RELAY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Founder & CEO, Braven
Akilah Rosado is a lifelong Brooklynite and anti-racist practitioner and educator who approaches interrupting systems of oppression through strategic design and implementation. Recently, Akilah was appointed as Chief Equity Officer at Relay Graduate School of Education, an inaugural role at Relay. Akilah has spent the last 12 years at Bank Street College of Education serving in multiple roles, most recently as Vice President for Governance, Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion. Throughout her career, Akilah has continued to find ways to redesign systems that disrupt systemic oppression by influencing and shifting strategic levers of change.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President, Champlain College
As Chief Strategy Officer, Anne McCarley is responsible for the institution's strategy and revenue through the leadership of teams charged with strategic partnerships, innovation, development, policy, marketing and communications. Before joining Relay, McCarley served in a number of capacities on Teach For America's national development team, securing over $150 million in philanthropy to support the organization's growth in scale and impact from 2008-2015. She began her career as an associate at the global investment research firm, Morningstar, Inc.
McCarley earned an M.A. in English from Northwestern University and a B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director, Partnerships
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director of the Teaching Residency
Ashonna Tubbs is the Program Director of the Teaching Residency and an Assistant Professor of Practice at the Georgia Campus of Relay Graduate School of Education. She earned her MSEd in School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and is committed to expanding equitable opportunities for students by supporting and equipping teachers to foster in all children the sense of agency, academic acumen, and self-awareness necessary to lead a choice-filled life.
Job Titles:
- Chief Information Officer
Avi Popovich, Relay's Chief Information Officer, oversees the technology team. Avi has extensive experience in IT with over 15 years of IT leadership, across multiple industries. Prior to joining Relay, he was the Chief Information Officer and Information Security Officer of Tri-State Memorial Hospital as well as a member of their Executive Team. Avi directed key technology initiatives, including large scale EHR system projects, technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, and cloud compute adoption. Under his leadership the hospital was awarded a top technology ranking (CHIME) for several years running. He also led the expansion of a new IT team that supported Tri-State hospital's extensive growth in recent years.
Job Titles:
- Connecticut State Director
Chevon Boone teaches the Applications of Effective Teaching fall and spring courses. She is a former secondary ELA teacher, instructional coach, and curriculum designer with 10 years of experience with supporting new teachers. Chevon's doctoral thesis focuses on best practices to increase teacher retention in urban schools. She has a passion for amplifying the voices of historically marginalized communities and challenging inequitable systems impacting those communities.
Job Titles:
- National Executive Director of Partnerships
As National Executive Director of Partnerships, Christine Eisenhauer leads Relay's teacher partnership and strategy team to support PK-12 school partners through robust programmatic offerings. Prior to this, Eisenhauer was the Dean of Relay's Delaware and DC campuses and managed campus deans across Relay.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Policy
- Managing Director, Public Partnerships
Cliff Thomas is the Managing Director of Policy and Government Affairs, leading the public funding teams, policy strategy, and government affairs work. He has previously served as a high school science teacher, founded and led a high-performing charter middle school, and led the initial national expansion of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation's Fellowship Initiative. He's a passionate amateur paleontologist and (unfortunately) loves the New York Jets.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Co - Founder and CEO, Stepmojo
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director of Relay Delaware
Dana Rae Davisson is the Program Director of Relay Delaware. She started her career in education as a TFA Corps Member, teaching first grade in the Greater Philadelphia region. Following that role, Dana transitioned to middle school teaching and school leadership in Wilmington, DE, where she stayed for 10 years before becoming an assistant professor at Relay.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Co - Founder, KIPP
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Executive Director, Johns Hopkins University Institute for Education Policy
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Founder & President, Opportunity College
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director of Partnerships
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Impact and Innovation, Professional Education
As Managing Director of Innovation and Impact, Dr. Klompus drives institutional efforts to identify, codify, and share impactful practice that measurably improves learning and experience for all PK-12 students. As the founding Dean of the National Principal Supervisor's Academy, a selective, national cohort of accomplished system-level leaders, Klompus supports system level leaders in their quest to support and accelerate the development of the school level teams they serve. With more than 25 years of experience serving students at the classroom, school, and system level, Klompus has worked extensively at the nexus of data informed school improvement, instructional leadership development, and design thinking.
Job Titles:
- Vice Provost, National Leadership Programs
Dr. Eneida Padró is Vice Provost of National Leadership Programs at Relay GSE leading the team responsible for the vision, design, and execution of national school leadership programming. This includes the National Principal Academy Fellowship (NPAF), the National Principal Supervisor Academy (NPSA), the Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute (ISLI), the Leverage Leadership Institute (LLI) and the national Instructional Leader Professional Development (ILPD). In previous roles at Relay, Eneida served as Associate Dean of Regional Support providing on-the-ground coaching and delivering professional development to school and system-level leaders.
Eneida has worked in education for over eighteen years, primarily serving communities in Dallas-Fort Worth while delivering professional development across the country and internationally. Prior to joining Relay, she was an Executive Director in Fort Worth ISD supervising a group of PK-12 school principals in the development of equity literacy, instructional, culture and leadership systems. Dr. Padró has also served as a leadership development coach and program manager in the non-profit sector. She engaged in turnaround work as a former school principal in Dallas ISD, with student progress ranking in the top 5.6% in the district and state.
She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Puerto Rico, a master's degree, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas. She is an alumna of the Leverage Leadership Institute Fellowship. Eneida resides in Dallas, TX, and enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband.
In her role as Provost, Teacher Preparation, Dr. Weatherton leads Relay and the Teacher Prep team to key institutional milestones, maintaining outstanding institutional performance and recognition, faculty performance and staff experience.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President
- President, Relay Graduate School of Education ( Ex Officio )
Dr. Mayme Hostetter assumed the role of President in 2018, having previously served as Relay's National Dean, Dean of Relay NYC, and founding Director of Teaching and Learning in the decade prior. Additionally, Hostetter serves on the board of Deans for Impact, where she was a founding member, as well as on the board of directors at Cents Ability. Before joining Relay in 2008, she conducted reading development research in the Gabrieli Laboratory of M.I.T.'s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Prior to that, she taught English and coached everything at KIPP Academy in the South Bronx and Deerfield Academy in western Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Vice Provost, Student Affairs
Dr. Nichelle Bowes is the Vice Provost of Student Affairs at Relay Graduate School of Education where she leads the institution's efforts to ensure an equitable, inclusive, and academically fulfilling experience for all students. Dr. Bowes has previously served the institution as the Dean of Student Affairs, Associate Dean, and later Dean of Relay's Newark campus. Her scholarly interests include culturally responsive practices, academic advisement, and the centrality of the student experience at institutions of higher education. Prior to joining Relay, Dr. Bowes held teaching positions at K-12 institutions in urban settings in New Jersey. Her certifications include K- 5 teacher, School Counselor and Principal in the state of New Jersey.
Job Titles:
- Vice Provost, Teacher Preparation
As Vice Provost of Teacher Preparation and Founding Dean of Relay Connecticut, Dr. Good believes that empowering teachers with a rigorous curriculum of practical application, theory, and educational pedagogy grounded in culturally responsive teaching, can have a dynamic impact on PK-12 students. An award-winning educator, Dr. Good started her career as a secondary language arts teacher in the Miami-Dade County Public School district, as a charter corps member of Teach For America. Upon relocating to New Haven, Connecticut in 2006, Dr. Good, inspired by the middle school experiences, spent 9 years teaching and leading at Elm City College Preparatory, 6 of those years as principal. Dr. Good earned her B.A. in Sociology from University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an Ed.D in Global Education at the Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California. Dr. Good serves on multiple educational boards and was appointed by the Connecticut Commissioner of Education to serve on the Connecticut State Department of Education's Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council, given her extensive research on the role of state legislators in diversifying the teaching workforce.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Professional Education, Teacher Programs
As Managing Director of Professional Education, Teacher Programs, Dr. Sarah Marder-Eppstein oversees all aspects of professional learning opportunities for teachers at Relay. Prior to joining professional education, Dr. Marder-Eppstein co-led degree-granting programming for over 1,500 teachers in Relay's online campus and taught elementary methods and general pedagogy coursework. Dr. Marder-Eppstein also ran the annual Educator Summit conference for six years in partnership with the Character Lab, serving thousands of educators from around the world.
Job Titles:
- Provost, Professional Education
In her role as Provost, Professional Education, Dr. Shavonne Gibson leads the Professional Education team at Relay.
Job Titles:
- Senior Dean of COllective Campuses
Whitney earned her MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Rice University. She has a BA in Communications from the University of California, San Diego.As Senior Dean, Dr. Therese Zosel-Harper oversees all aspects of teacher preparation across our campuses. Prior to serving as Senior Dean, Zosel-Harper was Relay's founding dean in Colorado and was New York's Assistant Dean of Students and an Assistant Professor of Practice. Before joining Relay, Zosel-Harper served as a high school social studies and adolescent literacy teacher at Peace and Diversity Academy in the Bronx, NY. Zosel-Harper earned her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Oregon's Clark Honors College. She earned her M.S.T. in Teaching Social Studies at Pace University and her Ph.D. in Education Policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. Zosel-Harper's research interests include teacher recruitment, support/development and retention, and teacher evaluation policy.
Job Titles:
- Vice Provost, Regional Leaderships Programs
As Dean of school leadership programs at Relay, Jesse Rector leads all aspects of training for current and aspiring school leaders. In this role, he teaches courses on instructional leadership and serves as an advisor to the participants in our leadership programs. Previously, Rector spent sixteen years in Newark, New Jersey, as a high-performing teacher in both the Newark Public Schools and at North Star Academy Charter School of Newark. During his last six years in Newark, Rector led North Star's Clinton Hill Middle School. Rector earned an M.A. in organizational leadership from Columbia University and a B.A. from Rutgers University.
Job Titles:
- Chief People Officer
- First Chief People Officer
Jessica Smith is Relay's first Chief People Officer. She is a culture and change leader who believes in creating radical spaces of belonging. Jessica spent the last six years at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, most recently as the Vice President of Employee Relations & Engagement.
In that role, Jessica built Alliance's first employee relations and engagement team and systems, started the organization's first DEI working group, and created and led Alliance's organizational strategy of becoming an anti-racist and pro-Black public charter school network.
Prior to Alliance, Jessica worked for Atlanta Public Schools leading employee relations work and advising management on the handling of employee relations and human resource matters while ensuring compliance with laws, policies, and regulations. Jessica began her career advising senior school system administrators and board members on labor and employment matters. Her experience has allowed Jessica to hone in on her skills of building strong people-centered systems that are grounded in equity and belonging. Jessica earned a B.A. from the University of Miami, and a J.D. from Emory University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial and Operating Officer
Julian Roberts is Relay's Chief Financial and Operating Officer and leads the finance and technology areas. Prior to joining Relay, he was the Chief Financial Officer at Foundation for California Community Colleges for over four years where he implemented new systems and partnered to triple operating revenue. In his work, he emphasizes the strategic and programmatic value finance and operations contribute to the organization through vision, collaboration, and systems.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Marketing and Communications
As Managing Director of Marketing and Communications, Kianti Brown Whitney's role is to continue to increase brand awareness through creating powerful and compelling content for Relay's key audiences. Prior to joining Relay, Kianti worked for a charter management organization, a financial institution, and multiple advertising agencies.
Relay partners with Teach For America - Nashville to provide high quality training, coaching, and support to TFA corps members through Relay's Alternative Licensure and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) programs. Learn more.
Job Titles:
- Field Supervisor
- Field Supervisor in New Jersey
Krystle A. Birdsal is a Relay Field Supervisor in New Jersey. Krystle's passions lie in the pursuit of educational equity for all. Originally from Greater Philadelphia, Krystle has completed her Master of Arts in Psychological Studies at UCLA after becoming a certified Elementary (K-6) and Special (N-12) teacher at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Beginning her career as a teacher in underrepresented communities in New Orleans, Krystle has scaled her impact on the field of education through curriculum writing and design, school leadership, teacher preparation, educational policy and advocacy, trauma-informed practice, and DEI consulting.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Founder & CEO, Glenview Capital Management
Job Titles:
- the Department Chair of Clinical Practice
Lequite Manning is the Department Chair of Clinical Practice and Residency for Relay Graduate School of Education and will serve as the Clinical Practice Director for the state of Tennessee. Her expertise ranges from elementary teacher, principal, and Instructional Leadership Director specializing in coaching principals, building positive school and organizational cultures, and change management. She will graduate with an Ed.D in Leadership in School Reform in December 2022.
Maria Faqier is the Program Director for Texas. Before joining Relay, she served as a middle school teacher, high school teacher and high school administrator for 18 years. She holds a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from Our Lady of the Lake University, a degree in teaching with a concentration in math and science from the University of the Incarnate Word, and a degree in educational administration from Texas A&M San Antonio. Additionally, she is a Texas certified educator with certification in the following areas: Composite Science 8-12, Secondary Biology 6-12, ESL 6-12, Principal EC-12 and Superintendent EC-12. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her partner, her six grown children and her six Siberian huskies. She also serves in various community partnerships including the Si Se Puede School Board and My Brother's Keeper San Antonio.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Clinical Practice for Illinois at Relay Graduate School of Education
Mathew Mauricio Rojas serves as the Director of Clinical Practice for Illinois at Relay Graduate School of Education. A product of New York City public schools, Mathew's work has been deeply informed by the inequities and challenges that exist for students of color as they navigate the intersection between personal identity, educational experiences, connection to community and personal aspirations. He is particularly interested in helping first year teachers navigate those waters and create just and equitable classrooms. Prof. Rojas has taught K-12 bilingual education, 5th, and 8th grade, as well as coached teachers before joining Relay. He is a graduate of Middlebury College, holds a Masters in Educational Policy and Leadership from American University, and is working on a Masters of Public Policy at University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. Prof. Rojas lives in Chicago, IL with his husband and dogs, and enjoys cooking, running, and exploring Chicago's food scene.
Job Titles:
- Senior Instructional Coach
Nathalie Elivert teaches pedagogy courses and is a Senior Instructional Coach. She is a former secondary humanities teacher and Department Chair with 15 years of experience. Nathalie is passionate about school-based mediation and inclusive, culturally, and linguistically diverse classroom cultures and curriculum.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President, Together Education Co - Founder and President Emeritus, Relay Graduate School of Education
Peter serves as Relay's General Counsel. Before Relay, Peter was a commercial litigator at Sidley Austin LLP. He began his career as a sixth grade math teacher through Teach for America at the Democracy Prep Public Schools. Peter has served on the Board of Trustees of an elementary school in Harlem, as a Public Leaders Fellow with Leadership for Educational Equity, and as a member of the NYC Bar's Education and the Law Committee.
Job Titles:
- Finance
- Managing Director
- Managing Director of Finance
As Relay's Managing Director of Finance, Piper Evans is responsible for all aspects of financial management and planning at Relay. Prior to Relay, Evans consulted on economic development and sustainability at O-H Community Partners, where she worked with nonprofits, foundations and government agencies to create jobs, develop entrepreneurial communities, and reduce CO2 emissions. Before that, she worked at The Walt Disney Co., in operations planning and analysis, for three years. She also worked at a boutique investment bank, advising parties to corporate bankruptcies, for two years.
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director for Relay Colorado
Quinn Terry is the Program Director for Relay Colorado. She began her teaching career as a 2003 Teach for America Corps Member. She has a Master of Arts in Education from Regis University, is a Reading Specialist, and has a Certificate of Linguistically Diverse Instruction and LDE Endorsement from the Colorado Department of Education. Quinn also instructs Core Pedagogy and designs clinical practice experiences for Colorado's pre-service teachers.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Development
As Relay's Managing Director of Development, Rachel Innes is responsible for defining and executing Relay's national and campus-specific fundraising strategies. Prior to joining the development team in 2016, Rachel led Relay's new sites efforts and co-managed the institution's accreditation activities. Before joining Relay in 2014, Rachel worked in operations at the New York City Department of Education. She began her career as a third grade teacher in the South Bronx as a Teach for America corps member.
Tiffany Carvalho, Program Director, teaches core pedagogy and deliberate practice courses. She is a former middle school math teacher with 5 years of experience in the classroom and 5 years of experience at Relay GSE. Tiffany is born, raised, and educated by Philadelphia and is an active member in her community. As a Relay graduate from the Class of 2017, Tiffany is dedicated to fostering a strong pipeline of exceptional educators for her neighbors' children and the school communities in Philadelphia/Camden.
Job Titles:
- Chancellor
- Managing Director, Strategy and Operations, Professional Education
Warren Chancellor is the Managing Director of Strategy & Operations for the Professional Education team at Relay. In this role, he supervises the events and operations team as they plan and execute 50+ intersessions per year as well as the partnerships team as they enroll thousands of teachers and leaders in our teacher and leader programs.
Prior to joining Relay, Warren served as the Managing Director of Events & Operations at Teach For America, leading the operations team in the planning and execution of the 25th Anniversary Summit that was hosted in Washington D.C. in 2016, attracting more than 15,000 participants from all over the country. Warren began his professional career in the classroom teaching high school math in Atlanta Public Schools and is a graduate of Morehouse College where he earned a bachelors of science in mathematics. He was born in Charlotte, NC and raised in Irian Jaya, Indonesia but currently resides in Washington, DC.