To reach any of our national staff members by phomadne, please call (212) 293-5480 and enter the extension listed below.
NATIONAL STAFF
Cheryl Alleyne
Office Manager
Ext. 16 | e-mail
Lisa Castillo Richmond
Vice President, Program
Ext. 35 | e-mail
Iris Chen
President & CEO
Ext. 21 | e-mail
Lori Donoho
Managing Director of Training & Support
(301) 686-9380 | e-mail
Courtney Joseph
Accountant
Quinton Lampkin
Manager of Partnerships & Operations
Ext. 17 or (646) 937-2485 | e-mail
Tori McRoberts
Chief of Staff
Ext. 34 | e-mail
Eugena Oh
Director of Talent, Administration, & Special Projects
Ext. 19 | e-mail
Laura Persichette Owens
New Model Project Director
Ext. 17 | e-mail
Melodi White
Director of Operations & Performance Management
Ext. 36 | e-mail
Cheryl Alleyne
Office Manager
Cheryl joined the "I Have A Dream" staff in January 2003. In addition to her duties as Office Manager, she provides general administrative support to the national staff.
Prior to joining "I Have A Dream", Cheryl worked at the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), where she was a member of the national staff for 13 years. She studied computer programming at Fordham University. Cheryl is a member of the North Central Bronx Hospital Auxiliary Board advocating for improved patient care for a predominantly immigrant community.
 Lisa Castillo Richmond
Vice President, Program
Lisa joined "I Have A Dream" as Vice President of Program in October 2008. Previously, she spent six years at Junior Achievement of New York, most recently as the Senior Vice President of Programs, where she was responsible for the oversight and strategic direction of all organizational programming. Key areas of impact included building annual outreach to 95,000 K-12 students in New York City and Long Island, leading an initiative to significantly increase outreach to middle and high school students, and piloting and evaluating new programming in the areas of workforce readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. Lisa had also held the positions of Vice President of Community Partnerships, Senior Director of Collaborations and Program Manager at Junior Achievement. Before moving to New York, Lisa worked as an associate in the business and market development department at Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, WI.
Lisa is currently pursuing a master's degree in education and social policy at New York University and holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from Marquette University. She is fluent in Spanish and is active in various organizations that serve women and children. Lisa is a member of the Alumni Board for the Mentoring Partnership of New York and enjoys cooking, traveling, running, and spending time with friends and family.
Iris Chen
President & CEO
Iris has served as President & Chief Executive Officer of the "I Have A Dream" Foundation since June 2007, where she is charged with growing the organization's impact across the nation. Prior to this role, she served as Teach For America's New York City Executive Director, where she led a major expansion and grew the local corps from 250 to 1,000 teachers. Previously, she worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Iris got her start in education as a 1990 charter corps member with Teach For America in New York City, where she taught fourth and fifth graders for three years at P.S. 307 in Brooklyn. After completing the Coro Fellows Program in 1994, Iris joined Teach For America's national staff, serving as Director of Public Affairs and then Vice President of Program, where from 1995-98 she led the recruitment, selection, training, and ongoing support of corps members nationwide.
Iris graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in East Asian Studies and earned her J.D./M.B.A. degree from Harvard University. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Achievement First-Bushwick Charter School, East Harlem Scholars Academy Charter School, and The Lincoln Fund, and on the advisory boards of Delaware Valley College, the William E. Macaulay Honors College at The City University of New York, Blue Engine, the New York Civil Rights Coalition, and Entrepreneurial Ventures in Education / Summer Advantage USA.
In her spare time, Iris likes to run marathons, cook, and entertain. She completed her first ultramarathon in the fall of 2007.
Lori A. Donoho
Managing Director of Training & Support
Lori joined the "I Have A Dream" national team in November 2004 as the Director of Programs after serving six years as the Program Director of an "I Have A Dream" program in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Chris & Sue White. Eighty-six percent of her Dreamers graduated from high school, and 70% entered higher education. Now the Managing Director of Training & Support, Lori is responsible for providing guidance, training, and technical assistance to the "I Have A Dream" network.
Immediately prior to working with "I Have A Dream", Lori served as an Education Program Specialist with the Eisenhower Consortium for Mathematics and Science Education at SERVE (Southeast Regional Vision for Education), where she provided research-based technical assistance and professional development for mathematics and science education reform to school systems. Lori was also a Teach for America charter corps member, teaching mathematics at Northdale Magnet Academy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She then went on to serve as the Southeast Regional Recruiter for Teach For America. Lori graduated from Emory University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science. She plays an active role in her church as a member of the drama ministry and women's group, and through her work with the church's high school.
Courtney Joseph
Accountant
Courtney helps to manage the finances part-time at the "I Have A Dream" Foundation. Courtney previously worked at The Children's Scholarship Fund as a Controller for five years. After that tenure, he started his own accounting and bookkeeping company and works as a tax preparer.
A graduate of Iona College with a bachelor's degree in accounting, Courtney serves as treasurer for a football league and a softball league in New York City, and also plays both sports.
Quinton Lampkin
Manager of Partnerships & Operations
Quinton joined the "I Have A Dream" Foundation in January 2012. As Manager of Business Operations & Partnerships, Quinton will contribute to the strategy, development, and implementation of an ambitious program that aims to support K-12 schools in their efforts to significantly increase college readiness and graduation rates among students in low-income communities.
Quinton's journey from a rural town in Georgia to becoming a first generation college student, with degrees from leading universities in both the United States and the United Kingdom, was largely made possible by a scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Becoming a Gates Millennium Scholar has opened a world of possibilities for Quinton. As part of his forward momentum, he is committed to expanding educational opportunities for children in low-income communities.
Prior to joining "I Have A Dream," Quinton served as a Domestic Policy Council intern at the White House where he supported federal policy issues including college affordability, career and technical education, STEM education, early learning education, and K-12 reform. He has previously worked in management consulting as a business analyst with Deloitte Consulting, and has also served as an Education Pioneers fellow where he interned with the Education Equality Project (EEP), a national non-partisan advocacy group focused on closing the achievement gap in education.
Quinton holds a degree in business administration from American University, a Masters degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Masters degree from the University of Cambridge. He enjoys whitewater rafting, traveling, journaling, and lots of laughter! He hopes to participate in the 2013 New York City marathon.
Tori McRoberts
Chief of Staff
Tori joined the staff in July 2011 as the Chief of Staff. In this capacity, she provides administrative support to the President & CEO, assists in the management of board meetings and other board business, and leads special projects across the team. Before starting at "I Have A Dream," she studied politics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Before her time in New York City, she advocated for at-risk youth and families in Boston through political involvement, community organizing and neighborhood initiatives as a member of Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Shortly thereafter, Tori spent three years as Campus Minister at St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While there, she engaged students in community service initiatives after Hurricane Katrina and designed and implemented summer service immersion programs to Nicaragua to partner students with Cantera, a center for popular education dedicated to youth development, community building, and early childhood education. She also developed the curriculum for a Poverty in America course, a means by which students were able to realize and discuss the situation of poverty as it relates to education, immigration, healthcare, criminal justice, human rights, and other relevant issues.
Tori graduated from Spring Hill College, the Jesuit College of the South, with a B.A. in theology in 2006, and holds a M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University. When not working or studying, she enjoys cooking, cheering for the New Orleans Saints and exploring New York City.
 Eugena Oh
Director of Talent, Administration, & Special Projects
Eugena joined the "I Have A Dream" Foundation in November 2011. As Director of Talent and Administration, Eugena manages internal fiscal and operational processes; serves as main staff liaison and resource to affiliates and partners on fiscal, legal, technology, administrative, and operational issues; works closely with the President and Chief Executive Officer to develop annual and long-term organizational priorities, goals, and strategies; and helps recruit and develop staff members. Prior to joining "I Have A Dream," Eugena practiced commercial and products liability law, and served in development, strategy, and operations roles within several non-profit organizations, including Teach For America - New York City, Rock The Vote, and Washington State Court Appointed Special Advocates.
Eugena received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and her J.D. from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Outside of work, Eugena supports the work of the Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA) as well as Asian and Pacific Islander America Vote (APIAVote), and is an active alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, serving on the board of the New York UPenn Asian Alumni Network and as a member of the Penn Secondary Schools Committee. She enjoys practicing yoga, running, cooking, and eating delicious and new foods.
Laura Persichette Owens
New Model Project Director
Laura Persichette Owens joined the "I Have A Dream" Foundation in December 2011. Laura will be working on the new model start-up team, helping to facilitate the launch of an ambitious new program model that aims to bring together some of the nation's most effective college success programs with "no-excuses" schools to ensure that many more students are fully prepared to enroll in and graduate from college. Before joining "I Have A Dream," Laura worked at the New York City Department of Education on a variety of projects. In her most recent role as Director of Talent for the Division of Academics, Performance, and Support, Laura was responsible for all human resource processes across a division of 300 people and directed key projects and pilots, including various performance management processes, a division staff satisfaction survey, and staff professional development opportunities. Prior to that role, Laura worked as a project manager on the ARIS project, a website that provides parents, principals and teachers across NYC the ability to view student information, explore instructional resources, and collaborate with other educators across the city. Laura also worked in the Division of Portfolio Planning supporting new school development for the Office of Charter Schools.
Laura has a Master of Public Administration from NYU Wagner and a B.A. in Political Science from Loyola University Maryland. She serves on the Director's Council for Coney Island Prep Charter School and in her spare time enjoys running, cooking, and traveling.
Melodi White
Director of Operations & Performance Management
Melodi joined the "I Have A Dream" Foundation in January 2009. As Director of Operations & Performance Management, she will build out the foundation's infrastructure and expand organizational capacity so that "I Have A Dream" can continue to help more students gain access to college.
Melodi joins the team with 10 years of private-sector experience as a management consultant for both PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM. Over the years, she helped clients address technical issues through large-scale system implementations, developed reporting processes to track portfolio performance for global sales efforts, and drove education work streams for emerging solutions in Corporate Social Responsibility. More recently, Melodi decided to pursue her strong interests in education and public service. She holds a master's degree in Education Policy & Management from Harvard's Graduate School of Education and a bachelor's degree from Cornell University.
Board & Staff
|
