Meet Briya
Briya has a dynamic team of committed educators and staff members who are passionate about education and social justice. Each staff member comes to Briya through a different path — full-time volunteers, former students, career educators — but all stay because of their commitment to the families Briya serves.
Leadership Team
Christie McKay
Executive Director
Briya PCS
Bill Bletzinger
Director of Finance and Administration
Briya PCS
Karen Hertzler
Director of Accountability
Briya PCS
Cara Sklar
Director of Research and Policy
Briya PCS
Lisa Luceno
Director of Early Childhood
Briya PCS
Lorie Preheim
Academic Dean
Briya PCS
Silvia Arias
Early Childhood Manager
Briya PCS
Amy Gonzalez
Operations Manager
Briya PCSBoard of Trustees
Joel Goering, board chair, Senior Charter School Finance Specialist at EdOps
Charlotte Baer, board vice chair, Educational Consultant
Yizel Romero Octaviano, board secretary, Briya student
Emmanuel Caudillo, board treasurer, Special Advisor for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics
Doris Garay, board member, Family Engagement Facilitator/Social Worker for the Department of Family Services, Fairfax, Virginia
Whytni Kernodle, board member, President of Obra S. Kernodle III, Esq., P.C.
Yapsis Palacios, board member, Briya student
Todd Shears, board member, Founder and Owner, BlueSail Advisors LLC
Nishit (Nick) Sheth, board member, Business Manager at Subsystem Technologies, supporting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Deborah Spitz, board member, Program Specialist, Office of Early Learning at the US Department of Education
Julia Toro, board member, Owner of Julia M. Toro Law Firm, PLLC
Team Directory
| Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Adhikari, Pooja | Early Childhood Teacher | padhikari@briya.org |
| Alexander, Patricia | Family Literacy PreK Teacher | palexander@briya.org |
| Alfaro, Jose | Administrative & Security Support | jalfaro@briya.org |
| Alvarado, Karla | Medical Assistant Program Assistant | kalvarado@briya.org |
| Arias, Andrea | IT Specialist | aarias@briya.org |
| Arias, Silvia | Early Childhood Manager | sarias@briya.org |
| Benavides, Marcela | Administrative Coordinator | mbenavides@briya.org |
| Benitez, Roxana | Early Childhood Teacher | rbenitez@briya.org |
| Bergner, Elizabeth | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor | ebergner@briya.org |
| Birkey, Jodi | Director of Charter Data and Administrative Manager | jbirkey@briya.org |
| Bletzinger, Bill | Director of Finance & Administration | bbletzinger@briya.org |
| Bowman, Elizabeth | Adult Education Manager and Digital Literacy Instructor | ebowman@briya.org |
| Bradshaw, Jenna | Digital Literacy Instructor | jbradshaw@briya.org |
| Canaviri, Sonia | Early Childhood Teacher | scanaviri@briya.org |
| Canizales, Gladis | Early Childhood Assessment Coordinator | gcanizales@briya.org |
| Castro, Mau | Bilingual Child Development Specialist & CDA Coordinator | mcastro@briya.org |
| Cruz, Berta | IT Manager | bcruz@briya.org |
| Cruz, Gloria | Early Childhood Teacher | gcruz@briya.org |
| De Paula, Gracia | CDA Instructor | gdepaula@briya.org |
| Diaz, Kenny | IT Specialist | kdiaz@briya.org |
| Diaz, Pablo | IT Specialist | pdiaz@briya.org |
| Diaz Percy | IT Specialist | pjdiaz@briya.org |
| Escamilla, Shiela | Family Literacy PreK Teacher | sescamilla@briya.org |
| Ewnetu, Meseret | Assistant Digital Literacy Instructor | mewnetu@briya.org |
| Faloni, Mark | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor | mfaloni@briya.org |
| Farah-Robison, Raquel | Student Services Coordinator | rfarah-robison@briya.org |
| Ferdous, Zannatul | Early Childhood Teacher | zferdous@briya.org |
| Flores de Montero, Lucia | Family Literacy PreK Teacher | lflores@briya.org |
| Fowler, Grace | Early Childhood Instructional Specialist | gfowler@briya.org |
| Gadhia, Reena | Medical Assistant Manager and Program Developer | rgadhia@briya.org |
| Gaitan, Maria Dolores | Early Childhood Teacher | mgaitan@briya.org |
| Gass, Katie | Digital Literacy Coordinator & Instructor | kgass@briya.org |
| Gomez, Katia | Special Education Teacher and ELL Specialist | kgomez@briya.org |
| Gomez, Lorena | Family Literacy PreK Teacher | lgomez@briya.org |
| Gonzalez, Amy | Operations Manager and Digital Literacy Instructional Coordinator | agonzalez@briya.org |
| Gordon, Emily | Family Literacy PreK Teacher | egordon@briya.org |
| Gorman, Elise | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor | egorman@briya.org |
| Granados, Alejandra | Early Childhood Teacher | agranados@briya.org |
| Grijalva, Sonia | Early Childhood Assistant | sgrijalva@briya.org |
| Guardado, Daysi E. | Early Childhood Teacher | dguardado@briya.org |
| Guardado, Mirna | Registrar | mguardado@briya.org |
| Guardado, Moris | Education Intern | moguardado@briya.org |
| Guardado, Wendy | Administrative Coordinator | wguardado@briya.org |
| Hapuarachchi, Shanika | Development Specialist | shapuarachchi@briya.org |
| Hernandez, Ana Lucia | Early Childhood Teacher | ahernandez@briya.org |
| Hertzler, Karen | Director of Accountability & Development | khertzler@briya.org |
| Johnson, Lena | Special Education Coordinator | ljohnson@briya.org |
| Juarez-Escamilla, Maribel | Early Childhood Teacher | mescamilla@briya.org |
| Kebade, Luwam | Early Childhood Teacher | lkebade@briya.org |
| Kelley, Aimee | Communications Administrator | akelley@briya.org |
| Kittleson, Judy | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor and Coordinator | jkittleson@briya.org |
| Luceno, Lisa | Director of Early Childhood Education | lluceno@briya.org |
| Mahfouz, Melissa | Digital Literacy Instructor | mmahfouz@briya.org |
| Marin, Sandra | Digital Literacy Instructor | smarin@briya.org |
| McKay,Christie | Executive Director | cmckay@briya.org |
| Mejia, Amima | Early Childhood Assistant | amejia@briya.org |
| Mendoza, Nayeli | Medical Assistant Instructor and School Nurse | nmendoza@briya.org |
| Mendoza,Yolanda | Early Childhood Assistant | ymendoza@briya.org |
| Mintz, Stephanie | Community Schools Coordinator and Director of Student Services | smintz@briya.org |
| Morales, Alicia | Early Childhood Teacher | amorales@briya.org |
| Morillo, Florinda | Early Childhood Assistant | fmorillo@briya.org |
| Mussman, Noelani | Director of Early Childhood Curriculum & Instruction | nmussman@briya.org |
| Nerger, Rachel | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instuctor | rnerger@briya.org |
| Ngouabou, Paul | Digital Literacy Instructor | pngouabou@briya.org |
| O’Connell, Meredith | Assistant Digital Literacy Instructor | moconnell@briya.org |
| Pease, Alicia | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor | apease@briya.org |
| Perez, Guillermina | Early Childhood Teacher | gperez@gmail.com |
| Pope, Brittany | Digital Literacy Coach and Transitions Coordinator | bpope@briya.org |
| Preheim, Lorie | Academic Dean | lpreheim@briya.org |
| Quintanilla, Carlos | Family Literacy PreK Teacher | cquintanilla@briya.org |
| Rached, Sawsan | Early Childhood Assistant | srached@briya.org |
| Reeder, Cristin | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor | creeder@briya.org |
| Reuber, Paige | Adult Education & Family Literacy Coordinator and Instructor | preuber@briya.org |
| Rivas, Claudia | Early Childhood Assistant | crivas@briya.org |
| Rivera, Kimberly | Administrative Specialist | krivera@briya.org |
| Rivera, Rosa | Early Childhood Teacher | rrivera@briya.org |
| Rosenberg, Jessica | Adult Education and Family Literacy Instructor & Coordinator | jrosenberg@briya.org |
| Sanchez, Juliet | Family Literacy PreK Teacher | jsanchez@briya.org |
| Sandoval, Nury | Bilingual Early Intervention and Parent Coordinator | nsandoval@briya.org |
| Sauls, Yolanda | Early Childhood Assistant | ysauls@briya.org |
| Schuetz, Erica | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor | eschuetz@briya.org |
| Sklar, Cara | Director of Research & Policy | csklar@briya.org |
| Stoltzfus, Lauren | Communications Specialist | lstoltzfus@briya.org |
| Taft Hicks, Camilla | Strategy Coordinator | ctafthicks@briya.org |
| Toure, Barbara | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor | btoure@briya.org |
| Valenzuela, Ivana | Outreach & Registration Coordinator | ivalenzuela@briya.org |
| Van Slyck, Kate | Curriculum Lead and Special Education Teacher | kvanslyck@briya.org |
| Willet, Melanie | Family Literacy PreK Teacher | mwillet@briya.org |
| Williams, Michael | IT Specialist | mwilliams@briya.org |
| Wittkowski, Kirsten | Adult Education & Family Literacy Instructor | kwittkowski@briya.org |
| Wotcho, Mireille | Early Childhood Teacher | mwotcho@briya.org |
