Our Team: 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
Geovanna Izurieta
Director of Finance and Administration
Briya PCS
Darryl Clay
Director of Operations
Briya PCS
Karen Hertzler
Director of Accountability
Briya PCS
Lisa Luceno
Senior Director of Early Childhood Strategy
Briya PCS
Lorie Preheim
Director of Outreach and Adult Education Strategy
Briya PCS
Elizabeth Bowman
Academic Dean
Briya PCS
Jennifer Dalzell
Director of Adult Education
Briya PCS
Silvia Arias
Early Childhood Manager
Briya PCSBoard of Trustees
Daniela Grigioni, board chair, Executive Director at After-School All-Stars DC
Doris Garay, board vice chair, Family Engagement Facilitator/Social Worker for the Department of Family Services, Fairfax, Virginia
Flor Buruca, board secretary, Briya student
Bill Bletzinger, board treasurer, Retired
Brittany Pope, board member, Economic Security Supervisor, Bread for the City
Brenda Martinez, board member, Private Deal Analyst, Amazon
Jennifer Huang, board member, Finance Lead, EdOps
Ji Sung Yang, board member, Corporate Services Senior Analyst, Office of the Secretary, Inter-American Development Bank
Judy Mortrude, board member, Senior Technical Advisor, World Education, Inc.
Alejandra Sandoval, board member, Briya student
Cara Sklar, board member, Deputy Director, Early & Elementary Education Policy at New America
Team Directory
| Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Abbamin, Zuhra | Adult Education Lead Instructor | zabbamin@briya.org |
| Abera, Naomi | Finance and Business Administrator | nabera@briya.org |
| Adhikari, Pooja | Early Childhood Teacher | padhikari@briya.org |
| Alexander, Patricia | PreK Department | palexander@briya.org |
| Alfaro, Jose | Administrative & Security Support | jalfaro@briya.org |
| Araujo, Clara | Outreach & Registration Specialist | caraujo@briya.org |
| Argueta, Elsa | Early Childhood Assistant Teacher | eargueta@briya.org |
| Arias, Olga | CDA Instructor | oarias@briya.org |
| Arias, Silvia | Early Childhood Manager | sarias@briya.org |
| Batista, Claudia | Patient Care Technician | cbatista@briya.org |
| Beltran, Maria | Early Childhood Teacher | mbeltran@briya.org |
| Benavides, Marcela | Administrative Site Coordinator | mbenavides@briya.org |
| Benitez, Roxana | Early Childhood Teacher | rbenitez@briya.org |
| Bergner, Elizabeth | Adult Education Lead Instructor | ebergner@briya.org |
| Blanco, Wendy | Registration Coordinator | wblanco@briya.org |
| Bowman, Elizabeth | Adult Education Director | ebowman@briya.org |
| Canaviri, Sonia | Early Childhood Teacher | scanaviri@briya.org |
| Canizales, Gladis | Early Childhood Coordinator | gcanizales@briya.org |
| Cardenas, Maria Alejandra | PreK Department | mcardenas@briya.org |
| Castro, Mau | CDA Coordinator & Instructor | mcastro@briya.org |
| Cerullo, Billy | Family Services Coordinator | bcerullo@briya.org |
| Chavez, Daniel | Adult Education Lead Teacher | dchavez@briya.org |
| Chirino, Violeta | vchirino@maryscenter.org | |
| Cruz, Berta | IT Manager | bcruz@briya.org |
| De Paula, Gracia | CDA Instructor | gdepaula@briya.org |
| Diaz, Glenda | Early Childhood Assistant | gdiaz@briya.org |
| Diaz, Kenny | IT Specialist | kdiaz@briya.org |
| Diaz, Pablo | IT Specialist | pdiaz@briya.org |
| Diaz, Percy | IT Specialist | pjdiaz@briya.org |
| Dorendorf, Isaiah | MA Program Instructor | idorendorf@briya.org |
| Dorendorf, Marlee | Adult Education Associate Instructor | mdorendorf@briya.org |
| Escamilla, Shiela | PreK Department | sescamilla@briya.org |
| Espinoza, Diana | Administrative Assistant | despinoza@briya.org |
| Evarts, Elaine | Adult Education Lead Instructor | eevarts@briya.org |
| Faloni, Mark | Adult Education Lead Instructor | mfaloni@briya.org |
| Farah, Raquel | Student Services Coordinator | rfarah-robison@briya.org |
| Ferdous, Zannatul | Early Childhood Teacher | zferdous@briya.org |
| Gaitan, Maria Dolores | Early Childhood Teacher | mgaitan@briya.org |
| Gebrekidan, Zaid | Administrative Assistant | zgebrekidan@briya.org |
| Gerkin, Thomas | Adult Education Workforce and CASAS Administrator | tgerkin@briya.org |
| Gomez, Lorena | Early Childhood Coordinator | lgomez@briya.org |
| Gomez, Katia | Special Education Director | kgomez@briya.org |
| Granados, Alejandra | Early Childhood Teacher | agranados@briya.org |
| Grijalva, Sonia | Early Childhood Assistant | sgrijalva@briya.org |
| Guardado, Daysi | Early Childhood Teacher | dguardado@briya.org |
| Guardado, Mirna | Registrar | mguardado@briya.org |
| Guardado, Moris | IT Assistant | moguardado@briya.org |
| Guardado, Wendy | Administrative Manager | wguardado@briya.org |
| Hapuarachchi, Shanika | Development Specialist | shapuarachchi@briya.org |
| Hawkins, Allison | PreK Department | ahawkins@briya.org |
| Hertzler, Karen | Director of Accountability & Development | khertzler@briya.org |
| Ihaza, Jodi | Director of Charter Data & Administrative Manager | jihaza@briya.org |
| Izurieta, Geovanna | Director of Finance & Administration | gizurieta@briya.org |
| Johnson, Lena | Director of Early Childhood Education | ljohnson@briya.org |
| Juarez-Escamilla, Maribel | Early Childhood Coordinator | mescamilla@briya.org |
| Kebade, Luwam | Early Childhood Teacher | lkebade@briya.org |
| Kittleson, Judy | Adult Education Lead Instructor and Coordinator | jkittleson@briya.org |
| Kushner, Beth | Adult Transitions Coordinator | bkushner@briya.org |
| Leon, Vanessa | School Based Mental Health Therapist | vleon@briya.org |
| Lorenzana, Melissa | Early Childhood Coordinator | mlorenzana@briya.org |
| Luceno, Lisa | Senior Director of Early Childhood Strategy | lluceno@briya.org |
| Luque Flores, Alicia | Front Desk Receptionist | aluque@briya.org |
| Macheel, Annie | Adult Education Lead Instructor | amacheel@briya.org |
| Marin, Sandra | CASAS Coordinator | smarin@briya.org |
| McCarey, Eve | Adult Education Lead Teacher | emccarey@briya.org |
| McKay, Christie | Executive Director | cmckay@briya.org |
| Meinel, Elizabeth | Adult Education Lead Instructor | eposton@briya.org |
| Mejia, Amima | Early Childhood Assistant | amejia@briya.org |
| Mendoza, Elvira | Early Childhood Assistant | emendoza@briya.org |
| Mendoza, Yolanda | Early Childhood Assistant | ymendoza@briya.org |
| Messer, Amy | Executive Manager | amesser@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 |
| Murithi, Tatyana | HR Generalist | tmurithi@briya.org |
| Mussman, Noelani | Director of Professional Development & Academic Support | nmussman@briya.org |
| Neira, Liz | Twos Teacher | lneira@briya.org |
| Ngako-Wotcho, Mireille | Outreach Specialist | mngako-wotcho@briya.org |
| Pease, Alicia | Adult Education Lead Instructor | apease@briya.org |
| Perez, Guillermina | Early Childhood Teacher | gperez@gmail.com |
| Perez, Eduardo | IT Specialist | eperez@briya.org |
| Perez, Octavio | Facilities Engineer & External Education Specialist | operez@briya.org |
| Pinney, Alina | Student Services Coordinator | apinney@briya.org |
| Plotnikov, Sasha | Adult Education Lead Teacher | aplotnikov@briya.org |
| Prater, Emily | Adult Ed Math Master Teacher & Coach | eprater@briya.org |
| Preheim, Lorie | Director of Outreach and Adult Education Strategy | lpreheim@briya.org |
| Quintanilla, Carlos | PreK Department | cquintanilla@briya.org |
| Quinteros, Wendy | Temporary MA Program Coordinator | wquinteros@briya.org |
| Rached, Sawsan | Early Childhood Assistant | srached@briya.org |
| Ramirez, Milena | PreK Department | mramirez@briya.org |
| Reuber, Paige | Adult Education Lead Instructor and Coordinator | preuber@briya.org |
| Reyes, Johanna | Dedicated Aide and Temporary Early Childhood Assistant | jreyes@briya.org |
| Ring, Lyle | Adult Education Lead Teacher | lring@briya.org |
| Rivas, Claudia | Early Childhood Assistant | crivas@briya.org |
| Rivera-Martinez, Kimberly | Administrative Site Coordinator | krivera@briya.org |
| Rivera, Rosa | Early Childhood Teacher | rrivera@briya.org |
| Rosenberg, Jessica | Adult Education Coordinator | jrosenberg@briya.org |
| Sadownick, Jamey | Adult Education Lead Instructor | jsadownick@briya.org |
| Sandoval, Nury | PreK Department | nsandoval@briya.org |
| Santizo, Leticia | Early Childhood Assistant Teacher | lsantizo@briya.org |
| Schmidt, Kerstin | PreK Department | kschmidt@briya.org |
| Schuetz, Erica | Adult Education Teacher | eschuetz@briya.org |
| Sevilla Mejia, Rikssi | Administrative Assistant | rsevilla@briya.org |
| Simpson Baird, Ashley | Research & Policy | asimpsonbaird@briya.org |
| Stoltzfus, Lauren | Communications Coordinator | lstoltzfus@briya.org |
| Strattan, Alissa | Adult Education Teacher | astrattan@briya.org |
| Taft Hicks, Camilla | Strategy Coordinator | ctafthicks@briya.org |
| Toure, Barbara | Adult Education Instructional Coach | btoure@briya.org |
| Ulseth, Johanna | Student Services Coordinator | julseth@briya.org |
| Vaccalluzzo, Marisa | Speech & Language Pathologist | mvaccalluzzo@briya.org |
| Valenzuela, Ivana | Registration Manager | ivalenzuela@briya.org |
| Velazquez Rangel, Martha | PreK Department | mvelazquezrangel@briya.org |
| Wang, Stella | Communications Associate & Board Liaison | swang@briya.org |
| Weemaes, Jillian | Adult Education Associate Instructor | jweemaes@briya.org |
| Wittkowski, Kirsten | Adult Education Lead Instructor & Coordinator | kwittkowski@briya.org |
