Felicia Starks
Dr. Felicia Starks (she/her) is a seasoned education professional with nearly three decades of experience in K-8 school administration. Her journey began as a passionate teacher, and over the years, she has held various leadership roles, shaping the educational landscape for countless students.
Currently serving as the Chief Safety Officer for Oak Park Elementary School District 97 (Oak Park, IL), she combines her educational expertise with a commitment to ensuring a safe and nurturing environment for students, staff, and families. Her strategic vision has led to the implementation of enhanced safety protocols and emergency preparedness.
Previously, Felicia was the assistant principal at Longfellow Elementary School and the principal at Irving Elementary School, also in District 97. Her work as an operational and instructional leader at a school level has continued to influence how she approaches leadership within the central office, where she has worked for nearly twenty years in a series of progressively responsible roles.
Felicia earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in school administration from Bradley University. She also holds a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
James Liou
James Liou (he/him) is the Senior Vice President of Impact and Design at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice (INP). He develops strategies to support the quality, impact, and growth of INP’s nonprofit leadership programs and leads curriculum design, faculty training, and INP’s overall evaluation and learning agenda. He loves all things teaching and learning and the ways in which skillfully designed learning environments can be transformative for leaders, their organizations, and the communities they serve.
Prior to joining INP, James was a senior director at Equal Measure, where he led project teams that provided research, evaluation, and strategic program consultation for foundations, social sector nonprofits, and place-based systems change initiatives. He was also a program officer at the William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia, where he developed and led a $20 million K–12 education grantmaking portfolio.
Previous to these roles, James spent 15 years in the education sector, including several years as a high school classroom teacher and instructional coach, before leading the History and Social Studies Department in Boston Public Schools. He was also involved in national conversations around teaching and learning, including work with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, selection as a Teaching Ambassador Fellow for the U.S. Department of Education, and service as an inaugural member of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Teacher Advisory Council.
James continues to provide national and local leadership in philanthropy. He is the inaugural recipient of the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) Legacy Award and an Annie E. Casey Foundation Children and Family Fellow, focusing on results-based leadership.
James holds a bachelor’s degree from William and Mary and master’s in teaching from Brown University.
Mariah Najmuddin Estrada
Communications Lead
Mariah (she/her/ella) is an expert storyteller and community builder. She is passionate about equity in education and creating opportunities for dialogue. In addition to her five years as a middle school Spanish teacher, Mariah has over a decade of experience in education and communications. Prior to her work at Mira Education, she was a Senior Communications Specialist for a consulting firm in Houston and served as the founding Social Media Manager for The RISE Center for Liberation. Mariah holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Houston as well as her certificate in Digital Marketing from Rice University.
Iesha Williams
Project Implementation Lead
Iesha (she/her) is a fourth-generation educator who is a strong advocate for the success of all students and teachers. She holds three degrees including a Master of Education from Concordia University-Texas with a Principal Certification. During her time in the classroom, she served as a high school AP English teacher and an adjunct English instructor at a community college. She has designed and delivered professional development, written district level curriculum, and coached a humanities department through two academic years. Prior to joining Mira Education, Iesha served as an Implementation Manager for a nonprofit ed tech company, serving as advisor and thought partner to districts and schools using new approaches to support instruction.
Regina Ciphrah
Lead Consultant
Regina is a scholar, scientist, educator, poet, and entrepreneur. An alumna of the University of South Carolina, she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 2002, Master of Teaching degree in Secondary Science Education in 2003, and PhD in Integrative Biology in 2013. Her professional experiences as an educator span over 20 years and include employment as a public school teacher, professional development facilitator, program and organizational evaluator, state education agency program coordinator, teacher education faculty member, and higher education administrator. Regina’s current work fosters traditional face-to-face and online learning communities, maximizes continuous improvement assessment strategies, facilitates professional learning and coaching supports, and enhances STEM education capacity. Her scholarship in culturally-sustaining STEM pedagogy is fueled by the desire for the reclamation and promotion of historical and current STEM enterprise participation of traditionally underrepresented cultures and individuals. While she is passionate about her work, Regina finds additional balance and joy in life through loving relationships with her husband, family, and furbaby; gardening; preparing whole foods; performing poetry she writes; and playing card, board and party games.
DeAnna Scofield-Amdouni
Finance & Accounting Lead
DeAnna (she/her) leads financial operations for Mira Education. She has 17 years’ experience in accounting and finance, with 11 of those dedicated to the nonprofit sector. DeAnna previously worked in labor and employment law as well as tax preparation and auditing for an international CPA firm. A lifelong learner, she is committed to staying on top of the latest accounting guidelines and regulations through continuing education and professional development to help lead efficient and compliant accounting processes for our team. In her spare time, DeAnna loves traveling, karaoke, cooking, and DIY home projects.
Phil Chase
Lead Consultant, Marketing and Communications
Phil began his career teaching middle- and high-school students in New York and Michigan. His background in K-12 instruction spans teaching Spanish, English as a Second Language, geography, computers, and design technology. After teaching for 12 years, he worked for 15 years in the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). In addition, Phil served as an adjunct professor for three years at the Aquinas College School of Education, one of Michigan’s educator preparation institutions. Phil holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, Secondary Education from Calvin University, a Master of Arts from Teachers College Columbia University, and a Master in the Art of Teaching from Aquinas College.
Ernie Rambo, NBCT
Consultant
Ernie taught students and led educators in Clark County, NV middle school classrooms for 29 years. She currently supports teachers and teacher leadership as the program coordinator for the Nevada National Board Professional Learning Institute: Empowering Teachers as Leaders and Learners. Ernie facilitates virtual learning communities with the National Education Association’s Micro-Credential Certification Bank and supports educators’ professional learning at CTQ. Outside of the education field, she enjoys distance running and serves on the board for the Las Vegas Chapter of the International Association of Women. Ernie is a Southern Nevada Writing Project and a Southern Nevada Science Project fellow, a member of the Jameson Fellowship 2020 cohort as well as a four-time organizer for the ECET2SW Conference sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Jill Nelson
Treasurer
Jill Nelson (she/her) is a finance and human resources leader, whose passion is to further an organization’s mission through thoughtful stewardship of its assets, both financial and human capital.
Jill is the Chief of Finance and Operations for Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Inc., the leading provider of homeless youth services in the DC Region. Through the holistic integration of its Pillars of Opportunity, Sasha Bruce provides safe homes, life skills, and workforce development to meet the unique needs of homeless youth. As CFO, Jill leads the finance, operations, and human resources departments.
Previously, as CFO of Education Week, the nation’s premier publication about K-12 education, Jill was an integral member of the senior leadership team that transformed Ed Week from a traditional print publisher to a much more entrepreneurial digital media company. In this role, she helped shepherd the launch of several new products, including EdWeek Market Brief, Education Week’s business intelligence service. During her 15 year tenure, she built a strategic human resources department that serves Education Week’s diverse staff of 100, supporting its highly engaged staff and high-performance culture resulting.
Prior to Education Week, Jill was the Vice President, Finance and Administration, of a technology start-up, where she played a key role in raising $10 million in private equity, corporate, and bank financing, and participated in successful merger negotiations with Immersion Corp, a publicly held company.
Jill has an MBA from Babson College and a BA from Gettysburg College.
Carol Kelley
Vice Chair
Dr. Carol Kelley (she/her) is a transformative and accomplished leader who brings her deep commitment to equity-centered systems to her work. Throughout her career as a classroom teacher, administrator, and superintendent, she has focused on addressing racial, economic, and academic disparities.
As a superintendent, her accomplishments are testaments of her collaborative approach. By working closely with stakeholders, she created a shared vision that helped raise academic achievement for special education students in one district and among Black students and special education students in another, effectively narrowing the opportunity gaps in those areas.
Dr. Kelley’s contributions have not gone unnoticed. She is recognized as a national thought leader and speaker in education, receiving accolades such as the prestigious “Governor’s Teacher Award” from the state of New Jersey and a Distinguished Superintendent recognition award in Illinois.
Her educational journey includes two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania – a bachelor’s degree in Systems Science Engineering and a doctorate in Organizational and Educational Leadership from the Graduate School of Education. Additionally, she holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business from the University of Virginia.
She recognizes that changing mindsets on the importance of success for every student requires patience and may not always be well-received. However, her advocacy and passion for this remain steadfast. As the motto of her hometown (Philadelphia) encourages us to do, she is dedicated to letting her sisterly love endure through supporting and empowering each student to thrive, surpassing what others may have thought possible.