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
Bill Bletzinger
Director of Finance and Administration
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
Director of Adult Education
Briya PCS
Silvia Arias
Early Childhood Manager
Briya PCS
Amy Gonzalez
Director of Operations
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
Nishit (Nick) Sheth, board treasurer, Business Manager at Subsystem Technologies, supporting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Marc Griego, board member, Director, Executive Management, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), US Agency for International Development
Whytni Kernodle, board member, President of Obra S. Kernodle III, Esq., P.C.
Judy Mortrude, Senior Technical Advisor, World Education, Inc.
Yizel Romero Octaviano, board member, Briya student
Alejandra Sandoval, board member, Briya student
Todd Shears, board member, Founder and Owner, BlueSail Advisors LLC
Deborah Spitz, board member, Program Specialist, Office of Early Learning at the US Department of Education
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, Silvia | Early Childhood Manager | sarias@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 |
| Beres, Olivia | Adult Ed Associate Teacher | oberes@briya.org |
| Bergner, Elizabeth | Adult Education Lead Instructor | ebergner@briya.org |
| Bletzinger, Bill | Director of Finance & Administration | bbletzinger@briya.org |
| Bowman, Elizabeth | Adult Education Director | ebowman@briya.org |
| Brennan, Kendall | Adult Education Associate Instructor | kbrennan@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 |
| Centeno, Oscar | Security & Administrative Assistant | ocenteno@briya.org |
| Cerullo, Billy | Family Services Coordinator | bcerullo@briya.org |
| Ching, Annabella | Adult Ed Associate Teacher | aching@briya.org |
| Cruz, Berta | IT Manager | bcruz@briya.org |
| Cruz, Genesis | Health Navigator (School Nurse) | gcruz@briya.org |
| Cruz, Gloria | Early Childhood Teacher | gcruz@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, Marlee | Adult Education Associate Instructor | mdorendorf@briya.org |
| Erie, Britta | MA Program Assistant | berie@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 |
| Fawcett, Betsy | Adult Ed Associate Teacher | bfawcett@briya.org |
| Ferdous, Zannatul | Early Childhood Teacher | zferdous@briya.org |
| Flores, Wendy | Student Services Coordinator | wflores@briya.org |
| Gadhia, Reena | Medical Assistant Manager & Program Developer | rgadhia@briya.org |
| Gaitan, Maria Dolores | Early Childhood Teacher | mgaitan@briya.org |
| Gomez, Katia | Special Education Director | kgomez@briya.org |
| Gomez, Lorena | Early Childhood Coordinator | lgomez@briya.org |
| Gonzalez, Amy | Operations Director | agonzalez@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 |
| Hunter, Lauren | Adult Ed Associate Teacher | lhunter@briya.org |
| Ihaza, Jodi | Director of Charter Data & Administrative Manager | jihaza@briya.org |
| Jamison-Juarez, Molly | Outreach & Registration Specialist | mjamisonjuarez@briya.org |
| Johnson, Lena | Director of Early Childhood Education | ljohnson@briya.org |
| Juarez-Escamilla, Maribel | Early Childhood Coordinator | mescamilla@briya.org |
| Karttunen, Kirsten | Administrative Manager | kkarttunen@briya.org |
| Kebade, Luwam | Early Childhood Teacher | lkebade@briya.org |
| Kittleson, Judy | Adult Education Lead Instructor and Coordinator | jkittleson@briya.org |
| Koop Liechty, Emma | Events & Field Trip Coordinator | ekoopliechty@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 |
| Mackie, Lydia | PreK Department | lmackie@briya.org |
| Mahfouz, Melissa | Adult Education Associate Instructor | mmahfouz@briya.org |
| Marin, Sandra | CASAS Coordinator | smarin@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 |
| Mintz, Stephanie | Community Schools Coordinator and Director of Student Services | smintz@briya.org |
| Morales, Alicia | Early Childhood Teacher | amorales@briya.org |
| Morales, Marisol | Cleaning Caretaker | mmorales@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, Octavio | Facilities Engineer & External Education Specialist | operez@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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Robinson, Susana | Early Childhood Teacher | srobinson@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 |
| Sevilla Mejia, Rikssi | Administrative Assistant | rsevilla@briya.org |
| Simpson Baird, Ashley | Research & Policy | asimpsonbaird@briya.org |
| Steffes, Erin | PreK Assistant | esteffes@briya.org |
| Stoltzfus, Lauren | Communications Coordinator | lstoltzfus@briya.org |
| Sweeney, Sara | Adult Education Lead Instructor | ssweeney@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 |
| Vega, Noe | Adult Education Assistant & Front Desk Support Worker | nvega@briya.org |
| Velazquez Rangel, Martha | PreK Department | mvelazquezrangel@briya.org |
| Wang, Stella | Communications Assistant | swang@briya.org |
| Weemaes, Jillian | Adult Education Associate Instructor | jweemaes@briya.org |
| Williams, Michael | IT Specialist | mwilliams@briya.org |
| Wittkowski, Kirsten | Adult Education Lead Instructor & Coordinator | kwittkowski@briya.org |
| Zelaya, Claudia | Student Services Coordinator | czelaya@briya.org |
