2017-2019 Cohort

Maria Arteaga-Beltran is currently associate director of Youth Speak Collective in Northridge, California. Her career in youth development started right after she graduated from college and joined AmeriCorps VISTA, where she was introduced to the nonprofit world. She has worked in the nonprofit world since 2004, focused on providing youth with opportunities to find and utilize their voices. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a B.A. in sociology and obtained an M.S. in human services, non-profit management.

Melvina S. Banti has over ten years of supervision, policy and procedure enforcement, project facilitation, and staff development experience in the nonprofit sector. As a problem solver and strategic thinker, Melvina is known for her hard-work and perseverance.

Melvina started her professional career as an AmeriCorps member with EducationWorks, Inc. and served as an afterschool program site coordinator for two years at Gideon school in North Philadelphia. After successfully completing two terms of AmeriCorps service, in 2008, she was hired as an operations manager (OM) to oversee six of sixteen After School Initiative (ASI) programs. Until May 2016, she served as an OM for six of eighteen Department of Human Services licensed OST programs. During her work as an OM, Melvina was responsible for the professional growth of numerous OST AmeriCorps and part-time staff. She succeeded at coaching and supporting OST staff to ensure their professional growth, quality programming, and safety of all enrolled children. Currently, Melvina is assistant director of OST programs for Episcopal Community Services.

Melvina earned a B.A. in English education with a minor in Spanish from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, in 2006. She also holds an M.A. in English from Middlebury College, BreadLoaf School of English, Vermont (2010), and an M.S. in nonprofit management from Eastern University, the Campolo College of Graduate and Professional Studies, Pennsylvania (2012).

Marie Benson has worked in the OST field since 1991, when she was asked to work for the afterschool program at her daughter’s preschool as a substitute staff member. She was then asked to apply for the director position when the founding director left. She has also been involved in OST at the local level by organizing conferences, at the state level as president, as an endorser for NAA, and as a Weikart Trainer. Her degree is in business.

Alicia Christensen currently serves as the outreach programs manager for Denver Zoo. She has been working in informal science and OST education since 2002, including aquariums, residential camps, National Parks, and university outreach and afterschool programs. She holds a B.S. from Colorado State University and an M.S. in marine resource management, with a focus on free-choice learning, from Oregon State University. She grew up and currently resides in Colorado, but has always had a tremendous passion for the ocean, and visits frequently. She loves the outdoors, animals, and inspiring others to appreciate their natural world. Her most recent work has involved the development of a very popular Denver Zoo afterschool outreach program that partners with afterschool providers in the Denver area.

Trina Dorn joined the team at LearningWorks in July 2014, inspired by the agency’s mission to help children, adults, and families realize their potential through innovative educational programs. She uses her background in science and elementary education as assistant director of LearningWorks Afterschool in Portland. Dorn is a licensed K-8 educator in Maine and holds a B.A. in elementary education and Ecology, as well as an M.A. in teaching and curriculum design, from Bennington College in Vermont.

Prior to joining the LearningWorks team, Dorn taught pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade in Vermont and Maine. She started in educational leadership and science curriculum design in early 2014 when she designed and launched summer marine science programs at Coastal Studies for Girls in Freeport. She brings this innovative, big-picture thinking into her work of developing afterschool and summer programs at six of Portland’s public elementary schools.

Chris Dudley is a 15-year professional in OST and senior director of youth development the YMCA of Greater Rochester in Rochester, NY. His YMCA career path has been guided by a community-wide approach to serving families. In partnership with the United Way, a dozen public school districts and higher learning institutions, local museums, local medical partners, and under the leadership and guidance of the YMCA of the USA, the YMCA of Greater Rochester continues to implement innovative programming that strengthens their communities, help children to be active and make healthy food choices, develop passions for arts and sciences, and strives to close the achievement gap.

Connor has worked in OST for over 15 years. He began as an afterschool counselor with the Boys and Girls Club, and now works as a coordinator of Elementary Community Learning Center (CLC) programming with Seattle Parks and Recreation. He has facilitated the addition of CLC programming at multiple school sites, incorporated ESL classes for families into OST programming, developed academic transition programs and summer learning programs for elementary school youth. In addition to his work with the City of Seattle, Connor has spent the past 10 years volunteering for Camp Ten Trees, a residential summer camp for youth in the LGBTQ community, in various roles ranging from camp leadership staff to the board of directors. Connor holds a B.A. in recreation from Western Washington University, and a M.Ed in guidance and counseling from City University of Seattle.

In her nearly 20 years in OST, Amy Franks has worked in afterschool programs in every capacity from beginning as a group leader in college through becoming the head of the School-Community Relations Department in Orange County Schools. Franks, who holds a B.A. in English education, has worked primarily in school-based programs, but has served in community and non-profit organizations as well, providing direct services, supervising others who provide direct services, volunteering in programs, and serving on committees that address needs related to the provision of high quality afterschool programs.

Leah Golubchick is the manager of middle and high school courses and institutes at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), where she oversees programs that explore the natural world with NYC teens and middle schoolers. She holds an MSEd from Bank Street’s Leadership in Museum Education Program. Before AMNH, Leah taught informal science and history in institutions across New York City, including the Children's Museum of Manhattan, The Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Sabriyah is a graduate of the University of Maryland College Park (2002 B.A., Spanish) and holds a Master’s degree from Loyola University of Maryland (2009) in educational leadership. Her past professional experiences include working as a special education teacher for the Pathways Schools in Silver Spring, Maryland, as a behavior intervention specialist for Baltimore’s Kennedy Krieger Institute, and as a site manager and community school coordinator for Elev8 Baltimore.

Sabriyah founded Team Triumphant, Inc. in 2006 to identify innovative and meaningful OST activities and make them accessible to all Baltimore City youth. Team Triumphant’s mission is to provide supplemental educational and extracurricular services to youth that promote creative thinking, develop strong problem solving skills, build self-esteem and improve physical and mental well being. Since its founding, Team Triumphant, Inc. has worked with over 300 students in grades K-12.

Brandon Hutton has been in the Youth Development field for eight years. His career started in afterschool programs while working towards his B.S. in sociology at Kansas State University. Previously, Brandon served as a senior unit director for the Boys and Girls Club in Manhattan, Kansas. Currently, he works as a research project coordinator with the Kansas Enrichment Network through the Center for Public Partnerships and Research, University of Kansas. Brandon has received multiple certificates related to afterschool professional development involving STEM education and afterschool administration. Brandon holds certification in the Simensions of Success tool from the PEAR Institute at Harvard University and serves as an external assessor for the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality.

Jan Manfredi is the director of expanded learning time, Boston Public Schools. In this role she oversees the rollout of a longer school day for 58 K-12 schools; the implementation of 21st Century Learning Funds, Summer School K-12 and Online and Blended Serving. Jan has also served as part of the BPS High School Redesign Team and sits on the Superintendent's Leadership Team.

Prior to joining BPS, she was the project director for the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services Education Reform Initiative at the Commonwealth Corporation, where she was responsible for the oversight and management of the agency’s statewide multi-year education reform initiative in its 58 facilities. She has served as youth director in a large urban district and taught for many years in programs for at-risk youth. Jan began her career in the national education legislative and policy arena and continues to participate on various federal and state advisory boards.

Jan holds an advanced degree in curriculum design and instruction from Cambridge College and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut. She has been involved in professional development and strategic planning for schools and school districts across the country and has served as a member of the Gates Foundation Youth Transitions Taskforce.

Lizette Marie Martinez lives in Brooklyn, New York and is a mother of two beautiful daughters and three grandchildren. She studied deviant behavior and social control with a minor in psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and proceeded to work in city government to pursue her passion for youth development. Currently, she is a deputy director at the Department of Youth and Community Development and oversees a portfolio of 71 OST programs with a budget of $24+ million that serves 7,975 middle school youth throughout the New York City area.

Patricia McGuiness-Carmichael is assistant director of Tenacity’s Middle School Academy, with an expertise in family engagement, who works to empower students and parents to access services to foster academic, behavioral, and social-emotional success. Patricia has worked in the out of school time field for more than a decade in direct service roles and in research, policy, and evaluation as knowledge projects manager with Boston After School & Beyond (BASB). As a family engagement coordinator, Patricia worked to support families by acting as an advocate and making necessary resource connections. While with BASB, Patricia worked to strengthen the quality of afterschool programming by helping nonprofits access and utilize data for ongoing program improvement. Patricia has facilitated substance abuse groups for parents and adolescents at Children’s Hospital Boston and has worked in a variety of camps for kids. Patricia is a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW) and has received continuous training in work with youth and families. She holds an MSW from the University of South Carolina and a B.A. from Stonehill College with a focus on criminal justice and psychology.

Keith Miller is an award-winning director of Deep Center's advanced, year-long creative writing and youth leadership program, Block by Block. A storyteller, creative, and village-maker, he has several years experience recruiting, training, screening and matching over 1,500 mentors across 18 different New York City high schools with youth mentoring organization iMentor; crafting compelling marketing campaigns for the the largest school districts in the country at TNTP; and developing NYU Stern's first-ever ambassador program and think tank of over 30 business school students tasked with reshaping and reimagining school culture.

Keith also serves as the managing editor and creative director of The Pillow Talk Project, a website dedicated to sharing the fearless stories of men--and those who love them--in an effort to redefine masculinity while rediscovering the power of everyday intimate conversations. He also collaborates with artists around the country, sparking national dialogues through marketing campaigns like #WeSmileToo and #WhenMenDance, bringing the power of creative storytelling, healing, and empowerment to the masses.

In addition to being a National Writing Project teaching consultant, Keith is pursuing his M.S. in educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison exploring village making and fostering fearlessness and empathy through creative arts.

Marisela Montoya is the director of education for Foundation Communities, a nonprofit affordable housing organization in Austin, Texas. Marisela graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in psychology. She began her work with out of school time programs during college. For 24 years, she has directed and implemented programs for youth and adults, including eight years with Austin ISD as a program director and program specialist (community education; at-risk youth programs; afterschool, teen and adult education programs). She has been with Foundation Communities for 16 years, first as lead learning center coordinator, and now as the director of education. In her current position she oversees 12 learning centers in the Austin and North Texas areas. The learning centers provide on-site afterschool, summer and adult education programs for residents. She holds a certificate in nonprofit leadership and management from Austin Community College and Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

Abby Nash began her career with youth development as an afterschool assistant in North East Independent School District’s, Kids’ Involvement Network. Her professional path at NEISD led her through the roles of site director, 21ST CCLC grant programmer, program coordinator, and training director. After participating in many community efforts to support youth in OST hours, Nash joined the YMCA of Greater San Antonio as the district director of youth development. She currently operates as an executive director of OST overseeing afterschool and summer day camp programs. She has a B.A. in political science and an M.S. in organizational leadership.

Shawn Petty is training and development manager for Westat, overseeing the creation and implementation of educational training products and providing leadership to a team of instructional designers, trainers, and technical assistance consultants. In this role, he drives results for one of Westat’s main clients, the Texas Education Agency 21st CCLC Program Enhancement and Quality Assurance program.

Prior to joining Westat, Petty worked with one of Houston’s largest non-profit OST entities as a project director overseeing nine 21st CCLC programs in Klein ISD, with a staff of 100 and serving over 1500 students daily. Petty’s tenure in OST began as a program coordinator managing multiple 21st CCLCs and partnership projects at Harris County Department of Education’s Cooperative for After-School Enrichment.

Mr. Petty also served as the South East Texas Afterschool Association president (2010-2011) and secretary (2008-2010) and was an active liaison for the National Afterschool Association and the state affiliation. He was invited to join the charter board for the Texas Partners of Out-of-School-Time and led its communication committee. In 2013, Petty was selected as a White-Riley-Peterson Fellow with Furman University and has been asked back every year as a faculty member. In 2017, he was selected to be a National Afterschool Matters Fellow at Wesley College.

Petty began his career at the Walt Disney Company as a guest service operations manager, managing business operations including financial and reserve planning, resort arrival and departure experience, hiring, training, schedules, cost control, marketing, and inventory. He was project manager on a variety of Disney projects and a leadership trainer. Petty then joined the Target Corporation as an executive distribution manager, where he facilitated a just-in-time distribution system through Six Sigma and Lean Management techniques, and developed a flexible scheduling system that became a standard for the Target Distribution System.

Mr. Petty holds a B.S. in business management from BYU-Hawaii, a Project Management Certification from Villanova University, and a Master’s of Political Management from George Washington University.

Kate Porter began OST work as a teen assisting in a preschool summer program at a small daycare center. She then obtained obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in general education with triple minors in early childhood, physical education and reading at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Following graduation, she continued to work in child care settings including as a site coordinator for the Eastern Michigan University Bright Futures program, a 21st CCLC funded program. She then took an administrative position overseeing 10 of the 20 sites at EMU, training front line staff, assisting with hiring, supporting staff and their programs. She is now a quality specialist with the Michigan After School Partnership, supporting programs throughout the state.

Anthony Pound is assistant director of education/Youth Corps for the New 42nd Street and New Victory Theater. He joined The New Victory Theater in 2007 working with the teen program, The New Victory Usher Corps. He has since gone on to helm and develop three other programs at the New 42nd Street focused on arts administration, arts access, and college success. Previously, he worked with teens as a counselor and acting instructor at Ewing’s Children’s Theater, a venue run by the City of Memphis, and as a theater director and arts administrator for numerous regional theater companies. A 2009 JP Morgan Chase Fellow, Pound has obtained certifications for mentor supervision through Fordham University and Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and for college counseling through the Options Institute. In 2014, he was honored to accept the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program award from the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities on behalf of the New Victory Usher Corps program. He studied performance in the BFA program at the University of Memphis.

Carla Rizzo has been working in the nonprofit field for nearly 20 years at Camp Fire USA – Midlands Chapter, now Completely KIDS, starting as a volunteer and then as part-time program support staff. She was promoted to program coordinator and then program manager after completing her MSW degree. Finally, she was promoted to director of programs in 2011. Currently, she oversees seven 21st CCLC programs for Completely KIDS, which, in addition to the after school programming, provides case management, mental health services, and parent education. Most of her responsibilities center around setting the vision for the program, writing grants, networking, and ensuring high quality programming.

Katie Svaicer is currently a Program Manager at Youth Guidance, a leading social-service, non-profit agency in Chicago. She works within their Community and After Schools programs and manages afterschool programs and enrichments at five Chicago Public Schools throughout the city. She started her work with the organization in 2004 when she was teaching art and drama to students in one of their school programs. She moved from that position into managing a school site and then to managing an entire group of schools. She has a B.A. in art history from Arizona State University, and an MAM in arts management from Columbia College Chicago. She is currently also serving on the board of a small, non-profit, musical theater company in Chicago, Kokandy Productions.

Emily Ustach is director of programs for New Urban Arts, a free, community art studio for high school students in Providence, Rhode Island, with the mission to build a vital community that empowers young people as artists and leaders to develop a creative practice they can sustain throughout their lives. She joined as director of programs in the fall of 2013, but has been involved with the organization in various capacities since 2007. As director of programs she designs, manages, oversees and evaluates year-round arts programs including directing the organization’s 21st CCLC grant. Prior to joining New Urban Arts full time she developed the Education Fellowship AmeriCorps program at The Learning Community, a nationally recognized public charter school. Emily received her Bachelor’s degree in art history from Salem College and a Master’s degree in art and design education from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Andrea Wilson grew up in Guyana, South America. She started her career primarily as a classroom teacher but from the inception worked beyond school hours trying to find ways to meet the needs of kids on the brink. One of her first ventures involved opening a community reading room in a tiny town in Guyana, with only a small, clean room and a few used books. Every day the room would be packed with children needing help with homework or just a place to read, relax and talk about their day and their lives.

Andrea completed a Master’s degree in education leadership, management and policy with Seton Hall University and then accepted a position as education coordinator with Casa Guadalupe Center. Working with a small staff, she is presently coordinating and implementing a multi-faceted OST education program.