National Office
National Board of Directors
National Advisory Council
Regional Offices
Senior Management
Charles Best, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Charles Best founded DonorsChoose.org at Wings Academy, a public high school in the Bronx where he was a social studies teacher for five years. He thought up DonorsChoose.org during a lunch conversation with colleagues, and his students volunteered to help start the organization. To entice his fellow teachers to try out the new website, Charles offered them his mother's famous pear dessert. DonorsChoose.org has been growing since.
Andy Kaplan, Chief Financial Officer
Andy is responsible for finance and administration. Previously, Andy worked for seven years at Audible, Inc. as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Earlier in his career at Time Warner, Andy served in various management positions in the US and Europe, including Chief Financial Officer of Time Life. Prior to that, Andy was with Ernst & Young LLP. He is a Certified Public Accountant, and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Florida State University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Andy serves on the Board of Directors of VIP Community Services, an agency which offers services to individuals with a history of chemical dependency.
Oliver Hurst-Hiller, Chief Technology Officer
Oliver leads the DonorsChoose.org engineering team and is responsible for the technology systems that power DonorsChoose.org's unique philanthropic marketplace. Prior to joining the team, Oliver worked as a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft where he managed product engineering projects for Microsoft's new Internet search engine. He also worked with renowned computer scientist Dr. Gary Flake to start Microsoft Live Labs, a new applied research laboratory for Internet technologies. Oliver joined Microsoft when the Windows Tablet PC group acquired EQuill, a venture-backed software start-up that he co-founded and led for three years as CEO. He is a co-inventor of an issued U.S. patent related to web-based document annotation and multiple pending patents for Internet search-related technologies. Oliver graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Computer Science and spent the first 13 years of his academic career attending New York City public schools.
Brita Lombardi, Executive Vice President for Strategic Development
Applying the lessons learned from starting, managing, and investing in high-growth companies and nonprofit organizations, Brita is responsible for driving the national expansion of DonorsChoose.org. Most recently, she served as Acting COO of the Bring Me a Book Foundation. Previously, Brita worked as an associate at Bain & Company; as President of VenusSports.com; and as Investment Principal of GameChange Venture Capital, a $100 million venture capital partnership between Softbank and Accenture Technology Ventures. Brita also spent two years overseeing a portfolio of social enterprises for Keystone Community Ventures. She graduated from Stanford University with Highest Honors.
César Bocanegra, Executive Vice President for Operations
César is responsible for leading the operations team of DonorsChoose.org and ensuring the operations workflow is fully scalable. Prior to joining DonorsChoose.org, César spent 11 years with AT&T in various capacities, including Sales, Finance, and Vendor Management. He was the national president of HISPA, a non-profit organization focused on developing Hispanic youth. César earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Caltech, where he specialized in Product Design and Development. He graduated with an M.S. from MIT, where he focused his education in designing Manufacturing Systems and making them more efficient and lean by eliminating non-value added activities. Currently, César is attending the MBA program for executives at the Wharton School of Business. His concentration at Wharton is in Operations Management. He will ensure that the operations at DonorsChoose.org are updated with the latest techniques and strategies available.
Missy Sherburne, EVP, Engagement
Missy leads the seven DonorsChoose.org regional teams and oversees national programs and regional expansion efforts. Previously, she served as the founding Executive Director of DonorsChoose.org North Carolina and South Carolina. Prior to joining DonorsChoose.org, she was the North Carolina Executive Director with Teach For America, where she led efforts to quadruple the funding base during her five year tenure. She started her career as a Teach For America corps members in Baltimore, teaching the third and fourth grades. Missy holds B.A. degrees in Political Science and Speech Communication from Miami University and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government where she was a Public Service Fellow.
Erica Goldman, Vice President of Consumer Marketing
Erica leads initiatives to engage tens of thousands of citizen philanthropists with DonorsChoose.org. Prior to joining the team, Erica planned marketing strategies at American Express, Sears.com, and Accenture. Early in her career, she started an Internet consultancy serving nonprofit and corporate clients, and founded one of the first philanthropic online communities in Boston. Erica has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA with Honors from Wesleyan University. She serves on the Board of Directors of Literacy, Inc., a nonprofit organization that improves early literacy skills among students in grades K-3.
Linda Erlinger, Vice President, Teacher Engagement
Linda directs organizational efforts to ensure that all public school teachers know about DonorsChoose.org and use it as a resource to help make classroom ideas a reality. Linda joined the team in 2004 as the Chicago-based Executive Director for the new Midwest Region. Previously, Linda served as Development Director with Teach For America and as Manager of Applications of Research with the Chicago Panel on School Policy. Prior to this, she taught 6th grade in Oakland, California and wished that DonorsChoose.org was around when she had to sell candy bars to raise funds to take her students to Washington, DC. Linda graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University and earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harris School at the University of Chicago.
Engagement
Missy Sherburne, EVP, Engagement
Linda Erlinger, Vice President, Teacher Engagement
Melanie Duppins, Teacher Engagement Manager
Melanie is responsible for growing the reach of DonorsChoose.org by expanding the base of teacher users through strategic partnerships. Formerly a Teacher Engagement Manager, Melanie doubled teacher participation in the Atlantic region in less than one year. Prior to joining DonorsChoose.org, Melanie taught 6th grade English in Baltimore City. Melanie Duppins holds a B.A. in Literature from American University. She currently lives in Maryland with her husband and a lifetime supply of world poetry anthologies.
Rachel Gurshman, National Teacher Engagement Manager
As National Teacher Engagement Manager, Rachel works with national education partners, coordinates teacher communications, and supports regional teacher engagement efforts. Rachel started with DonorsChoose.org in the North Carolina office and worked with volunteer screeners during her eighteen months on our Operations team. Rachel has a B.S. in Communication from Cornell University and a M.S. in Student Personnel Administration from SUNY College of Buffalo.
Charlotte Weiskittel, Director of Teacher Marketing and Communications
Charlotte is responsible for the online teacher experience at DonorsChoose.org. She joined the organization in 2006, serving first as Assistant to the CEO and then as Project Manager before joining the Teacher Engagement team. She spent a gap year studying in Paris and in Oxford and graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in June 2006 with a B.A. in psychology. She has conducted research on Huntington's Disease at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution and designed and executed fMRI memory studies at Princeton University. Charlotte never pictured herself living in New York but is now becoming quite the city girl!
Finance
Andy Kaplan, Chief Financial Officer
Tom Ferri, Controller
Tom manages the accounting team for DonorsChoose.org. In his role, he is responsible for developing accounting procedures to ensure consistent and accurate recording of financial transactions. Tom comes to us after working for seven years as Account Manager for East Orange General Hospital. Prior to that he worked at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Tom holds a B.S. in Accounting from Rutgers University.
Frankie Cheung, Business Analyst
Frankie is responsible for providing reporting and analysis to guide decision making in the organization. Previously, he worked in a business management role for a technology division at Merrill Lynch and as a reporting specialist and database developer for smaller organizations. He has also spent time as a classroom assistant at a public elementary school. Frankie graduated from New York University with a degree in Computer Science.
Roger Carrion, Accounts Payable Associate
Roger manages the accounts payable function for DonorsChoose.org. In his role, he works with our operations team to manage vendor relations by ensuring the payment of all invoices in an accurate and timely fashion, as well as leading process improvement initiatives in the vendor processing realm. Roger brings over 5 years in accounts payable experience and has served on the accounting team of NYANA. He has an Associates Degree from the Borough of Manhattan Community College in Business Management and is currently attending Baruch College's Accounting program.
Rama Louis, College Accounting Intern
Rama, a Finance major, joins DonorsChoose.org from Baruch College as an intern on the Finance team. She works closely with the Controller and with the CFO. Rama has a variety of responsibilities, which include reconciliation of corporate accounts and acting as liaison to state governments to ensure that tax exempt status and business registrations are current.
Faran Nadir, Staff Accountant
Faran's primary responsibilities include cash receipts, grant administration, issuing gift codes, and gift certificate billing. He previously worked at JESNA as a full-time Accountant, and prior to that he was a College Assistant at the bursar office of Baruch College. He has also volunteered in a VITA program. Faran graduated from Baruch College with a degree in Accounting.
Marketing and Donor Relations
Brita Lombardi, Executive Vice President for Strategic Development
Erica Goldman, Vice President of Consumer Marketing
Reyna Booth, Development Officer
Reyna assists with the execution of marketing campaigns and development efforts at DonorsChoose.org. Reyna graduated from Loyola College in Baltimore with a B.A. in Communications and Advertising.
Kari Hayden, Director of Corporate Partnerships
Kari serves as the Director of Corporate Partnerships at DonorsChoose.org. Prior to joining the team, she was a consultant for Public/Private Ventures where she directed strategic partnerships and worked for The Corporate Citizenship Company. Previously, Kari led corporate giving at Educational Employees Credit Union, where her large-scale community service collaborations received back-to-back recognition with the Dora Maxwell Award in Social Responsibility. Kari received her Masters in Public/Nonprofit Management at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, as well as a Bachelor of Arts from California State University of Fresno.
Daphra Holder, Special Projects Manager
Daphra is responsible for a wide-range of projects in the national office, including managing the Blogger Challenge, the DonorsChoose.org blog, and maintaining certain tech-related aspects of our website. In her spare time, Daphra mentors for iMentor, an innovative technology-based youth mentoring initiative catering to inner city public school youth. She earned an A.B. in Political Science from Princeton University.
Tatiana Josephy, Marketing Associate
Tatiana works with the Marketing and Development team on online and offline national marketing and fundraising initiatives, to increase donor engagement with the DonorsChoose.org philanthropic marketplace. She graduated from Princeton University in 2007 with a B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She has worked for the Vera Institute of Justice in New York and the French Senate in Paris. She spent a semester studying in South Africa, where she conducted research on government roll-out of antiretroviral treatment in the Khayelitsha township.
David Puketza, Principal Designer
Re-engineering the phrase "jack of all trades" to have it end: "why settle for one?," Dave has held a wide assortment of positions. He has worked cross media, lending design leadership to: user interface work for web and TV, graphic design, animation, video, copy writing, sound design and virtual worlds. He has worked with a wide range of clients, including: Sony, TV Guide, Yahoo and David Bowie. David balances work with various pursuits and interests, including, but not limited to: running, creative writing, basketball, trainhopping, photography, art gallery combing, and traveling hither and yon. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Architecture and is excited to add DonorsChoose.org to his list of accomplishments. Design with purpose, a fantastic combination!
Lauren Rhue, Senior eCommerce Analyst
Lauren is responsible for the Donorschoose.org site analytics and search campaign management. She previously worked as Senior Analyst at Digitas where she helped optimize online campaigns for Fortune 500 clients. She received a B.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.
Zach Walker, Donor Customer Service
Zach does his best to help create and maintain happy relationships with our donors. He comes to DonorsChoose.org after working as a marketing and advertising consultant for Google. Prior to that he spent 4 years at Warner Music Group marketing and selling records. He received a BS in Management Science & Information Technology from Virginia Tech in 2001. While there, he volunteered at a local residential treatment facility teaching music to at-risk youth.
Operations and Teacher Customer Service
César Bocanegra, Executive Vice President for Operations
Sarah Barnard, Operations Associate
Sarah manages teacher customer service inquiries, oversees school data processes, and handles fulfillment for funded projects. Prior to joining DonorsChoose.org, she taught English/Language Arts in East New York, Brooklyn, as a Teach For America corps member. Sarah has a B.A. in English and Sociology from Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. in Education from Pace University.
Jenni Davies, Operations Associate
Jenni manages customer service inquiries, enhances procurement systems, and handles fulfillment of funded student projects. Previously, Jenni worked with Jumpstart for Young Children as an Americorps VISTA. At Jumpstart, Jenni focused on development events, individual giving, grant writing, and database design. Jenni graduated from Boston College with a BS in sociology and a minor in education.
Jonathan Evans, Vendor Relations Director
Jonathan develops and manages strategic relationships with DonorChoose.org's business partners to enhance operational efficiency and ensure its scalability. Previously, he was the Executive Director of Means For Dreams, an identical model in Washington, DC, that merged with DonorsChoose.org. A Harry S. Truman Scholar, Jonathan graduated magna cum laude from Boston College.
Alisa Frazzini, Screening Manager
Alisa is responsible for overseeing the teacher submission process and managing volunteers. She previously fundraised for non-profits such as Care, Plan, and Oxfam. She also spent many hours working on the administrative side of V-Day, a non-profit aimed at ending violence towards women. Alisa graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a B.A. in Political Science and Theatre.
Jeff Howard, Vendor Relations and Fulfillment Associate
Jeff is responsible for managing the purchasing and fulfillment of all DonorsChoose.org's teachers' materials. He joined our team after leading several fundraising campaigns for nonprofits such as Amnesty International, Plan, and the British Red Cross both in the U.S. and the U.K. Jeff also directed the first ACLU grassroots campaign in U.S. history and worked on behalf of the DNC and other PACs. Jeff was educated at Webster University and majored in International Relations.
Laura Libby, Operations Associate
Laura handles the fulfillment of funded student projects and coordinates the recruitment and hiring of college interns for the Operations Department. She graduated M.A. (Hons.) in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and has been an avid volunteer of Habitat for Humanity and the British Red Cross.
Soo Na Hoover, Operations Associate
Soo Na works as an Operations Associate with the Feedback team at DonorsChoose.org, focusing on streamlining and improving the donor feedback process. In addition, she works to connect excited volunteers with the important work of DonorsChoose.org. She comes to the organization as a former English language teacher in South Korea, as well as a reproductive health educator and mentor in Washington, D.C. Prior to working with DonorsChoose.org, Soo Na worked as a facilitator with the StoryCorps project, wearing headphones and recording oral histories of people living in the United States. In 2005, Soo Na received her B.A. from Hampshire College, where she completed a documentary and a hand-made book. A baker, video-maker, and book liberator, Soo Na works to build community in the People's Republic of Brooklyn and beyond.
Elaine Perez, Feedback Manager
Elaine is responsible for managing the Feedback Compilation process including: 1) creation of teacher feedback kits; 2) checking-in completed teacher feedback packages; and 3) creation and sending of donor feedback packages. Elaine also manages the High School/College Internship program. Previously, she worked at PlasmaNet where she was the Director of Customer Service. Elaine earned her BS in Information Systems with a minor in Business from Pace University. Passionate about helping others and making a difference, she travels to Huaquechula, Mexico annually to do missionary work, where her tasks involve distributing food to poor areas and working with children.
Meghan Reina, Manager, Special Requests
Meghan joined the Operations team in June 2007 and is responsible for helping teachers to obtain hard-to-find and unique items for their proposals. She became acquainted with DonorsChoose.org first as a New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching ESL and French at Harry S Truman High School in the Bronx. Meghan decided to pursue a career in education when teaching English to elementary school children in Tours, France in 2003. A firm believer in public education, Meghan holds a B.A. in French from SUNY New Paltz and is currently earning a M.S. in TESOL from City College.
Suzanne Swanson, Customer Service Manager
Suzanne is responsible for overseeing teacher customer service and for implementing enhancements to ensure that our customer service system is scalable as we continue to grow. She previously worked at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she conducted research studies on rheumatoid arthritis and infertility. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in Biological Sciences.
Divya Vaze, Manager, Field Trips & Class Visitors Division
Divya is responsible for all non-material proposals, from screening through fulfillment, on DonorsCohose.org. Her previous experience includes training call center agents at a business process outsourcing firm in Bangalore, India, and interning with IBM Consulting in Hong Kong. Divya holds an A.B. from Princeton University.
Winmar Way, Operations Associate
Winmar handles teacher customer service inquiries regarding posted proposals, in addition to assisting with the proposal screening process. She graduated from Harvard College in 2007 with a BA in Psychology. While in college, she was involved in community service, teaching ESL to the immigrant and refugee population in Boston and Cambridge.
Technology
Oliver Hurst-Hiller, Chief Technology Officer
David Snelling, Senior Software Architect
David has over 17 years of experience in the software industry, with deep expertise in distributed systems, social networks, machine learning and conversational interfaces. Prior to joining the DonorsChoose.org team, David was the Co-Founder and CTO of RealityBridge, a system that allows players to develop their in-game identity across games and out into the "real world," enabling the sale and trading of virtual goods and services. Prior to forming RealityBridge, David spent seven years at Microsoft, the last five as a Senior Architect working on MSN's distributed application framework, content filtering, anti-spam & phishing, and search. David also worked on a variety of Microsoft's search and research projects as an architect and senior software engineer. David has worked with a number technology startups in the Seattle area, including Webforia and Voicebox, and he currently serves on Voicebox's technical advisory board.
David Crane, Senior Software Engineer
David has 19 years experience building distributed systems and internet services. He has deep expertise in in object-oriented languages, relational databases and middleware technologies, as well as a healthy respect for software engineering discipline. David has built software systems for financial service companies including NASD, Thomson Financial, Salomon Brothers, and Knight-Ridder Financial. Most recently, David served as Director of Front-End System Development at CheckFree. He was also responsible for capacity planning for the CheckFree Investment Services platform, which processes portfolios with assets under management totaling more than $1.8 trillion. Prior to his career in financial information systems, David earned his M.S. degree from NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and worked at Los Alamos National Laboratories.
Susan Chow, Senior Web Developer
Susan builds new donor- and teacher-facing website functionality for DonorsChoose.org, and enjoys bringing pen-and-paper plans to life. With over 12 years experience in website development and interactive design, she has created transactional and informational websites for Hewlett Packard, SpaFinder, and a host of smaller sites. Susan has also authored interactive games and fiction for clients that included Disney Software, Sony Music, and Popular Science. Susan graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Music.
Ken Kim, Senior Software Engineer
Ken is a software engineer who specializes in application development and transactional systems. Prior to DonorsChoose.org, Ken was a Developer/Analyst at Goldman Sachs, where he worked on the implementation of various provisioning systems. Before that, he worked as a Developer for Tallán, a software development consulting company. At Tallán, Ken worked on projects for Columbia House, ClassesUSA, and FedEx Kinkos. Ken also built www.glovesbybruno.com, an e-commerce website selling luxury Italian leather gloves, as a side project. Ken graduated from the School of Engineering at Columbia University with a B.S. in Computer Science.
Frances Lee, Senior Software Engineer
Frances has more than 7 years of software engineering experience, specializing in web application development. Previously, Frances spent 3 and a half years at Citigroup as a Senior Programmer Analyst in the Foreign Exchange eCommerce group, developing trading platforms such as CitiFX Benchmark, Chief Dealer and eOrders, and various back-end systems. In addition, she also served as a Disaster Recovery Coordinator for Citigroup's Foreign Exchange Front Office. Prior to Citigroup, Frances spent 3 years at Novantas developing Mindswift, a CRM platform used to improve the effectiveness of customer interaction. Before working at Novantas, Frances started her career designing and prototyping applications for Scient. Frances graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in Computer Science.
Boris Kerzner, Software Engineer
Boris is a software developer at DonorsChoose.org. Prior to joining, he consulted on finance-related projects at Accenture, and took a brief foray into the world of rapid web development. He holds a B.A. in Computer Science and Math from Brandeis University as well as an M.A. in Computer Science.
Steven Zaluk, Software Engineer in Test
Steven has over 10 years of experience in software quality assurance and development. Prior to DonorsChoose.org, he was building a global business process solution using Lombardi Teamworks for EMI Music, one of the largest music publishers in the world. Steven has worked with development teams of all sizes to define and implement software quality assurance at SAIC, WeightWatchers.com, Met Life, Donovan Data Systems, Information Builders, Computer Associates, and Bear Sterns. He is deeply interested in functional test automation using both commercial tools and custom built tools. Born and raised in New York, Steven holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and is pursuing his Master of Science degree in Quantitative Software Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.
National Board of Directors
Jonathan Alter
Senior Editor and Columnist, Newsweek
Charles Best
Chief Executive Officer and Founder, DonorsChoose.org
Jonathan Beyman
Former Global Head of Operations and Technology, Lehman Brothers
Peter Bloom, Board Chair
Managing Director, General Atlantic, LLC
Michael Brader-Araje
Managing Partner and Founder, SunPocket
Bill Bradley
Former U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate
Peter Currie
Special Advisor, General Atlantic, LLC
Edwin A. Goodman
General Partner, Milestone Venture Partners
Dena Jones Trujillo
Investment Manager, Omidyar Network
Joshua Levine
Managing Director, Kita Capital Management
Michael Lynton
Chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures International
Jeff Weiner
Executive Vice President, Yahoo!
William Wright
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
Anthony Yoseloff
Partner, Davidson Kempner Partners
Pro Bono Legal Counsel
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP
National Advisory Council
Kevin K. Albert
Managing Director, Elevation Partners
Chuck Beck
Former Chairman and CEO of Fiduciary Trust International of California
J.B. Buxton
Deputy State Superintendent, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Bob Daly, Los Angeles Founding Partner
Former Head of Warner Brothers and CEO, Rulemaker, Inc.
David Dickman
Managing Director, JPMorgan
Ruthanne Feinberg
Managing Director, Glocap Search
Hayne Hipp
Former CEO, Liberty Corporation
Steve Jones
Market President, Eastern NC / VA, RBC Centura
John Keller
CEO, Keller Group, Inc.
Neeru Khosla
Amar Foundation
Sherry Lansing
Former Head of Paramount Pictures
Dagny Maidman
Managing Director, Lehman Brothers
Lenny Mendonca
Director, McKinsey & Company
Tom Miglis
CIO, Citadel Investment Group
Jeffrey Patchen
President & CEO, Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Doug Porter
Executive Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities
Dr. John J. Ramos
Superintendent of Schools, Bridgeport Board of Education (Connecticut)
Dan Rosensweig
Operating Principal, Quadrangle
Carole Bayer Sager, Los Angeles Founding Partner
Singer and Songwriter
Anne K. Shane
Vice President, BioCrossroads
Dana Stalder
Senior Vice President, eBay
John E. Thompson, Jr.
Author
Tom Uhlman
Managing Partner, New Venture Partners
Atlantic Region (District of Columbia, DE, MD, NC, PA, SC, VA, WV)
Katie Bisbee, Executive Director
Katie manages the DonorsChoose.org Atlantic region. She is responsible for all on-the-ground activities - developing partnerships in schools, raising funds, recruiting volunteers, and, most importantly, building a strong community of donors for students in the Atlantic region.
Katie has worked in social and entrepreneurial settings. She has held key positions with the Coalition for the Homeless in New York City. She has extensive experience conducting public opinion research studies for commercial, non-profit and political clients. Most recently, she launched a direct marketing venture in Charlotte, NC for an entrepreneurial marketing firm. Katie earned her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Darden School of the University of Virginia, where she received several awards, including the prestigious Hyde Fellowship given annually to the student who contributes most to the welfare of the school.
Kate Hays, Deputy Director
Kate is also responsible for engaging teachers and for cultivating citizens, businesses and foundations to support teachers and students across the Atlantic Region. Kate comes to DonorsChoose.org from five years leading the Greater Washington office of FOCUS (Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools). Prior to FOCUS, Kate worked as an advisor to early stage technology companies at Ernst & Young, and was a marketing expert at both Ernst & Young and at Post-Newsweek Business Information. She taught poetry and creative writing in 6th and 7th grade classrooms in Baltimore, when she was a student at Johns Hopkins University.
Alexandra Cerkovnik, Associate Director
Alex establishes and maintains relationships with DonorsChoose.org partners and supporters across the Atlantic region. She has been a member of the DonorsChoose.org team since 2006, previously serving as program coordinator for the Atlantic region. Alex graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina State University in 2006 with a B.A. in Communication & Public Relations.
Central States Region (IL, IN, IO, KY, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI)
Keecia Broy, Executive Director
Keecia L. Broy joined DonorsChoose.org in 2008 to manage the Central States region. She leads a team of four individuals dedicated to building a strong donor community for K-12 students in the Central States.
Keecia joins DonorsChoose.org with more than 8 years of teaching, philanthropy, program, and fundraising experience. Prior to joining DonorsChoose.org, she served as Development Director and Director of Alumni Affairs for Teach For America Atlanta. She also taught English and Language Arts to middle and high school students through the Teach For America program. Keecia received her undergraduate degree from Occidental College, and a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Illinois.
Kirk Smiley, Associate Director, Indiana
Kirk is responsible for all aspects of the organization's expansion throughout the state of Indiana. He previously worked as the coordinator of the Interns for Indiana program through the Discovery Learning Center at Purdue University. Kirk graduated with honors from Purdue with a B.S. in Management, B.A. in English Literature and Religious Studies, and, most recently, an M.B.A. from the Krannert School of Management. Coming from a long lineage of public school educators in the Midwest, Kirk is very excited to be working with such an amazing and committed organization.
Neeta Nadkarny, Associate Director
Neeta is responsible for working with corporations, foundations, and partner organizations to grow our presence in the Central States. She's served DonorsChoose.org since 2005, as a Program Coordinator then Teacher Engagement Manager, before taking on her current role. Neeta graduated from the University of Chicago, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology with honors.
Beth Goldman, Program Coordinator
Beth supports the Midwest team members in fundraising and marketing efforts, donor relations, and other program goals. She also takes highly detailed phone messages. Beth is involved in regional grant-writing and reporting, and she occasionally helps with copywriting for local and national marketing projects. The DonorsChoose.org mission truly appeals to Beth because she remains traumatized after being forced to sell ugly wrapping paper during her grade-school's fundraising drives. Beth graduated from DePauw University in 2006 with a B.A. in English Writing.
Northeast Region (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT)
Mike Everett-Lane, Executive Director
Mike manages the Northeast regional team. His nonprofit experience includes Computers for Youth, Project Renewal,and the Union Settlement Association. He is also a co-founder of ImprovEdge, a consulting firm that trains businesses in innovation and teamwork skills through improvisation. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is the 2006 recipient of the John C. Whitehead Social Enterprise Award from the Harvard Business School Club of New York.
Thalia Theodore, Deputy Director
Thalia is responsible for all aspects of the organization's expansion throughout New England focusing particularly on Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Previously, Thalia was a first grade public school teacher in the South Bronx. Subsequently, she joined the staff of Teach For America in Los Angeles where she directed the budget, administration, and human resource processes for a summer institute that trained 800 new teachers. Thalia also coordinated volunteer and community programs at The Wonder of Reading, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that renovates school libraries and promotes access to quality library facilities for urban schools. Thalia graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland College Park and holds an MPA in nonprofit management from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University.
Lauren Siciliano, New Jersey State Coordinator
Lauren is responsible for all aspects of the organization's expansion throughout the state of New Jersey. She previously worked for Safe Kids Worldwide in Washington, DC and as a Volunteer Coordinator at Cotsen Children's Library in Princeton, NJ, planning creative educational programs for children. She also taught English Language and Literature to elementary school and high school students at Liceo Europeo W. Gropius and l'Istituto Barbarigo in Padua, Italy. Lauren graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University in 2005.
Claire Gershon, Teacher Outreach Manager
Claire is responsible for recruiting and engaging teachers throughout the Northeast region. While at DonorsChoose, Claire has served in many different roles, most recently serving as Vendor Relations and Fulfillment Officer. In this capacity, she oversaw the purchasing of all student materials, managed vendor relations, and acted as teacher liaison. Before joining DonorsChoose, she worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Jon Corzine (NJ) and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY). Claire graduated from American University with a B.A. in Political Science and History.
Yaritza Olmeda-Cedeño, Program Coordinator
Yaritza is responsible for providing research, administrative, and analytical support for the Northeast Team. Before joining DonorsChoose, she worked in the South Bronx as an English Tutor/Teacher's Assistant with Middle Grades Initiative. Yaritza graduated Marist College and holds an M.A. in International Education from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University.
Northwest Region (AK, CO, ID, MT, No. CA, OR, WA, WY)
Becky Johnson-Pitofsky, Executive Director
Becky joined the DonorsChoose.org team in 2004 as the founding Executive Director for the San Francisco Bay Area region. She came with more than ten years of teaching, philanthropy, fundraising, and community health experience. Becky now leads a fabulous team of five serving the Northwest region, with a strong focus on philanthropic, educational, corporate and civic partnerships that increase teacher and community awareness and use of the website to bring learning to life for all of our students!
Becky's previous experience includes teaching bilingual middle school students with the Teach For America program, serving as the Program Officer for the Shinnyo-En Foundation in San Francisco, and managing development and community/ school relations for the East Bay Conservation Corps in Oakland, CA. She holds a B.A. in English and Spanish from Amherst College, a Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education, and a Masters of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley.
Becky also recently decided that she was tired of the challenges associated with having one of the most common last names in the U.S., and so decided to marry a man with one of the most uncommon last names in the U.S. That, and Jim is a pretty darn cool guy who is also out there fighting the good fight!
Kris Murray, Deputy Director
Kris works closely with the Executive Director in all areas. She joins DonorsChoose.org after serving three years as the Executive Director of the Alameda Education Foundation. Prior to her work with the Foundation, Kris owned and operated a Preschool for thirteen years and taught fourth grade in California public schools for five years.
Kris earned her Teaching Credential through California State University, Hayward, and her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Jonathon Stewart, Teacher Engagement Manager
Jonathon is responsible for developing and executing strategies to engage and recruit teachers throughout the Northwest region. Before joining DonorsChoose.org, Jonathon taught high school mathematics for two years in Oakland, CA as a Teach For America corps member. Jonathon graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics.
Kelly Andreson, Program Coordinator
Kelly is responsible for supporting the Northwest region in operations, fundraising, marketing/PR and expansion. She previously worked as the program coordinator and internship advisor for Cal Poly Women's Programs, where she developed her organizational, development and marketing skills. Kelly graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Child Development.
San Francisco Bay Area Advisory Committee
Meg Garlinghouse
Director, Yahoo! for Good
Ashley Fieglein
Principal, General Atlantic LLC
Amee Chande
VP of New Business Development, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
South Region (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, OK, TN, TX)
Jeff Wood, Executive Director
Jeff leads our South Region team with a particular focus on developing innovative cause marketing initiatives with corporate sponsors and institutional donors. Prior to joining DonorsChoose.org, Jeff was in charge of the software maintenance and subscription business at Blackbaud, a provider of software for nonprofits. He has also served as a product manager at Online Insight and a consultant at Bain & Company. Jeff holds a BBA with High Honors in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia and an MBA with Distinction from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Natalie French, Associate Director
Natalie is managing our efforts in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi. Prior to joining the organization, she worked at Allyn & Company where she handled media relations for DonorsChoose.org. The daughter of a Houston public school teacher, Natalie graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in History, and is a candidate for an MBA at The University of Texas at Dallas.
Jonathann Rice, Program Coordinator
Jonathann is responsible for assisting the Atlanta team with both teacher and donor outreach, including project management and establishing teacher/donor relations throughout the Southeast Region. A Project 55 Fellow, Jonathann graduated with honors from Princeton University in 2007 with a degree in Religion, earning the George C. Potts prize for independent work exploring the Book of Job in its relation to ancient Near Eastern creation narratives.
Southwest Region (AZ, HI, NM, NV, So. CA, UT)
Hylan "Tee" Hubbard, Executive Director
Hylan has over 15 years of programmatic, fundraising and management experience. He has worked for organizations including the National Urban League (as national Director of Development), the National Conference for Community & Justice, and Funds for the Community's Future. Hylan also served as Vice President of Business Development for minorityinterest.com. He has taught 5th grade in Inglewood, CA and Headstart in San Diego, CA. Hylan was recently selected as a German Marshall Fellow. He has a B.A. in History from the University of Virginia and J.D. from Tulane School of Law.
Julie Lacouture, Deputy Director
Julie has almost 10 years of work experience in advertising, marketing, non-profit finance, and general management. Prior to joining DonorsChoose.Org, she worked at Sempra Energy Utilities promoting low income customer assistance programs. Julie has also worked at the UCLA Johnson & Johnson Management Fellows Program, SeeitandStopit.org (an organization dedicated to ending teen dating violence), Peace Games, and Oscar Mayer, where she toured the country in a Wienermobile. She has a dual BA in Advertising and Psychology from Syracuse University and an MBA from UCLA.
Arianne Heien Miller, Associate Director
Arianne is responsible for recruiting and engaging teachers in the Southwest region. Before joining DonorsChoose.org, she worked for the CEO's Office of Chicago Public Schools and for the Institutional Research and Planning Office of the San Diego Community College District. Arianne graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Business Institutions.
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