MEET THE 2013 BOOST CONFERENCE SPEAKERS & PRESENTERS

 

Darrell "Coach D" Andrews
Career-Life Coach, Speaker, Author, Darrell Andrews Enterprises, Bear, DE

Darrell ""Coach D"" Andrews is the founder of Darrell Andrews Enterprises. He is known worldwide as America''s Passion Coach. Darrell Andrews Enterprises has been contracted to work with school districts, non-profit organizations, community agencies and state governments with the goal of increasing youth motivation towards academic success, youth leadership and advocacy. His youth program HYPE (Helping Youth Pursue Excellence) is nationally recognized for its high dropout prevention rate, leadership training, and soft skills development.
Coach D is also a motivational speaker, consultant and author. He has authored several books including, The Purpose Living Teen-A Teen''s Guide To Living Your Dreams, Believing the HYPE: 7 Keys to Motivating Students of Color and nationally recognized How To Find Your Passion And Make A Living At It. His ""Five Garbage Bags and a Dream"" story in Chicken Soup for the African American Soul is an inspiring story that shares the role education played in Darrell pursuing his passion. Coach D has made guest appearances on the Tavis Smiley Show and the Black Enterprise Report. He was a regular expert guest on Comcast Cablevision''s Your Morning Talk Show.
Coach D is a highly sought after keynote speaker and trainer at national and state conferences as well as school and school district based events. He shares on the topics of closing the achievement gap, youth and adult motivation, connected- ness and personalization, teamwork, leadership, and parental involvement. As a consultant and trainer, he and his team help school districts and organizations establish infrastructures that support the motivation of minority and at-risk students as well as helping all students ""Connect Dreams To Education™™.
Most importantly, he is happily married and the father of three wonderful children.

Ken Anthony
Director of Professional Development, Connecticut After School Network, Farmington, CT

Director of Professional Development/White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellow, Connecticut After School Network
Ken is the Director of Professional Development for the Connecticut After School Network. Being in the field for the past 20 years, Ken has worked from a front line staff, site supervisor, program director, district coordinator, to his current position for the past five years. His primary role at the Network is to oversee training, professional and leadership development, program consultation, and quality advising. Ken holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a concentration in Child Development from Southern Connecticut State University; a Master's degree in Human Services with a concentration in Organizational Management & Leadership from Springfield College, Ken is also a part of the inaugural class of White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellows. This fellowship was designed to equip emerging leaders in the field of afterschool and expanded learning with policy tools needed to make sustainable change. The fellowship is a partnership of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Furman University. Ken is also currently pursuing his Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Hartford, researching expanded learning practices that build sustainable relationships and partnerships for afterschool program staff.

Diego Arancibia
Specialist, ASAPconnect, San Jose, CA

Diego Arancibia has been a leader in the field of afterschool for over 15 years. His experience has ranged from working with students in elementary, middle school, and high school in both programmatic

Chelsea Ashcraft
Founder and CEO, Children's Choice, Edgewood, NM

Chelsea Ashcraft, Co-Founder and CEO of Children's Choice, holds a Master of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education and Administration from Nova Southeastern University. She has more than 20 years of experience in child care: as a teacher, a camp director, a school-age child care coordinator, and a corporate child care center director. She has extensive training and experience in school-age child care and has shared her knowledge as a presenter at many state and national training events. Chelsea serves on the faculty of Central New Mexico College, teaching college courses in child development, guidance, leadership, and teaching strategies. She is a former accreditation endorser for the National Afterschool Association. She is the co-author of Learning to Lead: Leading to Learn: Organizational Leadership for the Child Care and Youth Development Director.

Mike Ashcraft
CEO, Children's Choice, Albuquerque, NM

Mike Ashcraft, Co-Founder and CEO of Children's Choice, holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education with an Emphasis in School-Age Care from Concordia University. He is a doctoral of education candidate (ABD) with Nova Southeastern University. He has more than 20 years of experience in child care and education. He served as a training and technical service contractor and a professional writing contractor for the New Mexico Public Education Department. He served as a guest professor on the faculty of Concordia University, teaching college courses in school-age care programming. He is a former Accreditation Endorser for the National Afterschool Association. He is the former President of the New Mexico School-Age Care Alliance and the New Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children. He is the author of Best Practices: Guidelines for School-Age Programs, and the Best Practices Workbook, and co-author of Learning to Lead: Leading to Learn: Organizational Leadership for the Child Care and Youth Development Director.

Gabriela G. Baeza
Project Specialist II, San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego, CA

Gabriela Baeza has worked with the San Diego County Office of Education since 1999. As a member of the Student Support Services Department, she is responsible for coordinating and implementing of violence prevention/intervention services with various school districts.
Gabriela provides professional development training in the areas of adolescent and teen female development, including topics such as girls' risk and protective factors, teen relationship violence, aggression, self-esteem, body image, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. She also provides educational workshops for parents on positive communication and strategies for strengthening family relationships. She also provides direct service to youth by delivering self-esteem/empowerment groups, lessons on violence prevention topics, as well as leadership conferences. Gabriela lends her expertise and professional skills on a State and National level as well. She is a trainer for the National Girls Institute and also provides private consulting for school districts.
Gabriela is well versed in violence prevention issues and has written several successful grant applications totaling over 6.5 million dollars. She has a Master of Arts in Education/Counseling and Guidance with a PPS Credential from Point Loma Nazarene University and a Master of Public Administration with an Emphasis in Criminology from San Diego State University.
Gabriela is passionate about working with youth- she continually fights the administrative bureaucracies to continue having contact with kids. As a role model to many girls and young women, her authenticity is among one of her strongest assets. She is blessed to have had many women role models in her life (four of which are her mom and three older sisters). Gabriela believes ALL girls have amazing potential- it's up to us to help them realize it.

Sirocus Barnes
Education Outreach Coordinator, The Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing, Atlanta, GA

Sirocus Barnes is an Outreach Coordinator at Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC, pronounced like "seismic"). CEISMC serves at Georgia Tech's K-12 education outreach center, partnering educational groups, schools, corporations, and opinion leaders throughout the state of Georgia. CEISMC's goal is to ensure that K-12 students in Georgia receive the best possible preparation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as they seek their place in the modern world.
Sirocus joined CEISMC in March 2012. He is responsible for providing an advanced level of program implementation, administration, and event management for the AmeriCorps Mentoring and Tutoring Programs. Sirocus has coordinated out-of-school time programs for over 10 years. He started in the recreation and leisure sector at the City of Valdosta and the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority. As the Program Coordinator, Sirocus managed 11 after school programs with over 800 students enrolled and managed four summer day camps serving 400 students daily.
Sirocus' civic engagement involves serving as the Director of Education for the Georgia District of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and was recently appointed to the fraternity's national committee "Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College." This program concentrates on the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education as a road to advancement. Through the Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College educational initiative, young men receive information and learn strategies that facilitate success. Sirocus has also served as the On-Time Graduation Committee Chairman for the Lowndes-Valdosta Commission for Children and Youth.
Through his professional career, Sirocus has leveraged the resources from colleges, universities, and technical schools to provide staffing, training and development, and a host of other resources for the out-of-school time programs that he has managed. Sirocus attended Valdosta State University where he earned his Bachelors of Arts in Psychology & Counseling and a Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management.
Sirocus' vision is to provide access to quality programming that can stimulate school age youth's physical, social, and cognitive development. His belief is that quality out-of-school time programs are the catalyst to stimulate this development.

Kim Berglund
Programming Content & Curriculum Director, RTL, Public Broadcasting Services, Arlington, VA

Kim Berglund is the Programming Content and Curriculum Director for Ready To Learn at PBS. In this capacity, she oversees content development on multiple media platforms, working closely with content producers on all creative elements. Kim is the principal creative executive for award-winning series, including Super Why!, Martha Speaks, The Electric Company, Dinosaur Train, and upcoming preschool series Peg + Cat. She also serves as the PBS Kids curriculum expert and provides guidance on whether the content and curriculum accurately reflect the show's premise and learning objectives. Additionally, she has developed the Ready To Learn Curriculum Frameworks for early childhood literacy and mathematics. These frameworks, which are aligned with current teaching standards, guide the development of all of the content for the federally funded Ready To Learn grant program.
Before her tenure at PBS, Kim was the Manager of Animation Development at Nickelodeon. In that position, she oversaw the development and production of Nickelodeon's Cartoon Inkubator shorts program. Prior to joining Nickelodeon in 2004, Kim served as a Development Associate at Walt Disney Television Animation, where she was heavily involved in the development of many projects, including Disney's The Buzz on Maggie and Playhouse Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She got her start in children's programming at Boston's WGBH, where she worked on the long-running series, ZOOM. Before entering the entertainment industry, Kim was a 2nd grade teacher at Milton Academy in Milton, MA.
Kim graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelors degree in Psychology and received her Masters in Technology, Innovation, and Education at Harvard University. She resides in Palo Alto with her husband and two kids.

Tiffany Berry
Research Associate Professor, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA

Dr. Tiffany Berry is a Research Associate Professor at Claremont Graduate University (CGU) and practicing educational evaluator at the Claremont Evaluation Center. She specializes in conducting developmentally sensitive program evaluations that are responsive to the needs of program stakeholders, participants, and funders. She has worked in a variety of domains, such as early childhood education, college readiness, curriculum evaluation, school reform, and extensively in afterschool programs.
Her journey in afterschool began as an internal evaluator for Los Angeles's Better Educated Students for Tomorrow (LA's BEST) where she designed an evaluation infrastructure to facilitate continuous improvement and promote best practices. For the past six years, she's served as an external evaluator to the Los Angeles chapter of After School All-Stars. More recently, she has evaluated the Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) program with Montebello Unified as well as Everybody Dance!, an afterschool dance program. In addition, she conducts evaluations with agencies such as non-profit educational programs, charter schools, textbook publishers, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). Since 2004, she has published over 40 technical reports and multiple publications in leading evaluation journals (American Journal of Evaluation and New Directions for Evaluation) and youth development journals (Journal of Early Adolescence).
Across these evaluations, Dr. Berry employs a range of quantitative and qualitative evaluation designs (e.g., case studies, quasi-experimental designs, non-experimental, program monitoring, randomized control trials) and tools (surveys, observations, focus groups, interviews, etc.) to answer stakeholders' key evaluation questions. She is committed to evaluations that simultaneously satisfy accountability requirements while fueling program improvement so that organizations achieve the maximum impact from their programmatic endeavors. She often approaches evaluation from a "whole child" framework that acknowledges that socio-emotional outcomes are as important, if not more important, than academic achievement within many afterschool enrichment programs.
In addition to her evaluation work, she is also a core faculty member at CGU. She regularly teaches graduate courses related program evaluation (Evaluation Procedures, Evaluation Practicum), developmental psychology (Applied Developmental Psychology), as well as courses that bridge both disciplines (Evaluating Developmental Interventions). Finally, she is dedicated to training and mentoring the next generation of evaluators and often includes graduate students passionate about youth development on her evaluation projects.

Rudi Bertschi
Program Supervisor, Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction/21st Century Community Learning Centers, Olympia, WA

Rudi Bertschi is a Program Supervisor for 21st Century Community Learning Centers in Washington State with principal responsibility for professional development of out-of-school-time staff.

Katie Brackenridge
Senior Director, Out of School Time Initiatives, Partnership for Children and Youth, Oakland, CA

Katie joined the Partnership in 2004 and directs the Out of School Time initiatives. She has helped hundreds of school and community-based after school and summer programs plan programs, access funding and improve their program practices. Katie also supports the Partnership’s work to develop and improve policies that make out-of-school-time programming more accessible and effective. Katie has been teaching, managing and providing technical assistance to youth programs since 1990.

Jennifer Cano
Director of Digital Learning, LA's BEST After School Enrichment Program, Los Angeles, CA

Jennifer Cano is currently the Director of Digital Learning at LA’s BEST After School Enrichment Program, and serves as a technical assistance provider to LA’s BEST through the Summer Matters Campaign.  Previously, she developed health education curriculum at Planned Parenthood Pasadena, and worked as Director of School-Partnered Programs for the Chinatown Beacon Center in San Francisco.  Jennifer began her career in youth development and education as a K-12 teacher in Los Angeles, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and San Francisco.

Lori Carr
Consultant, Fresno County Office of Education, Fresno, CA

Lori Carr is a Consultant with FRESH, the FCOE consortia of 135 after school programs. She has been with Safe and Healthy Kids for ten years, and handles all aspects of programming for 12 ASSETs after school programs and leads the planning committee for the Central Enrichment Summer Adventures program.

Jorge Castillo
Advocacy Director, Alcohol Justice, San Rafael, CA

Jorge Castillo joined Alcohol Justice in December 2007. Before coming to Alcohol Justice, Castillo worked as a family reunification case-manager in South Central Los Angeles and as a substance abuse counselor for Newcomer Spanish speaking teenagers and young adults in the Mission District of San Francisco. He has also advocated and produced community-based media. Castillo was formerly a member of the County of Marin Board of Supervisors Advisory Board on Alcohol and Other Drug Problems.

Lisa Chauveron
Director of Research and Evaluation, The Leadership Program, New York, NY

Lisa Chauveron, M.Ed., is the Director of Research and Evaluation at The Leadership Program. Her work in youth development has integrated research into practice and vice versa for more than 11 years.

Sasha Clifton
Director of Programs, Natural High, La Jolla, CA

Sasha Clifton has been committed to the nonprofit sector for more than ten years. Her love for recreation and program development began with her summer days as camp counselor for Girl Scouts, Spirit of Nebraska. Following summer camp, Sasha would lead camping and rock climbing trips to South Dakota with Girl Scouts who wanted to engage more deeply in their love for nature and adventure.
While studying at the University of Nebraska and earning her BA in Recreation Administration and Nonprofit Management, Sasha continued her climb at Girl Scouts from receptionist to store associate, and eventually camp director to program director/ volunteer coordinator.
Sasha moved to San Diego in the fall of 2007 where she continued to volunteer for Girl Scouts, San Diego – Imperial Council and developed her programming skills at the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County. Sasha wasted no time providing services to the thousands of people affected by epilepsy in San Diego. The epilepsy community was in need of education, support and a sense of strength from one another in the fight to participate in all life experiences.
One of Sasha's greatest achievements was the development of a parent support group that provided a space for sharing and understanding among parents of epileptic children. This support group took place alongside a volunteer program that provided the children with an expressive arts-based environment, fostering relationships among peers and the freedom to live without stigma. This group grew from just five families to over 40 families during Clifton's time as program director.
Sasha took the seat as the first Director of Programs and Community Engagement at Natural High, a San Diego-based drug prevention organization with a national reach. The Natural High program has allowed Sasha to use her recreation and nonprofit skills to nurture relationships with educators across the country by advancing the highly effective positive approach of the Natural High program.
Sasha has the pulse on the education landscape and cutting-edge technology in order to reach the nation's tweens and teens with the story-forward messaging of celebrities living their natural highs through the Natural High program.
You can find Sasha experiencing her own natural high while laughing and mountain climbing!

Alvaro Cortes
Executive Director/Assistant Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District, Beyond The Bell, Los Angeles, CA

Alvaro A. Cortés is the Assistant Superintendent of Extended Day Programs with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Mr. Cortés has worked with LAUSD for over 31 years in the capacity of teacher, program coordinator, Principal, District Administrator and now as Assistant Superintendent.
Mr. Cortés, an immigrant from Central America, is a former English language learner and graduate of the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has worked as teacher and administrator in several elementary schools in various sections of our city. His focus and passion has always been serving the disenfranchised students in the District, specifically students who are newly arrived to the United States.
After serving in his second assignment as a principal at one of the District's year-round schools, Mr. Cortés was promoted to the position of Facilitator for the Annenberg Grant in the North Hollywood Complex of Schools. The $10 million grant focused on enhancing student literacy as well as assisting in the education and empowerment of parents whose children attend LAUSD schools. Mr. Cortés also served as a Director, School Services for 6 years in the eastern San Fernando Valley. As Director, Mr. Cortés was responsible for the supervision of both the instructional and operational programs of 15 schools (K-12) in Local District 2.
Mr. Cortés was appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Beyond the Bell Branch in May, 2006 by then Superintendent Roy Romer. Beyond the Bell Branch (Extended Day Program) is an organization within LAUSD that encompasses all academic, enrichment, and recreation programs that occur before and after school. Combined, Extended Day Programs serve over 500, 000 LAUSD students annually.
Beyond the Bell and LAUSD have made the commitment that all students within our District have access to high quality, safe and supervised after school and Saturday programs that engage and inspire learning and achievement beyond the regular school day.

Marilyn Cosby
Education Coordinator, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL

Marilyn Cosby, works as an Educator Coordinator for Science Minors After School Science Clubs, Community Initiatives team. She has been at the Museum of Science and Industry for 1. 5 years planning and implementing the PNC Grow Up Great Early Science Learning program. She has experience mentoring youth in social, behavioral and professional development, as well as taught in the fields of Theatre Arts to diverse audiences, and Early Childhood Education. Marilyn holds a Master in Education in Instructional Leadership; Specializing in Early Childhood Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

Janelle Cousino
Vice President, FowlerHoffman, LLC, Baltimore, MD

Janelle Cousino heads FowlerHoffman's East Coast office. She has extensive experience directing organizations and developing strategies for advocacy and change for public policies in the U.S. and internationally. She served for three-years as Resident Office Director and Senior Program Officer of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Moscow, Russia. She worked on capacity building with many international, national and local civic organizations and political party groups in their efforts to build democratic institutions.
Ms. Cousino has consulted, directed or chaired many state-level advocacy campaigns. She led grassroots legislative campaigns on issues such as consumer issues such as insurance, tax reform, health care, banking reform and job protection. She was a principal force in campaigns for increased funding for poverty programs, passing handgun control and securing funds for affordable housing. In addition to her direct experience conducting campaigns, she has helped dozens of groups in the U.S., Canada and the former Soviet Union through consultations and training on strategic planning for advocacy, and has served as director of the Maryland Citizen Action Coalition, a statewide coalition comprised of 105 organizations.
Her recent work includes coalition building and advocacy work aimed at creating state networks for the Afterschool Alliance, a broad coalition of public, private and nonprofit organizations dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to quality, affordable afterschool programs. Currently, Ms. Cousino is working with 41 state networks, and several states aspiring to create one in their state. She has helped state networks develop multi-year public policy campaign plans integrating organizing, coalition building, governance, media, policymaker engagement and research. She also organized business leader forums and a Congressional briefing on afterschool on behalf of Corporate Voices for Working Families, and served as a communications and strategy consultant and trainer for the Center for Community Partnerships in Child Welfare and National School Board Association.
Ms. Cousino received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Speech and Communications from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Business Administration from Indiana University.

Janet Downey
After School Programs Specialist, Riverside Unified School District, Riverside, CA

Janet Downey has a B.A. in Social Studies, an M.A. in Spanish, and an M.B.A. in Business Administration. She has worked in education first as a teacher and then as an administrator since 1975. She possesses an administrative credential and a bilingual credential (BCLAD). She was a secondary classroom teacher for twenty-one years and taught in five different school districts on the East and West Coasts. She has taught bilingual social studies, Spanish, and Spanish Language Arts in a Newcomer Program. While at Riverside Poly High School (1988-1996), she served as Foreign Language Department Chair (1995-1996), co-chaired the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation in 1996, and was named Teacher of the Year in 1993. She was one of four teachers chosen to start the district Newcomer Program at Poly High School in 1989 and played a key role in developing the curriculum and teaching the Spanish Language Arts classes in that program. She was named Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) Bilingual Teacher of the Year in 1992 (B.E.S.T. award). She is an experienced presenter. She attended the California Literature Project at UCLA (1991) as well as the Spanish Literature Project in San Diego (1993) and subsequently served as a teacher/leader and presenter for the California Literature Project at UCLA (1994). In 1996, she became the district Instructional Services Specialist for English Learners grades 7-12 and served in that capacity until 2001 when she became the RUSD After School Program Specialist and has served continuously in that role to the present. Starting with only 6 middle school after school programs in 2001 serving 900 students, during the past twelve years of her tenure, RUSD has more than quadrupled the number of programs by adding 21 elementary after school programs supported by both state and federal funding and has quintupled the number of students served daily in grades K-8 to 4,500.

George Fiocca
21st CCLC Program Director, Philadelphia Electrical & Technology Charter High School, Philadelphia, PA

George Fiocca is the Program Director of a 21st Century Community Learning Center in Philadelphia, PA. George has spent the last twelve years working in out-of-school time programs and community organizations. The 21st Century Program provided out-of-school time programming for 180 children in Philadelphia for the past three years.
Erin Dougherty is the Activities Director of Philadelphia Electrical & Technology Charter High School, the grantee awardee. Erin was a member of the Founding Board of the School and has worked in out-of-school time programming for fourteen years. Erin additionally works at the school as their Cooperative Education Program Coordinator and Facilities Director. She serves as a community liaison for many of the program's partners.
John Cassidy is a 21st Century Community Learning Center Teacher who has worked in a variety of capacities in the program and has volunteered much of his personal time to develop quality programs.

 

Andria (Andi) Fletcher
Chief Afterschool Consultant, Center for Collaborative Solutions, Sacramento, CA

Dr. Andi Fletcher is a nationally recognized expert in afterschool program, policy and fund development and evaluation. In addition to initiating California's first afterschool legislation, which now provides $550 million a year to programs throughout the state, she directed one of the country's most outstanding programs and, as a consultant, has worked closely with more than 200 leadership teams and site staff, conducted numerous comprehensive evaluations and designed and led several national, statewide and regional professional learning communities including California's Regional Learning Centers and Healthy Behaviors Initiatives. More than 10,000 people have attended her keynote speeches and workshops at conferences throughout the country, on topics ranging from leadership to funding and staff development to creating authentic partnerships with schools and communities. Her publications, which are among the most widely used in the United States, include Developing Exemplary Practices in Afterschool Programs, Lessons in Leadership, Expand and Excel: Taking your Program to the Next Level, and Changing Lives, Saving Lives. She was recently honored with the national BOOST Out-of-School-Time Pioneer Award, Who's Who Professional of the Year in Educational Consulting, and Who's Who Lifetime Achievement Award. Andi earned her Doctorate in Political Science at UCLA and has worked and traveled in 43 counties, made several guest radio and television appearances and been featured in international and national journal and newspaper articles. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated her commitment to social justice and social change – and to doing good and having fun!

 

Philippe Fontilea
Founder, Let's Erase the Stigma Educational Foundation (LETS), Studio City, CA

Philippe Fontilea has worked in mental health care for more than a decade inspired by personal experience to make a difference in the lives of those affected by mental health concerns. LETS was born when Mr. Fontilea noticed a lack of participation and education about stigma among younger generations, and he developed a model for youth focused on social inclusion. After establishing a LETS Club in Los Angeles, LETS Educational Foundation has grown under Mr. Fontilea's direction to include younger and older age groups, establish a research branch, and receive international recognition.

Julia Gabor
CEO, A Very Good Consult, Redondo Beach, CA

Julia is born and raised in the lower part of Manhattan, NYC. Julia has transitioned her career path from an artist into educator- there are no mistakes. The skills she absorbed and mastered as a producer and performer have transferred into her educational capacities and gifts. Among many of her talents, Julia is the CEO of her new business: A Very Good Consult (AVGC). AVGC was born out of the desire to help nonprofits and community based organizations understand their mission and be able to deliver important work in their communities. She is most enthusiastic when developing specialized programs in: activity based curriculum; professional development strategies and social media workshops for beginners.
Julia is PASSIONATE about training and facilitating workshops for educators, youth mentors and students. She is committed to the success of others especially around the areas of working with youth.
In addition to her work with AVGC, Julia works at the Tiger Woods Foundation managing a mentor program. She is also creating and implementing a career development program for first generation college scholars attending universities around the nation.
In 2006- 20011, at the Tiger Woods Foundation Julia managed national character education program called Tiger's Action Plan (TAP). The focus of the program was youth development: leadership, goal setting, service learning and career exploration. In 2003-2006, Julia worked with the Los Angeles After School- All Stars, she taught a wide range of middle school enrichment classes: leadership; sports; performance and visual art classes. Julia has served as a facilitator in disguised learning and cultural diversity throughout California. In 2009, Julia received the Honored Educator AwardfromCal State Fullerton. She is a proud graduate of SUNY Fredonia receiving her B.F.A. in Performance and Technical Theater. Most recently, Julia received her Master's in Educational Leadership from Antioch University where she completed a thesis focusing on Teacher Effectiveness and Student Engagement.
Julia wants to know: How can we make an impact on a child's life together?

Jennifer Hicks
Technical Assistance Manager, Out of School Time Initiatives, Partnership for Children and Youth, Oakland, CA

Jen has worked in the out-of-school-time spectrum for more than 11 years, and is skilled at developing and delivering engaging professional development and instructional coaching to youth workers. In 2000, Jennifer began as peer counselor for the Healthy Start program at James Logan High School. She later transitioned to intern for Youth Employment Partnership Inc., in Oakland, where she mentored and supported over 200 youth in job readiness and placement for the 2005 Mayor Summer Job Program. In 2005 Jennifer began working for YMCA of the East Bay, providing service in several capacities over five years. As site director of the Explore Middle School after school program she earned a 2007 Service of Excellence award from Oakland Unified School District. In 2009, Jen was promoted to fiscal management director with the lens of after school program strategy and compliance. During the 2008–09 school year Jennifer worked with OUSD's complementary learning department as a consultant in the after school program office.

Ezra Holland
President, The Holland Group, Beverly, MA

Ezra is the founder and principal of The Holland Group, a national leadership development company. He is an Adjunct Faculty in the School of Business at Endicott College.

Teresa Isarraraz
Program Specialist, Save the Children, Westport, CT

Teresa Isarraraz has worked passionately in education for the last 14 years. She is currently Program Specialist for Save the Children in the Morongo Valley area. Teresa is responsible for the delivery of high quality and structured afterschool literacy and physical activity programs at Morongo Unified School District. She has extensive experience in literacy fundamentals, staff training and implementation of literacy program components in the afterschool setting. Teresa is currently collaborating with district administrators to ensure that programming aligns with Common Core Standards.

Sue Jin
ASES Program Director, Norwalk La Mirada Unifed School District, Norwalk, CA

Sue Jin Kim is a doctoral student at the University of Southern California and has served in the field of after school programming for more than 10 years, directing and developing academic intervention programs. Her current work as Program Director of ASES Preparatory for the Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District, earned the program the prestigious Golden Bell Award for Closing the Achievement Gap in K-12 Education in 2012. Her passion for after school programming as a vehicle for social change is embedded within the program design of every ASES preparatory.

Lynn Johnson
Co-Founder/CEO, Go Girls! at Glitter & Razz, Oakland, CA

Lynn Johnson is a social entrepreneur, theater producer, girl advocate, and theater artist dedicated to igniting a compassion revolution through theater and expressive arts. She is the Co-Founder/CEO of Glitter & Razz Productions based in Oakland, CA. Glitter & Razz produces Go Girls! Camp – a program where girls learn social/emotional skills through the creation of original plays – and is the publisher of Starring Celia (written by Allison Kenny and illustrated by Thorina Rose), the story of a 4th grade girl who goes from being bullied to becoming a "Go Girl!"
Lynn knew that she wanted to be an actor when she was just 5 years old and has spent her whole life centered around the learning, teaching, and creation of theater. She spent her childhood moving throughout the northeastern U.S. until her family settled in Concord, MA her 8th grade year. Being a "drama geek" and 1 of only a few African American students living in the town at the time, Lynn developed a strong awareness of and commitment to those who live their lives "being different." At a young age, she began to develop a personal and professional mission dedicated to using the art of theater to celebrate difference while building strong, peaceful, loving, and diverse communities.
After graduation from Northwestern University, she discovered her entrepreneurial tendencies when she founded TurnStyle Teen Theatre, a multicultural teen ensemble. The company used the process of creating original productions to explore themes central to the lives of its members. Also in Chicago, Lynn worked as a company member for Child's Play Touring Theatre, a nationally recognized theater that performs stories and poems written by young people throughout the United States. Later, in Chapel Hill, NC she designed and directed a number of community-based educational programs that focused on literature, oral history, community building, and personal narrative. She served as the Education Director for both the StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance in Chapel Hill and Burning Coal Theatre Company in Raleigh. She also created programming for the Opera Company of North Carolina and directed The Village Whippersnapper Ensemble, a group of home-schooled students and their mothers that adapted and performed classics and original stories for local school groups and libraries.
Lynn transferred her direct youth service experience to work as a trainer and organizational development consultant when she joined the staff of the Bay Area non-profit, Community Network for Youth Development (CNYD). Over her 4 years there, she led a variety of training workshops, advised on a number of city-wide youth serving efforts in San Francisco, and specialized in the connections between the arts and youth development. Lynn is also a founding member of OutLook Theater Project and serves on the Executive Committee of Teaching Artists Organized.

Cassandra Jones
Academic Enrichment Coordinator, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, Houston, TX

Cassandra D. Jones is a passionate education reformer currently living in Houston, Texas. Ms. Jones began her career at Empowerment South Early College High School. Currently, she serves as the Academic Enrichment Coordinator for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston. She seeks to bring innovation and fun to BGCGH Academic Success programming. She is the CEO of Guidepost Education Solutions, an organization that seeks to transform communities and end generational poverty with family-centered education reform efforts that connect people, resources, and opportunities for prosperity.

Alex Kajitani
California Teacher of the Year, Escondido Union School District, Carlsbad, CA

Alex Kajitani is the 2009 California Teacher of the Year, and a Top-4 Finalist for National Teacher of the Year. Known around the country as "The Rappin' Mathematician," his CDs and Workbooks are being used in thousands of homes and classrooms around the world (available at www.MathRaps.com).
Alex is the most in-demand new speaker in education, and he speaks across the country to afterschool professionals, teachers, and education groups. He has been featured on the CBS Evening News, has been honored at The White House, and is a leading authority on providing educators with easy-to-implement teaching strategies to close the achievement gap. His recent TED Talk, "Making Math Cool" is receiving rave reviews!
Alex is the author of The Teacher of the Year Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Making the Most of Your Teacher-Leader Role, and a contributing author for Chicken Soup: Teacher Tales. He teaches in the Escondido Union School District, in one of California's poorest neighborhoods.
About Multiplication Nation:
Alex knows that ALL SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS KNOW THEIR TIMES TABLES, and he is now on a new mission: to get EVERY kid in America to know their times tables by the time they leave elementary school. His breakout session, "Multiplication Nation: Get EVERY kid to know their times tables," will show you step-by-step how to create a program at your school where the afterschool professionals can support the work that the teachers are doing, in order to help all students achieve in math, in a way that is fun and effective.
When he's not spending time with his family or surfing, he travels the country speaking with afterschool professionals, teachers and parents on a variety of educational topics. Alex would LOVE to come and speak to your group or organization. Visit www.AlexKajitani.com for all he does (and raps!).

Roshni Kasad
Project Manager, Techbridge, Oakland, CA

Roshni Kasad is a Program Manager for Techbridge. She joined Techbridge after finishing her doctorate in Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. At Techbridge, Roshni works on developing professional development models for STEM professionals and out-of-school-time providers who want to engage youth with hands-on STEM programs.

Elizabeth Kennedy
Director, Burr Community Afterschool Program, Inc., Newton, MA

With experience as both a toddler and pre-school teacher, Elizabeth began her career in afterschool as a coordinator and summer camp co-coordinator in Dorchester, MA.
For the past twenty-five years, Elizabeth has been the program director of a private not-for-profit afterschool program in Newton, MA. She holds a Master of Education in elementary education and is a state licensed elementary school (1st-6th grade) teacher. Elizabeth successfully led a program improvement process that resulted in accreditation from the National Afterschool Association.
Elizabeth is a member of National Afterschool Association (NAA), the Newton Afterschool Association (NASA), and the International Bullying Prevention Association (IBPA). She is certified in Massachusetts to train peers in the state-mandated anti-bullying law through the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center(MARC) housed at Bridgewater University.
For the past 5 years she has led trainings and workshops in bully prevention, ethics, teacher language, and other topics relevant to professionals in the afterschool field.

Bobby Klein
Senior Program Director, YMCA of Greater Long Beach, Long Beach, CA

Bobby Klein has a Master's Degree in Educational Counseling from Azusa Pacific University. He has worked in the social services field for over 9 years. He started as a frontline staff at a day camp in Escondido, CA and continued on to supervise elementary and high school sites for the Boy's and Girl's Club of Garden Grove. After getting his Masters Degree, he was hired on at the YMCA of Greater Long Beach in 2009 as a Site Director and now holds the position of Senior Program Director in which he manages the replication of the Youth Institute, an internationally recognized youth development program. The Youth Institute now has 13 sites across the state of California and in South Dakota; serving over 400 youth a year. He also supports his branch by organizing its PR and marketing via conferences, social media, websites and a quarterly newsletter. Bobby is an Afterschool University Trainer in which he has traveled and trained across the country as well as authored several trainings. He has been a mentor for the Los Angeles County of Education and was recently accepted into the YMCA Leadership Symposium. In his spare time, he enjoys snowboarding, competing in triathlons and playing bass guitar. Bobby and his wife, Jennifer, live in Seal Beach, CA.

Taneisha Lee
Program Director, Education Outreach Coordinator, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA

Taneisha Lee is the Program Director for Student Success Initiatives at Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC). CEISMC serves as Georgia Tech's K-12 education outreach center, partnering with educational groups, schools, corporations, and opinion leaders throughout the state of Georgia. CEISMC's mission is to ensure that K-12 students in Georgia receive the best possible preparation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Ms. Lee has worked with CEISMC for over 12 years. She joined as a tutor while an undergraduate at Georgia Tech and was later promoted to School Coordinator and Assistant Program Coordinator. Ms. Lee graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelors of Science in International Affairs.
In her current position as Program Director, she directs all operations for three academic mentoring and tutoring programs as they partner with eight schools in the Gwinnett County and Atlanta Public School Systems. The programs provide academic support, postsecondary preparation, and STEM enrichment and exposure activities for over 400 students in the Atlanta Public School System and 200 students in Gwinnett County.
Ms. Lee cultivates and manages relationships with all partners including school administration, school systems, other colleges and universities, and foundations. She is also tasked with overseeing the operations of the programs as well as assisting with the supervision of over 60 AmeriCorps Members and student employees. Ms. Lee's responsibilities include program and budget management, writing and monitoring grants, as well as managing the evaluation of the programs.
Ms. Lee received a Master's of Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. She is currently completing coursework in Georgia State's Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies Program with a concentration in Research, Measurement, and Statistics.
Ms. Lee believes that with proper exposure, support, and preparation all students will achieve success in the ever-changing modern world. She endeavors to bridge the gap between research and practice to ensure students receive quality programs and organizations grow through evaluative feedback and systematic programming.

Stephanie Lingwood
Project Director, Girl Scouts of Western Washington, Seattle, WA

Stephanie Lingwood, Girl Scouts of Western Washington, is a Principal Investigator for the National Science Foundation-funded project Inquiry in the Community, a four-year project to embed inquiry-based science into the culture and practice of a volunteer-run youth organization. The project has three major deliverables: development of a basic training series for new volunteers that incorporates techniques in facilitating inquiry; enhancing local volunteer networks and systems to support inquiry; and creation of a replicable model for use by other Girl Scout councils and youth organizations. Previously, she was the Director of Program and Science Program Manager for Girl Scouts of Western Washington, where she led development of a comprehensive, multi-level science outreach and education program for both girls and adults; she also brings expertise from the outdoor and environmental education realms.

Mike Liston
President, Rhythms of Life, Salt Lake City, UT

Since 2000, Mike Liston has been introducing fun and inspiring activities into classroom, camps, and after-school programs, aiming to empower kids while having fun.

Leslie Lowes
Informal Education Specialist, Discovery New Frontiers Education Public Outreach, NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA

Leslie Lowes has more than 15 years of leadership positions for NASA education projects. Currently serving on the JPL team supporting the Informal Education Outcome manager at NASA Headquarters Office of Education, she exercises her specialty in informal education through coordination of a community of practice of 50 NASA-funded (CP4SMP+) museum and planetarium projects around the country.
Leslie is also the Principal Investigator of a competitively-awarded project From Out-of-School to Outer Space: Exploring the Solar System with NASA, adapting three NASA formal education guides for grades 4-5 afterschool programs. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/os2os
Leslie provides NASA STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professional development workshops for afterschool coordinators and front-line staff to build their interest and capacity for bringing NASA STEM to their programs.
Leslie was also the Principal Investigator on three prior successful NASA education proposals to conduct trainings for Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) trainers, and has published some of her work. Leslie keeps her technical connection strong by serving as the implementation lead for the Planetary Science Summer School for post-docs and PhD candidate students interested in learning to plan a planetary science mission. http://pscischool.nasa.gov
Leslie managed the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) national relationship with GSUSA, culminating in a signed Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and GSUSA. Previously serving as manager of NASA SMD's Solar System Exploration (SSE) Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) Forum, Leslie coordinated and supported efforts of SSE mission E/PO teams across the Agency to produce joint thematic projects and products, including the Exploring the Solar System workshop for formal and informal educators developed by Johnson Space Center. She co-chaired the SMD Out-of-School Time Working Group. Leslie also has experience in the design and delivery of professional development workshops for astronomy education professionals. Leslie received the NASA Exceptional Service Award in 2006 for leadership of the SSE E/PO Forum in establishing a vital community of SSE E/PO practitioners.
In her initial work for NASA E/PO, Leslie served as the Lead Outreach Coordinator for NASA's Galileo Mission to Jupiter. She created the Galileo Ambassador to Jupiter Program, which later became the widely-successful Solar System Ambassador Program, a volunteer network of trained volunteers who do NASA-related events in their local communities.

Doug Luffborough
Executive Director, Turning the Hearts Center, Chula Vista, CA

Doug Luffborough is an over-comer! Raised by his mother, a housekeeper, Doug grew up in an impoverished environment. As the oldest son in a single parent family, he was thrown into the role of father figure to his three younger siblings while lacking a strong male role model for himself. Doug's greatest ambition was to become the first member in his family to attend college – a dream challenged when his family became homeless during his senior year in high school. Despite homelessness and discouragement from guidance counselors to attend college, Doug continued to work hard and was eventually accepted into Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts to pursue a Business and Human Resources Management degree.
Five years later he was chosen as the Student Commencement Speaker for his class and preceded then President of the United States, Bill Clinton. President Clinton was so impressed with Doug's tenacity and drive that he invited him and his mother to the White House.
After working with a national community service organization, Doug went back to school to receive his master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a concentration in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy. After Harvard he was chosen to receive a Fellowship degree from the prestigious Center for Social Innovations at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders. Currently, he is a PhD student in Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego with a concentration in Nonprofit Management Consulting.
Doug has spent over 20 years working with non-profit organizations as an educational consultant, social entrepreneur, and advocate for social change. Extremely devoted to youth development and family empowerment, he has created and directed social service programs throughout the United States and Asia.
Doug was recently recognized as a recipient of the esteemed San Diego Channel 10 Leadership Award as a caring resident "who goes above and beyond to make San Diego a better place to live by improving the quality of life for those who need it most."
His core values and belief in faith, discipline, action, and hard work led to special appearances at the Fleet Center (formerly the Boston Garden), the White House, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, and the Crystal Cathedral's "Hour of Power" television broadcast. Doug's life is a tale of inspiration and hope for the American dream which has impacted hundreds of institutions and thousands of young people across the world.
Today he lives in Chula Vista, CA with his wife Claire, daughters Makenna Joy and Micaela Elsa, and son Douglas Dante. Currently, Doug serves as Executive Director with the Turning the Hearts Center -- a community-based nonprofit organization committed to turning the hearts of youth and families through education, leadership development, and family enhancement services.

Patrik Lundh
Education Researcher, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA

Dr. Patrik Lundh is an education researcher at the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International in Menlo Park, California. He has extensive experience in research and evaluation of science programs and curricula in both formal and informal learning contexts. Dr. Lundh has been particularly focused on science learning experiences in afterschool programs.

Jason Manion
Event Architect, Roadtrip Nation, Coasta Mesa, CA

Jason is the Event Architect at Roadtrip Nation. He builds out experiences for people to engage with Roadtrip Nation whether it is through events, conferences, skype calls, classroom visits, etc. He has worked for Roadtrip Nation for 5+ years starting out as a roadtripper through the Independent Roadtrip Grant Program. He hit the road with friends and conducted interviews all over the country and was then hired on full time in the Outreach department to continue sharing those stories from the road as well as encouraging other people to do the same. He has also worked within Roadtrip Nation's Education Department as well as their Production Department. He is excited to answer and and all questions you may have in how Roadtrip Nation can help you (or your students) Define Their Own Road In Life!

 

Justin McGlamery
Coordinator of Adventure Education, University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT

Justin McGlamery is the Coordinator of Adventure Education at the University of Saint Joseph in CT where facilitates therapeutic adventure groups, teacher trainings, corporate team-building programs, and teaches coursework. Justin is a regular presenter and keynote speaker at many regional, national and international conferences, is a certified trainer for Play for Peace, is a wellness and empowerment drumming facilitator, was recently awarded the 2013 Outstanding Adventure Practitioner Award by High 5 Adventure,and is co-author of: Focus Your Locus(2010 Wood'n'Barnes).

Kellee McQuinn
Founder, CEO, KidTribe, Santa Monica, CA

Kid expert and fitness guru, Kellee is nicknamed "the Pied Piper with a Boom Box" by the LA Times. In 2002 she founded KidTribe, an international children's fitness and nutrition program, and has single-handedly evoked a new paradigm of physical education with her trend-setting activities and cutting-edge approach. With over 3 million participating kids and teachers throughout the US and the UK, KidTribe creates a positively contagious environment where being healthy is cool. Serving in over 3000 schools and partnering with such organizations as the US Department of Education, Health and Human Services, Let's Move!, President's Council of Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, USDA, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Camp Association, National After School Association, YMCA-USA, National Parks and Recreation Association, numerous County Offices of Education, countless school districts and the UK's National After School Program, Kellee and her crew perform their famed "Hoopapalooza" interactive fitness concerts for upwards of 20,000 children a month. A sought after instructor, she's empowered too many teachers to count with KidTribe's Teacher Trainings. An energizing and inspiring speaker, Kellee leads many key-notes and was even invited to share her ideas at TEDx Talk last year.
Lovingly known as "Miss Kellee" by her enormous tribe of kids, she has performed at The White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll in 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 where she headlined and hula-hooped with the First Family and 35,000 others. She and her team had over 60,000 families sweating, smiling, and hula-hooping at the Nickelodeon Worldwide Day of Play in DC. Kellee also received the Outstanding Community Leadership award from the President's Council on Fitness, Nutrition & Sports in 2011.
Most recently Kellee launched HOOPERSIZE, the first kids' retail fitness kit to the market. She created and choreographed all the instructional music videos, wrote the songs, and designed the fitness content as well as patented the indestructible Pro Hoop.
She also created a dance/music video for Let's Move!, the First Lady's initiative along with Unjunk Yourself and The Process, a music video encouraging healthy eating in partnership with Dr. David Katz and Yale School of Medicine. She wrote, directed, choreographed and produced a Telly award winning "hip-hopera" DVD series for NASA entitled Space School Musical and travels across the nation training educators to produce the play and implement the curricula. This MTV approach to science teaches students about the solar system and is being adopted in thousands of schools. Miss Kellee played herself on the Emmy nominated children's television show, Hip Hop Harry, airing on Discovery Kids. She and her team headlined the Kidz stage at Lollapalooza, the legendary concert venue in Chicago's Grant Park. She has been featured on Fox News, ABC News, KTLA, BBC, NASA TV, Scottish TV and Exercise TV as well as BBC Radio and KCRW. Editorials and feature stories include the LA Times, Los Angeles Family and a smattering of regional newspapers.
With Kellee, there's never a dry armpit in the house!

Leon Mostovoy
Senior Program Consultant, Woodcraft Rangers, Los Angeles, CA

Leon Mostovoy has over fifteen years' experience working in the afterschool community. When he joined Woodcraft Rangers, he provided direct instruction to students as a video and photography instructor for our middle and high schools. Subsequently, Leon became the agency's Art Consultant, allowing him to work with large groups of Club Leaders to help with program design and enhancement. He soon moved on to management of the middle school programs. Leon has since served as both middle and high school manager. Presently Leon is the Senior Program Consultant and has found his niche, as he is able to use his creativity to create exciting programming for older youth. In his many roles, Leon also serves as a curriculum specialist for arts and youth development, designing programs with the central Woodcraft rangers youth choice, youth driven, and youth led model. In his years with Woodcraft Rangers, Leon has been instrumental in developing new clubs that are in pulse with today's youth, among them, middle and high school photography clubs, magazine, video, cosmetology, hip hop dance and graffiti, music recording, and high school youth advisory boards. With over 70% of Angelino's employed in the film industry and little access to minorities and communities in which Woodcraft Rangers serves. Leon recently started the Film Internship Program in October 2012 to establish career pathways for high school students. The internship program kicked-off with the filming of "Life Of A King" with staring Cuba Gooding Jr. due out in February 2013 where forty high school students from three high schools worked in various production departments.

Kevin Mungin
Senior Program Officer – HERO, College Success Foundation – District of Columbia, Washington, DC

Kevin Mungin, Senior Program Officer, HERO Program, College Success Foundation-District of Columbia
Kevin L. Mungin is the Senior Program Officer of the HERO (Higher Education Readiness Opportunity) Program at the College Success Foundation-DC. He oversees the program to ensure that it increases college readiness and success for African –American, Latino and other underrepresented male students while building partnerships with the schools that HERO Scholars attend. The HERO Program works with students in the 7th through the 12th grade who have the desire to go to college and the willingness to work hard but may be falling short of their potential. HERO provides support directly to students, their families, and academic communities to ensure that they have the resources necessary to help them build their academic and leadership abilities. Kevin has been with the Foundation since December 2008. He has been working with adolescents/young adults for 15 years. Mr. Mungin earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in Sociology, (with a concentration on Social Psychology) and his Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Bowie State University. He is also an adjunct professor of Psychology at Prince George's County Community College.

Zach Mural
Visiting Assistant Professor, Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL

Dr. Zachary Mural is the CEO of Youth Development Consulting. Zach has over twenty years of youth development experience having worked as an after-school staff member/multi-site after-school supervisor, camp counselor and director, YMCA branch and program director (supervising after-school programs and teen center), and as a college faculty member. Zach has a Masters degree in Youth Development and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology.
In addition to his work at Youth Development Consulting, Zach is currently a visiting assistant professor at Illinois College, volunteer after-school endorser for the Council on Accreditation, and faculty member at Expert Online Training. Zach's education, real world experiences, and passion for helping everyone who works with youth are the foundation of each of his workshops. Zach has shared his knowledge and experiences at numerous professional conferences such as the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Annual Conference, The Mid-States American Camp Association Conference, The Society for Research on Adolescence Bi-Annual Meeting, The Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, and The Best of Out of School Time (BOOST) Conference.

Jim Murphy
Sr. Manager, Council on Accreditation, New York, NY

Jim Murphy is the Senior Manager of Child & Youth Accreditation & DoD Contracts for COA. He was previously the ED of NYSSACC, the NYS Affiliate to NAA. He transitioned AS Accreditation from NAA to COA

Molly Newman
Senior Project Manager, Healthy Kids Out of School – Tufts University, Boston, MA

Molly Newman is a registered dietitian and the Senior Project Manager for Healthy Kids Out of School, an initiative of ChildObesity180 based at Tufts University. Healthy Kids Out of School works with out-of-school time programs from around the country to help them adopt three simple principles for healthy programs:
Drink Right: Choose water instead of sugar sweetened beverages
Move More: Boost movement and physical activity in all settings
Snack Smart: Fuel up on fruits and vegetables.
Healthy Kids Out of School has just launched a new website - the Healthy Kids Hub (www.HealthyKidsHub.org) - to help connect out-of-school time program leaders with the resources, tools and training materials to help support them in adopting these principles. Prior to joining Healthy Kids Out of School, Molly worked as a clinical dietitian in a childhood obesity prevention clinic at Children's Hospital in Boston. She has also worked in the field of nutrition communications for the public relations firm Weber Shandwick in Chicago. Prior to becoming a dietitian, Molly worked for over ten years as an event and project manager for companies including Fidelity Investments and the Museum of Science in Boston.

Chris Ortiz
Training Coordinator, High 5 Adventure Learning Center, Brattleboro, VT

Chris has been involved with adventure education since 1994 and joined High 5 Adventure in 2006, where he works with a wide range of groups to help them build relationships and create connections between what they are learning and how it relates to their everyday lives. For Chris, it's all about the connections. Whether working with schools, summer camps, universities, corporations, sports teams or social service organizations, his goal is to create fun and enjoyable experiences that develop a sense of community, present physical and emotional challenge, and provide an environment of learning and discovery. He strongly believes that people learn most effectively when they actively participate and feel a sense of control over what they are learning.
Chris regularly presents at regional, national and international conferences where he shares innovative programming and activity ideas. He is a contributor to High 5's Adventure by the Handful blog. He has delivered Playnote addresses at the Association for Experiential Education International conference in 2011 as well as the Connecticut Experiential Education Associations Conference and the Association for YMCA Professionals Chapter 3 Gathering in 2012.

Rico Peralta
Director of Program Development, Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, Clovis, CA

Richard "Rico" Peralta serves as Director of Program Development for the Central Valley Afterschool Foundation. Rico is responsible for providing coaching, mentoring, and training to support the development of high quality youth programs throughout many Central San Joaquin Valley schools and communities. Regarded as an expert at reaching "at-risk" older youth, Rico provides vision and leadership to out-of-school time initiatives throughout California. Prior to joining CVAF, he had a record of service to the field in many different capacities with both local and statewide organizations. A lifetime Valley resident, Rico feels blessed to have spent more than a decade committed to the service and support of youth causes. He attributes his success to confronting challenges head-on and never being scared to use the "F" word when designing educational activities...FUN!

Michelle Perrenoud
Project Coordinator, Los Angeles County Office of Education, Westminster, CA

Michelle R. Perrenoud is recognized as an educational leader in Los Angeles County and throughout the state of California. She is particularly renowned for her work in the pursuing an educational doctorate at University of California Los Angeles in educational leadership. Michelle is a published author of resource guides and multiple other reports sponsored by the California Department of Education and used by a nationwide audience of practitioners from the K-12 and after school communities. She received the Innovator Award from the California Afterschool Network and is regarded as a national expert and trusted advisor addressing learning needs of older youth during out-of-school time. County Offices of Education, school districts, and community-based organizations frequently contract Michelle to provide technical assistance and training focusing on staff development, program design, program quality and grant compliance. Michelle specializes in supporting those organizations that are launching new and/or revitalizing existing 21st CCLC, High School ASSETs, and ASES funded programs.
Michelle has a proven record in organizational leadership, community collaboration, and program sustainability. Also a keen strategist, motivational speaker, and dynamic trainer, she is recognized for her ability to inspire audiences and move leaders to action. Combining her entrepreneurial spirit and business expertise with an attitude of servant leadership, she is able to greatly enhance the field with her unique perspectives. Michelle also serves as an executive member of the Learning in Afterschool and Summer project, provides leadership to the California Afterschool Network older youth committee, and shares her skills as a member of the BOOST Leadership Team.

Shawn Petty
Technical Asssitance Manager, Edvance Research, Inc., Boerne, TX

Shawn C. Petty is the Technical Assistance Manager for Edvance Research. In this role, he oversees the development of training courses, coordinates the efforts of consultants, and provides technical assistance for the Texas ACE Program. Shawn entered the out-of-school-time industry after a decade of experience in the corporate world with the Disney and Target Corporations. Shawn has been a Regional Coordinator for Harris County Department of Education as well as a Texas ACE Project Director. He holds a Bachelor of Science from BYU and a Masters of Political Management from GWU.

Lupine Reppert
Director of Education and Membership, American Camp Association, Southern California/Hawaii, Glendora, CA

Lupine Reppert has been working in youth development for over fifteen years. She began as a summer camp counselor at Tumbleweed Day Camp in Los Angeles and later became director of the camp, serving for five years. Lupine also gained valuable experience working in the staff development department of LA's BEST, an after-school program serving children in Los Angeles with the greatest need and least resources. She loves her current position as Director of Education & Membership with the American Camp Association because it gives her the opportunity to share her passion for the value of the camp experience in the lives of young people - and now has begun to link two of her favorite things: camp and after-school.
Lupine has a Bachelor of Arts in English from UCLA and a Masters of Public Administration from USC. She counts herself lucky to be able to volunteer with the American Red Cross, American Heart Association and the California-School Age Consortium, for which she is currently the Los Angeles Chapter President. In her free time, you'll find Lupine in the outdoors – running, hiking, camping and kayaking or indoors - swing dancing.

Suamhirs Rivera
Youth Leadership Training, Mental Health Systems Inc., San Diego, CA

Suamhirs Rivera is currently a Youth Leadership Trainer/Mentor with Caring Helpers Leadership Training, a program of Mental Health Systems. He trains youth and adults on character development and leadership skills, as well as on the value of treating every child as if they may have experienced some kind of trauma in their life. This "Trauma-Informed" perspective helps avoid further pain for the children we are trying to help and assists in the reduction of stigma related to mental illness.
Suamhirs is a young man who experienced many challenges in his life. He grew up in Honduras, where he was exposed to extreme violence at the hands of his father. When he was 15 1/2, he was kidnapped and brought to America, where he was trafficked and sold. When he was finally rescued from his abductors, he struggled in a system of care that was designed to help him. He did not speak English, he knew no one, and he had 17 different residential placements while he was in this system. During that time, Suamhirs was alone, frustrated, scared, and suffering from PTSD. It was a challenging time for him. He is now using that experience as a way to support others who are having similar experiences, and as a way to educate caregivers through the eyes of someone who has first-hand knowledge of what a child encounters in the system of care.
Suamhirs is now 22 years old, works full time and attends college at UCSD. In addition to his job at Mental Health Systems, Suamhirs travels the Country advocating for youth and teaching caregivers and service providers how to create a relationship of trust and open communication with children who have been abused and traumatized. He offers suggestions about how the choice of words and actions can create rapport, impart trust, and empower youth to focus on their inner strengths as a way to move forward and become self-sufficient and productive adults. He shares his story of survival and hope and how one special adult created a relationship of mutual respect and trust in a way that empowered him to become the amazing young man he is today.

Roberto Rivera
President, Good Life Organization, Chicago, IL

Roberto Rivera received his undergraduate degree at UW-Madison where he created his own major entitled "Social Change, Youth Culture and the Arts". He received his masters degree at UIC in Youth Development with a focus on Social Justice, Urban Education, and Hip-hop. He currently is the President and Lead Change Agent of the Good Life Org., an organization that publishes multi-media educational tools and trains educators, youth workers, and parents in connecting positive youth development to community development. His experience in working in the field of community-based popular education over the last decade have won him awards from former president Bill Clinton, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, and others. Despite these accolades, Roberto sees his work as giving back, since being labeled "at-risk" and "disadvantaged" as a teen himself, his relationships with key educators and youth workers helped him to turn his life around. Roberto's presentations are unique in that they not only include scientific based research, but that they also include his own story of transforming from a dope dealer to a hope dealer, to incorporating stories from his work with communities around the nation. His unique ability to code-switch from sharing research and data to stories and poems leaves audiences standing with enlightened minds and moved hearts.

Reba Rose
Founder of Stand Tall Leadership, Director of Program Strategy at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, Oakland, CA

Reba Rose is a dynamic Leadership and Youth Development Trainer and Coach with over 20 years of experience working with school sites and youth development programs. Reba delivers a highly experiential curriculum for Educators and Youth Developers called STAND TALL LEADERSHIP. Modules focus on practical strategies for leading a site team of our peers in the roles we play as, Managers, Coaches, Leaders and Change Agents. Currently she is the Director of Program Strategy for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula where she led the development of an organizational theory of change. She is also a consultant with ASAPConnect where she recently led a session called Teaching Life Skills that support Common Core Learning in Afterschool. Reba was the Director of Training for Community Network for Youth Development and has worked on a range of initiatives in California including DASL: Developing Afterschool Leaders in Region 5; Leading Learning Communities for High School programs with the Partnership for Children & Youth; and offering training for CAPS; Sacramento START, LA's BEST and Think Together.
Reba is known for an intuitive, dynamic "hands-on" style. She utilizes inclusive processes to create learning experiences that are powerful and transformative. She has trained and performed for over 12 years as an actress and performer. Holding a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology, a Teaching Certificate in Theater, Black Belts in both Kajukenbo, and Chi Gung, Reba pulls from a diverse range of tools to work with individuals and groups. She is most proud, however, of being the mother of two children.

Ernest Saadiq Morris
Director, Urban Youth Justice, Seattle, WA

Ernest Saadiq Morris is a youth rights advocate, civil rights & liberties lawyer, and founding director of the public education and advocacy initiative, Urban Youth Justice.
As a featured speaker and panelist, Ernest presents dynamic social justice empowerment workshops and seminars to many diverse student audiences (from junior high to college) in classrooms and at youth organization events nationwide (e.g., the Texas NAACP Convention, Las Vegas National Hip Hop Political Convention, Hip Hop Congress, and Texas Junior Statesman of America), including Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Austin and Los Angeles.
Ernest has developed comprehensive education and training programs for in-school and out-of-school program staff on how to promote a learning environment of diversity and inclusion by using youth leadership development; peer-based learning; and community empowerment skills and training for self-advocacy. Ernest believes the best way to promote inclusive and collaborative expanded learning programs is to challenge and learn from each other. (Get ready for a challenging and fun workshop!)
Ernest Saadiq Morris launched Urban Youth Justice in 2010, a public education and legal advocacy initiative, to focus on the fight for the equal rights and opportunity of disadvantaged urban youth by opposing the school-to-prison pipeline and education inequality.
Ernest is a longtime passionate advocate for the abolition of the school-to-prison pipeline and for equal educational opportunity for all youth. As a youth and civil rights attorney, his multiple defeats of the school-to-prison pipeline began in 2004. He has prevented emergency expulsions, suspensions and coordinated the largest successful mass student defense from the school-to-prison pipeline to date (preventing school discipline and criminal prosecutions of almost 200 mostly Hispanic students in Round Rock, Texas for their participation in a youth-led protest during school hours).
Ernest is also the new Co-Chair of the Education Subcommittee of the ABA Children's Rights Litigation Committee, overseeing its Educational Civil Rights Accountability Project.

Naomi Sanchez
Director of LEAD Programs, Director of Performance Management, arc, Inglewood, CA

As Director of LEAD at arc she leads groups ranging from 5 to 150 on adventures that emphasize team-building, self-building self-esteem and teaching responsibility in the great outdoors.

Zenae Scott
Coordinator II, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento, CA

Zenae Scott has served the needs of under-served communities for over a decade in various capacities. With a strong background in diversity and asset development education and empowerment, Zenae's focus has been working with adults and young people collaboratively to make a difference in their community. Zenae has contributed to many local, statewide, and national projects addressing the needs of young people and their families. She has designed programs for youth, educators, school administrators, various non-profits, and law enforcement on strategies around empowering and strengthening communities and schools. Zenae is currently oversees Youth Engagement Services for the Sacramento City Unified School District SCUSD. Youth Engagement Services houses all out of school time and positive youth development supports for students in SCUSD. Her department serves close to 20,000 students each day. She has also worked with the statewide Community Action Partnership, the Anti-Defamation League, and other community based organizations.
Zenae holds a BA in Political Science from University of California, Riverside and Master's in Public Administration. Zenae has a knack for understanding diverse populations and shows great empathy working with any population.

Jennifer Seitel
Program Director, Lead VIP, Never Stop Climbing, Murrieta, CA

Jennifer Seitel has been speaking to audiences since 1998. Her story has been heard by tens hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

Richard Shope
Program Development Officer, Youth Science Center, La Puente, CA

Dr. Richard Shope is a leader in developing science creativity and talent among urban youth, known for his abilities to communicate complex science concepts in exciting and expressive ways. As Program Development Officer for the Youth Science Center, he develops and directs programs, including: Inquiry Science Expeditions, Urban Science Corps, and EcoVoices. From 1994-2009, Dr. Shope coordinated science education and public outreach programs for various flight projects at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). From 1971-1994, his MIME Writing program reached over one million schoolchildren.

Sandy Slade
Clinician, Sandy Spin Slade, Inc., Corona, CA

For over 20 years Sandy Slade was consider one of the best basketball handlers in the world. She now dedicates her time helping people realize how easy it is to integrate physical activity into life.

Terrance Stone
President, Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy, San Bernardino, CA

Terrance L. Stone is Founder/President/ CEO of Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy and C.E.O. of Stone Consultants, an ex-gang member who has turned his life around and dedicated it to GOD and the recovery of our youth's innocence. Though gang life proved fierce and, most times, even short lived Terrance was loyal to a fault. Ultimately, the consequence of this delinquent life-style was a collective 10 years of incarceration ranging from the juvenile facilities to the state penitentiary. Stone today has served as a youth counselor and graduated Cal State LA for State Certified Gang Intervention Specialist, serves on Committees with the San Bernardino County Sherriff and San Bernardino City Chief of Police, Executive Board Member of the San Bernardino Countywide Gangs and Drugs Task Force, Past Board Member of the African American Chamber of Commerce, and San Bernardino Chapter NAACP, picked by Mayor of San Bernardino Pat Morris to join his office on the California Cities Gang Prevention Network. He is committed to steering young people away from the life that cost him much of his precious youth. In essence, Terrance is allowing his life mistakes to help others discover their personal worth and true life purpose. Stone's change in heart, spirit and action has resulted in his reaching many otherwise lost youth he is now CEO of Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy multiple locations in the Inland Empire from the High Desert to the West End of San Bernardino County, Atlanta, Arizona, Texas and Colorado and growing. Stone's sincere efforts have resulted in his receiving multiple awards.

Mary Sutton
Executive Director, Michigan After-School Partnership, Lansing, MI

Mary Sutton is the Executive Director of the Michigan After-School Partnership. She completed her undergraduate work in human development and holds an executive MBA.

Melissa Tovaas
Representative, Developmental Studies Center, Oakland, CA

Melissa is a National Education Consultant for Developmental Studies Center(DSC) working on disseminating DSC's student-centered mission to schools across the U.S. She has 15 years experience working in education. Melissa's career began in education as a fifth grade classroom teacher in Spencer, NC. She has worked in literacy leadership positions with Scholastic and Pacific Learning. Melissa holds a BS in Elementary and Special Education from SUNY Geneseo, with a concentration in human development.

Trang Truong
Project Coordinator for Global Initiatives, International Group, YMCA of the USA, Chicago, IL

Trang has been in the after school field for 8 years Trang has her BA in Human Development from CSULB. She is currently involved with the YMCA Cambodia Project and other global projects.

John Vandenburgh
Founder, PLUS Program/CyberBullying Alert, Murrieta, CA

John Vandenburgh is a nationally recognized speaker, program developer and trainer on violence prevention and youth development approaches in education.

Nancy Wilkey
Sergeant, Deputy, Orange County Sheriff's Department, Aliso Viejo, CA

Sergeant Nancy Wilkey is a 24 year veteran of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. She is currently assigned to the Aliso Viejo Sheriff's Station, South Investigations / Juvenile Services Bureau. She supervises the investigators assigned to investigate juvenile crimes in Sheriff's jurisdiction, manages the School Resource Officer program, and is the liaison between the Orange County Sheriff's Department and local school districts.
During her time as a Deputy Sheriff, Sergeant Wilkey was assigned to Corrections at the Intake Release Center. She was transferred to the Professional Standards Division as a Recruiter and worked background investigations. In 1995, Sergeant Wilkey transferred to patrol where she served the citizens of Laguna Hills and Aliso Viejo. She was a Field Training Officer and Hostage Negotiator.
When Sergeant Wilkey promoted to sergeant, she was assigned to the Central Women's Jail. After one year, she transferred to the city of San Clemente as a patrol sergeant. In 2004, Sergeant Wilkey was assigned to the Training Division as the Firearms Training Sergeant. In 2005, she was reassigned to the City of San Clemente as the Administrative Sergeant where she worked for 5 years until she transferred to South Investigations.
Sergeant Wilkey is a Facilitator for the Parent Project, a class for parents with "out of control" adolescents. She is a member of GRIP (Gang Reduction and Intervention Partnership) and works collaboratively with the District Attorney's Office and Probation Department to keep young kids out of gangs through a series of meetings, presentations, and incentive programs at the local schools.
Sergeant Wilkey has her Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and her Master's Degree in Psychology. She is also a graduate of the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute.

Jeffrey Zlotnik
Founder/Executive Director, The Meditation Initiative, San Diego, CA

Founder and Executive Director of the Meditation Initiative, Jeffrey has been leading meditation for free since 2003, sitting with more than 10,000 people. He has led free meditation for Homeless Teens, K-12 Public Schools, Juvenile Detention Facilities, Federal and State Prisons, Diabetes Patients, HIV Patients, Seniors Centers, United States Military, Wounded Warriors, UCSD, Susan G. Komen, Braille Institute, Jewish Family Services, Catholic Charities and Group Homes for Victims of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking. In 1997, he received his BA in Psychology from the University of Arizona.