LEADERSHIP
Our Board of Directors and Advisory Committee are composed of business, education, and government leaders who bring a keen interest in helping students in Virginia. We are diverse in our own backgrounds and experiences, but we come together to address the needs of students in Title 1 schools and to improve and diversify the teacher pipeline from Virginia's universities and colleges to Virginia's K-12 classrooms.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BIO
Senator Mark Warner serves as senior U.S. Senator from Virginia. Since being elected to the Senate in 2008, Senator Warner has worked toward ensuring Virginians have access to quality education, focusing on ensuring appropriate federal education funding and bridging the “homework gap.” Senator Warner has recently led Senate efforts to ensure children can meaningfully participate in their education, despite challenges associated with the pandemic.
SEN MARK WARNER
HONORARY CHAIRMAN
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BIO
Principal of two middle and two high schools in Fairfax County Public Schools, including TJHSST, Elizabeth was Governor McAuliffe’s nominee to the VA Board of Ed. She has been on the Board of Visitors of JMU and the Education Commission of the States. A WETA Trustee, Elizabeth is Board Chair for the Urban Schools Human Capital Academies and on the VA Board of Communities in Schools.
ELIZABETH LODAL
CO-FOUNDER
SENIOR ADVISOR
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BIO
Margi is immediate past executive director of the statewide Commission for the Arts and a former member of the VA House of Delegates representing the 34th district. Vanderhye has served as an appointee of two U.S. presidents and five VA governors in various positions with national commemorative works, Chesapeake Bay regulation, transportation and land use planning, and state homeland security.
MARGI VANDERHYE
CO-DIRECTOR
STEERING COMMITTEE
BIO
Kris has more than three decades of leadership in K-12 education at the local, state, and national levels. She served as the President and CEO of the National Association of State Boards of Education while also a member and chair of the Fairfax County Public Schools board. Kris represented the 44th District in the Virginia General Assembly from 1999 to 2009.
KRISTEN AMUNDSON
CO-DIRECTOR
STEERING COMMITTEE
BIO
Shirley is a former high school science teacher, school counselor and administrator. Her emphasis has been on social justice and opportunity, leading to her to volunteer in several DC non-profits. She and her husband founded a family scholarship that has educated several students through college. For twelve years she served on the US News and World Report Secondary Advisory Board.
SHIRLEY BLOOMQUIST
CO-FOUNDER
STEERING COMMITEEE
BIO
Cathy’s career has been in English classrooms across the US at college-prep academic high schools. At each school, however, she also worked with the population that needed to develop reading and writing skills to move on to college successfully, often as first generation students. She served as English Department Chair at both TJHSST and McLean HS, and is currently a private writing tutor.
CATHY COLGLAZIER
CO-FOUNDER
STEERING COMMITTEE
BIO
Presently in her second term on the VA Community College System Board, Eleanor has served as the VCCS Board Chair and Audit Committee Chair. Appointed by two governors, she is a past member and president of the VA State Board of Education. A career teacher, counselor and Student Services Director, she has been active in organizations that lobby to remediate the impacts on underserved populations.
ELEANOR SASLAW
CO-FOUNDER
STEERING COMMITTEE
BIO
Currently an Associate Prof of Ed Leadership and Director of Teacher Preparation in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, Roberto has had a long career in education. He previously served over 30 years as a K-12 public school educator, working as a teacher of World Languages and English as a Second Language, assistant principal, and principal in Fairfax County Public Schools.
ROBERTO A. PAMAS
EX OFFICIO
BIO
Kimberly is a champion of racial equity, combining her background in education analytics and policy work with her love of youth mentorship and advocacy. Kimberly is the Senior Director of Data and Learning at the Flamboyan Foundation, in Washington DC, where she leads family engagement programmatic research, data analytics, and listening initiatives.
KIMBERLY HOOPER-TWUMASI
BIO
Tracy Baynard moved to NoVA in 1986 to work in public policy. She started her career at The Greater Washington Board of Trade and joined McGuireWoods Consulting in 1998. She represents companies and non-profits in transportation/infrastructure, education, and economic development before Virginia public officials. Tracy credits her teachers and her mother for launching her love of reading and belief that education is everyone’s birthright.
TRACY BAYNARD
BIO
Frank Nutter is President of the Reinsurance Association of America. He serves on the Board of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of research grants to find a cure for childhood cancer. He has a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA in economics from the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Nutter was a U.S. Navy officer and Vietnam veteran.
FRANK NUTTER
BOARD CHAIR
BIO
Dr. Gregory Hutchings, Jr. has over twenty years of combined educational experience as a college admissions counselor, teacher, school principal, central office administrator, superintendent, and college professor. He specializes in antiracism in education, educational leadership, strategic planning, strategic thinking, professional learning, school board and superintendent relations, and executive coaching.
DR. GREGORY HUTCHINGS, JR
BIO
Mike Crichton is a Certified Public Accountant in Virginia and Partner at Burdette Smith & Bish LLC in Fairfax. Mike’s focus and expertise is in tax planning, preparation and compliance for individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. Originally from Olney, MD, Mike has been a VA resident since 2009 after earning a B.S. in Accounting from Virginia Tech.
MIKE CRICHTON
BIO
Haywood Torrence, Jr., a retired Fairfax County Public Schools social studies teacher, holds degrees from Harvard (A.B., cum laude), Yale (J.D.) and Stanford (M.B.A.). He practiced law at multiple law firms and the Department of Energy, along with sixteen years as a government relations executive with Bell Atlantic. With a strong interest in service, he has tutored students and incarcerated adults.
HAYWOOD "WOODY" TORRENCE, JR.
BIO
Ilryong Moon: Ilryong Moon immigrated to the US in 1974 at age 17, later earning a BA from Harvard and a JD from William and Mary. He served as an elected Fairfax County School Board Member for 20 years, chairing the board for three terms. As a former ESL student, he grew up believing that all students can succeed if given the right opportunities.
ILRYONG MOON
BIO
Meredith is a National Board Certified Teacher who holds a BA and MA in Education as well as a certification in English to Speakers of Other Languages. She has been a teacher, an instructional coach, a professional learning facilitator, and education advocate for twenty years. In her role as Executive Director of EduTutorVA, Meredith is committed to nurturing the teacher pipeline with diverse and passionate educators who can support students across Virginia with quality, high-impact tutoring.
MEREDITH FORTNER, NBCT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
BIO
Jessica Paul is a School Psychology graduate student who holds a BA in Psychology and is professionally affiliated with the National Association of School Psychology, the National Society of Leadership and Success, and the International Honor Society in Psychology. She has been a teaching assistant, a special education tutor, and a research assistant. Jessica is passionate about providing all students with quality education and resources to help them thrive both inside and outside the classroom.
JESSICA PAUL
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
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Roberto Pamas, Assoc. Professor, Ed. Leadership and Teacher Preparation, GMU
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Meagan Alderton, School Board Chair, Alexandria City Public Schools
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Alicia Plerhoples, Georgetown Law Professor, Director Nonprofit Law Clinic
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Patrick Brennan, Executive Director, Communities In Schools, NOVA
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Cindy Kowal, Director of Operations, Communities In Schools, NOVA
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Jay Garant, FCPS Director of Business and Community Partnerships
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Natalie Lorenz Anderson, K-12 STEM Leader: DC's MIT Alum Club and Girl Scouts
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Manny Bartolotta, Tech Consultant, VA Counselors, Pres. VA Counselor’s Foundation
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Dick Harless, Professor at NVCC and liaison to George Mason University
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Joanna Fitzpatrick, Youth Advisor to Dalia Palchik, Fairfax Co. Board of Supervisors
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Janie Strauss, Former Fairfax County Public Schools School Board Chair
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Grace Mukupa, MBA, Ph.D., Assoc. Director for Tribal College Student Success
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Jee Deogracias, Ph.D., Sen. Dir. Research & Evaluation, Breakthrough Collaborative
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Tannia Talento, Former School Board Chair, Arlington Public Schools
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Angi Green, Alexandria City Public Schools, Dept. of Accountability
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Mike Routhouska, Principal, W. Ramsay ES, ACPS Principal of the Year
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Karen Corbett-Sanders, FCPS School Board, Mt. Vernon District
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Christoph Hill, Principal, Westlawn ES, FCPS
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Willis Walter, Dean of the College of Education, VA State University
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Ward Othman, GMU Graduate and Founding Tutor
RESOURCE MEMBERS
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Dr. Carol Flenard, Deputy Superintendent, Prince William County Schools
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Douglas Tyson, Assistant Superintendent Region 1, Fairfax County Public Schools
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Kim Graves, Chief of Student Support, Arlington Public Schools