Our Board
Aaron Walker
Aaron is the Founder and CEO of Camelback Ventures, a fund that levels the playing field for underrepresented entrepreneurs. Since 2015, Camelback has made 33 investments and has helped those companies raise nearly $13M. Aaron is on a journey to live in the spirit of his baseball hero, Jackie Robinson, who said “a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” With this ethos, Aaron taught ninth grade English in West Philadelphia through Teach For America, put together deals for companies large and small as a lawyer at Allen & Overy, and supported new ideas to improve education as a portfolio director for the NYC Fund for Public Schools. Aaron is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Penn Law School.
Allen Square
Allen Square is the founder and chief executive officer of Square Button. With over twenty years of experience in both public and private sectors, Allen has worked with and led teams to deliver value to projects and organizations. Allen’s experience is deep and varied, covering several industries such as engineering, construction, consulting, and technology. He consistently delivers for his customers on projects large and small.
Post completion of an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Allen worked as a consultant with Bain & Company, Inc. and as the Chief Information Officer of the City of New Orleans. Allen also holds engineering degrees from Tulane University (BS Electrical Engineering) and Southern Methodist University (Masters of Science in Telecommunications).
Beth Rabbitt
Beth is CEO of The Learning Accelerator (TLA). Prior to becoming CEO, Beth was a Partner on the organization’s start-up team, leading national strategies for developing human capital and for researching emerging teaching and learning models and practices. Beth has previously served as Director of Human Capital at Touchstone Education, an Associate Partner at the NewSchools Venture Fund, a consultant to and with Education Resource Strategies, and the founding Doctoral Fellow at the Harvard Innovation Lab. Beth serves on the board of several education nonprofits, including the Highlander Institute and UNOW, Princeton University’s early childhood education center. She earned her B.A. from Dartmouth College and a Doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard University.
Heather Attale
Heather Attale has 25 years experience creating impactful education technology products. Most recently Heather was CPO of Illuminate Literacy, an organization in incubation with philanthropy funds seeking to eradicate illiteracy. Previously, she was an early employee of 2U, Inc. where she spent 12 years focused on building a suite of products powering online graduate degrees. She played a key role in the evolution of the product portfolio, team, and processes as the organization matured from a small start-up to a large public company. Before that she led a production team within The Princeton Review’s K-12 Division and she began her career at the constructionist learning website for kids, MaMaMedia.com.
Heather is now a self-employed consultant offering fractional CPO services to mission-driven education orgs. She assists leaders in the creation or evolution of product strategy, establishing product teams & processes that deliver working software, and mentoring product managers. By working with many organizations with various product challenges, Heather has found herself more energized and making more impact in the education space than ever before.
Heather lives in Cedar Park, a suburb of Austin, TX but she is a New Yorker at heart. She grew up in the Hudson Valley and called New York City home for 10+ years. Heather enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, often cheering on their competitive basketball and lacrosse games. She stays involved in the local schools where she has held inclusion centered PTA roles at the school and district level. Currently she volunteers at the school district’s clothes closet, at inclusion events, and is a Healthy Lifestyles sub-committee member with National PTA. In her spare time she enjoys nature walks with friends, her yoga practice, and gardening.
Jay Altman
Jay is an educator, school leader and social entrepreneur. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of FirstLine Schools. He has founded several schools and nonprofit organizations, including Leading Educators and New Orleans Summerbridge. He also served as the Director of Education for London-based ARK Schools, developing a network of academies in England. Jay has helped develop training programs for leaders of open admissions urban schools, including Future Leaders, a program for aspiring principals of open-admissions urban schools, and Teaching Leaders, a program for mid-level school leaders. Jay serves on the boards of Leading Educators and the Teaching Trust.
Kimberly Smith
Prior to joining Digital Promise, Ms. Smith served as Chief Learning and Innovation Officer with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), leading the innovation strategy for the global leader in youth entrepreneurship education. Ms. Smith oversaw the development of a portfolio of college- and career-ready programs to empower disadvantaged youth to lead economically sustainable lives and research on the Entrepreneurial Mindset Index (EMI) – a pioneering tool for measuring the impact of non-cognitive skills on student success.
Previously, Ms. Smith was Vice President of Education at PBS, where she directed the education strategy, including the launch of PreK-12 digital curriculum and teacher support services in partnership with school districts and states. Ms. Smith also served as Vice President of Product Development for Discovery Education, where she oversaw the creation of a portfolio of broadband services and learning tools for K-12 schools, including Discovery Streaming and curriculum digital products. Prior to Discovery, Ms. Smith was at the Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting Project, where she developed digital tools to support students taking college courses for credit at a distance.
Ms. Smith is an Aspen-Pahara Institute fellow, member of the Maryland State Department of Education Business Management and Finance board, former board member of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), and former board chair of the Arts and Technology Academy Public Charter School. She received her Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University and her Bachelors of Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Founder/CEO
Leona Christy
Founder and CEO
Leona Christy is an impact entrepreneur who excels at finding innovative and elegant solutions to vast, complex, and often hidden challenges. She founded Catalyst:Ed to improve outcomes for America’s children and youth by strengthening the schools and nonprofits that serve them, and transforming the capacity of the nation’s education ecosystem. Under her leadership, Catalyst:Ed has pioneered a unique model to rapidly and effectively match education organizations to the expertise, resources, and hands-on support they need to become more effective, innovative, and equitable. Catalyst:Ed is currently working with state and local education agencies, schools, and education nonprofits in all 50 states to address long-standing challenges and expand the limits of what they can accomplish. It is also investing in strengthening the capacity of grassroots organizations that work in close proximity to historically marginalized communities. At a systemic level, Catalyst:Ed is building the “marketplace” infrastructure – the tech, the network, and the know-how – needed to support capacity building at scale, strengthen the field of providers, and facilitate sector-wide learning.
Leona is a Malayali, who grew up in India and emigrated to the United States as an adult. With no access to networks of power and wealth, she overcame multiple challenges and constraints as she sought to launch and grow Catalyst:Ed to its national presence. Her experiences have fueled her drive to remove barriers to access, knowledge, and opportunity for all.
As the Founder and CEO of Catalyst:Ed, Leona is responsible for defining Catalyst:Ed’s vision and strategy and for shepherding its ongoing impact, growth, health, and sustainability. She also writes and speaks about topics at the intersection of education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and equity. Leona has previously built thriving teams and organizations across the world throughout her professional career in both the corporate and social sectors. Leona has an MPP from Duke University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management.
Emeritus: Frances Messano
Our Team
Associate Partner
Alisha Stewart
Marketing and Communications
Alisha Stewart is a storyteller with expertise in cause marketing and advocacy. As the former director of marketing and communications at UnboundEd, Alisha drove the execution of robust strategies to reach school and district leaders in need of professional development centered on equitable instruction. Previously, Alisha managed media and executive communications for Project GRAD Atlanta, a former college and career readiness partner of the Atlanta Public School, and the digital media and crisis communications efforts for the Boy Scouts of America.
Alisha earned her bachelor’s in public relations from Howard University and a master’s in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University. She is also certified in Google Analytics, cause consulting (Georgetown University Center for Social Impact), and email marketing. Outside of her professional career, Alisha is a brewer, and has successfully brewed four different styles of beer— so far, her favorite is the peach saison.
Senior Associate
Amaris Mier
Programs
Partner
AntoniA “Toni” White
Programs
Senior Associate
Brooke O’Brien
Programs
Senior Research Fellow
Camille Warren
Research and Impact
Camille leads Catalyst:Ed’s research agenda. She is a social scientist, strategist, and educator with more than a decade of experience conducting research about and facilitating transformational systems change toward equity in public and private organizations. The majority of her work has been situated in educational, non-profit, and entrepreneurial contexts. Her praxis focuses on examining issues of structural inequality blending principles from critical theory, cultural-historical activity theory and systems change. In addition to her role at Catalyst:Ed, Camille serves as an instructor at the University of North Carolina’s Scale School. Previously, she held research and teaching positions at Duke University, Indiana University, and Horizon Research, Inc. Most notably, she served on the founding team, as the Associate Director of Research and Evaluation, for the Great Lakes Equity Center at Indiana University. This Center is one of four Equity Assistance Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education to partner with the Department of Justice and Office for Civil Rights to promote equity in public educational agencies. She holds a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree from Indiana University.
Senior Associate
Grace Frye
Network Engagement
Grace is responsible for engaging and supporting Catalyst:Ed’s provider network. A journalist, writer, and storyteller, Grace grew up in Austin, TX and received a BA from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX where she studied communication, economics, and entrepreneurship. As a 2018 Venture for America fellow in Cleveland, OH, Grace worked closely with post-secondary institutions to increase access and equity on college campuses through innovative tech solutions and mentorship programming. At Catalyst:Ed she is excited to bring together her passion for meaningful storytelling and empowering organizations to improve student outcomes. Outside of work Grace enjoys being artsy, spending time outdoors, and hosting roller skate meetups throughout Northeast Ohio.
Senior Associate
Ivy McKee
Programs
Ivy McKee grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin among a family of activists, poets, and lifelong learners. She attended Kalamazoo College, majoring in Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology. After college, Ivy served as an educator for four years in New Orleans. In the charter school space, she worked in a variety of capacities, such as lead middle school interventionist, ELL support, and special education teacher. In a project-based, community-driven micro-school, she held the roles of an innovative teacher guide and curriculum director. She used her experience as a teacher to participate in educational policy fellowships, support family organizing, and facilitate youth-led community development. Outside of work, Ivy enjoys cooking and spending time outdoors.
Associate Partner
Jeremy Tullis
Programs
Accounting and Finance
John Foard
John brings over 20 years of public and private accounting experience to the table. Prior to joining the Catalyst-Ed team, he performed financial statement audits, internal control studies, and prepared tax return filings. Besides professionally working with a variety of educational-related organizations and not-for-profits, he has also served as Treasurer for Athlos Academy of Jefferson Parish. John happily lives in New Orleans, where he enjoys the cultural diversity and social aspects of the Crescent City; he is a float captain in a New Orleans Mardi Gras krewe and has lived in the city for over 15 years.
Talent Capacity Advisor
Kendra Lee
Talent
Kendra Lee is the founder of Jeong (pronounced “chung”) Consulting. Her work encompasses talent and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) strategy, advising, program design, and facilitation. Prior to starting her own consulting practice, Kendra served as the Vice President of DE&I for The Philadelphia Inquirer, reporting to the CEO and a member of the executive team. In her capacity as VP, DE&I, Kendra developed and oversaw the company’s overall DE&I strategy and goals.
Prior to The Inquirer, Kendra held two positions at Comcast – first as the Director of DE&I Learning, followed by a promotion to Senior Director of Leadership Development. As the Director of DE&I Learning, Kendra developed the company’s first-ever DE&I learning strategy. She was responsible for stakeholder engagement with senior leaders, developing the curriculum, and overseeing implementation for more than 85,000 global employees. Before joining Comcast, Kendra was a Diversity Business Partner at Facebook where she coached and advised the recruitment and HR business partner teams that supported the largest tech team on how to integrate DE&I into their strategies, systems, and processes.
Kendra began her career in education. She was a 7th grade teacher with The School District of Philadelphia, through Teach For America, and she then spent a decade working in K-12 education and non-profits focused on talent and DE&I. During that time, she held a range of roles, including serving as the interim Chief Talent Officer for The School District of Philadelphia.
Kendra has her Bachelor’s of Science from Syracuse University and her Master’s of Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Though raised outside of Buffalo in New York, she calls Philadelphia home.
Founder/CEO
Leona Christy
Founder and CEO
Leona Christy is an impact entrepreneur who excels at finding innovative and elegant solutions to vast, complex, and often hidden challenges. She founded Catalyst:Ed to improve outcomes for America’s children and youth by strengthening the schools and nonprofits that serve them, and transforming the capacity of the nation’s education ecosystem. Under her leadership, Catalyst:Ed has pioneered a unique model to rapidly and effectively match education organizations to the expertise, resources, and hands-on support they need to become more effective, innovative, and equitable. Catalyst:Ed is currently working with state and local education agencies, schools, and education nonprofits in all 50 states to address long-standing challenges and expand the limits of what they can accomplish. It is also investing in strengthening the capacity of grassroots organizations that work in close proximity to historically marginalized communities. At a systemic level, Catalyst:Ed is building the “marketplace” infrastructure – the tech, the network, and the know-how – needed to support capacity building at scale, strengthen the field of providers, and facilitate sector-wide learning.
Leona is a Malayali, who grew up in India and emigrated to the United States as an adult. With no access to networks of power and wealth, she overcame multiple challenges and constraints as she sought to launch and grow Catalyst:Ed to its national presence. Her experiences have fueled her drive to remove barriers to access, knowledge, and opportunity for all.
As the Founder and CEO of Catalyst:Ed, Leona is responsible for defining Catalyst:Ed’s vision and strategy and for shepherding its ongoing impact, growth, health, and sustainability. She also writes and speaks about topics at the intersection of education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and equity. Leona has previously built thriving teams and organizations across the world throughout her professional career in both the corporate and social sectors. Leona has an MPP from Duke University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management.
Associate
Madison Taylor
Product
VP, People and Operations
Meladee Evans
Meladee is responsible for the health and effectiveness of Catalyst:Ed’s talent management and operational strategy, systems, and processes so that they center the humanity of our people, our providers, and our partners, supporting and empowering them to work at their highest potential. She joined Catalyst:Ed in 2019 and has played a major role in expanding our foundation partnerships and leading our supports to emerging Black and Brown education leaders serving marginalized communities. Meladee brings over a decade of experience managing strategic programs and partnerships and leading high-functioning teams across social impact and technology spaces. Prior to joining Catalyst:Ed, she worked as the Director of Talent Strategy for KIPP New Orleans Schools, where she designed a number of tools and structures to strengthen teacher and leadership pipelines and build equity into talent practices. Before entering the education sector, Meladee worked as a mechanical engineer, and she now uses her critical eye for problem-solving and system building to deliver outcomes that elevate and empower marginalized groups. She holds an MBA from Northwestern University and BS degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering from Spelman College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively.
Associate
Natasha Carballo Saenz
Programs
Natasha supports our work on equity initiatives and with emerging organizations led by leaders of color. She hails from South Florida and earned her BA from Boston University, studying International Relations and Human Rights. From analyzing migrant workers’ rights in the Persian Gulf to providing material resources for undocumented immigrants in FL, Natasha has a passion for equity and action that comes from her own proximity to underserved communities. She hopes to use her drive for civil rights to bring integrity and fairness to education through her work at Catalyst:Ed. In her spare time, you can find her reading novels in between naps or tending to her virtual farm in Stardew Valley.
Senior Associate
Nybria Acklin
Human Resources
Nybria split her upbringing in Kansas City and Philadelphia, which informs her advocacy for eradicating racial disparities in education after experiencing the challenges that inner-city public school systems face. She is a 2019 Venture for America fellow and recent alum of the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs. Nybria graduated from Smith College in 2018 with a B.A. in Sociology. Her experience so far has sparked an interest in ecosystem building and social impact work. Outside of work, Nybria is passionate about dance and music.
Partner
Phillip Nevels
Programs
VP, Programs
Rachel Klein
Rachel is responsible for the overall strategy, implementation, and success of Catalyst:Ed’s programmatic services to the sector, including maximizing strategic fit with sector needs, ensuring equity is woven through all aspects of our process and outcomes, and delivering on the organization’s impact goals. Rachel joined Catalyst:Ed in 2018 to lead our support to the Gates Foundation’s Networks for School Improvement Community of Practice, including launching the Learning Lab for School Improvement Teams. Rachel also launched our work in the Postsecondary sector, and our Innovative Learning Expert Hub. Rachel has extensive experience working to achieve equitable outcomes in schools and school systems through her work as a District Administrator in Highline Public Schools, a Vice President for Code.org, a Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and roles within the public school districts in Seattle, Chicago, and Boston. In her free time, Rachel serves as the Board Chair for Ada Developers Academy, makes pizza from scratch, obsessively grows dahlias, and enjoys spending time with family, friends, and in the mountains.
Partner
Rohini McKee
Programs
Associate Partner
Sana Meghani
Programs
Sana Ali Meghani provides leadership and support to Catalyst:Ed’s work in the postsecondary space, especially the Higher Ed Equity Network. She has 10 years of experience in developing and leading innovative and forward-thinking initiatives to reduce college success gaps for low-income students and students of color. She is deeply committed to amplifying the voices and stories of those who have been historically marginalized at institutions of higher education. Sana comes to Catalyst:Ed from Trellis Company, where she led a national initiative with the Department of Education to create and execute strategic programs to transform institutional capacity and improve student outcomes at sixty Minority Serving Institutions. She has also held roles focused on college access and success at the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, The University of Texas at Austin, and UC San Diego. Sana received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Thurgood Marshall College at UC San Diego and a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Policy from UT Austin. Born in Pakistan, Sana is both a proud first-generation American and college graduate. Outside of work, she is a board member for WiseUp TX and serves on the Thurgood Marshall College Alumni Advisory Committee. Sana is based in Austin, Texas.
Senior Associate
Sema Ramos
Programs
Associate
Sophia Dantzic
Product
Sophia is a graduate of Bennington College currently based in Philadelphia, PA. She supports Catalyst:Ed’s Product team in curating and utilizing tech tools to support the organization’s work. She loves working with data and systems and is glad to be able to lend those skills within Catalyst:Ed. Outside of work, she loves to cook, bake, and spend time with her dog.
Director
Taysa Mohler
Product
Taysa leads our work creating and curating products and applications that increase our model’s accessibility and efficiency. Taysa is from Lake Tahoe, CA and is a graduate of Bard College in NY, where she studied Literature, Middle Eastern Studies, and Science, Technology, & Society. She is a 2018 Venture for America Fellow, and has worked previously in web design, marketing, program management, and operations. She was drawn to Catalyst:Ed as the daughter of a charter school founder and non-profit executive director, and she loves the impact she gets to make at work! When not working, catch her knitting or color-coding her life.
Senior Fellow
Tiffany Cheng Nyaggah
Place-Based Partnerships
Tiffany is a builder and connector who brings a deep passion for advancing justice and impact in complex systems in the US and Global South. She supports Catalyst:Ed’s work with Place-Based Partnerships. Tiffany founded, led, and scaled an award-winning social impact nonprofit focused on improving school leadership and student outcomes in marginalized communities in Kenya. Over the course of her decade-long tenure, Tiffany cultivated a robust network of grassroots, civil society, and government actors to build the case for investing resources in informal settlements, leading to $65M in new funding for education in urban slums. More recently, Tiffany led an $8M investment portfolio focused on increasing racial diversity in education leadership at a national venture philanthropy, and has continued to work on initiatives ranging from climate justice to economic mobility helping leaders and organizations translate vision into impact. Born and raised in Oakland, she developed an enduring belief in the power of cross-racial movements, equity, and leadership development in her youth and early-career experiences as a college admissions counselor and public school teacher. After living in various cities across the US and globe, Tiffany is raising two children with her husband back in the Bay Area. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Wellesley College and an Ed.M. in School Leadership from Harvard University.
VP, Equity
Tre Johnson
Tre is a career educator that started as a classroom teacher in Houston, TX via Teach For America. He has done work in youth non-profit college access and development work between Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, PA, working at the Urban Alliance Foundation and Philadelphia Futures. In Philadelphia, Tre served in grant-writing and admissions roles for the Mariana Bracetti Academy and Freire Charter Schools and he also served on Teach For America’s (TFA) Greater Philadelphia regional staff as the managing director of alumni affairs and as executive director. He has since served as the senior manager of the District Advisory Board and Strategic Partnerships in the Camden City School District and the deputy director for JerseyCAN, focused on education policy advocacy, community engagement, and community leaders. Before joining Catalyst Ed, Tre has also started a career as a writer for major media outlets on issues of race, culture and leadership. Outside of education, he serves as co-chair for the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project, focused on juvenile life sentencing issues and reentry. He graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Provider-In-Residence
Rasheeda Washington
Rasheeda Washington founded Beyond Sixth to support organizations in achieving significant outcomes and impact through developing and implementing solutions based on the people, values, and culture of their organization. She is an experienced supply chain and operations professional with deep expertise in process improvement, organizational capacity, strategic planning, and business process design.
Over the past seven years, Rasheeda has focused on K-12 education and non-profit work. She connects big-picture thinking with execution in a manner that drives positive results. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Master in Business Administration from the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University. She is also an alum of The Broad Residency Program. Rasheeda is a proud fur-mom to her rescued terrier KJ; and loves roller skating, hiking, and shoe shopping.
Join Our Team
Our team is purpose-driven, innovative and inclusive, with a supportive culture where all team members have the opportunity to grow and contribute.