READING PARTNERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Strategy and Operations for the Council
Abby Walsh is the Vice President of Strategy and Operations for the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank and membership association advancing policies that enhance safety and justice for all. Before launching the Council, Abby led state engagements for the Pew Charitable Trusts, partnering with policymakers to enact data-driven solutions that safely reduced prison populations, improved outcomes for youth in juvenile justice systems, and expanded treatment for substance use disorders. Abby brings a dedication to public service and social justice and a longtime commitment to Reading Partners, where she has been both a tutor and a donor. Abby is a New Leaders Council Fellow (‘17) and a graduate of American University's School of Public Affairs (B.A. ‘07) and George Washington University (M.P.A. ‘12). A Ward 7 resident and current DCPS parent, Abby is devoted to building high-quality resources for students east of the river.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Saturn Street Elementary
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Executive Team
- Education Leadership Experience to the CEO
Adeola ("Ola") Whitney brings over 20 years of education leadership experience to the CEO role, including three prior years with Reading Partners. Prior to being named CEO of Reading Partners, Ola provided leadership around the expansion and implementation of iMentor's college-success program, serving 10,000 pairs of students and their mentors nationally. In this role, she oversaw executive leadership in the Bay Area, Baltimore, Chicago, and New York City, and partnered with over 15 nonprofit organizations nationwide to ensure the effective application of iMentor's program. Before joining iMentor, Ola served as Reading Partners' chief regional operations officer, managing 14+ executive directors across the country. Prior to this, Ola served as executive director for Playworks for the Greater New York / Greater Newark region. Ola has also held program management and regional management roles at Kaplan and McGraw Hill. Ola earned her bachelor's degree from Oberlin college where she majored in English and African-American studies. In her spare time, Ola enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, traveling the world, and creating memories.
Aimee has been with Reading Partners since 2018 when she served a year as an AmeriCorps site coordinator. She received her bachelor's in international relations from Beloit College and her master's in international development from American University. Aimee has been committed to educational equity since her time at Beloit. There, she worked for the TRiO funded Student Excellence and Leadership Program supporting college students who are first-generation, low-income, and/or have learning disabilities. She is excited to continue working to support students across DC. When she isn't working, Aimee loves to spend her time with her cats (Goomba and Boo), going to concerts, or bargain shopping.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Webster Elementary
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
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- Senior Site Coordinator, Madison Park Academy
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- Director of Data and Evaluation
Alanna joined the Reading Partners team in February 2022. Alanna is a proud alumna of McGill University, where she majored in International Development and minored in Political Science and Social Entrepreneurship. After graduation, she moved to D.C. to serve as an AmeriCorps volunteer at Mary House, a transitional housing organization that works with immigrant and refugee families. There, Alanna served as a family advocate and oversaw the after school program. This experience helped her understand the pivotal role that organizations like Reading Partners play in supporting underserved children and strengthened her commitment to fighting for educational equity. Alanna most recently worked as a fundraising canvasser for the International Rescue Committee and the ACLU. Alanna is excited to use her energy, passion, and creativity to support Reading Partners as a Development Associate.
Job Titles:
- Corps Volunteer Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Retired Neurodevelopmental Pediatrician, Tutor at PS 38
Job Titles:
- Special Projects Associate
A Southern California native, Alina attended California State University, Northridge, where she received her B.A. in Psychology. Her passion for service and education led her to serve a term as an AmeriCorps member in Austin, Texas where she worked to advance family literacy, engaging with Spanish-speaking families and children daily. For her second term as an AmeriCorps member, Alina returned to Los Angeles to serve as a program coordinator with Reading Partners. During both of her service years, Alina loved working directly with families and students, and saw firsthand the positive effects of non-profit work, further cementing her desire to empower and serve communities. This year, Alina is excited to transition to the Reading Partners LA full-time staff as a special projects associate and to continue building resources to enhance Reading Partners' reach.
Job Titles:
- Bookkeeper, Carolina Custom Carpentry
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- Program Coordinator, Spring Valley Elementary
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Attorney, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Director
Allison is excited to lead the SFBA team's volunteer recruitment efforts to engage over 1,600 tutors for our region. She has developed a passion for volunteering and service after five years of managing education programming for a nonprofit in Thailand and Myanmar, teaching primary students in Ghana, West Africa, and serving with AmeriCorps teaching resettled refugees in San Diego. She joined Reading Partners in 2015 as a program manager in San Francisco, and is excited to share her love for the reading centers to community partners and new tutors. She has a bachelor's in human development and international studies from UC San Diego. Growing up, she loved solving mysteries with The Boxcar Children book series.
Amanda has devoted her entire professional career to public education, first as a classroom teacher in Memphis and Dallas and later as an instructional coach. In 2019, Amanda and her family moved from Dallas to Tulsa. Upon arrival, Amanda joined the Tulsa Reading Partners team as an AmeriCorps member, first as a literacy lead, and then as a site coordinator at McKinley Elementary and McClure Elementary. Amanda graduated from the University of Memphis with a bachelor's degree in elementary education and is currently pursuing a Masters in Library Science at OU-Tulsa.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Manager
Amber Martin, LMSW graduated from Grand View University with a bachelor's of liberal arts. In 2019, she graduated and received a master's in social work from the University of New England and became a licensed social worker in 2020. Amber is dedicated to and passionate about serving others; her passion for working with Reading Partners' students is due to her experience as a young struggling reader and having a volunteer similar to Reading Partners' tutors. Amber's area of expertise is in the design, implementation, and oversight of social, economic, and health-based programs fostering education and empowerment for individuals and communities.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Partner, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Amy grew up in Massachusetts, graduating from Dartmouth College and Northeastern University School of Law. She worked in the successful Senate campaign of Paul Tsongas and came to Washington. She returned to Massachusetts to work at the U.S. Department of Transportation before attending Northeastern. She practiced law as a public finance associate in the Boston law firm of Palmer & Dodge before returning to D.C. as the director of governmental affairs for the National Association of Bond Lawyers, representing municipal finance lawyers and working with state and local government organizations. Her focus was tax, securities, and federal/state law.
Amy retired from law, supporting various charitable organizations and volunteering at her daughter's schools including chairing events, committees, and the Parents' association, culminating in sitting on the Governing Board. For 4 years she has been volunteering 2 days a week with Reading Partners in different parts of the city, most recently at MLK Elementary in Anacostia. Working with her students is her weekday passion followed whenever possible by weekends in Massachusetts or Wintergreen, VA with her husband and daughter.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Senior Vice President at Lincoln Land Services, Co - Board Chair
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- Member of the Associate Board
- Director, Salesforce
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Jackson Elementary
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Ann Rakestraw is a Reading Partners tutor and the Board Engagement Committee Chair of the Reading Partners DC Board. A wearer of many hats and juggler of many balls, Ann is a lawyer; a strategist; a storyteller; and an entrepreneur. She launched Myriad PLLC, a firm focusing on law, strategy, and mediation, and co-founded Lost-Mountain Entertainment, a development company for original scripted television and feature films.
After clerking on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Ann began her legal career as a litigation associate at Williams & Connolly. In 2001, she moved to Verizon, where she worked as in-house counsel for 17 years, concentrating on regulatory and litigation matters. During 2019, Ann held various positions on the United States Presidential Campaign of John Delaney, including Communications Strategist, Legal Counsel, and Director of Human Resources and Volunteer Engagement.
Ann is a graduate of both the University of Virginia and University of Virginia School of Law. She and her husband, Steven Farina, live in Washington, DC with their three children.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools
Job Titles:
- Senior External Relations Manager
Annie hails from the foggy Bay Area, where she discovered a love of reading and storytelling at a young age. Shortly after receiving her B.A. in Communication Studies at UCLA, Annie chose to apply her passion for literacy to two terms of service with Reading Partners, first serving as a program coordinator at Wilshire Crest Elementary and then as a senior volunteer coordinator for the LA region. As a former member of both the program and community engagement teams, Annie currently applies her varied expertise to her role as Reading Partners Los Angeles' senior external relations manager. When she's not working, Annie can often be found at local LA cafes drinking coffee, chatting with friends, or -- you guessed it -- reading.
Ariana Vargas Development manager A San Jose native, Ariana enjoys combining her love for the Bay Area community and service into a meaningful career. She graduated from Saint Mary's College of California with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Spanish. Ariana was previously with the Golden State Warriors as a part of their Community Relations team. In her role, she was responsible for managing and executing all aspects of the Warriors' educational programming, including project conception and creation, identifying program delivery partners, and key stakeholder engagement with corporate, community, government, and school partners. Through her time with the Warriors, her passion for working with and for the community grew. Growing up Ariana's favorite children's book was Alice and Greta by Steven J. Simmons. Contact: ariana.vargas@readingpartners.org
Asha Farah is a former language arts teacher and Peace Corps volunteer. She received her master's degree in language, reading and culture from the University of Arizona where her focus was on literacy and second language acquisition. She's very excited about the mission of Reading Partners because she knows that individualized instruction is the key to unlocking children's potential and that volunteers help students build confidence and develop a love of reading.
Born and raised in the Midwest, Ashley moved to Oklahoma in 2007 where she went to the University of Oklahoma. After volunteering with the United Way in OKC tutoring elementary students, Ashley found her passion and joined Reading Partners Tulsa as an AmeriCorps site coordinator at Celia Clinton Elementary. From there Ashley, has been a regional site coordinator, program associate, and is now a program manager. Ashley graduated with her master's degree in public administration in 2018.
Job Titles:
- Senior Operations Manager
Ashley graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies (early childhood - fourth grade) and went on to teach in both public and charter schools for four and a half years. During her teaching career, she had the opportunity to work with students from second to fifth grade. While working as a fifth grade special education teacher, Ashley developed a passion for teaching reading and working with students one-on-one. Ashley helped launch Reading Partners in Dallas and is looking forward to continue helping Reading Partners have an impact on Dallas students.
Audrey Spencer has 15 years of experience as an international education professional specializing in programming and training for literacy, teacher training, STEM, and healthy youth practices that are grounded in inclusive and gender-equitable foundations. Audrey is the Education and Youth Practice Director and has provided technical assistance and thought leadership on development projects in Central Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific regions. Audrey has experience forging successful partnerships with Ministries of Education, research and training entities, civil society and grassroots stakeholders to design, implement and grow projects that consistently meet or exceed targets and prove to be sustainable. Audrey served as both staff and volunteer with Peace Corps (Belize 2005-2007, Uganda 2011-2015), as an elementary school principal, literacy specialist, and lead teacher as a founding educator with Aspire Public Schools in Los Angeles. She holds an MA in Education, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction, and a BS in Elementary Education.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Board Chair, We Stage It Right
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Partner
- Treasurer
Brad Creswell is partner and co-founder-NCA Partners, LLC, a leading Pacific Northwest based private equity firm with over 20 years of experience successfully partnering with entrepreneurs, business owners, and management teams. NCA Partners specializes in buying and building industrial services businesses in northwest North America and currently manages $150 million of equity invested in four portfolio companies. He is currently on the boards of two privately held portfolio companies, NC Services Group and PTW Energy Services, Ltd. and on the board of Northern Frontier Corporation, a publicly listed company on the TSX Venture exchange (Toronto Stock Exchange).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Chief Financial Officer, OpenAI
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Head of Financial Sponsors Group, William Blair & Company
Job Titles:
- President and GM of Blackbaud Corporate Solutions
Brandy is a North Tulsa native who has devoted her entire professional career to providing an outlet for less fortunate students. She first worked as a junior high band director in Pine Bluff, AR and an elementary music teacher and high school vocal music director in England, AR. In 2012, Brandy moved back to Tulsa from Arkansas. Upon her arrival in Tulsa, Brandy served as the vocal music director and marching band director at Central High School. Later, she returned to elementary education in one of Tulsa's newest Charter Schools, where she served as the music teacher and an instructional coach. She is now earning her second Master's Degree in Education Leadership. Brandy joined the Tulsa Reading Partners team as a program manager in July 2021.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- in 2016 As Community Engagement Coordinator
- Senior External Relations Manager
Brenna Peterson joined Reading Partners in 2016 as community engagement coordinator. She has previous experience with marketing, communications, and volunteer management, ranging from nonprofit work at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Tulsa to organic farming at Johnson's Backyard Garden in Austin, Texas. Brenna has a bachelor's degree in communication sciences and disorders (deaf education and deaf studies) from the University of Texas at Austin.
Brett has worked in education for the last few years, specializing in elementary literacy for the past year. He is excited to join Reading Partners as a program manager and bring his passion for education and reading to the team. Brett graduated from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English and religious studies before attending Princeton Theological Seminary for his master's of divinity. He then worked as a director of Christian education before relocating to Denver to pursue classroom education, most recently as a fellow at Rocky Mountain Prep. Brett loves hiking, skiing, and biking, and is an avid cook and traveler. He hopes to travel to all seven continents, but will, in all likelihood, omit Antarctica in the end.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director, Staffable Limited Uganda
Brettin studied Spanish language and literature at UNAM in Mexico City, graduated from Sacramento State with a bachelor's in English and a TESOL certification, and is currently pursuing a master's in public administration at OU Tulsa. Her connection to Reading Partners began with two AmeriCorps service years at Mark Twain elementary. Before returning to the team as a program manager, she taught English language and civics courses for immigrants and refugees at YWCA and coordinated diversity and inclusion programs at OCCJ. Her dream is that someday each student would have their culture and language represented positively in the classroom, along with the support they need in order to be successful in school and life. She loves spending time outdoors, trying new foods, practicing yoga, and (of course) reading.
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- National Director of Talent
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- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Twin Cities
Brooke has dedicated her professional career to the belief that education is the lever by which we will change the world and the future for low-income individuals. As a member of the College Possible leadership team, she developed strengths in program management, curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation. Through multiple promotions as the organization grew from one region to a national organization, she effectively led the creation of the college program from inception to implementation across multiple sites. In 2011, Brooke received the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Catalytic Leader Award.
Recognizing that reading is the foundation for educational success, Brooke took the opportunity to join Reading Partners as program director for the Twin Cities during its inaugural year in the region. She effectively led all programming and volunteer recruitment efforts, ensuring strong programmatic results for students, and helped Reading Partners Twin Cities more than double in size by year three. Brooke holds bachelor's degrees in anthropology and Spanish, with a minor in english literature from Bethel University. A lover of laughter, Brooke gets plenty of it as a mom to one year old Josie (named after Jo March in Little Women).
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator, Berkeley Maynard Academy
Camille Burke was born in Seattle, WA and grew up backpacking, skiing, and kayaking with friends and family. In 2015, she graduated from Kalamazoo College in Michigan with a double major in Spanish and Anthropology & Sociology. After graduation, Camille made the decision to serve a year of national service through the AmeriCorps City Year team in Detroit, MI and ultimately discovered her passion for being in the classroom and supporting students in order to reach their full potential. Camille continued her passion as a math and literacy intervention teacher and instructional supervisor in some of Chicago's private schools from 2015-2021. Camille strives to be an impactful leader, which she developed through DePaul University's Master of Public Administration program. Camille joined the Reading Partners Tulsa team in Fall 2021 as a Program Manager and is excited to share her passion for education and years of experience to the Reading Partners community!
Candace has always felt compelled to help students get the education they deserve and started with becoming a child sponsor. She then served two years with Reading Partners as an AmeriCorps member in North Texas. She remains highly dedicated to battling the educational inequities that some of our communities face and is committed to empowering communities through REDI work. Candace is excited to join the staff team and looks forward to continuing to motivate and inspire both our students and the community.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator, Rosa Parks
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Orchard Park Academy
Carly firmly believes that literacy is a human right and is passionate about the role early intervention plays in closing the literacy gap. Before joining the Reading Partners team, Carly served as a Program Manager at The Literacy Lab in Washington, DC. Prior to shifting to the nonprofit space, Carly spent six years as an elementary Special Education teacher and a second-grade teacher in the District of Columbia. Carly is an alumna of Teach For America and completed two years as a Corps Member in Washington, DC. She earned her Master's degree in Special Education from George Mason University and her Bachelor's degree in Political Science and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition, Carly enjoys cooking and playing with her rescue dog, Lemon.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Shenandoah Street Elementary
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
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- Community Volunteer
- Member of the Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Education Philanthropist
Cecilia was born and raised in Southern California. She attended San Francisco State University where she received her B.A. in Communicative Disorders and minored in Special Education. Her passion for education and literacy brought her to Reading Partners as a tutor in the Bay Area, and her desire to continue working with and being a role model for students from diverse backgrounds led her to serve three terms as an AmeriCorps program coordinator at Saturn Street Elementary. As an AmeriCorps member, Cecilia saw firsthand the positive impact Reading Partners had on the lives of the students and families she served. Cecilia continues to work towards closing the opportunity gap as a program manager with Reading Partners, managing six AmeriCorps members across the LA region.
graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a bachelor's degree in Biology and a minor in Psychology. She then joined Chicago Teaching Fellows and became a high school chemistry teacher through The New Teacher Project. During her five years in the public school system, Celene was a member of the school's instructional leadership team and led her science department in school-wide and departmental initiatives. She then transitioned into non-profit management and became a senior program manager and site director for two K-5 after-school programs located in the Little Havana community in Miami, FL. Celene is passionate about giving children the tools they need to succeed in educational settings and within communities.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Harris Park Elementary
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Los Angeles
Chloe Oliveras is a nonprofit professional with experience in both community-building and fundraising. She has a passion for education equity, which has brought her both into the classroom and beyond. In her time at Reading Partners, she has built a robust volunteer program and worked with a number of collective impact groups and local community organizations to build strong ties to the neighborhoods surrounding LA's Reading Partners tutoring centers. She has served on two Los Angeles young professional boards for reproductive rights organizations, as well as chaired Planned Parenthood LA's signature Bingo For Choice fundraiser. She's a proud University of Florida alum with a bachelor's degree in journalism and gender studies.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Chief Technology Officer, Lyft
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- National Director of Equity
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
Job Titles:
- Director of Community Engagement
has over 20 years of nonprofit management experience with an emphasis on volunteer engagement. Prior roles include serving as the executive director of Youth Service Charleston. She has worked extensively with outreach and volunteer support at MUSC Children's Hospital. Christine's passions for volunteerism, collaboration, and coordination have guided her gifts of time and talent to Hotline Training, the Trident United Way, the Mayor's Commission for Children, Youth and Families and the Community Volunteer Engagement System Organizing Committee to name a few. She is an enthusiastic and determined leader, skilled in developing a broad vision and cultivating excellent relationships with executives, community leaders, peers and volunteers. Ms. Messick holds a BA in English from the University of South Carolina and a certification in volunteer administration from the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Director
From Goosebumps to Harry Potter, reading has played a large role in Christine's life since childhood. She is thrilled to join the Reading Partners team and use her marketing and communications skills to positively impact Baltimore students and spread a love of reading. Christine comes to Reading Partners from the education company, Pearson, where she spent six years supporting publicity efforts for its full-time online public schools. Prior to this, Christine completed an AmeriCorps year of service with the Baltimore City Office of the Mayor's StepUP volunteerism initiative, organizing the Supper Club program in juvenile justice centers across the city. She earned a bachelor's degree from La Salle University and a master's degree in communication management from Towson University.
Chris Young recently joined Reading Partners as a program manager. Prior to this she worked for several Seattle area education nonprofits with a focus on reducing education disparities and increasing opportunity equity. Previous to her nonprofit work, Chris taught high school and middle school biology and math at a Seattle independent school for 13+ years. She holds a MEd degree in secondary science education and a BS degree in biology. Some of her professional interests include brain science, neurodiversity, and social emotional learning. Personally, she spends her time chauffeuring her two middle-school aged children around town while dreaming about riding her bike, reading books, playing soccer or baking pies.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Branch Manager, Supervisory Principal, Level Four Financial
Cierra is a graduate of College of Charleston, where she received her bachelor's degree in communication and minor in linguistics. She has dedicated her career to serving youth and education in Charleston County since 2009, as she is passionate about supporting dynamic organizations that work to change the lives of youth. Prior to Reading Partners she worked as a Children's Defense Fund Freedom School Servant Leader Intern. She later served three terms as an AmeriCorps* VISTA member under Charleston County Mayor's Office for Children, Youth and Families, as a volunteer coordinator and literacy site coordinator. In 2013, Cierra joined Reading Partners Charleston team as a site coordinator for Chicora Elementary Schoo l, and served there until the spring of 2016. Cierra is excited about her transition into a full-time position with Reading Partners, where she will work directly with AmeriCorps members to make their service year as meaningful as possible.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Longfellow Elementary
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Manager
Clara Monk Community engagement manager Clara Monk is thrilled to join the team permanently as Community Engagement Manager following her recent graduation from the FAO Schwarz Fellowship in social impact at Reading Partners NY. Clara graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Economics and Education Studies and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration at Baruch College. In addition to her work at Reading Partners, Clara is a dancer and repetiteur, standardized test tutor, and avid foodie.
Clarence is a California-based educator with a master's in teaching and a background in visual arts, music, and dance. He enjoys traveling, learning new languages, and spending time in nature. His favorite books are The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Professionally, he has dedicated his career to supporting student success - in the classroom as a first-grade teacher in Memphis, TN, abroad as a specialist teacher with EF Kids and Teens in Foshan, China, and through service with both the Peace Corps as a primary education specialist in Satun, Thailand, and AmeriCorps as a distance tutoring coordinator with Reading Partners in the San Francisco Bay Area, where you can still find him living and learning today!
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Think College Now
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in journalism and public relations. She spent over 15 years in the classroom, teaching language arts and geography. Courtney joined the Reading Partners staff in 2018 as a program manager and is currently serving as the director of program. She looks forward to continuing to serve students across Tulsa to increase reading proficiency and foster a love of literacy at an early age.
A native of Baltimore, Crystal was educated in Baltimore County Public School and attended Coppin State University, earning her bachelor's degree in psychology, minoring in early childhood education. She's worked with infants to kindergarteners in various education settings. Her work is not limited to children; she also mentors and trains volunteers. She joined Reading Partners as an AmeriCorps regional site coordinator, became staff as a program associate, and is now a program manager. As an educator, she realizes that literacy is the foundation for success in learning and life. She believes that to help someone succeed, you must provide the right care and attention. In addition to working with children, Crystal enjoys working with administrators, educators, specialists, parents, and the greater community; she believes that educating children is a collaborative effort.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Chair, Partner, Carrington, Coleman, Sloman, & Blumenthal LLP
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Founding Partner of Brooklands Capital Strategies
Dan Carroll is a founding partner of Brooklands Capital Strategies and an acknowledged pioneer in the Asian private equity industry. Prior to forming Brooklands, Mr. Carroll was a Partner of TPG Capital, joining the firm in 1995 when he co-founded TPG's Asian investing business, formerly Newbridge Capital. Over 15 years, Mr. Carroll built the firm's Asia-based investment team to 40 professionals in seven offices and was responsible for raising five investment funds with $7 billion in committed capital. Prior to joining TPG, Mr. Carroll spent nine years with Hambrecht & Quist Asia Pacific, a pioneer in the Asian private equity industry. Mr. Carroll holds a bachelor's in economics from Harvard University and a master of business administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Region Manager, Western Region at Vector Marketing / Cutco Cutlery
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
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- Member of the Advisory Board
- Managing Principal, Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Corporate Partner, Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel, LLP
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Health Care Sales, North America, Linkedin
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Co - Head, Americas Acquisitions
Job Titles:
- DC 's External Relations Director
- External Relations Director
Davita Louie is Reading Partners DC's external relations director. In this role, she is charged with leading regional fundraising strategy as well as building community engagement solutions in order to drive impact to the organization, and ultimately, the students it serves. Prior to joining Reading Partners, she directed strategy for a portfolio of nonprofit clients at Elevate, working in areas such as youth development, college access, and workforce readiness. Davita also served as the Partnership Development Director for the digital inclusion nonprofit EveryoneOn and as the Director of Business Development and Consulting for the DC-based food incubator Union Kitchen. Davita holds a master's degree from the SIT Graduate Institute where she specialized in Social Sector Innovation and Management and International Education. Passionate about the power of mentorship and education, Davita has enjoyed volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters, College Bound, and Reading Partners! An avid traveller, nothing makes her happier than exploring new places and cultures.
Dawn received her Bachelor's degree in Business from West Virginia Wesleyan College. After working in retail for many years, she used her business acumen to serve the non-profit sector. She has worked for several small and large nonprofits such as Planned Parenthood, Trident United Way, and Pet Helpers strategizing their growth and development plans. The mission of Reading Partners has her excited to work on raising funds to help elementary school children within the Lowcountry.
Job Titles:
- Chief Knowledge Officer
- Member of the Executive Team
Since July 2011, Dean has guided Reading Partners' curriculum, program development, and evidence-based practices, including the design and oversight of pilot programs as well as internal and external evaluations. He is committed to improving the lives of children in under-resourced neighborhoods, and for the past 21 years has held various roles in nonprofit leadership, program development and evaluation, and K-12 data analysis and policy. He is a Board member of the OMNI Institute in Denver, and has past experience in advisory roles for nonprofit and city-wide data and evaluation boards in Massachusetts. Dean has a joint MA degree from Tufts University in child development and urban & environmental policy and a BA degree in political science from Duke University. He is a lucky husband and proud father of two wonderful children.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Teacher, Fort Worth ISD
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
Job Titles:
- Communications Manager
- Communications Specialist
Devika Strother is a communications specialist who is passionate about storytelling on behalf of non-profit organizations with missions that make an impact on marginalized communities. A Maryland native, she has held various communications roles with consulting firms and non-profit organizations in the DMV, most recently serving as Communications Manager for an affordable housing non-profit organization. Devika has a Bachelor's degree from Salisbury University in Journalism and Public Relations. She enjoys writing, swimming, gardening, traveling, reading, and sipping coffee.
Diana Martinez graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a bachelor's degree in English and Sociology. She spent two years teaching kindergarten in Dallas ISD and seeks to use her classroom experience to impact a larger community. As a first-generation college student and someone who experienced a lot of challenges in education, Diana believes that all students should have access to an equitable education. Diana currently holds a master's in Education from Southern Methodist University and is dedicated to making education more equitable for students.
Diane Mooney is serving her eighth year on the board of trustees of the independent Maret School, Washington, D.C. and has held numerous other volunteer positions at the school. Diane is also in her seventh year as an English as a second language instructor at the nonprofit Washington English Center in Washington, D.C., where she also serves on the board of directors. She previously served for a number of years on the board of directors for the Chevy Chase Recreation Association. Diane is an avid supporter of and has served as a volunteer tutor with Reading Partners in three Washington, D.C. elementary schools since 2013.
Diane grew up in Princeton, New Jersey and received her Bachelor of Arts cum laude in communications/journalism from the University of Washington in Seattle. She also holds a certificate in French language and civilization from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. Diane continued her education at the George Washington University National Law Center where she received her juris doctorate and is licensed to practice law in Washington D.C. and New Jersey. Diane went on to work in telecommunications law for 14 years, including private practice in Washington, D.C. Prior to her law career; she worked as a journalist for the Associated Press in Seattle. Diane and her husband, Frank Pietrantonio, live in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and are the parents of three adult children.
Job Titles:
- Principal, Pinehurst Elementary School
Diego Torres Diaz grew up in Germantown, Maryland, and attended the University of Maryland - College Park, where he studied Cell Biology & Genetics. During his time in college, he discovered a passion for service and community empowerment through volunteer programs at local elementary schools. His journey in service continued as an AmeriCorps member with a non-profit advocacy group in Baltimore in 2018-2019 and Reading Partners DC during the 2019-2020 school year. During his two service years, he experienced the profound impact a community can have on the literacy potential of its youth. Diego is excited to return to Reading Partners as a program manager and continue his commitment to education equity.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Equity and Belonging for Teach for America
Dr. Barbara Logan Smith has dedicated twenty years of service to building capacity and has contributed to the development of business executives, administrative leaders, educators, college students, and K-12 children across the country. Her roots as an educator began while serving elementary students in Milwaukee Public Schools. Her tenure involved a myriad of roles, including K-8 school administrator, classroom teacher, Title I teacher, technology teacher, programs implementer, and district trainer for efficacy, quality, and proficiency programs. Dr. Logan Smith served as vice president for the Efficacy Institute, a national nonprofit agency of education reform, dedicated to the mission of proficiency for all children in academics and character. In this role, she was responsible for the strategic development of training, marketing, and client management services. During her employment with the Institute, she trained approximately 10,000 teachers, certified over 200 teacher and parent trainers, and prepared more than 3,000 students to serve change agents in their schools through the Envoy Project, an Efficacy youth leadership program. Dr. Logan Smith served as the executive director of Teach for America Greater Delta: Mississippi & Arkansas.
Currently, Dr. Logan Smith serves as chief of equity and belonging for Teach for America where she continues to fight for educational equity and excellence for all children. Dr. Logan Smith also facilitates training seminars for rising corporate executives and diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has trained approximately 1,500 participants from Edward Jones, The Partnership of Boston, Nestle Purina, St Louis Chamber of Commerce, and St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative. After earning an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and graduating cum laude with her B.S. degree in Education (K-8) and Psychology from Lakeland College, she earned her Ph.D. from the School of Education at Cardinal Stritch University in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service. She has also served as adjunct faculty, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership, management, and business for the university. She lives with her husband, Christopher, an executive coach with higher education and adult learning expertise and Ph.D. Candidate, in Jackson, Mississippi.
Job Titles:
- Owner and Founder, Green Consulting
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Senior Regional Program Coordinator, Sherman
- Senior Regional Program Coordinator, Tenderloin
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Associate General Counsel, Privacy @ Meta
Elisabeth grew up in Maryland and DC and attended Boston University, studying Theatre Arts and African American Studies. She has previously worked in youth development focused on art and mentorship. Elisabeth loves dancing, cooking, and painting. Her favorite author is Elif Shafak.
Job Titles:
- Special Projects Associate
Elise is thrilled to begin work at Reading Partners as Seattle's special projects associate. She is passionate about working within the field of education and incorporating a trauma-informed approach into her life professionally and personally. She just finished an AmeriCorps term working with the International Rescue Committee and is excited to continue to work with and support other AmeriCorps members. Outside of work she enjoys cooking, hiking, and trying (and failing) to rock climb.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Managing Director at Seven Bridges Advisors, LLC
Elizabeth Weaver Engel has been volunteering with Reading Partners since 2016 and is honored to have been invited to join the board for 2018-2019. By day, Elizabeth is a membership strategy consultant for tax-exempt membership associations. She founded Spark Consulting in 2012, after 15 years in the association industry. Although she's worked with and for a wide variety of membership organizations, she's always had a special affinity for associations in the education space and associations that focus on children and young people. Elizabeth is a certified association executive and holds a master's degree in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Tutor at PS 171
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
A Tulsa native, Emily graduated from Oklahoma State University with degrees in Spanish, Family Relations and Child Development. She then headed to the mountains of Colorado to get her master's degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University. Emily has worked with children in education, health care and non-profit organizations for over 20 years. She joined the Reading Partners team to merge her experience in fundraising and development with her passion for education. She has served on the board for the Tulsa Debate League and currently serves on the Edison Foundation board. Emily enjoys meeting new people and relationship building.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator
Emma is rejoining her hometown Seattle community after time in the Bay Area as a barista and private tutor. Having graduated from Whitman College in 2019 with a degree in both English Literature and Theatre, she strongly believes in the power of community and storytelling-and what a better way to manifest those beliefs than working with Reading Partners Seattle helping kids become avid readers and storytellers in turn. In addition to her passion for literature, Emma loves to cook and bake (and share!).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Associate, Network Improvement Science, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
For more than 15 years, the Emmy nominated producer has played a role in some of the District of Columbia's most groundbreaking media moments. He served as executive director of the District of Columbia Office of Cable Television (OCT) for over eight years and spearheaded the acquisition and renovation of OCT's permanent home in the former BET studios. Proficient in managing large-scale projects, media productions, budgets, and contracts, he has had a career that includes time as the director of broadcast services at Howard University's PBS station WHUT-TV, serving as executive producer of Evening Exchange with Kojo Nnamdi, and contributing to the development and direction of such shows as The Tavis Smiley Show, Moneywise with Kelvin Bolston, and White House Chronicles. Currently, he is the vice president of programming and production for the Public Access Corporation and continues to create content in a myriad of other media outlets.
Job Titles:
- Founder of the Schultz Group, Eric
Founder of The Schultz Group, Eric is adept in advising clients from all spheres - political, financial, technology, entertainment - on how to navigate the intertwined media and political landscape. After leaving his position as Deputy Press Secretary and Special Assistant to the President during the Obama administration in 2017, one of Eric's first steps was to jump into the role of Reading Partners tutor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Development, Child Poverty Action Lab
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Manager
Erika Brosnihan Community engagement manager Erika grew up in Woodbridge, Virginia and attended George Mason University where she majored in conflict analysis and resolution. She discovered her passion for service and education while volunteering in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. This fueled her desire to give back to her own community in the United States and successfully complete four years of AmeriCorps service, two years with City Year and two years with Reading Partners as a site coordinator. Her favorite children's book is the Sky of Afghanistan.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Associate General Counsel, Meta
Erika joined Reading Partners in 2018 as a site coordinator at Columbine Elementary. She is passionate about educational equity and continuing to improve our program to be the very best for our students! Originally from Massachusetts, Erika has a bachelor's degree in linguistics from Northeastern University. In addition to working with Reading Partners, Erika coaches synchronized swimming, and in her spare time she enjoys hiking, swimming, baking, and hanging out with her husband.
Erin Schulz has a lifelong love of learning and a passion for literacy equity. After she graduated from Macalester College, where she majored in Creative Writing and Education, she taught English Language Arts and AVID to students in the beautiful Yakima Valley. She's excited to be part of the Reading Partners team in the Twin Cities because she's seen the impact strong reading skills can have on a child's whole educational journey. If you want to spark a conversation with her, asking what she's reading now is guaranteed to work!
Raised in Massachusetts, Ethan Niyangoda moved to the Pacific Northwest to attend the University of Oregon. Passionate about science and the outdoors, he pursued a degree in Geology. His commitment to promoting equity and social justice encouraged him to join AmeriCorps, spending his first year serving in San Jose, CA. This inspired his adoration and advocacy for the public school system, which encouraged him to serve with Reading Partners Seattle. Ethan enjoys music, reading, listening to podcasts, history, and doing fun things outside.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Philanthropy, Golden State Warriors Foundation
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Para Los Niños Elementary
Job Titles:
- Regional Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Jean Parker
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Hamilton Elementary
Job Titles:
- External Relations Director
is a development professional with a strong commitment to social justice and education equity in the Twin Cities. He believes that a love of reading can unlock the potential to become powerful self-advocates and lifelong learners. Prior to joining Reading Partners, Graham worked in development in the realm of college access and success with College Possible. Originally from Seattle, Graham earned his bachelor's degree from Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN.
Job Titles:
- Community Member
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- Director of Financial Planning & Analysis ( FP & a )
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Manager, Recruitment
Haley Biram Community engagement manager, Recruitment Haley is a Tulsa native and graduated from the University of Tulsa in Nonprofit Business and Arts Management. Joining the Reading Partners team in 2020, Haley leads all volunteer recruitment efforts for the Tulsa region and oversees community engagement initiatives and partnerships. Coming from Gathering Place as their volunteer program manager, Haley contributed to the launch and coordination of the park's volunteer program for two years. Prior to Gathering Place, Haley was the education and public programs manager at the Hardesty Arts Center for five years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Manager
Hannah Belich Community engagement manager Hannah joined the Reading Partners team in 2019 as a volunteer coordinator. Her passion for education and civic engagement made Reading Partners a perfect fit. After her service year with Reading Partners, Hannah worked for the University of Colorado Denver as a recruiter, managing a portfolio of 5 in-state institutions and students from thirteen additional states. Hannah looks forward to continuing partnership cultivation in higher education and leveraging these connections to advance our tutor pipeline and partnership growth. In her new role as community engagement manager, Hannah will use her years of recruiting experience and knowledge of the Colorado education landscape to attract diverse and motivated tutors. Hannah holds a bachelor's degree in Business Hospitality from Colorado Mesa University and is a proud Denver native. When she's not recruiting new volunteers, you can find Hannah hiking, reading, and exploring new places.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Associate
Harris is committed to improving the educational experience of schools and students nationwide. He currently serves as the CEO of E-Therapy, a market leading tele-therapy company, providing speech tele-therapy services to schools and students across America. He has an extensive history of working with, and building, new businesses across several markets, including education technology, mobile applications, and interactive media. He is an active investor in the early stage technology market. He previously worked as the CFO/CDO of a $100M mobile media company; Motorola, where he launched mobile solutions worldwide; and IllinoisVentures, a seed technology venture capital fund. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business and a MA & BA in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Harry Jaffe has been a reporter for over five decades, covering the local Washington region, honing in on politics, true crime, and media. As Washingtonian's national editor from 1990 on, he won many awards for investigative feature writing. Harry's exposé of toxic waste pits from World War I in DC's Spring Valley triggered a $300-million ongoing cleanup. With WRC-TV reporter Tom Sherwood, Harry co-authored Dream City: Race, Power and the Decline of Washington, DC, the definitive account of Washington's emergence as a world-class city, with Marion Barry as the main character. Harry also collaborated with school reformer Michelle Rhee on Radical, her memoir and take on education in America. He followed that by collaborating with former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Michael Kelly, her astronaut husband, in their book ENOUGH; Our Fight to Keep America Safe from Gun Violence. Harry's work has been published in Playboy, Yahoo News, Men's Health, Harper's, Esquire, and newspapers from the San Francisco Examiner to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
As an educator, Harry started lecturing at Georgetown University in 1984 and became an assistant professor of media studies at American University. In 1986, he taught journalism and media at the American University in Rome.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Investment Analyst, Real Estate, Kemnay Advisory
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, SF Bay Area
Hector Ramon Salazar M. Ed. Executive director, SF Bay Area Considered a key advisor and subject matter expert on account management, brand visibility, and nonprofit leadership, Hector has established himself as a true bridge-builder in the movement for educational equity. As a fervent pacesetter for mission-driven organizations, his professional efforts have landed him extensive experience in partnering alongside school eco-systems to impact change. He has over a decade of experience developing, managing, and implementing programs targeted at the advancement of underserved groups. Hector has led partnerships with multiple local and nationwide organizations including BACR, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, YMCA, and City Year. In his previous roles with Revolution Foods, Playworks, and most recently Eye to Eye National, Hector built lasting partnerships with multiple institutions with a shared goal of designing programmatic advancement relating to outcomes, impact, and user experience while enhancing leadership, school climate, and action planning. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Oakland, California's Holy Names University (HNU). Hector is a family man first, spending his free time laughing through life with his wife and four children. Contact: hector.salazar@readingpartners.org
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Development and External Relations Director
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Oakland, Hong graduated from Cal State East Bay with a BS in Hospitality, Recreation, and Tourism. He is proud to have come up through Oakland public schools, and graduated from Oakland Senior High School. Before joining Reading Partners, Hong worked at the Oakland Ed Fund where his love of development began, as development manager before transitioning to a major gifts officer, where he qualified, identified, cultivated, and solicited prospects through extensive local work. Working for the Reading Partners is his chance to realize his dream of tying career to roots, of giving back to the community where he grew up riding the BART from west to deep east and attending the very schools he is working to support today. He looks forward to continuing to serve the Bay Area and the opportunity to develop a successful business here. When he is not at work, Hong loves spending time with his wife and two daughters, traveling, and eating out, or cheering on his favorite sports team, the Golden State Warriors! His favorite book to read to kids is Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin.
Ian has more than thirty years of broadcast journalism experience, with 20 years in senior news management positions. Most recently, Ian was executive producer of ABC News' This Week, the network's leading in-depth political news and interview program. Prior to joining This Week, he was senior producer for broadcasts including ABC World News with Charles Gibson, ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and CBC's flagship nightly news and current affairs program, The National. Before taking on news management positions, Ian spent five years between 1988 and 1992 as a news documentary producer for The Journal, covering major national and international events.
Ian Cameron served for six years on the Reading Partners board in Washington, DC. In his two years as board chair, Ian worked to adopt new fundraising strategies, increase the size of the board, and begin annual board retreats. Ian is also a Reading Partners tutor. In addition to his commitment to Reading Partners, Ian is a trustee on the Ford's Theatre board and The Maret School board, a K-12 independent school in Washington, DC. Ian lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two children.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Associate
India Matthews Community engagement associate A native to Washington, DC, India received her bachelor's from Frostburg University where she studied psychology. After graduating, India teetered on the fence between continuing her schooling in counseling or becoming a teacher. To figure out her life plan, India joined Reading Partners as an AmeriCorps member. She spent her first year as a Literacy Lead and her second year as a Regional Site Coordinator. Now she is excited to join the staff at Reading Partners with the knowledge she brings from within the schools we serve.
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Isis is very excited to work with Reading Partners and puts great value on their previous experience working with Americorps. They graduated from the University of Washington in 2017 with a degree in Psychology, and have a strong passion for supporting the socio-emotional development of every child they meet. Their first job was through AmeriCorps working with Jumpstart, in which they went to preschools with a team and helped develop their vocabulary to prepare them for elementary school. It was one of the best experiences they've had and set them on the path they are now. After Jumpstart, they worked as a Flower Fairy, bringing joy to children while taking them on magical adventures and leading art projects.
Job Titles:
- Senior Regional Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Senior Volunteer Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Associate
Jake Saltzberg Community engagement associate, recruitment From healthcare to education, Jake is passionate about community service and improving community access to vital resources. Jake began working with communities through public health research positions at UPMC Pinnacle Community Paramedicine and the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation, where he supported research to find innovative solutions to reduce hospital readmission and connect patients to services. Jake also supported modernization efforts for nonprofit organizations as an intern with Ellipsis Partners. He earned his bachelor's degree in International Business and Management from Dickinson College.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Chief Executive Officer, Attune Insurance
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Partner, EY
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Board Chair, Managing Partner, Keenan Capital
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Bella Vista
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Manager
- Milpitas Program Manager
As the San Jose and Milpitas program manager, Jeannette Lee supports a team of AmeriCorps members with running and maintaining successful reading centers and school partnerships. After first tutoring with Reading Partners NYC for three years and then serving two AmeriCorps terms with Silicon Valley, Jeannette understands what is needed for effective one-to-one tutoring from multiple viewpoints. Originally from New York City, Jeannette holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and enjoys hitting the gym, traveling and exploring, and simply passing the time with great company and food.
Jeffrey is the award-winning author of three novels - Almost Snow White, Hating Heidi Foster, and The Emancipation of Evan Walls. He is also an Emmy award-winning television director and a 2016 inductee to the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. During a 34-year career at NBC News, Jeffrey directed a decade of Meet The Press, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and major special events. He was a contributor for HuffPost and has been published in The Washington Post, The Grio.com and other publications, commenting on issues of race, social justice, and writing. He is also an award-winning documentary scriptwriter for films and interactives on display in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture among other notable museums and exhibitions.
In 2017 and 2018, Jeffrey served as Journalist in Residence and Shapiro Fellow at the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. Jeffrey earned his university's alumni achievement award - the VCU Alumni Star - for his professional achievements as a director at NBC, scriptwriter, and author. He also serves as a member of the advisory board at the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University, his alma mater.
Born and raised in Smithfield, Virginia, he now lives in Washington, DC.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Regional College & Career Director, Northern California, CollegeTrack
Jenese Jones Oden has been a staunch advocate for equality through the lens of educational, political advocacy, and community development for over nineteen years. A 7th generation Marylander, she has a sincere passion for empowering and equipping underserved populations through leadership development and targeted skill-building opportunities. After graduating from Clark Atlanta University, she spent two years as a Teach for America Corps member in Saint Louis, Missouri and committed ten additional years to serving our nation's youth on the front lines as an inspirational educator and change agent for at-risk youth. Jenese's commitment to eradicating educational inequity has fueled her leadership roles over the last decade. She served as the executive director of MarylandCAN and was a policy advisor fellow in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) under Secretary Arne Duncan. Jenese enjoys literacy and is a certified Orton Gillingham Instructor and supports students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and executive function challenges. Her leadership extends to serving on the board of Capital Village Public Charter School in Washington, DC. She is excited to join the Reading Partners team.
Ever since moving to LA and joining the Reading Partners team in 2014, Jenna has been dedicated to the Reading Partners mission and feels deeply connected to the Los Angeles community. Jenna started out running a Reading Partners tutoring center as an AmeriCorps program coordinator. She felt passionately not only about her students and volunteers, but about improving and growing the program to best serve as many students as possible. As deputy program director, Jenna is able to do this for all Reading Partners schools across LA and is responsible for ensuring students across the region are meeting their literacy goals. Before joining Reading Partners, Jenna became interested in literacy and educational equity while volunteering at a school in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Prior to that, she had worked doing research in several language acquisition labs and earned her degree in Psychology and Linguistics at Cornell University.
A seasoned elementary school educator, Jenna prides herself on her focus on equitable treatment and consideration for all students through strategic partnerships, relationships, and ethical decision-making practices. Jenna joins Reading Partners after more than seven years of experience teaching within Baltimore City Public Schools and in Accra, Ghana. As a program manager, she is excited to continue supporting Baltimore students and collaborate within the nonprofit community in a new capacity. Jenna earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Goucher College. Outside of Reading Partners, she loves to cook and believes that food is one of the best ways to learn and connect with people and communities.
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- Managing Director of National Programs
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Officer
Jennifer's journey in education began as a Teach for America corps member serving in Denver, Colorado immediately after completing her undergraduate studies at Knox College. After completing her two-year commitment and earning an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado-Denver, she taught another four years before transitioning into the multifaceted role of instructional coach, family liaison, and manager of a 21st Century Community Learning Center at her school. Jennifer also spent time in the world of education policy, serving as an Urban Leaders Fellow in Dallas and as a policy analyst with the New Mexico Public Education Department. She is an avid reader and loves seeing a love of reading grow in the students we serve. Contact: jennifer.quick@readingpartners.org
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Jessica has over 20 years of experience in the non-profit and education sectors. She comes into the chief of staff role after almost a decade on staff at Reading Partners. She joined Reading Partners in 2011 and has helped grow the organization in various leadership roles on the national development, development operations, and regional operations teams. Prior to Reading Partners, Jessica spent seven years at Teach For America in roles on the national growth strategy and development, and Bay Area teams where she supported 50 regional teams to grow fundraising to $150M+. During her career, she has coached and trained over 300+ executive directors and development staff members on strategic planning, fundraising, development operations, revenue forecasting, and sustainability. Her passion for educational equity was fueled when she entered the field of education in 2000, when she taught third graders in Atlanta. She holds a bachelor's in English from the University of Michigan. Jessica lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband and two daughters, where they enjoy live music, cooking without recipes, traveling, and learning mindfulness and meditation practices.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
A Baltimore native, Jessica first discovered her passion for working with children during her service as a Reading Partners AmeriCorps member in 2018. She continued serving as an AmeriCorps member for three service terms, supporting students, tutors, and staff at Holabird Academy, piloting Reading Partners Connects online tutoring program, and holding leadership positions within her AmeriCorps cohort. Jessica most recently served the Baltimore community as a full-time tutor with the Success For All Foundation, tutoring with the Lightning Squad. She is excited to return to Reading Partners Baltimore and support AmeriCorps members as a program associate.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Tutor Advisory Council Chair
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Partner, Kelly Hart
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Account Manager, Dealogic
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Manager, Operations
Jonathan Merkel Community engagement manager, Operations A native Oklahoman, Jonathan ventured west to Denver in 2014. There he began volunteering with Reading Partners. Since his first session, he has gone on to serve two years as a reading center coordinator at Garden Place Academy in Denver's Globeville neighborhood, and with Reading Partners Tulsa's community engagement team since 2017. While not working to help students in their learning, Jonathan enjoys playing sandlot baseball, being a hack writer, cooking, his cat Cleo, and "wandering in the hinterlands" of eastern Oklahoma.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Dora Moore ECE - 8 School
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Seattle
Joyce's more than two decades in education have been centered around the belief that all young people deserve to be successful in their education and that a high-quality education is key to an equitable society. Joyce is honored to join Reading Partners as the executive director of our Seattle region and to lead an incredibly devoted and talented team. Most recently, Joyce served as the senior director of partnerships at an educational non-profit organization, Unbounded. As a founding team member, she led business development and school district partnerships for more than six years, significantly growing the organization's impact on the field every year. Before this, Joyce worked at the Regents Research Fund in New York State, guided by the vision of Former U.S. Secretary of Education, John King. Joyce began her career in education as a Teach For America corps member in St. John Parish, Louisiana teaching reading to high school students.
Joyce lives in Seattle with her family and has loved watching her daughter develop a love for and an understanding of how to read. In their free time, they love to travel, explore the Pacific Northwest, and settle in for Friday family movie nights.
Job Titles:
- Regional Program Coordinator, Bessie Carmichael
Job Titles:
- Associate VP of Membership Engagement, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
Job Titles:
- Chief Development Officer
- Member of the Executive Team
Karen joined Reading Partners in 2015. She served as the senior executive director for the Washington, DC region prior to joining the national team as the chief development officer. She brings over 15 years of experience leading high-performing teams in the nonprofit sector, driven by the desire to create educational equity for students. Early in her career, she was a teacher and served as an AmeriCorps member in Washington, DC with Higher Achievement, an academic enrichment program for middle school students. She stayed with Higher Achievement for five years after her AmeriCorps term as the organization prepared for national expansion. Most notably, she created Higher Achievement's volunteer management department from the ground up and co-authored the organization's signature culture policy.
Before joining Reading Partners, Karen served as a program manager at Family Services of Western PA, where she was responsible for leading her teams to exceed statewide service-delivery goals and secured major, multi-year funding for the organization. Additionally, she managed a consulting practice for nonprofit and government entities, working primarily to develop systems for volunteer management, training, and HR management. Karen has a bachelor's degree in education and a master's in business administration from The George Washington University with concentrations in organizational development and nonprofit management. She is a volunteer reading partner and a former advisory board member for Higher Achievement.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Community Volunteer / Colin Whitenack, Colin & Co
Karla Gurley is a passionate educator, teacher, and leader with a strong love for students, reading, and people. She has over a decade of experience in the classroom and five years of international teaching experience in Shanghai, China. She graduated from UT Arlington in 2017 with an M.A. in Education, Leadership, and Policy Studies and received her B.A. in Social Work from Georgia State University in 2005. It is her desire to see all students, no matter their background, be successful in the classroom and stir in them a love for reading!
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- Director of National Service
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director, Family Advocacy and Community Engagement
Job Titles:
- Program Operations Manager
Kathy Lee is the Program Operations Manager at Reading Partners. Prior to Reading Partners, Kathy was a middle school math teacher in Phoenix, Arizona, and most recently, worked for a nonprofit in DC doing human rights work across the world. Kathy has her Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor's of Arts in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA. She grew up in Phoenix and has been living in DC for four years. She is excited to be working closely with the Reading Partners team and community!
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Joe Shoemaker School
Since 2013, Kayla has followed her passion for community empowerment and educational equity in the non-profit sector. She is a two-time AmeriCorps alumnus and served as Foster Grandparent Program project director at Jumpstart, where she trained older adult volunteers to help preschoolers from underserved communities build foundational language, literacy, and social-emotional skills. At Reading Partners, Kayla manages a portfolio of AmeriCorps members to deliver exceptional literacy programming with an emphasis on tutor training and support. Kayla is a San Diego Native, a proud UC Berkeley golden bear, and enjoys road trips, camping, and of course, reading.
Job Titles:
- Senior Executive Director, South Carolina
Kecia received her bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Georgia and received her master's in elementary education from Boston University. She has experience in corporate adult training and management consulting and taught elementary school in the public schools in Massachusetts. She has served as a curriculum and technology integration specialist for public schools in Massachusetts. She was school improvement chair for Berkeley County schools 2009-2011. Prior to joining Reading Partners, Kecia was the executive director of Charleston Volunteers for Literacy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Team
- Chief Talent & Equity Officer
- Professional Coach
- Talent Specialist
Kelli Doss, a talent specialist and a professional coach, has spent her career focused on serving youth, communities, and urban education systems in Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Prior to joining Reading Partners, Kelli served as chief talent and equity officer for iMentor. In her role, she developed key organizational strategies focusing on performance management, internal talent recruitment, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and organizational culture building. Kelli leverages her professional experiences to help individuals refine and develop their leadership competencies and management practices and supports teams to improve interpersonal dynamics and build interrelational trust.
Kelli received her undergraduate degree from Howard University and her J.D. from Tulane Law School. Following law school, Kelli worked as a law clerk for two years in Minneapolis, where she focused on tackling critical community issues. She launched her nonprofit career with the Children's Defense Fund and developed and managed youth programs for the National Black Child Development Institute and the Harlem Community Justice Center. After that, Kelli honed her skills in recruitment and selection, human resources, and partnership development in education organizations including New Leaders for New Schools and the NYC Department of Education. Kelli also worked for Education Pioneers as the managing director of the New York/New Jersey office and subsequently vice president of human assets.
Job Titles:
- Development Special Projects Associate
Kelli received her bachelor's degree in Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies from the University of Mississippi. After college, she served one year with AmeriCorps as the program coordinator at Keep Knoxville Beautiful in Tennessee. She developed an interest in the public sector and wanted to learn more about working in nonprofits and government. She recently graduated from a concurrent graduate program at the College of Charleston, earning one master's degree in Public Administration and another in Environmental and Sustainability studies. During graduate school, Kelli worked as an environmental educator with the Department of Natural Resources, and she is excited to continue serving students in the Lowcountry with Reading Partners.
Kelly brings over a decade of education and leadership experience to Reading Partners. Prior to her role as Program Director, Kelly was a Reading Partners Program Manager in the South Carolina region. In this role, she had an opportunity to work with schools to implement the Reading Partners Program and saw great gains among the students that were served. Even before that she was an elementary school principal in a Title 1 school, had experience teaching grades K-5 during her tenure as an elementary school teacher, and also helped create and lead an alternative education program that she named LEAP (Learning Everyday Accelerates Progress). Kelly has earned two Bachelor of Science degrees, the first from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Education of Exceptional Persons and the second from the Pennsylvania State University in Elementary Education. Kelly also holds a Master of Science Degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Francis University. Kelly has been certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and South Carolina Department of Education and holds Administrative II and Principal Certificates for PK-12 in both states. Kelly's deep passion for learning, education, leadership, equity, and equality is what drives her to make a difference in the communities we serve.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Crescent Heights Elementary
values education and has a passion for advancing youth across multiple platforms. She is a Reading Partners North Texas Alum (2013-2015) and a former middle school English teacher and grade level administrator. She transitioned from the classroom to pursue nonprofit management within the Dallas communities. Kendra holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Sam Houston State University, a master's in Juvenile Forensic Psychology from Prairie View A&M University, and a master's in Nonprofit Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport. She is devoted to making an impact on the lives of youth and helping them reach their greatest potential.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Tutor at PS 123
Job Titles:
- Pearson in 2016 As the President for North America
Kevin Capitani joined Pearson in 2016 as the President for North America. Kevin has been a driving force behind redefining what it means to put the customer at the center of an increasingly digital/services business. He is leading Pearson North America's digital transformation to ensure customers have a better teaching and learning experience. His background is in developing collaborative teams and fostering growth in customer-focused businesses. Kevin has a history of managing and leading in global, highly matrixed technology organizations.
Prior to Pearson, Kevin spent more than 20 years at SAP. He started as a functional consultant implementing software before becoming a global support manager for complex implementation and strategic consulting, including business and sales strategy development.
Throughout his career, he has worked with Fortune 500 companies across multiple geographies and industries, and he's managed large field-based sales teams. He has also had a variety of leadership positions, focusing on building and managing the most complex customer relationships. Kevin received his degree from the University of California Berkeley.
More than anything, Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife, Carol, and their two daughters, Carmen and Tatum. Every day they remind him that there is always something new to learn, and he's excited to be a part of a company that believes that too.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Manager
Keyna Anyiam Community engagement manager, operations Keyna is a seasoned network engagement professional with a multidisciplinary background in city and state government, private sector, and non-profit organizations, spanning ten years. As the community engagement manager, she will manage the onboarding and training for volunteer tutors, facilitate the retention and recruitment of community partners, and report critical volunteer insights throughout the Baltimore region. Keyna is no stranger to Reading Partners Baltimore, having served as a volunteer in 2014. She is excited to come back and find new ways to work with the community to close the literacy opportunity gap. Keyna earned her bachelor's in Political Science from Saint Francis University.
graduated from Northwood University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. While completing her degree, Kim decided to dedicate her career to organizations that make a positive impact in her local community. For over ten years, Kim has held a variety of roles ranging from development, special events, volunteer administration, and community engagement at local agencies. She received her international accreditation for Certification in Volunteer Administration in 2014.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Executive Director, North Texas
Kimberly Benavides is a passionate educational leader with 20 years of experience in public education. Most recently, she served as the principal at George C. Clarke Elementary in Fort Worth ISD , a proud Reading Partners campus. Kim's work with students, families, and the community is fueled by her unwavering belief that children are our greatest asset, and literacy is the key to self-confidence and opportunity. She holds a bachelor's degree in multidisciplinary studies from Texas Tech University, a master's degree in educational leadership and policy studies from The University of Texas at Arlington, and Doctor of Education from Abilene Christian University where her research focused on the sustainability of school-community partnerships.
Kimberly De Jesus considers herself a lifelong learner. She is a recent graduate from the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where she received a Master's in Public Administration with a specialization in Management and Leadership. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Culture with a minor in Spanish from Howard University. Her journey as an educator began as an afterschool step coach for elementary-aged children in Washington D.C. She later joined Teach For America (TFA), serving two years as an elementary school teacher for the Greater New Orleans region. After her TFA commitment, she continued teaching, focusing on differentiating instruction for English Language Learners and children with exceptionalities. As a program manager, she continues to pursue her passion for educational equity by designing and implementing educational opportunities for students and families across the NYC region.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Dean, School of Education at Holy Names University
Klara Manz-Siek Community engagement associate Klara is excited to join the Reading Partners DC team as a Community Engagement Associate. Klara grew up in the Boston area and went to Davidson College where she majored in Anthropology and Hispanic Studies. While in school, she spent time tutoring in an ESL classroom at a local elementary school and became passionate about literacy and education. She moved to DC in 2017 to work for The Literacy Lab as a literacy intervention tutor for two years. Klara is eager to continue working to support students in DC at Reading Partners.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
- Chairman, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Lyft, General Counsel
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Kyndall is a Washington, DC native, Temple University alum, and currently a graduate student at American University in the Education Policy and Leadership program. She also served as an AmeriCorps member at Reading Partners Washington, DC from 2017-19. After her AmeriCorps service terms, she went on to work as an early childhood teacher at KIPP DC. Kyndall is now currently a newly joined program manager at Reading Partners Washington, DC.
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Coordinator, Recruitment
Latasha Buxton Community engagement coordinator, Recruitment Latasha joined the Reading Partners team in 2019 as an AmeriCorps member. Her passion for education and love for children aligned with the core values and commitments of Reading Partners. With over 17 years of experience in child care and educational setting, she is equipped to make a positive impact in everything she does, to focus on what matters with changing the outcome of our children and communities, and believing in connecting with people for a sole purpose. As a community engagement coordinator for recruitment, she now works to ensure volunteers have all the information they need to be reading partners. As the first person many people interact with when joining Reading Partners, Latasha brings a warm disposition and is an excellent customer service provider. Latasha earned a Bachelor of Science in healthcare administration from Concordia University-Portland. She has two children, Daniel and Michelle.
Job Titles:
- Director of Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress
Laura Dallas McSorley is the director of Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress. Before joining CAP, she supported DC's early learning organizations on creating inclusive policy agendas and strategic plans. Laura was previously the senior director of early childhood initiatives at Raise DC, where she worked toward collective efforts for stronger early childhood systems for children and families in the District of Columbia. Laura has also served as the vice president of strategic initiatives and partnerships at Teach For America (TFA) and as TFA's senior managing director for its Early Childhood Education Initiative. Laura taught pre-K at Bridges Public Charter School and Head Start at DC Public Schools. She holds a bachelor's degree from Rhodes College and a master's degree in early childhood education from George Mason University. She and her husband live in DC with their two young children.
Lauren grew up in southern California and studied English at university. While getting her bachelor's degree, she completed a nine-month study abroad in Florence, Italy to go toward her minor in Italian literature. She worked in psycho-education for three years and completed two years of service in Thailand with the Peace Corps, working in rural schools and communities in the south. Upon returning, she moved to San Francisco to join Reading Partners and served two years as an AmeriCorps member. Now she is a program manager at Reading Partners who is passionate about serving students in the Bay Area. She lived inside the Harry Potter universe as a child yet her favorite children's book is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - she currently owns a copy in English, Italian and Thai.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Liza McFadden advises philanthropists. Under the maxim of a "head of business and a heart for philanthropy", she provides long-term strategy development with an eye toward measurable returns. She serves as a board member for K12, a publicly-traded company which provides virtual learning to students of all ages. A former teacher and director in adult and career education, she is a long-time advocate for choice in education. Liza has over 15-years' experience as the CEO of nonprofits, and, prior to consulting, served as the president of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, which she and transitioned from a traditional grant-making nonprofit to an organization expert in driving strategic social impact. The Foundation sponsored the global $7-million Adult Literacy XPRIZE which spurred 100-plus teams to compete to design the most effective adult literacy mobile apps. Additionally, the Foundation was one of the first public charities to invest in pay-for-performance or social impact bonds.
A former advisor in government, she worked in concert with Jeb Bush to design the Governor's Mentoring Initiative which resulted in over 200,000 new mentors for Florida's school-aged children. Among her awards, she prizes one of her first, a Distinguished Individual Davis Productivity Award from Florida Taxwatch for animating her interest in determining values for social outcomes.
Lois has been a dedicated supporter of Reading Partners since 2014 and has enjoyed volunteering at multiple schools over the years including Seaton, Whittier, Wheatley, Malcolm X, and this past year virtually at Payne. She joined the board in 2016 and served for two years as the chair of the sustainability committee, and is currently in her second year as board chair. Lois also serves as a member of the Adas Israel Congregation board of directors, and is an active member of their social action committee. She also serves as a board member of The TraRon Center, dedicated to helping children who are affected by gun violence heal through the arts. Lois retired from the federal government in 2009 where she was an injury epidemiologist with the National Center for Health Statistics for 32 years. She holds a bachelor's degree from The George Washington University and a master's degree from Georgetown University.
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- New York State Secretary
- Vázquez
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez has over three decades of experience in four industry sectors and areas: corporate, non-profit, government, and politics. She has excelled in each, although non-profit is where her commitment lives. Currently, she is the Commissioner for the Department for the Aging. She also serves on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board and on the Board of Trustees for the City University of New York, the largest urban public university system in the world.
Previously Cortés-Vázquez worked at AARP as the Executive Vice President for Multicultural Markets and Engagement, and as the President and CEO of the Hispanic Federation, a network for Latino organizations throughout the East Coast.
Cortés-Vázquez also served as the 65th New York State Secretary of State. Cortés-Vázquez obtained her undergraduate degree from Hunter College and earned a master's degree from New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She is a Toll Fellow and has earned certificates from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and Columbia University's School of Non-Profit Management.
She is dedicated to her family, particularly her nieces, nephews, and grandsons.
Louisa Moyse is the development director at Reading Partners NY. Before joining the team in September 2021, Louisa lead development and external relations efforts at Public Prep Network, a single-sex charter school network in NYC. In her role at Reading Partners, Louisa is responsible for leading the strategy and execution of the short- and long-term development goals. Louisa has a Bachelor's Degree in international studies from SUNY Cortland. She is thrilled to be on the Reading Partners New York team where she can continue her commitment to providing equitable access to high-quality educational experiences.
Lucas has been in education for over 20 years. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the College of Charleston. Before coming to Reading Partners, she taught first, second, and third grades in North and South Carolina. In addition, she was the director of admissions and recruitment for a small nonprofit college. As a program manager, Lucas brings a wealth of knowledge to Reading Partners and the volunteers and schools with which she works.
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- National Director of Operations
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Associate, Recruitment
Lyssa Flanagan Community engagement associate, Recruitment Lyssa graduated from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science in psychology with minors in English and liberal arts. At university, Lyssa gained a service mindset and decided to dedicate her professional career to helping others. A few years after graduating, Lyssa knew she wanted to go into nonprofit work, and served as a City Year Americorps member at Daniel Webster High School, supporting freshman in an English classroom. During that year of service, Lyssa saw the literacy crisis firsthand and decided to join Reading Partners. Lyssa served two years at Reading Partners as an AmeriCorps site coordinator at Kendall-Whittier Elementary and McClure Elementary. Both schools boasted some of the highest student and tutor enrollments in the region. In 2019, Lyssa joined the Reading Partners full-time staff as the community engagement associate of recruitment. When not at work, you can find Lyssa in her craft room making paper crafts and scrapbooking.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Associate
Lyssa Jellenik Community engagement associate Lyssa is excited to join the Reading Partners Washington, DC team as a community engagement associate. Lyssa grew up right outside of the Boston area and went to American University here in Washington, DC. At AU, she earned her bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies: CLEG (communication, law, economics, and government). She is currently a student at American University, where she is working on her master's in political communication. While an undergrad, she was a member of Alpha Phi Omega (APO), a professional co-ed community service fraternity where she volunteered with nonprofits all over the DMV area. A few organizations she worked with through APO include: A Wider Circle, Rural Dog Rescue, and Martha's Table. Lyssa is eager to continue her work in the nonprofit world and make a difference in the lives of DC students through Reading Partners.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Senior Associate, the Blackstone Group
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Samuels Elementary
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator
Maiya graduated from the University of Washington in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences. She has a passion for speech, language, education, and literacy and hopes to someday further her formal education in one of these areas. One day, she plans to have a career in education or as a speech-language pathologist, but ultimately just wants to have a positive impact on people no matter her field. During her undergrad, she spent some time volunteering at a skilled nursing facility where she read to residents on a weekly basis and saw first-hand the joy that books can bring to people's lives. She is incredibly excited to join the Reading Partners Seattle team and to inspire a love of books in the students she will serve!
Job Titles:
- Controller
- Member of the National Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Mareko Prior Program director Originally from the Chicago area, Mareko is an alumna of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She developed a commitment to getting things done while serving with AmeriCorps VISTA in Kansas City, and later as a City Year San Antonio Program Director. Driven by ensuring young people access the opportunities they deserve to become the change-makers our communities need, she joined amazing teams at The Posse Foundation and iMentor. Mareko most recently served as a director at Moneythink, where she launched a remote coaching program that supported students through texting and apps. Contact: mareko.prior@readingpartners.org
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Director
Marisa Morgan Community engagement director Marisa Morgan graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2014 with a degree in communication and a minor in writing. She worked in journalism for two years and is happy to have found herself in the nonprofit world, upon joining the Reading Partners team in 2016. As a Tulsa native, she is happy to share the joy of reading with children in a city she loves.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Madison Elementary
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- Executive Director of Regional Operations
Job Titles:
- Account Director, National Accounts, Vf Corporation
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Vice President, Business Transformation & Care Model Innovation at DaVita
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- SVP of Public Policy, Dallas Regional Chamber
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Vice President, Goldman Sachs
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Senior Major Gifts Officer
Megan joined the Reading Partners New York team in 2015 as the first senior major gifts officer in the network. Prior to Reading Partners, Megan served for six years in a similar role at City Year New York. Megan's experiences focus primarily on individual and corporate giving, major gifts programs, and relationship development on all levels. Megan lives in New Jersey with her husband and three children and has seen firsthand the importance of developing strong literacy skills at a young age. Outside of work, Megan serves on the Annual Fund Advisory Board at Duke University where she double majored in Public Policy and Spanish. You can reach Megan at megan.ross@readingpartners.org.
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- National Director of Development Operations
Melissa Connelly is the CEO of OneGoal, a national college access and success organization. Prior to becoming CEO, Melissa served as the organization's first chief program officer. In this role, she was responsible for executing the programmatic vision to ensure all students have a legitimate opportunity to earn a postsecondary degree or credential. Melissa has spent more than a decade in education leveraging her experiences, empathy, and drive to make certain her accomplishments are not an anomaly, but the norm for underserved youth.
Melissa earned a bachelor of arts from the University of Illinois-Chicago, a master's of arts in teaching, and a master's of education administration from Dominican University. She is also an alumna of the prestigious Surge Institute Fellowship for emerging leaders of color in education, but Melissa is most proud of the work she is doing as a mother to Ashland and Addae.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Director, BlackRock
Job Titles:
- Senior Site Coordinator, Washington Elementary School
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Senior Program Coordinator, Place Bridge Academy
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Analyst, Farallon Capital Management
Job Titles:
- Regional Partnerships Manager
Michael is a program manager in the East Bay. He is a transplant to the Bay Area from Buffalo, New York where in 2011 he earned his bachelor's from SUNY Buffalo in history and a certification in secondary education. He briefly taught seventh and eighth grade social studies before continuing his career working in the nonprofit sector with Buffalo's growing refugee population. After working with populations in Buffalo and on the Thai-Myanmar border, Mike returned to the United States to complete his master's in sustainable development at SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont. He has been serving Reading Partners in the Silicon Valley and Bay Area as a program manager since 2015, and started his role as Regional Partnerships Manager in July 2021. His favorite children's book, if forced to chose one, is Redwall by Brian Jacques. He loves camping, cars, coffee, and current events.
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- National Senior Director, Marketing & Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- National Director of Major Gifts
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Principal / Founder, Roche Brand Advisors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Business Development at Encompass Energy Services
Mico Mastrili (he/they) is from Elk Grove, CA, and moved to the Bay Area in 2015. He attended UC Santa Cruz where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Economics. There, his passion for social justice and community organizing grew after his involvement in theatrical productions of color and his work with first-generation college students from marginalized communities. Before joining Reading Partners, his nonprofit background centered around working with transitional-age youth experiencing homelessness, where he launched an employment program and managed a 90-day shelter and emergency respite program. In his free time, he enjoys going to the gym, reading, writing, going on adventures, and having game nights with his friends and family.
Miiraf Arefeaine Program manager Originally from San Jose, CA, Miiraf briefly moved to the East Coast to attend Phillips Exeter Academy before coming back home to study English Literature at the University of San Francisco (Go Dons!). Throughout her upbringing, she spent time volunteering in literacy education in Ethiopia, where her family is from. Her passion for service and equity in literacy education led her to Reading Partners in 2018, where she served as an AmeriCorps Site Coordinator at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in San Francisco. She then moved to Madrid, Spain where she taught English and American Culture to high school students at IES San Juan Bautista for two years. While in Madrid, she also led the Global Classrooms (Model UN) program at San Juan through Fulbright Spain, adapting the program to surmount the challenges we all faced in the past two years. She is incredibly excited to be returning to Reading Partners in the role of Program Manager in the East Bay! Growing up, Miiraf could be found reading Dragon Rider, the Nancy Drew series, the Underland Chronicles, and of course, Harry Potter, among many others. Contact: miiraf.arefeaine@readingpartners.org
Mike has over seven years of management experience with the YMCA in Tulsa, most recently as senior director of character development. At the YMCA, he managed afterschool programs and partnerships throughout the metro, as well as youth sports, including partnering with Tulsa Public Schools to run soccer programs for elementary school students. Before the Y, Mike worked for five years in Special Services for both Union and Jenks schools. He is passionate about serving students and families in our community and believes that we are all better when we serve together. Mike is also a former Reading Partners volunteer at Eugene Field.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Director of Development and External Relations
is originally from San Jose, California. Her role is to engage new and existing volunteers as well as corporate partners. She works closely with the executive director on regional development operations, such as grant writing and donor stewardship. Monique has spent the majority of her career working at nonprofit organizations, including the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in Mountain View and International House in New York City. As a former Peace Corps volunteer, she values dedicating time and energy to national service. During her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with family and her new kitten, Clementine.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Trust Officer, Bank of America Private Bank
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Stevens Elementary
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator, North Oakland Community Charter
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Financial Reporting, Prologis
Neal Cohen is an executive with more than 30 years of experience working in the aviation and manufacturing industries. Most recently he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Alliant Techsystems, responsible for accounting and controls, treasury, tax, financial planning and analysis, internal audit, and investor relations.
Previously Neal was President and Chief Operating Officer for Laureate Education, where he helped develop strategy, growth and operating plans for the global university network with 675,000 students in 28 countries. He has 16 years of experience with Northwest Airlines, Inc. and U.S. Airways, including serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, where he led merger and acquisition activities, restructuring, and profitability and growth initiatives. He also held a number of operating and marketing positions at Northwest Airlines. He started his career and spent seven years at the General Motors New York Treasurer's Office.
Neal received a bachelor's degree in politics, economics, rhetoric and law, and a Master's in Business Administration in finance and accounting from the University of Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Retired, Curator of Marine Mammals, National Aquarium in Baltimore / Board Governance Committee Chair
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Corps Senior Volunteer Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Synaptics
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator, International Community School
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Lockwood STEAM Academy
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, See 's Candies
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Community Member
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Manager - Operations
Peter Cabaña Community engagement manager - Operations Peter is a Bay Area native and graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in Communications. His strong passion for education led him to find Reading Partners in August 2014. He first joined the Reading Partners Silicon Valley team serving as an AmeriCorps regional site coordinator for two years before moving into the role of community engagement associate in 2016. Peter assists in data collection and analysis for the community engagement and program team while also managing the regional operational systems. Peter's favorite children's book is Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. Contact: peter.cabana@readingpartners.org or (650) 260-5904
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Mergers & Acquisitions Partner, Kirkland and Ellis
Job Titles:
- State Representative
- Chief Impact Officer
As a senior executive with experience and a positive track record working in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, Phillip M. Robinson, Jr. has always had a passion for service. As the chief impact officer, Phillip is responsible for coaching, supporting, and managing all regional executive directors; overseeing more than 400 site and national operations staff; and building external partnerships and business development opportunities. Prior to his current role, Phillip served as the managing director and chief operating officer for Education Board Partners. In this role, Phillip was responsible for operations, strategy development, and leading the team in developing and delivering programs.
Previously, Phillip served as the senior vice president of regional and site operations at City Year, Inc. In this capacity, Phillip oversaw all aspects of operations for 28 U.S. sites, including five regional vice presidents, more than 700 site staff, 3,000 AmeriCorps members and a total budget of $168 million. Prior to joining the national senior leadership team, Phillip was the executive director and vice president of City Year Cleveland. Under his leadership, City Year Cleveland underwent a complete turnaround, doubling its revenue, growing its operations by more than 20 percent, and winning Best of City Year three years in a row. Early in his career, Phillip served as a legislative aide for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and then as an executive for several Fortune 500 marketing and public affairs firms.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Phillip currently serves as a state representative (House District 6) in the Ohio House of Representatives. In this capacity, Phillip serves as the ranking member on the education committee and sponsored legislation to help create jobs that was signed into law in his first term. Phillip earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The George Washington University and his Executive MBA from Case Western Reserve University. Also, he is a previous Pahara-Aspen Institute Next Gen Fellow, named a "Who to Watch in Education" in Cleveland and recognized as one of Crain's Cleveland Business's Forty Under 40. Phillip lives in Solon, OH with his wife, Elizabeth, and two young children.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Reading Partners NYC
- Executive Director, New York
Primo Lasana is honored to become the executive director of Reading Partners NYC. Primo joins Reading Partners after eight years with iMentor, a national college access program that leverages volunteers for student success. At iMentor, he held leadership roles in program implementation, volunteer recruitment, fundraising and national program expansion. He started his career at City Year Chicago, where he completed two years of service in Chicago Public Schools as an AmeriCorps member. Primo is proudly born and raised in New York City. Outside of work, he serves on Brooklyn Community Board 9 as the co-chair of the Youth Services Committee. In 2021, Primo graduated from NYU Wagner with an executive master's in public administration and completed his bachelor's degree at CUNY Hunter College.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
- Collins & Co
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Partner, Keker & Van Nest LLP
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- Director of National Community Engagement
Rachel Hutton is a passionate Reading Partners champion. Rachel was first introduced to Reading Partners as a high school student when she began tutoring at John Gill Elementary School in Redwood City, CA. She continued to serve as a volunteer tutor for six years throughout her collegiate years at Stanford University. Rachel's experiences - through Reading Partners, internships on Capitol Hill, and as a legal assistant at Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP - inspired her to advocate for women and families, leading her to Georgetown University Law Center where she is currently pursuing a juris doctorate. Rachel is a member of the Women's Legal Association at Georgetown, the Native American Law Students Association, and an ACLU student group. Outside of law school, Rachel serves as the chief finance officer of the Hutton Family Foundation and as the chair of The Reading Partners Literary Society.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Senior Vice President and General Manager of Connectivity, Qualcomm
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Vice President, Goldman Sachs
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Vice President at Mousse Partners
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Minister / CEO, First Unitarian Church of Dallas
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Director
Rhea is honored to join Reading Partners as the community engagement manager for the New York region. Rhea spent three years with Achievement First Charter School Network where she developed community partnerships in Brooklyn, ensured strong family engagement, and managed community outreach for student recruitment efforts. Prior to her work with Achievement First, Mrs. Quinones worked as a community organizer for a decade, supporting grassroots education, housing, and transit organizing in Mammoth Lakes, CA, Chicago, IL, Manhattan, NY, and Patterson, NJ. Rhea is committed to giving all students access to an amazing education and is passionate about using volunteers to help address critical problems facing our country.
Job Titles:
- Principal, NEXgistics, LLC
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Interim Executive Director
- Interim Executive Director of Reading Partners Tulsa
- Interim Executive Director, Tulsa
Robin Emerson serves as the interim executive director of Reading Partners Tulsa. Originally from Kentucky, Robin graduated with her degree in special education with an emphasis on learning disabilities from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. She earned her M.Ed. from the University of Oklahoma in educational administration and curriculum supervision. She completed the Relay Graduate School of Education Leadership program with distinction. Robin has also taught elementary, middle, and high school. She has served as an instructional coach, assistant principal at Tisdale, principal at Carnegie Elementary School, middle school principal in Broken Arrow, and a director of special education in a Tulsa Public School. Robin currently serves as a national professional development specialist with Catapult Learning with a focus on special education services, building instructional coherence, diversity, equity and inclusion and literacy. Robin lives in Oklahoma where she and her husband have raised their family of five children and seven grandchildren. In her free time, she enjoys the company of family, friends, and her yorkie, Canyon, and lake and beach time.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Senior Program Coordinator, Kaiser Elementary
Job Titles:
- CEO, Companion Associates, Inc
Roopa Kosuri is excited to join Reading Partners DC. She has worked in development and operations with acclaimed dance companies such as RIOULT in New York City and more recently, 277 Dance Project. She has her Bachelor in Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her Master in Fine Art from Parsons School of Design and has worked in several creative mediums including fashion, film, painting, installation, and printmaking. She continues to make and exhibit art. Roopa believes that learning to read is a major tool in a child's creativity and is eager to bring her experience and creative perspective to help Reading Partners DC's students.
Rosa is an accomplished finance and operations professional whose experience spans both corporate and nonprofit sectors. She joins Reading Partners to provide strategic leadership across all business and finance functions, including the management of its financial and capital resources, oversight of IT and HR operations, and all legal matters. Her career spans more than 30 years of experience in financial management, business leadership, and corporate strategy. Prior to joining Reading Partners, Rosa led the finance, IT, logistics, and asset protection areas for Merlin Entertainments and before that she served as interim CEO of New-York-based nonprofit, Puerto Rican Family Institute. Rosa received her MBA in finance from Benedictine University, and she has earned the designation of Associate in Insurance Accounting and Finance (AIAF) and is completing the designation of Associate of Regulatory and Compliance (ARC).
A longstanding community leader and champion for people in underserved communities, Rosa sits on the board of directors for the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, where she serves as treasurer and has helped usher in a new era for this iconic New York institution. She is also a board member for Cornerstone Family Healthcare and a member of its finance committee. Rosa believes that Reading Partners provides a critical service to communities by ensuring children have the opportunity to build a foundation for future learning through literacy. Rosa is an avid reader whose love of books provided not just an opportunity to learn but a vision of the world and all its possibilities. Rosa and her husband love to travel and have three amazing children.
Sage Andone has a passion for literacy that began during her service as an AmeriCorps member with Jumpstart at the University of Rhode Island. She continued her education at Georgia State University, where she received a Master's in Elementary Education. During her 6 years teaching in Metro-Atlanta, Sage focused on school wide literacy initiatives and implementation of best practices for English Language Learners. She strongly believes that the ability to read transforms lives and empowers children and communities to reach their full potential. Sage is thrilled to be on the Reading Partners New York team where she can continue her commitment to helping children become lifelong readers.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Associate
Job Titles:
- External Relations Associate
Samantha Stockley joins the Reading Partners team with a love of literature, writing, and a strong drive for public service. After years as a freelance tutor and writer, Samantha settled into the agency world of nonprofit fundraising via proofreading and copyediting. She has always been an advocate for literacy and is overjoyed at the prospect of tackling her new role as development associate. Samantha also enjoys playing french horn, reading, and snuggling with her three cats!
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Associate Board Vice Chair, Real Estate Associate, Kirkland & Ellis LLP / Tutor Advisory Council
Sara hails from Sonoma County and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from UC Santa Cruz in 2014. After graduating she served in two different AmeriCorps programs in Boston, MA- City Year and Notre Dame Mission Volunteers. Sara taught English and learned Spanish in Spain for six months and then returned to Boston to continue working in urban education as a manager of out-of-school time programming in Dorchester. Her favorite children's books are Holes, Walk Two Moons, and of course, the Harry Potter series. In her free time Sara enjoys running, traveling, vegan cooking, improv acting, and playing with her cat Rio.
Sara Rodriguez is honored to be serving with the Reading Partners Seattle team. A Minnesota native, Sara graduated from Iowa State University in 2017. She double majored in Child, Adult & Family Services and World Languages & Cultures (Spanish). Immediately after graduating, Sara spent three years traveling and working as part of the education team for an international non-profit, Up with People. She then went on to work as a child/family educator at an early learning school in Denver, Colorado. Sara has a passion for empowering youth and is inspired by the work that Reading Partners does on a daily basis. She hopes to go on to get her master's in Social Work, and continue serving youth in schools. In her free time, Sara loves to be active outside and is excited to explore the Pacific Northwest!
Job Titles:
- Project Manager, League Inc
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Leadership Team
- National Program Director
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Cesar Chavez
Sariba Levin started her work in educational advocacy six years ago. She moved to Miami in 2016 where she served as an AmeriCorps member for City Year Miami. She spent the next three years working in Miami-Dade County Public Schools building relationships with students and community leaders. During that time, she helped elementary school students with significant literacy gaps make learning gains. Sariba provided academic intervention to high school students who were classified as English Language Learners. Upon her return to New York City, Sariba continued her work in education. She managed special education at a charter school and engaged with parents and external stakeholders such as the Committee on Special Education. She collaborated with her entire school community to create goals and provide support for students with special needs. Since joining the Reading Partners NY team, Sariba has continued to work with school partners to close learning gaps and water the seeds of the future generation. Her work with Reading Partners is rooted in advocacy, educational equity, and equal opportunity for all.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Cox Academy
Job Titles:
- Program Director / Shannon
Shannon is excited to work alongside the staff, AmeriCorps members, volunteers, and students at Reading Partners. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and a master's in education from Johns Hopkins University. Before joining Reading Partners, she served as a Teach For America corps member teaching third and fourth grades in Miami, Florida. Teaching provided a foundation for her understanding and passion for literacy instruction and educational equity. During her time in the classroom, she mentored and coached new teachers as a literacy content leader and a corps member advisor. She held previous roles at Reading Partners as a program manager and senior program manager.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, REACH Academy
Job Titles:
- Development Operations Manager
Originally from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Shea graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She gained her passion for service and literacy while serving as an AmeriCorps member and volunteer coordinator at Jumpstart Pittsburgh while in college. Shea joined Reading Partners in 2019, completing two AmeriCorps VISTA terms before joining as full-time staff. Growing up, her favorite books were the A Series of Unfortunate Events series.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator, McKinley School
Shelley's favorite place has always been the classroom, and she knew early on that she wanted to pursue a career related to education. She received her B.A. in Psychology at UCLA, where she gained a scientific understanding of learning to supplement hands-on classroom experience and became equally passionate about public health as the President of UCLA Global Medical Brigades. The COVID-19 pandemic further shifted her focus towards nonprofit work, leading her to spend a year working at some of LA's largest testing and vaccination sites. Shelley is now eager to jump back into the field of education and join the Reading Partners team, utilizing her variety of skills to fundraise for an organization dedicated to educational equity and closing the opportunity gap. In her spare time, Shelley enjoys hiking, painting, and road trips with her friends.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Reading Partners DC
- Executive Director, Washington, DC
Shukurat Adamoh-Faniyan serves as the Executive Director of Reading Partners DC and has overall responsibility for the operations, fundraising and community engagement. Born and raised in DC, Shukurat has dedicated her life to working in high-poverty and under-resourced communities in the fields of education, policy, community organizing, public engagement, training, and program development. Shukurat is a passionate and motivated leader with extensive experience and is committed to ensuring that every child in DC has the opportunity to realize their full potential. Before joining Reading Partners, Shukurat served as the Senior Director of Partnership and Infrastructure for Leadership for Educational Equity. Leadership For Educational Equity is a non-partisan, non-profit leadership development organization dedicated to inspiring a diverse movement of leaders that engage civically and politically on behalf of children in their communities. In the role, Shukurat served as a force multiplier and team-specific chief learning, strategy, and operations officer. She has also served as an Executive Director of a PreK-8th grade charter school serving over 700 scholars in Southeast, D.C. Shukurat began her career as a 5th-grade Math and Science teacher and Teach For America corps member.
Silas Grant, a lifelong Washingtonian, has committed his life to public service and the betterment of others. Silas has served in many community-based roles, including his service formerly as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and currently on the Mayor's Commission on Fathers, Men, and Boys. Silas has a professional mission of advising public-facing leaders by providing information and resources that will allow them to make better decisions on behalf of those they serve. Silas is also committed to assisting the next generation of leaders dedicated to community service.
Job Titles:
- Community Member
- Member of the Board of Directors
Stephanie Wolfe joined Reading Partners in the summer of 2019, arriving from Baltimore, MD where she served as the Engagement Coordinator for Soccer Without Borders for four years. During this time, she was a 2017-2018 Johns Hopkins University SOURCE Community Fellow, where she worked with faculty members to improve service-learning partnerships. As an avid reader herself, Stephanie is excited to be a part of a movement to promote a lifelong love of reading in children. She is equally thrilled to help advance Reading Partners' goals of fostering inclusive and equitable communities. Stephanie holds an M.S.W. (Global Practice) from Boston College and a Master's degree in International and Public Law from the University of Melbourne.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Partner, Real Estate, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Co - Board Chair
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Program Team
- AmeriCorps Senior Program Coordinator, College View Elementary
Tammy Robbins Deputy program director Tammy Robbins earned her undergraduate degree from the Xavier University of Louisiana and graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin. She has taught in the classroom for 15 years, four years as a middle school science teacher in the Rio Grande Valley, and 11 years in an elementary school in Aguascalientes, Mexico. She started working at Reading Partners as a site coordinator in 2015. She later became a program manager and is currently serving as the deputy program director. She is excited to continue building relationships with our schools and their families. She believes that literacy is the key to future academic success for children and that it allows students to have better opportunities in life.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Government Relations, Project Lead the Way
Tara went to elementary school, high school, and college in Tulsa. She graduated from the University of Tulsa with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with a Museum Studies Certificate and an Art History minor. After TU, Tara joined the 2017 Teach for America Greater Tulsa corps and taught second grade at College Bound Academy. She served as a classroom teacher for two years and then served as an instructional coach for the next two years with a focus on math. Tara is currently pursuing a Masters in Education Administration, Curriculum, and Supervision at OU-Tulsa and is thrilled to be joining the Reading Partners team as a program manager to continue her work in the Tulsa education community.
Job Titles:
- Special Operations Associate
Tarae is a Tulsa native who has a passion for children in her community. After working several years in sales, her goal was to live and serve with more passion and purpose. In her journey she found her place at Reading Partners Tulsa where she first served as an AmeriCorps member for two and a half years. Now in her new-to-Tulsa role of special operations associate, she cannot wait to see how she can further contribute to the organization and help the team serve Tulsa's students.
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Associate
Thara Nugues Community engagement associate Thara Nugues was born in France and has been calling New York City her home for almost ten years. Before joining the team, she completed one AmeriCorps service term as a volunteer coordinator with Reading Partners NY at P.S.38 and P.S.171. Thara is excited to work once again with individuals who are passionate about educational equity and thrilled to be joining the team as a community engagement associate. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Foreign Languages, a Master's Degree in International Studies and volunteered with New York Cares for over seven years. Thara is a certified scuba-diver and in her spare time she loves trying out new restaurants, baking and wood-working.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Managing Director, Pivot Consulting
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President and CEO, Co - Founder, Triact Therapeutics Inc
Tommie is passionate about helping people and serving his community. For the past six years, he has had leadership roles in the Government of the District of Columbia. He served first in the Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser as the Ward 5 Community Relations Liaison and was then promoted to Deputy Director and Director of the Office of Community Relations and Services. In his work with Mayor Bowser, he connected District residents to services and programs and provided sound advice to the Mayor as it related to constituent service issues in all eight wards.
He has since left the Mayor's office and now serves as the Chief of External Affairs for the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. At DC Parks and Recreation, he is in charge of all community relations, partnerships, sponsorships, and development for the agency. Tommie is married to the love of his life Monica Jones who is a civilian engineer with the US Department of Navy. They have a son who is a kindergartner in DC Public Schools.
Job Titles:
- External Relations Associate
Tommy is a dedicated advocate for educational equity. Following his time at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, Tommy went on to serve as a college access and success coach with College Possible. As a former Americorps member, he firmly believes in the service model. Tommy is excited to support the mission of Reading Partners and continue to strengthen the bridge between our communities and volunteers with our students, as they develop the habits to become lifelong learners.
Job Titles:
- Executive and Social Sector Impact Strategist
Tracy Hoover is an experienced nonprofit executive and social sector impact strategist. For more than 25 years, Tracy has been passionately committed to redefining civic engagement, community problem solving, and active corporate citizenship. As president and chief executive officer of Points of Light, Tracy led the largest organization in the world dedicated to volunteerism. Tracy served as chief of staff and chief operating officer before taking the helm of the organization in 2013. Across a decade, Tracy and her teams raised tens of millions of dollars each year and partnered with many of the world's most respected companies to invest in innovative new impact programs. Before joining Points of Light, Tracy was the executive director of Hands On Atlanta, a Points of Light affiliate. In her tenure, she helped to build the organization and replicate the model of "hands-on" volunteering-mobilizing thousands of volunteers each year in Atlanta's public schools and nonprofit organizations. She also led a successful multi-million dollar capital campaign to purchase the midtown Atlanta building that would serve as the headquarters of Hands On Atlanta, Hands On Network, and later Points of Light.
Tracy has taken on a variety of volunteer leadership roles including a federal appointment to the Presidio Trust's Fort Scott advisory council, service as an America's Promise Alliance trustee, a member of the Voices for National Service steering committee and the National Black Arts Festival-Full House Commission. Currently, Tracy serves on the Earth University board of trustees, the Reading Partners national board of directors and as the founding director of Georgia Support the Vote. Tracy received a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Tennessee. She was a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2007, and a recipient of the Harvard Business School Club of Atlanta's Social Enterprise Initiative Scholarship.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Regional Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Twentieth Street Elementary
Vanesa is a proud daughter of immigrants who was born and raised near Madison, Wisconsin. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2020 with a B.S. in Psychology and Neurobiology. Throughout undergrad, Vanesa worked with high school students in college readiness programs and even a local marching band! Upon graduating, she joined Partners in After School Success as an AmeriCorps member. There, she realized how fulfilling it is to help prepare today's children and youth for tomorrow. This realization, paired with a sense of adventure, led her to Reading Partners in Seattle, Washington. Vanesa wholeheartedly believes that reading not only provides space for our imagination to run wild but is crucial in developing lifelong skills in empathy and communication. She is grateful and thrilled for the opportunity to be part of children's journeys to discovering the joys of reading!
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Flynn
Vanessa discovered her passion for educational equity while attending college and has since dedicated her career to bringing quality educational experiences and resources to students. Vanessa first joined Reading Partners as a site coordinator and completed two AmeriCorps terms of service with the organization before becoming a program associate. Vanessa's experience seeing the one-on-one impact of dedicated tutors and celebrating special 'ah-ha' moments with students as a site coordinator now drive her work with AmeriCorps members and partner schools. Prior to joining Reading Partners, Vanessa taught in Baltimore City Public Schools for two years, working with elementary and middle school aged students in a variety of roles. She earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from UC Santa Barbara, and two master's degrees in elementary education and special education from Lesley University.
Veronica joined Reading Partners in 2019 as an AmeriCorps member in the Baltimore region before transitioning to her current role as a program associate at Reading Partners DC. She is an alumna of The College of William & Mary where she earned a bachelor's in Economics and Environmental Science. After college, she served in the Peace Corps in Namibia as a community economic development consultant and developed a passion for community development and youth development. After her Peace Corps service, Veronica attended American University and earned a master's in International Development. She is committed to helping young people learn and grow and helping communities thrive.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Originally from Seattle, Washington, Veronica grew tired of the constant rain and after getting a bachelor's degree in Russian at Western Washington University she moved to Denver, Colorado. Here she served for a year as a volunteer coordinator for Reading Partners Colorado. After an intense service year, she packed up again and moved to Budapest, Hungary to teach English to middle school students. Falling in love with central Europe, she stayed in the region and went back to school, earning a master's degree in Human Rights Law from Central European University in Vienna, Austria. Despite loving her life in that city, the memories of her service year were never far from her mind, and she felt compelled to return to Reading Partners. Wanting to see some sun, she chose to come to the Bay Area and left her heavy winter coat behind. As a child, Veronica's favorite books were history related, with a soft spot for the "Little House" series. These days she can be found reading, doing needlepoint, exploring the Bay Area, and studying multiple languages.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Associate
Victoria Felder Community engagement associate Victoria pursued her bachelor's degree in English with a minor in African American studies at Winthrop University and the University of Maryland University College. Her prior experiences to joining Reading Partners include over 15 years in sales and marketing and grassroots movements including local, state, and national political campaigns. She currently advocates for social justice issues to include educational equity and injustices toward people of color. She has a love for reading and the arts; acting in several plays and featured in spoken word appearances. Her passion for literacy and underserved children is what inspired her to begin her journey with Reading Partners as a tutor. She then served as an Americorps member and is now excited about bringing all those perspectives together in her new role as the community engagement associate.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Senior Manager, EY
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair of the Board of Directors
Walter Elcock retired in April of 2013 from Bank of America after 39 years in management, ranging across human resources, operations, and retail banking, managing the 5,000 retail branches across the country as well as the market president network. He also served as president, Bank of America Texas. Walter has been a member of the board of trustees for the Dallas Museum of Art over the last ten years, serving in the capacities of chair and president as well as interim director in 2016. He is also a board member of the Trinity River Conservancy and Highland Homes. His wife Laura has served as a member of the Reading Partners North Texas board for the past two years. Walter and Laura are both graduates of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and have two daughters, Hilah in Larkspur, CA and Catherine in Brooklyn, NY. They have five grandchildren: Jasper, Elsa, and Luke are in Larkspur, with Holden and Maddie in Brooklyn.
Job Titles:
- Interim Executive Director, Colorado
Prior to founding Angel Heart Consulting during the Pandemic, Wendy led several nonprofit organizations, including Trips for Kids, Denver and Colorado Technology Association Foundation. She's also held other nonprofit leadership positions, including the Denver Bike Sharing, Commun Denver, a nonprofit real estate development with a focus on equitable housing, and Power of WE, female-identifying entrepreneurs. A first-generation college graduate, she has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kansas, certifications in project management and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and earned a commercial real estate license. Wendy resides with her family and two rescued Jack Russell terriers in Salida, Colorado. She enjoys Colorado's gala scene by assisting fundraising auctioneers with several large-scale events including Adaptive Sports, Tennyson Center for Children, and Hope House Colorado. Wendy believes it's not a handout, but a hand up that changes lives.
Job Titles:
- Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Bridges Academy
After over 30 years in a federal career that focused on immigration operations and policy, Yvette LaGonterie is pleased to have time to dedicate to Reading Partners. Her last position before her retirement was chief of outreach with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services where she previously served as the founding director of the agency's executive secretariat and as a senior policy advisor. Among the other senior positions she held are Director of international operations for the Department of Homeland Security, the deputy director of International Affairs with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (USINS) and the USINS regional attaché for Latin America and the Caribbean assigned to the American Embassy in Mexico City. Yvette brings years of experience in successfully building collaborative relationships to the service of Reading Partners. Yvette has a bachelor's in mass communications and master's in public administration. She is also a Reading Partners tutor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Community Relations, Golden State Warriors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Associate Board
- Vice President, Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Carthay Center Elementary