmatic levels. Robert holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in both Spanish and Political Science and a Master's Degree in Teaching, all from the University of Louisville. He earned his Graduate Certificate in School Principalship from Marshall University. Robert is an advocate for second language learning and is a fluent speaker of Spanish. He has served in leadership roles and on advisory boards for national organizations including the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages and the International Spanish Academy Advisory Council. He and his wife Rebecca relish the opportunity to support their three children Natalie, Nicholas, and Regan as they grow.

Robert Dunlevy

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the West Virginia Board of Education

Sally N. Barton - VP

sa..@educationalliance.org

Job Titles:

Vice President

Sally Barton joined The Education Alliance in January 2020 and has over 25 years of experience in fundraising, corporate communication, and organizational development. As a senior advisor, she will advance strategic partnerships, engagement and outreach. Prior to joining The Education Alliance, Barton served as Executive Director of The Foundation for Thomas Health which culminated in her leading the fundraising effort for Kanawha County's first and only Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Unit that opened in summer of 2019 for the care of infants born drug exposed. Previously, she was the founding executive director of the Tamarack Foundation - a nationally recognized economic development project benefiting the artisan entrepreneurs in all 55 counties of West Virginia. Her first opportunity after moving to West Virginia from North Carolina was in corporate development with Charleston Area Medical Center which led to her being named the first Director of Development for the CAMC Foundation. She received a Masters from West Virginia University in Business and Organizational Communication and graduated from University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BA in Communication Studies where she was selected for a prestigious internship with the Washington Bureau of CNN. Barton has been recognized as a West Virginia Young Gun and was named a West Virginia Wonder Woman. She has served on numerous boards including Leadership West Virginia and Philanthropy West Virginia, and is currently on the Board of Directors for Women for Economic Leadership and Development (WELD), Charleston; Leave A Legacy WV; WV Public Broadcasting; and, HospiceCareWV. Barton resides in Charleston with her twin sons, Will and Charlie.