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Houston, TX 77046
As Chief Executive Officer, Cary is responsible for the organization’s vision and long-term strategy. He leads the nonprofit in working with school and community partners to improve public school education in Houston with a focus on equitable student outcomes.
Cary brings nearly 15 years of experience in public education and public affairs. He began his career as a public school elementary teacher, and has held various positions at Teach For America, including as Executive Director of the Dallas-Fort Worth region. He served as the Press Secretary for U.S. Congressman William “Mac” Thornberry in Washington, D.C. and most recently served as Chief External Affairs Officer for Good Reason Houston, where his responsibilities included communications, policy, and advancement.
Cary earned a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College. He is a graduate of Texas public schools and is proud to call Houston home.
As Chief Operating Officer, Ashley supports Good Reason Houston’s internal priorities, operations and special projects. She works closely with the CEO to foster a high performance culture driven by our core beliefs and grounded in diversity, equity and inclusiveness.
Before joining Good Reason Houston, Ashley was the Director of Consulting and Management Services at Silicon Valley Community Foundation. There, she led a team responsible for all non-traditional lines of business. Ashley also served as a founding team member of New Schools for Baton Rouge, a nonprofit working to improve educational outcomes; co-founder of a workforce development program that teaches basic computer coding skills to youth; and a founding teacher and grade level leader at the highest performing elementary school in post-Katrina New Orleans through Teach For America.
Ashley holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.
As Chief Financial Officer, Faria works to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of Good Reason Houston through the effective allocation of its resources. She manages the organization’s financial and administrative functions, oversees the design and implementation of policies and practices that ensure the team is set up to deliver against its goals, and leads the organization’s investments process and other significant initiatives that impact the broad organization. Prior to this role, she served as the Head of Advancement at Good Reason Houston, leading a fundraising team and working closely with funders to secure and maximize private investments towards the organization’s vision, mission, and goals.
Previously, Faria led institutional giving at Teach For America Dallas-Fort Worth, where she partnered closely with corporate, foundation and government funders investing in the organization’s work towards educational equity in North Texas. Prior to that, Faria spent years working in management consulting and began her career focused on corporate philanthropy at the Citi Foundation in New York City.
Faria holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Human Rights from Barnard College, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rice University. As a native Houstonian, Faria is proud to be working with an organization committed to dramatically increasing equitable access to high quality education for students in her hometown.
As Chief Policy Officer, Veronica leads Good Reason Houston’s public policy and advocacy efforts, which includes advocating for local and state policies that will improve outcomes for Houston’s students.
Veronica brings over 15 years of experience in education policy and advocacy. Most recently, she led a consulting firm that provided government relations, strategic advice and counsel, and legislative research and analysis to nonprofit, business, and philanthropic entities.
Veronica began her career as a school social worker before receiving her Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She has a Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work from Texas State University. As a Klein ISD graduate, she is excited to be part of an organization dedicated to increasing the number of children succeeding in high-quality public schools.
Alexandra “Alex” Hales Elizondo was the founding CEO of Good Reason Houston, a nonprofit that champions a citywide vision for education progress and works to grow the demand for and supply of great public schools throughout Houston. Over five years, Alex defined the organization’s mission, designed the strategy, built a capable team and Board, shaped an intentional culture, and led the organization through its first phase of work supporting local school systems.
Under Alex’s leadership, the organization accelerated progress in school systems across Houston. Columbia University’s Center for Public Research and Leadership conducted a study on the nonprofit’s impact to-date and its key findings show that Good Reason Houston has taken a distinctive approach to city-based education work and shown early evidence of success. During her tenure, the organization supported the creation of district and charter schools of choice, facilitated critical school turnaround initiatives in low-performing schools, and shaped state policy in alignment with the needs of Houston students and families.
Prior to launching Good Reason Houston, Alex served as the Executive Director of Teach For America Dallas-Fort Worth, leading a staff of 50 and a network of 1,200 educators. While she was at the helm, the DFW region grew by 160%. Her team tripled the number of teachers deployed, doubled their annual fundraising, and significantly increased student achievement. During this period of rapid growth, TFA-DFW was the pace-setting region across the TFA network in both teacher performance and teacher culture indicators. Simultaneously, Alex and her team sparked educational innovation in North Texas by re-imagining teacher training in DFW and designed a new training institute in collaboration with other local education organizations including Dallas ISD, SMU, and Momentous Institute.
Alex started her career as a first-grade teacher in South Louisiana, and in 2009 was named East Feliciana Parish Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year. She is a graduate of Lake Forest College and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Stefanie joined the Good Reason Houston team in 2019. For her first three years, she serves as a member of the Strategy and Transformation team where she served as lead for our external investments processes and supported with strategy and resource development and special projects. She has now pivoted to serve as a member of our Advancement team and serves as Director of Advancement for Institutional Giving.
She started her education career as an elementary school teacher in Houston and has spent more than eight years in education in the Houston community.
Prior to joining Good Reason Houston, Stefanie worked as Manager of School and Community Partnerships at Families Empowered. In her role there, she partnered with diverse school options, supported new school launches, and developed a strong understanding of the Houston education landscape in an effort to support the growing number of families searching for a great school for their child.
Stefanie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and International Relations from Colby College as well as a Master of Business Administration from the Jones School of Business at Rice University. As a native Houstonian, Stefanie is committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that every child has access to a quality education and the opportunity to live a choice-filled life.
As an Associate of Advancement, Molly supports Good Reason Houston’s fundraising program with a focus on institutional giving. She helps identify, cultivate, and communicate with local, state, and national corporations and foundations that partner with Good Reason Houston to increase the demand for and supply of great public schools in Houston. Molly will collaborate with her colleagues in Advancement and other team members at Good Reason Houston to raise $45 million toward high-quality seats for Houston students during our Phase II campaign.
Before joining the team at Good Reason Houston, Molly worked in client-facing and administrative roles at homeless services nonprofits, SEARCH Homeless Services and Family Eldercare, for five years. She also has experience in memory care, adult day care, and youth development nonprofit environments.
Molly is fortunate to have a Bachelor of Psychology and Religious Studies degree from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a proud third-generation Houstonian and grateful for the opportunity to grow her career at Good Reason Houston.
As the Associate of Events and Annual Giving, Alycia supports Good Reason Houston’s individual giving program by fostering donor stewardship through event coordination and strategic campaign planning. By working with the Advancement team, Alycia is committed to helping Good Reason Houston acquire funding needed to succeed in its mission of improving the quality of education throughout Houston.
Before joining the Good Reason Houston team, Alycia began her career in development at Incarnate Word Academy, an all-girls college preparatory school in Houston, as a Database Coordinator, where she helped manage the school’s development and communications, resulting in continued year-over-year growth.
Alycia is a proud native Houstonian and graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communications, with a minor in Training and Development. As a mother of three, she is passionate about the quality of education that is accessible to children everywhere and strives to make the world a better place for future generations.
Courtney Isaak Pichon manages Good Reason Houston’s district partnerships. She serves as an executive advisor to district chief executives on strategic planning to increase the number of students in high-quality, best-fit schools. In this capacity, Courtney supports the design and implementation of dozens of school and district improvement interventions across the region.
Courtney earned a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Southern Methodist University and is passionate about supporting districts to select and implement high-quality curriculum. Through this work, she has helped ensure that over 250,000 Houston students are accessing rigorous curriculum every day.
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Service, Courtney moved to Texas to begin her career in education as a secondary math teacher with Teach For America. She worked for Teach For America for six years, coaching and designing training for over 800 beginning teachers. Courtney and her husband enjoy biking around Houston— especially to their neighborhood bakery for best-in-the-city croissants and pastries.
As the Managing Director of District and School Support, Becca directly supports Good Reason Houston’s partner districts and schools as they work to increase the number of students in their district learning in a high-quality school.
Becca began her career in education as a bilingual elementary and middle school math teacher, and has six years of experience teaching in both traditional districts and high-performing charter networks. During her time in the classroom, Becca served as a mentor for teaching fellows and supported her school’s parent association. She also made the Honor Roll for The New Teacher Project’s Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice.
Becca earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Spanish from DePauw University before joining Teach For America. She also received a master’s degree in social work from The University of Chicago where she researched the social-emotional learning supports students need to succeed.
Becca is excited to combine her classroom teaching experience with her research expertise in order to strategize with districts and create the best outcomes for our youngest Houstonians.
As a Managing Director, Meron is committed to supporting Houston schools, school systems, and communities, to rethink what schooling should, and could, be. In her current role Meron works to develop, implement, and grow initiatives to systemically improve outcomes for children across the city of Houston.
Meron brings over 15 years of experience in schools and districts. She has been honored to be allowed to serve students, teachers, and families in her roles as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, manager of principals, and consultant. In her most recent roles, she managed, coached, and developed campus leaders in public schools in Houston, across the US, and internationally. Meron is a Houston native who truly believes in harnessing the power of a community to lead change. As a leader in the civil rights movement once said, “Education is the passport to the future…tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for today.” Meron approaches this work with a vehement belief that in order to prepare our children for the world of tomorrow we must challenge our assumptions of how we educate children today.
Meron hold a Bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University, her MBA from Rice University, and is currently completing her doctoral dissertation focused on reimaging school environments to create more opportunities for students through creating partnerships between public schools and other public entities.
She is a mother, daughter, sister, friend, wife, and community member. Her main hobby outside of work is laughing and travelling (well as much as one can travel with toddlers…). She considers herself a curator of joy who loves what she does and the families she serves.
As Director of Emerging Schools Support, Jaime leads aspects of Good Reason Houston’s work with emerging campuses. He has provided data analysis and teacher professional development for growing charter schools and manages relationships with the area’s larger Charter networks, supporting their growth to increase the number of students learning in high-quality schools.
Prior to joining Good Reason Houston, Jaime worked at BakerRipley Community Schools and at Teach For America. In his roles, he designed professional development, created curriculum materials and coached teachers. He started his career in education as a bilingual teacher at Gallegos Elementary in HISD.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Jaime studied Political Science and U.S. Latino Studies.
As Director of System and Schools Support, Michelle leads several Good Reason Houston school transformation projects. She collaborates with system and school leaders, along with partner organizations, to plan and implement school turnaround and improvement efforts in areas such as school leadership, instruction, culture, and family and community engagement. Michelle also supports systems and schools through rigorous progress monitoring, including data analysis and action planning, and builds capacity for continuous improvement as measured by increased student achievement and growth, closing of equity gaps, and positive feedback from staff, students, and families.
Michelle started her career in consulting where she worked with clients on Talent, Performance, and Compensation strategies. Following her passion for education, Michelle decided to join Teach for America as a corps member and taught Kindergarten and 1st grade in Spring Branch ISD for 5 years. As a teacher, Michelle supported her campus’ redesign, served on the District and Campus Improvement Teams, launched student data tracking, and interned at KIPP in Houston as part of a Policy and Advocacy Summer Fellowship with Leadership in Educational Equity (LEE).
Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Rice University and M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction / Personalized and Blended Learning at Texas Tech University. Michelle is dedicated to making high-quality schools the expectation in Houston and ensuring educational opportunity and access for every child.
As a Manager of District and School Support, Mirella works on Good Reason’s Houston’s district and school strategies to support school turnaround initiatives and increase student access to high-quality education.
Mirella began her career in education as a middle school math teacher and dean of instruction at KIPP schools in Austin and Houston. During her time in the classroom, she served as a teacher leader, instructional coach, department chair, and district curriculum writer. She received the Harriett Ball Excellence in Teaching Award and the Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award. Before joining Good Reason Houston, Mirella led initiatives for a community development nonprofit focused on Social and Emotional Learning and the social determinants of health with schools, youth, and families.
Mirella earned a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies and her M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from the University of Houston.
As the Manager of Emerging School Supports, Kellie directly supports Good Reason Houston’s partner districts and schools to increase the number of students learning in high-quality schools.
Kellie began her career in education as a middle school English and AVID teacher in Alief ISD. Her passion for teaching English led her to engage in array of experiences such as writing curriculum, facilitating at several national conferences, being a board member of West Houston Council of Teachers of English (WHACTE) and Texas State Liaison for Conference on English Leadership (CEL). She has over a decade of experience working in underserved, underestimated communities infusing social justice and culturally responsive practices into her work with students and faculty alike. Prior to joining Good Reason Houston, Kellie was an Instructional Leader and Administrator for YES Prep Public Schools.
Kellie earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from Texas State University and her M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction specializing in Literacy Studies from the University of Houston – Victoria. She grounds her relentlessness to the pursuit of equity in education to Frederick Douglass’ philosophy that “education is emancipation.”
Ellie leads Good Reason Houston’s early childhood work, which includes a region-wide pre-K enrollment campaign that provides parents with the information they need to ensure their child is ready for kindergarten. Ellie also leads the Early Matters Council, a coalition of early childhood leaders from school districts, local Head Start programs, private childcare, and the nonprofit sector.
Ellie started her education career as a Teach For America corps member where she taught high school at KIPP San Antonio. Prior to joining Good Reason Houston, Ellie spent four years working with education nonprofits in Houston where she managed projects related to strategic planning and parent engagement.
Ellie earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s of public health from UTHealth. As a fourth generation Houstonian, she is passionate about working to ensure that every student in our community is school-ready by kindergarten.
Meredith-Leigh Pleasants is the Director of Talent Pipelines and leads Good Reason Houston’s strategy to increase the number of diverse, skillful teachers and leaders in Houston. Meredith-Leigh strategically advises area school districts on launching and strengthening teacher and leader pipelines. She has led regional teacher recruitment efforts resulting in more than 250 new teachers from high-quality teacher pathways hired in partner districts. Meredith-Leigh also leads Good Reason Houston’s efforts to promote grow-your-own pathways, paid-teacher residencies, and innovative recruitment strategies in local school districts. Meredith-Leigh also serves as a member of the Texas Education Agency’s Educator Preparation Stakeholder Group.
Meredith-Leigh began her career in education as a Teach for America corps member in New Orleans, Louisiana. After teaching kindergarten and first grade in turnaround schools, Meredith-Leigh served as an instructional coach and as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Early Childhood Programs for a New Orleans charter network. Under Meredith-Leigh’s leadership, the network’s early childhood programs earned statewide honors for outstanding gains. In addition to working in schools, Meredith-Leigh has extensive experience coaching and developing new teachers. As a facilitator and instructor for TNTP, Inc. and the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators, Meredith-Leigh has coached, trained, and helped certify over 250 new teachers.
As Director of Communications, Stephanie leads Good Reason Houston’s internal and external communications, manages and strengthens its brand, and elevates issues of school quality across the City of Houston.
For more than 10 years, Stephanie has managed communications and marketing efforts at nonprofits throughout Houston. Prior to joining Good Reason Houston, she worked at the headquarters of the national social enterprise Genesys Works. Before that, she led marcomm strategies at two exceptional educational institutions: Incarnate Word Academy and St. John’s School.
Stephanie received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and she has passionately advocated for nonprofits ever since!
Adrian Perez is the Communications Manager at Good Reason Houston, championing external communications strategies, tools, and resources to enhance the educator experience throughout the Greater Houston area. Including managing region-wide campaigns, cultivating relationships with partners, and seeking new collaborations that align with Good Reason Houston’s mission & values.
Prior to Good Reason Houston, Adrian spent more than 10 years as the executive producer of Cox Media Group’s most successful morning radio shows, leading content development and outreach strategy from concept ideation to delivery on-air.
Adrian received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications – Media Production from the University of Houston, Go Coogs! As a native Houstonian, Adrian spends much of his free time volunteering in the city that raised him as part of key non-profit organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association and the Houston Food Bank.
As the Digital Communications Associate, Keven supports Good Reason Houston’s mission through digital communications efforts, including website management, social media management, and email marketing, to advocate for high-quality seats in public schools and celebrate education across the greater Houston area.
Originally from Oregon’s rain-soaked hills of Portland, Keven pursued humanitarian work by partnering with nonprofits, such as Habitat for Humanity Portland Region, Kinship House, and others, to bolster their external image and reach. After leaving the rainy state for warmer climates in Houston, Keven now aids Good Reason Houston in its strategic communications planning, brand awareness, and efforts to increase the number of students learning in high-quality public schools in the Houston area.
Keven earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Journalism and Communications at the University of Oregon.
As the Communications Associate, Jahnara focuses on content development and maintaining Good Reason Houston’s external communications channels.
Prior to joining the Good Reason Houston team, Jahnara worked with various nonprofit organizations to design and implement strategies to optimize their brand presence through digital, social, and mass media.
Jahnara earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Prairie View A&M University and is currently working towards a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing, from Texas Woman’s University.
As Director of Advocacy, Belinda leads Good Reason Houston’s advocacy strategy to build community, support advocates, and drive engagement around Good Reason Houston’s shared vision for great public schools. She oversees the development of the organization’s Parent Leadership Institute and Parent Fellowship programs, which supports parents with educational advocacy and brings more parent voice into the decision-making process.
Belinda got her start in education in the classroom and went on to spend several years in the nonprofit space focusing on community organizing, community engagement, leadership development, and voter turnout. Her previous organizations include Baker-Ripley, Houstonians for Great Public Schools, and Conation Now, LLC.
Belinda is a native Houstonian and a graduate of Texas public schools. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Government and English from Georgetown University, and an MBA from the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University.
As Manager of Policy, Trista keeps a pulse on policy discourse that impacts education at the state and local levels to help inform Good Reason Houston’s advocacy work.
Trista began her career at Harris County Public Health, where she focused on social impact research and public relations. Prior to joining the Good Reason team, she worked with Houstonians for Great Public Schools, dedicating her time to making school board education policy accessible and laser focused on supporting students.
Trista received her bachelor’s in Mass Communications from Texas State University before earning her Juris Doctor from W&L Law.
As the Manager of Advocacy, Jasmine implements the organization’s advocacy strategy, including working with community partners and parents across Houston. She supports with the development and coordination of parent leaders to achieve Good Reason Houston’s shared vision for great public schools.
Jasmine began her career in education as a middle school math teacher. She spent four years working in Title I schools in Spring and Klein ISD. During her time in the classroom, she noticed how certain students were impacted by systemically discriminatory discipline policies and instructional practices on campus. In response, Jasmine became a founding member of her campus’ equity coalition, designed to target and address the racial and socio-economic barriers to a high-quality education.
Jasmine is a native Houstonian and a graduate of Texas public schools. She attended Baylor University, where she was an International Studies major with a minor in Business Administration, and she received her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Houston.
As Manager of Community Outreach, Jamaur drives innovation in direct partnership with school districts, communities, and families across the Houston region. He is in charge of setting a vision and long-term goals for Good Reason Houston’s framework to engage and empower families.
Before joining Good Reason Houston, Jamaur spent time in nonprofit management, as a Community Engagement Manager for some of Houston’s largest organizations: establishing sustainable 501c3s, leading project management, and bridging the gaps between social, academic, and civic organizations in Second and Third Wards, as well as South Houston.
An Educator at heart, this T.E.A. Certified Generalist, spent ten and a half years in Title One schools across Spring and Houston I.S.D.s, teaching General and Special Education, Gifted and Talented, E.S.L. and Emerging Learners. He has served in a capacity of leadership roles from District Teacher of the Year, to Campus Culture Specialist, and Community and Family Liaison. Through his passion, he was able to establish several cultural and family programs which still run in districts today.
An Alumni of one of Texas’ few Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Prairie View A&M University, Jamaur studied Journalism and Behavioral and Political Sciences. He is also active in postgraduate advocacy and service through various alumni networks, including his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.
As Director of Strategy and Learning, Luna supports Good Reason Houston’s strategy and resource development. Luna started her education career as a Teach For America corps member in Houston.
She has worked as a teacher at KIPP and Uplift Education and as a Program Manager for EMERGE, a college access organization. She also worked for the Laura and John Arnold Foundation to develop new areas of investment.
Prior to joining Good Reason Houston, Luna was a member of the school redesign team at Spring Branch ISD where she supported 25 campuses in their efforts to use design thinking principles to reimagine school and personalize learning for every child.
Luna earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s of public affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs. As a first-generation college graduate, she is deeply committed to ensuring every child has equitable opportunities to attain a world-class education.
As the Manager of Data and Analytics, Patrick supports Good Reason Houston’s internal teams and external stakeholders through research, data analysis, and data visualization, as well as building out the organization’s formal data infrastructure as it continues to expand its reach and impact.
Prior to joining Good Reason Houston, Patrick partnered with Houston-area school districts as a researcher with the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s Houston Education Research Consortium, examining key education topics such as the causes and effects of student mobility and the postsecondary outcomes of career and technical education graduates. He began his career in education as a City Year corps member serving at Tilden Career Community Academy in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood before working for several years at Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston.
Patrick received his Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, and his Master of Public Policy from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, where he specialized in education policy.
As Manager of Finance, Cristina supports all Good Reason Houston operations including finance and office management.
She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston where she studied nonprofit management. She developed a deeper understanding and passion for nonprofits through her previous work at the United Way of Greater Houston and Ronald McDonald House Houston.
As an HISD graduate and Houston native, Cristina is thrilled to work with the Good Reason Houston team in pursuit of our mission to increase the number of children exceeding in high-quality learning environments.
As the Manager of People Operations, Sydney supports Good Reason Houston’s general operations, hiring and onboarding functions, and internal team culture and development. Before joining the Good Reason Houston team, Sydney served as the Director of Operations with Teach for America Houston’s Network Learning and Innovation Hub, where she supported regional programming events, internal operations, and communications. She began her career in the classroom as a Teach for America Corps Member, where she taught 5th grade English Language Arts, sat on the Teacher Leadership Board, and was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Award by Humanities Texas. Sydney received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from North Carolina State University and her Master of Science in Education from Johns Hopkins University.
As Operations Associate, Amy supports Good Reason Houston’s office operations, internal organizational culture, and executes administrative functions for cross-functional team members.
Prior to joining the Good Reason Houston team, Amy worked in e-commerce within the sustainable startup sphere where she supported visual direction, site operations, and the strategic implementation of internal systems and processes.
Amy received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from Texas Tech University. Updated
As the Education Pioneer Impact Fellow, Walter will support Good Reason Houston’s work with district and school improvement strategy amongst other responsibilities.
Before joining Good Reason Houston, Walter was a Teach for America Corp member in Boston. During his time with Teach for America, he was a Math Teacher, Athletic Director, and Math Department Chair at Phoenix Charter Academy Chelsea. Walter concurrently earned his Master’s of Education and Curriculum from Boston University during his Teach for America service.
As an Education Pioneers Impact Fellow, Ashli supports Good Reason Houston’s Learning & Evaluation team by analyzing data, reporting insights, and evaluating and transforming processes. She is passionate about bringing context, equity, and humanity to the forefront of data conversations and excited by building team capacity through the use of data automation and visualization tools. Since October 2022, she has helped enable internal decision-making by analyzing and reporting on STAAR achievement trends over time and helping Good Reason Houston spatially visualize both their reach and the overall quality of schools across Houston.
Before becoming a Fellow, Ashli worked as a Purpose & Inclusion Manager at PwC and was focused on project management and data reporting for programs supporting more equitable outcomes for people of color both inside and outside of the firm. Prior to that, she supported the firm’s skills-based volunteering activities through reporting, communications, and purpose activation.
Ashli is a Georgia native who earned her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University where she majored in Human and Organizational Development and minored in African American and Diaspora Studies. She also earned a Master of Accountancy from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management and is a Certified Public Accountant.
As an Education Pioneer Impact Fellow, Janiel will be supporting the Talent Pipelines project to retain excellent educators in the greater Houston area.
Janiel has enjoyed several years of studying and researching education topics specifically, the equitable and culturally sensitive representation of racialized identities in education among Black students and teachers as well the influence of foreign capital flows on Black tertiary education. She is committed to communicating the power of storytelling and civic agency through curriculum and effective teacher training. They actively celebrate the inherent political nature of public education.
Before Good Reason Houston, they spent over 5 years working in domestic and international education nonprofits. Most recently, she worked with the National Association of State Boards of Education researching state policies regarding the U.S. Early Childhood Education workforce. She currently holds an M.Ed. in International Education from The George Washington University.
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