Prior to her current role, Shally served as Chief Technology Officer of Greenwich Technology Partners. Before that, Shally cofounded NetGain LLC ‐ a highly successful network consulting business which grew to over $5 million in revenue within three years. Shally began her career at McKinsey & Company. She has been regularly quoted as a subject matter expert in leading publications and has been a speaker at leading industry conferences. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Specializing in strategic planning and revenue generation, Nicole works with nonprofits to align mission, money, and operations to scale and sustain impact. Nicole has held senior positions responsible for strategy, operations, fundraising, and communications, most recently as Chief Business Development Officer of Polaris, a leading anti-human trafficking NGO. A nonprofit executive experienced in all facets of organizational leadership, Nicole has worked on a wide range of domestic and international development issues including education, land rights of Indigenous Peoples, technology, homelessness, and human rights.

In 1994, she co-founded the Engineering and Manufacturing Institute of Technology at Forest High School in Ocala, Florida, where she served as director and as a mathematics instructor until her arrival at National Board. Brookins achieved her certification in Adult and Young Adolescent Mathematics in 2003 and renewed in 2013. She has been inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame and is a Florida Education Association “Everyday Hero,” and received the association’s Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2013, Brookins was named an Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar.

He also led a team providing finance support for global corporate functions and operations, led financial analysis for the organization’s global transformation, and worked on several strategic projects for the organization. Prior to his work at Discovery, James worked at PwC (consulting), and JetBlue Airways (FP&A / Corporate Finance). Beyond his contributions to corporate finance, James is dedicated to nonprofit service, providing financial guidance while serving as Treasurer and Board Member for institutions such as the Garrett Park Nursery School.

Prior to his advisory work, Tom was a managing director at The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (DRK), where he led the effort to establish the Foundation’s East Coast office, identified and supported early-stage social entrepreneurs, and engaged DRK donors and funding partners. Previously, he was a partner at New Profit, where he helped portfolio organizations refine their program and revenue models, add talent, develop organizational capacity and scale their impact. Previously, Tom served as the director of operations for Grassroot Soccer, leading the operational build-out for the organization in South Africa.
Before entering the nonprofit arena, Tom worked for White Mountains Capital, a firm that invests in buyouts and special situations in the financial service sector. His role involved evaluating investment opportunities, managing diligence efforts and working with management teams post-close to improve operations. In an earlier role, he consulted to Fortune 500 and private equity clients while at Mainspring, a boutique management consulting firm acquired by IBM. He started his professional career at the Chubb Group, a specialty insurance company.
Tom serves on the boards of StriveTogether, Compass Working Capital, Seed Global Health, Spark Microgrants, Bantu Rovers and KnowledgeWorks Foundation. Tom received his master of business administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and holds a bachelor of arts in philosophy and economics from Boston College. Tom enjoys running, cooking and international travel.

Kelly’s education career began as a 1992 Teach For America corps member in Houston. He then co-founded Project Chrysalis Charter Middle School, which quickly became one of the highest-performing middle schools serving low-income students in Texas. Kelly went on to found Perea Preschool in Memphis TN, and also served as a Director of Business Development for KC Distance Learning, a virtual charter high school program. He holds a BA from Rhodes College, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is an Aspen Institute-New Schools (Pahara) Fellow.

Jeanne is active in national and international initiatives to connect children and families to nature and to promote youth leadership in conservation. She serves on the Global Leadership Committee for the Nature Action Collaborative for Children and is on the National Advisory Board Member for The Gloria Barron Prize for Youth Heroes and the Advisory Council of the Environmental Leadership Center at Warren Wilson College. She holds a Master of Arts in American Studies from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Prior to joining ACON in 2013, Ms. Bernstein worked at Perseus, a $1.5 billion Washington, D.C.-based middle-market private equity firm, where she was also Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. Ms. Bernstein joined Perseus in 2006 as Vice President for Legal Affairs. Prior to Perseus, Ms. Bernstein was in private legal practice and worked at Paul Weiss in New York City and Pillsbury in Washington, D.C. At both firms, she focused on M&A and private equity investments, fund formation, and regulatory matters relating to private and public pooled investment vehicles. Ms. Bernstein has devoted numerous service hours volunteering with non-profit organizations focused on, among others, early childhood development, food insecurity, and aiding the homeless and victims of domestic violence. Ms. Bernstein received a B.A., magna cum laude, in Comparative Literature from Cornell University and a J.D., magna cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law. Ms. Bernstein is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining Bregal, Amy Wong managed the middle office group in the Alternative Investments business at JPMorgan Chase. Previously, she worked in the Finance and Accounting area at Gen Re where she was responsible for the accounting of all entities in the Corporate Finance business. In addition, she has prior experience in various auditing functions. She started her career in the Ernst & Young financial services assurance group. Amy received a BS degree from NYU Stern School of Business for accounting and information systems. She is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant, CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charter holder, and CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor).

She knows Out Teach well through our partnership with Dallas ISD and is personally committed to our mission.

Kelly holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSBA in International Finance from American University. Kelly is National Board Member for Compass Pro Bono. Kelly’s been supporting education-focused nonprofits since high school.

John Hoke is an attorney with McGuire Woods, a large international law firm. John specializes in the non-profit sector as well as legal support for mergers and acquisitions.

Alicia graduated from UNC Charlotte with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, concentration in Environmental Engineering. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband, daughter, and two stepsons. She enjoys being outside, taking daily walks in the neighborhood, gardening, kayaking, and hiking.

He currently serves as Project Manager for Mecklenburg County Asset and Facility Management where he oversees design and construction of parks, greenways, and nature preserves. He has served as a member of the Charlotte Chamber Greenworks Board for five years, Green Awards Chair for three years and Board Chair in 2015. With two children in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Montessori Magnet project, Bert has seen first-hand the benefits of extending the classroom outdoors and has a passion to help spread this concept across the Southeast.

Samuel L. Smith Jr. is a higher education advocate, change agent, strategist & innovative-thinker. With over 11+ years of experience, working for various educational institutions and non-profits.
Currently Mr. Smith is the Student Success Coordinator at Carolinas College of Health Sciences (Atrium Health) where he manages the Academic Resource Center, and various student initiatives including the peer tutoring program, student activities and student life, cover letter/resume clinics, ADA, Section 504, and Title IX compliance.

Mr. Smith earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Baker College, and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Phoenix.

Phocas is in charge of the company’s community engagement efforts and oversees strategy for the AvidXchange Foundation. This is a newly created position for AvidXchange. He worked as Charlotte’s director of sustainability for about 10 years. Prior to that, he was the assistant city attorney for three years.

As the sustainability director, Phocas played an integral role in the city’s first strategic energy plan, which included such items as installing solar roofs on fire stations, expanding electric vehicle-charging stations citywide and partnering with Charlotte’s largest banks on renewable energy projects. Bloomberg Philanthropies, a campaign spearheaded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to accelerate environmental programs, selected Charlotte in late 2018 as one of 20 cities to participate in a $70 million program.

Prior to the CELC role, Blair led key initiatives at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance (formerly the Charlotte Chamber), where she began in 1993 as a Public Relations manager and advanced steadily through the years to serve as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President. Serving in the role of COO during the last14 years of her 27-year tenure with the organization, she managed teams who were collectively responsible for driving economic growth and prosperity for all in the Charlotte Region through economic recruitment, advocacy, talent attraction and corporate engagement. Her role afforded her the opportunity to manages special projects, which included serving as staff lead for the merger of the Charlotte Chamber and the Charlotte Regional Partnership, the Democratic National Convention, a CEO search, several economic planning efforts, the renovation of the chamber space and the transition to a new model of operation.

Blair, a Charlotte native, is a proud graduate of Queens University, where she also earned her Executive Coaching Certification. She and husband, Michael, have a daughter, Quincy, and son, Jack.

Combining her background in sociology and landscape architecture, Beth strives to capture the spirit of a community to influence the vision for an authentic open space experience that aligns with the local goals and values. Public open space is her thing—parks, trails, streetscapes, pedestrians, bikes, and even trikes.

Gabriela and her team deliver best practices in operational excellence, high-level decision making, bilingual/bicultural expertise, board governance support, CEO succession planning, human capital analysis, executive assessment/coaching, effective communications, conflict resolution, performance management, compensation, organizational development, diversity, strategic planning and development, change management, employment compliance, executive search, and talent acquisition. Gabriela and her team at PPR have worked with Out Teach leading two regional executive searches for Texas and the Southeast regions.

Gabriela earned an Executive MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas and is a member of DallasHR, SHRM, and the Dallas Regional Chamber. Gabriela’s passion for the Out Teach mission is tied to her very personal belief in how education can transform lives. She is grateful for the teachers she had growing up who taught her the importance of learning outdoors.

Bobby has represented and advised national and international clients from industries such as technology, financial services, aviation, defense, energy, health care, telecommunications, consumer products, real estate, and software.

He is currently a Senior Vice President with Pegasus Ablon focusing on Asset Management services for their Dallas/Fort Worth portfolio. Prior to joining Pegasus Ablon, Jeff spent 15 years with Trammell Crow Company and 11 years with Behringer Harvard Funds.
Jeff connected with Out Teach after establishing a mentoring program for at-risk students at Jerry Junkins Elementary School, where he connected more than 60 employees with students at school-related activities and functions.
He previously served as a Trustee and Finance Committee Chair for Baylor Specialty Hospital and Baylor’s Our Children’s House, along with being a former Director with the Children’s Cancer Fund of Dallas. Jeff graduated from Indiana University at Bloomington in 1985 with a BS in Accounting.

She is a current member of the board for Incarnation House (assisting at-risk teens in Dallas to end generational poverty), Big Thought (unlock creative potential in empowering youth) and VNA (assisting people age with dignity & independence at home). Her involvement with the Founders Garden Club of Dallas exposed her to Out Teach which combined so many of her passions – youth, education, gardening. She is also a Master Gardener and loves nothing more than spending time outside with her hands in the dirt.

Freeman previously served as Director of Intelligence, Innovation and Education for the Chamber where he provided oversight of One Irving’s $3.1-million programmatic capital campaign that provided learning opportunities for hundreds of Irving students. His current activities include Winter Institute Board Regent of IOM, Advisory Council for ACCE’s Education and Talent Development Division, and Board of Directors for Irving Cares.

Luis is a US Marine Corps veteran who received his MBA from Texas Tech University and his passion for the outdoors drives his excitement for serving on the Teas Regional Out Teach board. Outside of work, he is happily married to his spouse Stephanie, who both love to travel and roots for his favorite soccer club, Manchester City.

She has over a decade of relevant education experience that includes supporting statewide leadership, literacy, and system-change initiatives across Texas. Her areas of expertise include equity and excellence, parent leadership, and second language acquisition for diverse learners. Dr. Martinez Hickman is a product of public education, and earned her Ph.D. in K-16 Research, Policy, and Leadership from the University of Texas at Arlington.Olga is a 2019 Tarrant County Alumni of Leadership ISD’s Civic Voices and was a member of the 2019 Dallas Public Voices Cohort. She is also a part of the inaugural Stagen Leadership Academy’s Social Change Leadership Program, designed to elevate the voices of powerful women leaders. Olga and her husband Charles live in Fort Worth, and are the proud parents of Rejinah and Reignah.

Ruth founded Redenta’s in 1992 with the goal of establishing a successful environmentally conscious business. With Out Teach (formerly REAL School Gardens) Ruth felt she had finally found a cause she believed in enough to throw her support behind. Ruth supplies plant material for all of the Dallas/Fort Worth projects, and has supported us in countless other ways for nearly ten years as a volunteer and advocate.

Amber has worked in private, nonprofit, and public sectors providing leadership in communications, equity, community partnership, and authentic relationship cultivation and development. Amber is a trusted voice for racial equity and community change. Her methods of change center on the power of proximate leadership, historical context, layered with a modern day impact, as well as individual reflection and acknowledgment in tandem with and collective people power.

Amber has been published in the Washington Post, Dallas Morning News and Texas Monthly as an opinion columnist on issues such as creating equitable community for all.

Prior to joining Vizient, Justin was an Associate Attorney at Jones Day focused on state and local tax matters. Justin received his law degree Magna Cum Laude from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Justin has volunteered with Out Teach for several years through Vizient’s Community Day event and has been impressed and motivated by Out Teach’s mission and work. Justin brings his strong interpersonal skills and a passion for serving underprivileged communities to the Texas Regional Board.

In 2011 she received the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Achievement as a Creative Teacher and Scholar and became an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow. Dr. Weinburgh currently is the Co-Editor of the Electronic Journal of Science Education and is on the editorial review board of the Journal of Science Teacher Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and Journal of Elementary Science Education.

She taught biology for 16 years before accepting her first science education faculty appointment at Georgia State University (1991-2002) in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Studies (Science Education) from Emory University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Agnes Scott College. Dr. Weinburgh believes in the mission of Out Teach and brings an academic understanding of the educational landscape. Her areas of focus include science education, equity issues, inquiry-based science instruction, and teacher growth.

Dr. Reymundo Cervantes-Guajardo became a school administrator in 2014 after serving K-5 elementary students since 2006. Rey served as the instructional leader at Henry B. Gonzalez Personalized Learning Academy and has supported the Dallas ISD’s vision and mission since 2006. He facilitated Gonzalez school choice transformation to a Personalized Learning Academy, held an accountability “B” status from the Texas Education Agency, and recognized as the safest school in Dallas ISD since 2018. While principal, he partnered with Out Teach and has joined us at conferences to speak about the work. Rey was named the 2020-2021 Dallas ISD Elementary Principal of the Year and completed his doctoral studies at Southern Methodist University. In 2022, Dr. Cervantes was promoted to continue leading change as the new middle school principal at the School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove.

Alice found her voice and calling through her educational experience from her days as a Montessouri school girl to various study abroad semesters in Ghana, Africa (African-American studies), Spain, & Latin America, where she became fluent in Spanish. She went on to launch a successful career in economic & community development, international and government relations, public health, social justice, and philanthropy. She has served in a variety of leadership roles Chief Operating Officer to CEO, generating over $1B in economic impact and leading institutes to being named in the Top 10 of their kind in the USA.

Alice’s love and value of education was inspired by her grandparents, particularly her grandmothers, one of whom earned their Associate’s degree and Apparel & Home Design Certification, while the other earned both her Bachelor’s & Master’s Degrees. Despite their qualifications, they were still denied jobs in the education field for over 17 years and the opportunity to earn their PhD’s and become Superintendents as they had aspired.

Alice is the CEO of M&C Advisors, a consulting firm which specializes in organizational & leadership development, fundraising, strategy, professional development trainings, social justice, and the management of company and individual philanthropy. She supports a variety of nonprofits, companies, public & private entities, start-ups, and leaders. She holds a Master of Public Administration degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and a BBA from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.

Drawn to the place where art and creativity meet science, technology, and logic, she develops results that are unique and pleasing while remaining practical and useful. She has the vision to help clients navigate from problem identification to finished working solutions, whether that be print graphics, a customer-facing website, or a robust internal-use application. She excels at high-level conceptualization and insists upon detailed proofing, testing, and accuracy.

Wendy worked as a Program Evaluation Assistant in Out Teach for seven months. She has assisted with data entry and analysis; Participated in school garden installations. She has also designed and developed a cloud-based evaluation tracking solution using linked spreadsheets with custom formulas and scripts.