Our Team

Ted Mitchell is president and CEO of the NewSchools Venture Fund. He has long been a leader in education reform in California and nationally. From 2008 through 2010, he served as president of the California State Board of Education. Prior to taking the helm at NewSchools in 2005, Ted was president of Occidental College, vice chancellor and dean of the School of Education and Information Studies at the UCLA, and professor and chair of the Department of Education at Dartmouth College. He has served on a number of policy commissions, including chairing the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence and the Commission on Teacher Effectiveness for the Los Angeles Unified School District. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of Khan Academy, New Leaders for New Schools, The Teaching Channel, ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career and The McClatchy Company. Dr. Mitchell received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Joseph Cabrera is the Full Charge Accountant at NewSchools Venture Fund’s San Francisco headquarters where he administers the fund’s financial activities including full-cycle general ledger and grantmaking.

Joseph has more than 20 years of finance and accounting experience. Before coming to NewSchools, Joseph served as controller for the Community Action Agency of San Mateo County for eight years.  

Jennifer Carolan co-leads the NewSchools Seed Fund, which was created to make investments in early-stage education technology companies often overlooked by the traditional investing community because of their focus on schools. 

Jennifer has been involved in NewSchools investments in BetterLesson, School of One, and Education Elements. She represents NewSchools as an observer on the board of Education Elements and also serves on the board of Equal Opportunity Schools and on the advisory board for East Palo Alto Charter School. Jennifer co-teaches Innovations in Education 338: Designing the Teaching Experience at the Stanford School of Education and the Stanford Design School, better known as the d.school. She has published on Differentiated Learning in Education Leadership and The Whole Child. Jennifer is based in NewSchools’ West Coast office.

Wayee Chu co-leads the NewSchools Seed Fund, which was created to make investments in early-stage education technology companies often overlooked by the traditional investing community because of their focus on schools. Wayee also leads the NewSchools EdTech Entrepreneurship Lab, in partnership with Teach For America and the Stanford d. school. The Lab allows budding entrepreneurs to explore, develop and incubate innovative, technology-driven ideas that target educational inequity. Formerly, Wayee focused on NewSchools’ field-building work, planning and executing Community of Practice gatherings for entrepreneurs at the annual NewSchools Summit. Prior to joining NewSchools Venture Fund, Wayee worked for four years as an equity research analyst at Merrill Lynch in New York, where she covered the financial sector. She also served as finance director for a magazine publishing firm. Wayee started her career as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Wayee’s interest in education began in 1997, when she became a volunteer for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), an education non-profit in New York. For six years, Wayee mentored students in the SEOScholars Program, which prepares motivated New York City public high school students of color to earn admission to – and succeed at – the nation’s most selective colleges and universities. Wayee graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science.

Kerry Donahue is an Analyst at NewSchools Venture Fund’s Washington, DC office, where she focuses on strengthening the quality of the DC charter sector through the DC Schools Fund Instructional Capacity Building Pilot.

Kerry’s career in education began as a high school social studies teacher in Louisburg, North Carolina through Teach For America.  During her time in the classroom, Kerry designed and implemented a civics and economics curriculum which led to over 85% of her students passing statewide exams.  Following her two years in Teach For America, Kerry served as a Corps Member Advisor at TFA’s 2009 Chicago Institute, where she was responsible for the training and development of new corps members.  During graduate school, Kerry was an Education Pioneers Fellow at New Leaders for New Schools, and a Senior Associate at DC Public Schools, where she managed DCPS’ fast track teacher application process and developed an outcome-orientated vetting process for college access providers.

Kerry graduated magna cum laude from the College of the Holy Cross and holds her Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University.

Melissa Estrada is the Operations Manager for NewSchools Venture Fund. Melissa has been employed with non-profit organizations for over 10 years and brings a wide range of experience to NewSchools.

Prior to joining NewSchools, Melissa was assistant to the Superintendent at Aspire Public Schools and quickly proved herself invaluable. Prior to that, she was the Executive Assistant to the CEO at ILWU-FSC Federal Credit Union for 8 years. While working full-time, she received her BA from CSU East Bay with a B.S in Administration of Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology and a Masters in Counseling Education with a PPS Credential from San Jose State University. Melissa enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and helping underserved students in the East Bay communities.

Thea Fennira is an Executive Assistant in the NewSchools Venture Fund West Coast office, supporting the office of the President and CEO. Thea’s experience in the Bay Area includes eight years in semiconductor investment banking, four in financial services private equity, and a year and a half in biotech. She has a broad base of experience, and a commitment to service. As the first in her family lineage to graduate college, she believes every person must have access to a quality education.

Born and raised in Iowa, Thea chose to attend a liberal arts school with a music therapy program, Clarke University, and graduated with a BA in computer science, and a minor in music. Her interests include foreign culture, music, travel, and the arts.

Peter Fishman is an Associate Partner in the NewSchools Venture Fund East Coast Office, where he focuses on human capital investment and management assistance for the firm’s portfolio ventures.

Prior to joining NewSchools, Peter was a high school teacher and grade chair at the Academy of the Pacific Rim (APR), a high-performing charter school in Boston, Massachusetts. While at APR, Peter established the school’s Advanced Placement US History curriculum and twelfth-grade service learning course. He now sits on the Board of Trustees at APR.  A graduate of the New Sector Alliance Residency in Social Enterprise, Peter has also taught with the Steppingstone Foundation and driven tractors for the New Haven Ecology Project.  He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a BA in History.

Sosanna Folz is a Venture Assistant supporting the East Coast Office of NewSchools Venture Fund. Prior to joining NewSchools, Sosanna was a Resource Consultant for Right Management Consultants, a global organizational consulting firm. While at Right, she provided organizations and transitioning executives with project management, marketplace intelligence and career coaching.

Sosanna holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wofford College in South Carolina. She attended Wofford on a Bonner Scholarship for community service during which time she helped develop and run after-school programs for middle schools in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Yulia Frid is a Program Manager with NewSchools Venture Fund where she provides support to the organization’s Partners and helps manage the Aspen Institute – NewSchools Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education fellowship program.

Yulia brings a wide range of experience to this role, as she has worked in the medical, finance, and telecommunication industries. In the last 10 years, she has managed the planning and execution of several companies’ events including event design, site selection, budgeting, logistics, collateral, product display, event analysis, collateral and marketing campaigns. While working full-time, Yulia received her bachelor of science degree in business administration with concentration in marketing from San Francisco State University and a masters degree in business administration from University of Phoenix.

Yulia was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia and immigrated to San Francisco, California at the age of 13 in 1992.

Melissa Kim is the Director of the Instructional Improvement Initiative at NewSchools Venture Fund and is responsible for leading the DC Pilot for the DC Schools Fund.

Prior to joining the NewSchools team, Melissa served as the principal of Alice Deal Middle School, the highest-performing and largest public middle school in the District of Columbia.  During her seven years as principal, Melissa transitioned the school from a traditional junior high serving 700 students in grades 7-9 to a team-based middle school serving more than 1,000 students in grades 6-8.  During this time, classrooms were desegregated and detracked and math standards were raised to ensure that all 8^th graders enter high school with at least an Algebra or Geometry credit.  She also led the successful effort by Alice Deal to become certified as the first International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program in DC Public Schools.  She was able to lead these changes while managing a $60 million in situ modernization of the historic school facility.

Melissa came to the District of Columbia as a Teach for America Corps member and taught for six years in Northeast and Southeast DC.  After receiving her Masters in school leadership, she joined the inaugural cohort of NewLeaders in Washington, DC.  She has served as an assistant principal in Washington, DC, as well as in Arlington, VA.  Melissa holds a BS from Colby College, an MS from Trinity College, and an Ed.D from the University of Pennsylvania.  Her dissertation focused on practices to integrate within schools to close both the academic achievement gap as well as the social engagement gap.

Sarah Kramer is the New Sector Alliance Resident in Social Enterprise at the Newschools’ Boston office.

Sarah comes to NewSchools from Root Cause, a social impact research and consulting firm, where she helped to analyze organizations for further research and investment and contributed to social issue reports on school readiness, workforce development, youth engagement, and childhood obesity. Her interest in education was honed during undergraduate field work in South Asia, focusing on education and civic engagement in post-conflict environments. Since graduating, she has delved into social innovation and education, with international development work in Pakistan, Thailand, and Burma. She graduated from UC San Diego in 2009 with a BA in International Studies and Anthropology (honors with high distinction). 

Anna Kurtz is Foundation Relationship Manager working for NewSchools out of the West Coast office. She has experience in both entrepreneurial education reform and public education. Prior to working at NewSchools, Anna was Communications Associate at the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) Foundation, a network of high-performing charter schools, where she managed the organization’s newsletter, content for the annual KIPP Report Card and other communications. She worked as a social worker for the Oakland Unified School District. Anna also coaches high school cross country at the Bay School of San Francisco.

Anna holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MA in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.

Lauren Kushman is a Principal in NewSchools Venture Fund’s East Coast office, where she manages the Boston Charter School Fund and focuses on investment strategy, due diligence and management assistance for the firm’s portfolio ventures.

Lauren serves on the boards of Charter Board Partners in Washington, DC and Boston Preparatory Charter Public School in Boston, MA.  Prior to joining NewSchools, Lauren was a high school science teacher at North Star Academy Charter School of Newark, New Jersey. In addition to teaching, she established the high school’s chemistry and physics courses. During graduate school, Lauren was an Education Pioneers Fellow at Building Excellent Schools, where she designed financial models and developed practitioner-based, finance-focused case studies for multiple charter school territories. Lauren holds a BA in chemistry from Princeton University and an MBA and Education MA from Stanford University.

Gloria Lee is the Chief Operating Officer at NewSchools Venture Fund, and works in NewSchools’ San Francisco office. Previously, she was Bay Area Superintendent for Aspire Public Schools. As Area Superintendent, Gloria was responsible for the “double bottom line:” both academic achievement and fiscal stability. Under her leadership, Aspire’s Bay Area schools grew by an average of 66 points on the state’s Academic Performance Index (4.5x the state targets for growth) over a three year period, and received average parent satisfaction ratings of 90%. Aspire’s Bay Area schools also increased enrollment by nearly 40% to over 2700 students – making Aspire’s Bay Area region larger than 60% of the districts in California.

Prior to becoming Area Superintendent, Gloria served as the Founding Chief Operating Officer of Aspire for the organization’s first eight years. As COO, Gloria crafted key elements of Aspire’s growth and business strategy, and developed the systems and processes necessary to bring the Aspire network successfully from 1 school to 17 schools.

Prior to joining Aspire, Gloria was a consultant for McKinsey and Company, helping Fortune 500 companies address major strategic challenges. Gloria also founded a Bay Area office for UCLA School Management Program, a university-based school reform support organization that provided training and coaching to school principals and teachers in leadership and change management. She received her BS in Agricultural Economics at Cornell University, and both a Masters of Business Administration and Masters in Education at Stanford University.

Jessica Louie is an Analyst in NewSchools Venture Fund’s Washington, DC office, where she focuses on management assistance and strategy development for the DC Schools Fund.

Prior to joining NewSchools, Jessica was the Program Director for All Stars Helping Kids, a Bay Area grant-making organization. While at All Stars, she oversaw grant-making initiatives in both California and New York working effectively with grantees, managed philanthropic activities for a portfolio of professional athlete clients, and managed operations for the organization. Jessica earned a BA in Human Biology with a focus in child health and development from Stanford University.

Maura Marino is an Associate Partner in NewSchools Venture Fund’s Washington, DC office, where she focuses on the DC Schools Fund.

Prior to joining NewSchools, Maura was Program Director and Lead Teacher at East Palo Alto High School, a charter school in Northern California. As Program Director, she coordinated student support services and managed external relations in addition to teaching humanities. Maura served on the steering committee for the Stanford Schools Corporation and was a member of the Stanford School of Education’s Performance Assessment Collaborative. During graduate school, Maura worked on the Network Growth Team at the KIPP Foundation, implementing their “smart growth” strategy.

Maura earned a BA in American Studies from Stanford University, an MA in teaching from Teachers’ College, and an MBA from Harvard University.

Deborah McGriff leads the National Network of Charter Schools to enhance college readiness and success.

Deborah has been committed to transforming the lives of underserved urban school students for almost four decades. In 1993, Deborah became the first public school superintendent to join EdisonLearning (formerly Edison Schools). There, she held numerous positions at the company, including President of Edison Teachers College, Executive Vice President of Charter Schools, and Executive Vice President of several external relations functions.

Prior to joining EdisonLearning, Deborah served as the first female General Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools. Crain’s Detroit Business named her Newsmaker of the Year for 1992. Before that, she was the first female Assistant Superintendent in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the first female Deputy Superintendent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was a teacher and administrator in the New York City Public Schools for more than a decade.

Deborah is former President of the Education Industry Association. She currently serves on the board of the Policy Innovators in Education Network; National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, where she also is an executive committee member; and is the founder and national board member of the Black Alliance for Educational Options. She also serves on the advisory boards of the National Council on Teacher Quality and of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, as well as the Technical Working Group for a national evaluation of the Federal Charter Schools Program being led by WestEd. Deborah is also a member of the Review Board for the Broad Prize in Urban Education.

Deborah holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Norfolk State University, a master’s degree in education with a specialization in reading pedagogy from Queens College of the City University of New York, and a doctorate in Administration, Policy and Urban Education from Fordham University.

Jordan Meranus is a Partner in the NewSchools Venture Fund East Coast office, where he focuses on the firm’s school technology-enabled learning tools investment strategy, as well as management assistance for a variety of its portfolio ventures. Jordan brings a wealth of experience in the education, nonprofit and private sectors. Prior to joining NewSchools, Jordan was a Managing Director at Imagitas, a company which partners with government agencies to launch revenue-generating businesses that demonstrate that entrepreneurial ventures can help the public sector better serve citizens. At Imagitas, he helped launch and lead MoversGuide Online, a collaborative, e-government business with the U.S. Postal Service. Jordan is also a co-founder of Jumpstart, a nonprofit organization that provides intensive early literacy services to low-income children. As a co-founder, he helped develop Jumpstart’s core service model, put in place the education program and evaluation process, and developed many of the original educational partnerships that endure today.

Jordan serves on the Board of Trustees for the Excel Academy Charter School in East Boston, the Board of Directors for Mass2020, and the Board of Advisors for DukeEngage, an effort by Duke University to significantly increase the number of students engaged in public service. He received his bachelor’s degree in history from Duke University and earned a master’s degree in both Education and Public Administration from Harvard.

Julie Mikuta is a Partner in the NewSchools Venture Fund West Coast office, where she focuses on the firm’s human capital investment strategy as well as management assistance for a variety of portfolio ventures.

Julie has long been committed to improving public education through entrepreneurial education efforts as well as through public service. Prior to joining NewSchools, Julie was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at EdBuild. Previously, she led trainings for school board and superintendent-teams of large urban districts at the Center for Reform of School Systems, through an initiative supported by The Broad Foundation. Julie also served as an elected member of the DC Board of Education from 2001 until 2004. During her time on the school board, Julie also worked as Vice President of Alumni Affairs for Teach For America, where she developed programming for the organization’s 10,000 alumni.

Julie chairs the board of Stand for Children, and is on the advisory board of Capital Teacher Residency. She also helped found Washington DC’s SEED Public Charter School, interned at the White House Domestic Policy Council, and served on the DC Public Charter School Board’s application review and monitoring teams. Julie began her career in education teaching high school science in New Orleans through Teach For America.

Julie received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her doctorate from Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar.

Deborah Mintz is the Chief Advancement Officer at New Schools Venture Fund. She is currently raising NewSchools Fund IV, which invests in early-stage, innovative organizations tackling some of the most challenging problems in public education.

Deborah’s career has included stints in the for-profit, nonprofit and government sectors in New York City. She managed large-scale redevelopment projects such as Battery Park City while at architecture firm Ehrenkrantz and Eckstut AIA, expedited the construction of affordable housing as Director of Housing Coordination for Mayor Ed Koch, and created a more inclusive and transparent land use review process while serving as Deputy Director of Land Use for the New York City Council.

Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, Deborah has devoted her efforts to building and transforming communities through nonprofit organizations. As Director of Foundation Relations at San Francisco’s Jewish Community Center (JCC), Deborah helped to build institutional support for the JCC’s ambitious programs in the arts, Jewish life and learning, youth development, and health and wellness. Deborah also has served as a board member of the Jewish Community Federation, and as Chair of its Israel and Overseas Committee, where she played a major role in shaping strategy for grants to grassroots social change organizations in Israel. Deborah studied government and Russian history at Smith College and Yale University, and earned a Master’s in Education from Harvard University.

Jim Peyser is a Partner at NewSchools Venture Fund’s Boston office, where he leads NewSchools’ city-focused investments. From 1999 through 2006, Jim served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Prior to joining NewSchools, Jim was Education Advisor to two Massachusetts Governors, where he helped shape state policy regarding standards and assessments, school accountability, and charter schools. In 1995, he served as Under Secretary of Education and Special Assistant to the Governor for Charter Schools. He spent more than seven years as Executive Director of Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, where he helped to launch and support Massachusetts’ first charter schools. Prior to joining Pioneer Institute, Jim held various positions at Teradyne, Inc. in Boston, an electronic test equipment manufacturer.

In his role with NewSchools, Jim currently serves on the board of directors for Achievement First, New Schools for New Orleans, Success Charter Network, and Uncommon Schools. He is also a member of the Board of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) and the Massachusetts Center for Charter Public School Excellence. Jim holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School (Tufts University) and a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University.

Kristi Ransick is a principal in NewSchools Venture Fund’s West Coast office, where she supports the firm’s Academic Systems Initiative.

Kristi has extensive experience in project management, product development, instructional design, and teaching and learning. Kristi began her career teaching at The Children’s Museum, Boston and then worked on several science and technology curriculum development projects at Education Development Center. She created and led staff development programs at both Teachers College and at Columbia University focusing on science education and integrating technology into science curriculum. This led to a position developing and leading several aspects of the Seminars on Science online courses for the American Museum of Natural History. These courses won two Codie awards for Best Post-Secondary Education Instructional Solution and Best Lifelong Learning product or Service. Most recently Kristi spent more than seven years at Teachscape, a professional services company serving classroom teachers and instructional leaders. There, she held several positions, including Vice President, Product Design and Development, where she oversaw the development of all online courses and print materials.

Kristi received her undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and her master’s degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Benjamin Riley is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at NewSchools Venture Fund, and is responsible for leading NewSchools’ work in developing and advocating for a policy agenda that creates opportunities for education entrepreneurs. He lives and works in Washington, D.C.

Immediately prior to joining the NewSchools team, Ben worked as a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice. In that role, he closely advised Attorney General Jerry Brown on California’s first Race to the Top application and other education policy issues, and he helped draft Race to the Top-related legislation. Ben also represented and advocated on behalf of the California State Board of Education in a variety of capacities, including serving as the Board’s interim chief counsel. In 2009, he was named one of two “Rising Stars” in education law by a Northern California legal periodical.

Ben’s previous work experience includes four years in private practice, a brief stint on Wall Street, and a summer clerking for the Land Claims Court of South Africa. He holds a BA from the University of Washington and a JD from Yale Law School.

Julie joined NewSchools Venture Fund’s San Francisco office as a Fellow during summer 2011, and is working with the development team to raise NewSchools Fund IV. Previously, she worked at Education Through Music in New York City, as Development Associate.

Julie graduated with a B.A. in East Asian Studies and certificates in French and Dance from Princeton University. 

Valerie Sakimura is a Senior Analyst in the NewSchools Venture Fund’s East Coast Office, where she focuses on investment strategy, due diligence, and management assistance for the organization’s portfolio ventures.

Prior to joining NewSchools, Valerie was an Operating Associate at Monitor Clipper Partners, a mid-market private equity firm, where she provided strategic and operational support to the management teams of MCP’s portfolio companies. Before joining MCP, Valerie was a consultant at The Monitor Group, a management consulting firm, where she focused on private equity diligence in a variety of sectors. Her interest in education was sparked growing up in Hawaii as she watched her high school transition into a charter school, and she furthered this interest during college when she was Executive Director of an in-school and after-school arts education program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and mentored students with special needs. She has also volunteered with Inspire, a pro-bono consulting group providing services to youth-focused nonprofits.

Valerie graduated cum laude from Harvard with an AB in Social Studies where she focused on education policy.

Jonathan Schorr is a partner in the San Francisco office of the NewSchools Venture Fund. Jonathan leads NewSchools’ field-building efforts, including the annual Summit and the Community of Practice, and oversees NewSchools’ policy advocacy, publications and public relations. In addition, like other Partners, Jonathan shares responsibility for investment strategy and management.

Jonathan brings to NewSchools experience in both entrepreneurial education reform and in communications. Prior to joining NewSchools, Jonathan served as Director of New Initiatives at the KIPP Foundation, a network of high-performing inner-city public schools. There, he led the Foundation’s work in elementary schools and high schools, and its services to its alumni nationwide.

Jonathan has worked as an author, journalist and teacher. Schorr’s critically acclaimed book, titled Hard Lessons: The Promise of an Inner-City Charter School, was published by Ballantine Books in the fall of 2002. The book was written under a fellowship from the Open Society Institute, where Schorr was a fellow. Previously, Schorr was an education reporter with Oakland Tribune, and also has written on education in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Education Week, The Nation, Teacher Magazine, the Washington Monthly, Salon.com, and other publications. His writing has won numerous awards, including a national education writers award and the Outstanding Young Journalist prize from the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists.

Born and raised in Washington, DC, Jonathan graduated from Yale University with a degree in sociology in 1990. He taught public high school for three years in Southern California as a member of the founding corps of Teach For America.

Anne Soto is a Senior Analyst at NewSchools Venture Fund’s San Francisco office, where she focuses on investment strategy, due diligence, and management assistance for the organization’s portfolio ventures.

Prior to joining NewSchools, Anne worked as a member of the teacher recruitment team for Aspire Public Schools. During graduate school, Anne helped grow the IU Innovation Center, an incubator for student entrepreneurs. Anne started her career as a Teach For America Corps Member in Eastern North Carolina, where she led the regional Upper Elementary professional development team and founded a school-based reading intervention program which partnered community volunteers with struggling readers. She has worked for Teach For America’s teacher preparation institute as a Corps Member Advisor and then School Director, where she led a team that trained and supported over 40 new teachers.

Anne received her BA in Journalism and Nonprofit Management from University of Minnesota and her MBA from Indiana University.

Graham VanderZanden is a Senior Analyst at NewSchools Venture Fund’s Boston office, where he focuses on the Boston City Fund.

Prior to joining NewSchools, Graham served as a Corps Member with Teach For America in the Mississippi Delta region. He led the regional foreign language professional development team, founded a nonprofit to expand cultural exchange opportunities, and led educational trips to Spain, France, and Honduras. During graduate school, Graham helped conduct a randomized controlled trial study of a new education policy in Morocco. He has also worked with Boston Public Schools, conducting a budgetary analysis of waste reduction programs that helped inform the district as it considers adopting single-stream recycling.

Graham has a BA in International Studies from the University of Washington and an MPP from Harvard University.

Joe Ventura is the Senior Communications Manager at NewSchools Venture Fund’s San Francisco headquarters, where he manages the firm’s communications and digital media strategy.

Joe brings more than five years of nonprofit communications experience to the organization. Prior to joining NewSchools Venture Fund, Joe was the Development and Communications Coordinator at Amani Center for Street Children, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the care and protection of biological and social orphans in northern Tanzania.

Joe graduated from Armstrong Atlantic State University with a BA in English Literature, and earned a master’s degree in International Relations from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

Cameron White joined NewSchools Venture Fund’s San Francisco office as a Fellow beginning in summer 2010. Previously, he worked at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, DC., where he helped to align out of school programming with the school’s broader academic and social missions.

Cameron graduated with a B.A. in Architecture from Princeton University. He wrote his undergraduate thesis on the intersection between child psychology and environmental design. In fall 2011, Cameron will begin a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) at Columbia University Teachers College, where he will study instructional technology and media.