ASPIRE GRANT & DEVELOPMENT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Professional Grant Writer
Annika received her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary education from the University of Minnesota at Duluth and her master's degree in Curriculum and Supervision from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has a diverse background in the educational field, serving as a classroom teacher, a teacher coach and trainer, central office administration, and working at the university level. Annika's grant writing experience comes from working with schools to write various State and Federal grants, including the McKiney Vento and Title I applications, and providing post-award technical assistance and compliance oversight. Annika also worked with two State Departments of Education to review and award Federal grants and provided compliance oversight.
In her free time Annika, along with her husband Shawn, enjoys attending the many sports her two children play in the Pittsburgh South Hills area. Additionally, she is a board member for the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education, which fundraises and awards grants to innovative teachers in the district. She is also a member of St. Lucy's Auxiliary to the Blind. Annika's specialty is writing to support educational projects, as an example, she enjoys helping Carlow University develop compelling narratives. acurren@aspiregrantdev.com
Job Titles:
- Professional Grant Writer
Brooke joined the Aspire team in May 2019 as a consulting grant writer. She received her bachelor's degree in elementary and special education from Saint Francis University in 2011. The following year, Brooke received her master's in education as a Reading Specialist from California University of Pennsylvania. For the last seven years she has been an educator in both the Rockwood Area School District and the Somerset Area School District, where she currently teaches. Brooke has a passion for education, and youth advocacy, which is reflected in her writing style. Since joining our team, she's worked with Mom's House, Inc., Pittsburgh Technical College, Mary S. Biesecker Library, and Children's Aid Home Programs. To talk to Brooke about your next project, you can email her at blatuch@aspiregrantdev.com.
Job Titles:
- Director of Grant Writing & Development
Brooke joined the Aspire team in 2015 as an intern while pursuing her undergraduate degree at Slippery Rock University. After graduating with a B.S. in Communications - Public Relations, Brooke came back to Aspire full-time and received her M.S. in Integrated Marketing & Communications from West Virginia University in 2018. She is now in the role of Director of Grant Writing and Development, working to oversee a writing team and a growing list of large-scale development projects. Some of her main accounts include the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, Fayette County, Armstrong County, the City of Clairton, Boswell Borough, Vance River Terminal in Morgantown, WV, and more. To date, her application awards have totaled over $20 million in state, federal, and private funding.
In her spare time, Brooke enjoys hanging out with her rescue animals, spending time visiting her parents in Savannah, GA, and traveling to new places. She can be reached at bsheeler@aspiregrantdev.com.
Job Titles:
- Professional Grant Writer
Erin joined the Aspire team in the Fall of 2019 as a grant writing consultant. Erin is a Somerset, Pennsylvania native where she continues to reside with her husband and son. She graduated cum laude from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology, minor in Political Science, and a concentration in Pre-Law. For almost 20 years, she has worked in the human service field where she has developed a passion for the non-profit sector.
Since joining our team, Erin has secured almost three million dollars for our clients. A few of her awards included national foundation grants for The Ablegamers Charity to improve the quality of life of persons living with disabilities and for The Lemoyne Community Center to better serve at-risk youth. She also has secured state and federal grants including one for evidence-based programming to serve local families through the Children's Aid Home. Consistent with Aspire's standards of practice, Erin strives to serve clients with high scoring, detail oriented, customer focused writing! To talk to Erin about your next project, you can email her at erin@aspiregrantdev.com.
Job Titles:
- Professional Grant Writer
Jaclyn earned a B.A. in Political Science, with a minor in Sociology, from the University of Pittsburgh. Via the study abroad program at Pit, she also obtained a concentration in Latin American Culture & Film Studies, at the University of Havana, Cuba. Jaclyn's post-graduate fields of work include management and director positions for Fortune 500 companies and privately owned businesses. Jaclyn is extremely community-focused, with significant years of experience working as the director of a nonprofit arts organization.
In her spare time, Jaclyn enjoys spending time with her husband, and two sons. She is a lover of art, music, culture, history, and socio-economics. In turn, she has a significant volume of funded grant work in these areas. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Somerset, is actively involved in various community and initiative projects, and has played the drums since she was in fourth grade. Her recent projects include work includes the Sweetwater Center for the Arts receiving a $52,000 investment from the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD), and $23,281 from the COVID-19 ARPA PA Arts and Culture Recovery Program. Additionally, Jaci was honored to author an application for The Latin American Studies Association to receive a $72,400 grant from the Eden Hall Foundation for facade improvements at the Latin American Cultural Center. jmccusker@aspiregrantdev.com
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Operation
- Professional Grant Writer, Director of Strategy
Lauren Palmar joined the Aspire Team in October of 2020 as a Grant Specialist. Lauren received her Bachelor's from Ohio State University in 2017 and her Masters in Organizational Management from the University of Colorado in 2019. Through her collegiate career and since graduating, Lauren has interned and worked for a myriad of non-profit organizations, primarily in the higher education and health care sectors.
Lauren is also the Founder and CEO of Operation: BeYoutiful, a local non-profit that provides wigs to girls and women currently battling medically related hair loss. Lauren is passionate about doing her part to make the community a brighter place to live and spending time with her family and rescue pup, Ziggy Stardust. Lauren has strong experience in the development of state, federal and private grants and we are so pleased to welcome her.
Michele R. Beener is the President of Aspire Grant & Development, LLC (Aspire), a full service Federal, State and private grant research/management company. Aspire is a nationally certified diverse vendor, accredited by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. Additionally, the firm is a certified Women Owned Small Business, consistent with guidelines from the United States Business Administration. Aspire is proud to be a Corporate Alliance Partner of the National Grants Management Association, the leading professional association in the public grants space, based in Washington D.C., dedicated to the profession of grants management.
As the firm's President, Michele provides strategic leadership for the organization, while continuing to author large grant proposals, specifically projects that drive regional economic development.
Development of a funded $18.69 million BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant to construct a fourth cargo bay at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Development of a Benefit Cost Analysis for the City of Pittsburgh and partners in the Hill District, to quantify safety, economic and equity indicators for a transportation project. The $11.3 million federal grant to the city was awarded to improve infrastructure in the Lower Hill, a coming off the heels of a grant Beener authored which created a $750,000 investment in small business kiosks for Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) in the same historically disadvantaged community.
Job Titles:
- Professional Grant Writer
Mrs. Carol Pyle has over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, with a portfolio of accomplishments at the Penn State University Agricultural Extension. Carol recently retired from the role of Farmers' Market Coordinator in her rural town of Somerset. This has given her a strong background and passion for working with the community-based nonprofit sector.
Carol is originally from Fayette County, Pennsylvania, but has been a resident of Somerset County for over 40 years. During this time, Carol and her husband David have raised four strong, confident, and successful young women. They have also been blessed with four grandchildren.
Her experience-based education has given her extensive knowledge of youth education, the agricultural community, and managing and marketing of various non-profit organizations. Carol's passion has always been in assisting small businesses and new entrepreneurs achieve success through various grant opportunities. She feels strongly that when one individual succeeds, the entire community can benefit! Recently, she was very busy working with many volunteer and career fire departments, to access Federal funding under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program! Contact Carol, if you have a project need or idea that could benefit the community through your success! cpyle@aspiregrantdev.com
Job Titles:
- Professional Grant Writer
Ms. Cassandra Kokoski has recently joined the Aspire Grant & Development, LLC team. Cassandra has over 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector, starting as an AmeriCorps member in Washington, DC. She has worked for local, national, and international non-profits and is passionate about the impact that non-profits and dedicated citizens can make in the community. Cassandra utilizes her background in direct service, program advancement, community engagement, and development to assist organizations. Cassandra most recently served as Vice President of Development at Lifesteps, a regional human-services agency.
Cassandra is original from Indianapolis, Indiana, and attended Indiana University, Bloomington studying Journalism, focusing on public relations. Cassandra uses her writing skills to assist clients in successful grant submissions and has experience with private and community foundations and local, state, and federal grants. She resides in the Deutschtown neighborhood of Pittsburgh with her husband.
Sarah joined our staff in November 2018. She has been a huge asset to our team. She helps to keep our office running smoothly on a daily basis.
Sarah moved to Somerset County in the fall of 2018. However, she is not a stranger to the area. She visited the area frequently from 2004 through 2011. She even did an internship with the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center. As well as working as a typist for Sargent's Court Reporting in Johnstown. She is originally from the Gettysburg area.
She holds an associates degree in Graphic Design and Printing Technologies from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology inLancaster, PA. She also has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Central Pennsylvania College in Harrisburg, PA.
Since graduating from college she has worked as a Review Technical Associate for SRA International, Inc. in Frederick, MD, an IT company. SRA is a subcontractor who does grant work for the government and educational systems. As well as a Travel and Entertainment Administrator with Voith Holding Inc. in York, PA a German engineering company.
Her knowledge of Microsoft Office, Graphic Design, grant compliance, and office dynamics has been helpful. In her spare, time Sarah enjoys the outdoors, spending time with her rescue dog Bandit, and traveling to new areas with her husband Austin. She also volunteers with the Shade Creek Watershed Association and Graef's Lutheran Church in Cairnbrook, PA. Sarah can be contracted by phone at 814-701-2787 or emailed at srussell@aspiregrantdev.com for all scheduling purposes.
Job Titles:
- Professional Grant Writer
Shannon received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Syracuse University in 2018, where she also competed at the NCAA Division I level in Cross Country and Track and Field. After college, Shannon pursued a career in professional running with the Reebok Boston Track Club while continuing her learning by taking graduate-level courses in Social Foundations of Education at the University of Virginia. In 2022, Shannon joined the Law Offices of Kristy L. Johnston, PLLC in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she served as an Administrative Assistant and assisted with paralegal tasks for the firm.
She has professional experience in drafting legal documentation and has a particular interest in nonprofit grant writing to drive positive community change. Shannon's professional writing experience combined with her unique background in athletics and passion for increasing opportunity for youth in sports fuel her desire to award grants to Aspire clients. Shannon's expertise will also assist Aspire clients with the PMP process, under the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Drop her a note - smalone@aspiregrantdev.com