
Staff Leadership

Chastity Lord
President & CEO
Chastity has spent two decades dedicated to dismantling systems of inequity for marginalized communities. She deeply believes that generational poverty is a social justice issue and that families are the best owners and narrators of their lives. History has proven time and again that building infrastructure, leadership, and power for marginalized communities creates a contagion of long-term change.
Chastity’s professional North Star and commitment to equity and justice for the past two decades is influenced by her own personal experience as a first-generation college graduate. Prior to JP, Chastity served as Chief Operating Officer at Color of Change (COC), a racial justice organization with 7+ million members.
Prior to joining COC, Chastity was the Chief External Officer of Achievement First, a nonprofit organization that operates 50 public charter schools in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Brooklyn. Chastity also spent eight years at The Posse Foundation, a nationally-recognized and MacArthur Genius-awarded college access program devoted to public high school students who show academic and leadership potential, but may be overlooked by the traditional college admissions process.
She has a BA in organizational communication from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA in strategy and marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is a 2012 Pahara-Aspen Fellow with the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Chastity serves on the board of Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and in the past year was quoted as a thought leader in top-tier outlets including Reuters, Politico, CNN, MSNBC, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, CBS Morning and NPR.
Executive Leadership Team
Leadership Team
Nikki Evans
Gloria Gonzales-Dholakia
Austin
Gloria Gonzales-Dholakia, Executive Director
Savannah Anderson, CDC Teacher
Lindsey Ashburn, CDC Teacher
Kimberly Benford Johns, CDC Teacher
Jaden Davis, Community Teacher
Laura De La Pena, Assistant Teacher
Maria Delgado, CDC Teacher
Chelsea Evans, Operations Manager
Lisa Hutchison, CDC Cook
Ebony Jones, Family Coach
Isabel Lopez, CDC Teacher
Nancy Madrid, Family Services Director
Marlenne Maldonado, CDC Teacher
Alex Martinez, CDC Teacher
Tai McCants, CDC Teacher
MeShay McKinney, Family Coach
Marla Miller, Family Coach
Gaudencia Miranda Hernandez, Assistant Teacher
Julie Oatman, CDC Director
Kasandra Sanchez, CDC Teacher
Boston
Alison Carter Marlow, Executive Director
Jessica Almeida, Family Coach
Jessie Elston, Family Coach
Kimberly Thomas, Operations Manager
Rachel Webb, Family Services Director
Brooklyn
Nikki Evans, Executive Director
Achime Delouis, Family Coach
Elizabeth Dessources, Family Services Director
Deanna Giordano, Family Coach
Nicole Ranger, Family Coach
Maddy Sanders, Operations Manager
Fargo-Moorhead
Laetitia Mizero Hellerud, Executive Director
Jan Anderson, CDC Cook
Annie Berg, CDC Teacher
Tamoisha Breeding, CDC Teacher
Sam Brewer, Family Coach
Casondra Duckworth, Operations Manager
Caroline Gray, CDC Teacher
Amy Klein, Family Services Director
Shelby Nightingale, CDC Teacher
Melissa Rademacher, Development Associate
Addy Sam, CDC Teacher
Megan Thompson, Family Coach
Andrea Williams, Director of Development
Christine Wylot, CDC Teacher
Brittany Jackson Hayer, CDC Director
Rochester-SE MN
Ally Hanten Ebert, Executive Director
Sonya Chieves, Family Coach
Rashida Dean, Family Coach
Liz Dorn, Director of Development
Carissa Frandrup, Development Coordinator
Charleen Huber, Operations Manager
Latoya Richardson, Family Coach
Bri Rollins, Family Coach
Katie Ticho, Family Services Director
Minneapolis
Patty Healy Janssen, Executive Director
Lori Alle, CDC Teacher
Danielle Andrews, Family Coach
Amber Brockton, Assistant Teacher
Deb Brown, CDC Director
Ruth Christ, Operations Manager
Kim Laden, CDC Teacher
Mercedes Lindgren, CDC Teacher
Katy Mason, CDC Teacher
Kasey Nimmerfroh, Family Coach
Christine Wattermann, Development Associate*
Susima Weerakoon, Family Services Director
* Shared role across both Minneapolis and St. Paul Campus
St Paul
Karla Benson Rutten, Executive Director
Chris Bernard, Family Services Director
Ciara Graham, Family Coach
Liz Green, CDC Teacher
Natasha Johnson-Mills, Operations Manager
Renae Jones, CDC Teacher
Mikaela Keegan, CDC Teacher
Denita Ngwu, Family Coach
Kimberly Peter, CDC Teacher
De’Avery Priest, CDC Teacher
Sharmika Riddley, Family Coach
Corey Stewart, CDC Director
Denise Taylor, CDC Teacher
Sheletha Sanders, CDC Teacher
Christine Wattermann, Development Associate*
* Shared role across both Minneapolis and St. Paul Campus
Campus support team
Heather Asp, Director Talent Management
Monita Bell, Director of Content Strategy
Amanda Bernasconi, Director of Family Recruitment
Bonita Broadnax, Director of Housing & Operations
Rochelle Brockington, Director Finance
Dale Bryant, Director of Technology
Amy D’Angelo, Chief of Staff
Logan Contreras, Director of Data Strategy & Analytics
Sarah Crompton, Sr. Grant Writer
Humberto Cruz-Chavarría, Director of Second Generation Programming
Delwin Derksen, Senior Finance Manager
Michelle Dunbar, Sr. Coordinator Human Resources
Julie Gehring, Sr. Director of Individual Giving
Jules Goins, Senior Grant Writer
Melissa Halsne, Senior Database Manager
Elana Jenkins, Senior Coordinator
Ezra Kenyanya, Program Manager
Anedra Kerr, VP Development
Justin Kutzer, Sr. Individual Giving Manager
Chastity Lord, President & CEO
Katherine Langston, Parent Programming Coordinator
Michelle Mattson, Sr. Executive Assistant to CEO & Board Liaison
Jill Miller, VP Campus Excellence
Noella Mua, Accountant
Dorothy Mukasa, Executive Assistant to Executive Leadership Team
Sharin Park, Director of Parent Programming
Archana Patel, VP Parent Programming
Rebecca Putzer, Director of Student Programming
Maureen Rafferty, Sr. Director of Institutional Partnerships
Treshy Schaper, Senior Accountant
Morcine Scott-Warren, VP Talent & HR
Jason Seifert, Chief Financial Officer
Payal Seth, VP Second Generation Programming
Kristina Turner, Sr. Director of Marketing & Storytelling
Vanessa Woods, Public Policy Program Associate