Archives Our Team

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 (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. 

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.

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.

Secretary 

Almudena (Almi) Abeyta (she/her/ella) has spent 25 years working to improve teaching and learning for students in urban education. Almi grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is a proud product of public schools.

Prior to her appointment as Superintendent of Chelsea Public Schools, she worked as an assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in several districts: Somerville Public Schools (2017-2019), Santa Fe Public Schools (2012-2017), and Boston Public Schools (2009-2012). In 2015, she was awarded the first Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) Latina Administrator of the Year award.

Almi was the principal of the Donald McKay K-8 School (McKay) in Boston Public Schools from 2004-2008. She led the McKay to improvement by focusing on data to improve instruction. Her work is documented in Data Wise in Action: Schools Using Data to Improve Instruction. After four years of leading her school, the McKay was recognized by the Mauricio Gastón Institute, an institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy, as an exemplar for educating Latino students. In 2007, El Planeta, the largest circulated Spanish newspaper in Massachusetts and New England, named her among the 100 Most Influential People in the state’s Hispanic Community. Before becoming a principal, Almi taught kindergarten.

Almi completed her bachelor’s degree in Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and holds two master’s degrees and a doctorate degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Stephanie Michelle Johnson (she/her)  is an esteemed educator with eighteen years of service in the South Carolina public school system. Currently serving as a Reading Interventionist at HB Rhame Elementary in Columbia, SC, Stephanie brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her work.

As a National Board Certified Teacher in Early/Middle Childhood Literacy, Stephanie exemplifies a steadfast commitment to educational excellence. Her leadership extends beyond the classroom, evidenced by her eight-year tenure on the Executive Board of The South Carolina Education Association. She played a pivotal role in the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force in 2023, contributing to shaping policy aimed at enhancing the teaching profession for student learning. Stephanie is also a graduate of the South Carolina Department of Education Foundations in School Leadership Program and was recognized as a Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching state finalist in 2010.

Stephanie serves as the NEA Director for the National Education Association, the largest labor union representing public school teachers and support personnel in the United States. She is actively involved in NEA, previously chairing the Women’s Issues Committee and contributing significantly to committees focused on racial and social justice, leadership, and education policy.

Stephanie’s contributions to education have garnered notable recognition, including the 2024 Veteran Teacher Award, the 2017 Award for Distinguished Alumni from the University of South Carolina College of Education, and the Fulbright for Global Classrooms Award in 2023, which enabled her to travel to Uruguay. She is among a select few teachers nationwide to receive the 2017 Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence and the NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence.

Stephanie earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in Executive Leadership from Gardner-Webb University. Her commitment to literacy led her to earn an Early Literacy Assessment and Strategies for Reading endorsement from Clemson University.