Spotlight on the People of SLN
Elizabeth Neale, Ed.D.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Neale, a nationally recognized educational leader, is the Founder and CEO of School Leaders Network. She is also currently Co-Chair of Harvard Principals’ Center Advisory Board. She is the former Chair of the Northeast Principals Leadership Network (PLN) at the Educational Laboratory at Brown University and past President of Massachusetts Elementary School Principals’ Association.
Dr. Neale holds an NAESP National Mentoring Certification, participated in the Wallace Funds Leaders Count Forums and was awarded the Wallace Ventures in Leadership Grant.
Among the many presentations she has made on the subject of leadership in education are:
Northeast Regional Principals Summit: “Mentoring for Aspiring and Sitting Principals”, November 2001.
National Association of Elementary School Principals: “Principal Mentoring Programs: A Survey of Successful National Models”, April 2002,
National Association of Elementary School Principals: “Building Collaborative School Leadership Teams” April 2004.
Honors
National Distinguished Principal from Massachusetts 2002-2003
Fulbright Recipient (Education) Administrator Exchange: London, England 2004
Delegate to National Principals Summits, Washington, D.C. 2000 -2005
Five time winner of U.S. Secretary of Environmental Affairs Environmental Excellence in Education Award
Dr. Neale earned her B.A. in Political Science from The George Washington University, and her Ed.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Massachusetts. Her doctoral thesis, “The Role of the School Leader in Effective School Change” was published in 1994.
Matt Cronin, C.P.A.
Vice President, Finance and Administration
Matt Cronin has over thirteen years of high level financial and organizational leadership experience. For the six+ years prior to joining SLN, Matt helped grow and lead a dynamic non-profit corporation, Living Independently Forever, Inc., that serves adults with disabilities in Massachusetts. He served as the organization's CFO and Treasurer, and subsequently as its President and Executive Director.
Before that, Matt served as the CFO of the Massachusetts division of a Philadelphia-based national non-profit corporation, Resources for Human Development, Inc. In addition, Matt worked for four years as an Audit and Business Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Philadelphia. While there, Matt obtained his CPA license.
Matt has an Executive MBA from Boston University, as well as BS from Villanova University in Accountancy with an English minor.
Kristin Kaminsky, J.D.
Vice President, Development
Kristin Kaminsky joined School Leaders Network in 2009 to help fuel the financial growth of the organization on both regional and national levels. Ms. Kaminsky has a wealth of expertise in creating new pathways to sustainability and growth, including launching strategic partnerships and funding agreements in the private sector as well as in establishing and maintaining public funding contracts.
Prior to joining School Leaders Network, she led all corporate and foundation development efforts for Teach For America in Los Angeles, California, where she managed strategy and execution of fundraising efforts and consistently exceeded goals from year to year. She has also served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for Managed Rehabilitation, Inc. in Houston, Texas, where she achieved an excellent track record of success.
Ms. Kaminsky graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Advertising and minor in Business. She also earned a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and is a member of the State Bar of Texas.
Mariah Cone, Ed.D.
Vice President, Program
Mariah Cone began her career in the Los Angeles Unified School District, first as a Biology teacher and later as an instructional coach. She started Professional Learning Communities for teachers in her capacity as a coach in 2004. Within three years she involved one-third of LAUSD faculty in these volunteer communities. This endeavor led her to begin a private consulting business that worked across the district, and to begin her doctoral studies with the Educational Leadership Program at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Her pursuits to understand and contribute to learning community work nationally led her to ultimately study School Leaders Network for her dissertation study, Developing Principal Instructional Leadership through Collaborative Networking.
Ana Ramos Acevedo, M.Ed.
Regional Director, Texas
Ana Ramos Acevedo is an experienced educator, school leader, executive and policy analyst advisor whose entire career has been focused on the educational needs of underserved students. As former Director of GEAR UP in San Antonio, an $18M federally funded program, she designed and implemented professional learning for instructional best practices and high school reform initiatives.
At National Council of La Raza Ana developed the national Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and in Texas, she established the Office of Education. Ana taught bilingual education and was promoted to Assistant Principal at Blanton Elementary in Austin. Then she was named Principal of Collins Garden Elementary in San Antonio where she provided instructional leadership for 750 students and a staff of 80 in this Pre K–5th grade school.
John R. Jenkins, Ed.D.
Regional Director, New York City
Dr. Jenkins has devoted the past 20 years of his career to developing and sharing his passion for urban education as a Teacher, Facilitator and Administrator in the New York Public Schools. He most recently served as the Instructional Program Manager for the Diploma Plus New York City Network of schools where he provided coaching and support to Principals and school leadership teams in implementing the Diploma Plus instructional model.
Dr. Jenkins is also a certified Diversity Practitioner and has traveled internationally facilitating diversity, social justice and anti-oppression work with NTL’s Diversity Leadership Program. His work is rooted in exploring the impact of power, privilege and oppression on urban education centers and the students and communities they serve. He holds his Doctorate Degree in Education Administration from New York University.
Janette Tovar
Regional Director, Los Angeles
Janette Tovar served the students, teachers, and administrators of Los Angeles Unified School District as a classroom teacher, lead teacher, teacher adviser, and teacher coach for over twenty years. Ms. Tovar taught as an early literacy specialist and has devoted herself to coaching teachers working with underserved students.
The past sixteen years were devoted to serving as a Local District administrator, guiding new teachers in increasing their impact on student learning. She developed Professional Learning Communities for both new and veteran teachers and co-designed and lead trainings on creating capacity through goal-setting and learning-focused conversations for hundreds of new teachers, teacher coaches, and school site administrators in challenged urban settings.
Sheila C. Gray, Ph.D.
Regional Facilitator, DC Metro Area
Dr. Gray served in a variety of roles during her 30 year career in Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD), including classroom teacher, reading specialist, area instructional specialist, assistant principal, and principal. Prior to joining the staff of School Leaders Network, she served as Director of Strategic Planning and Grants Development, leading a department that provided grant management, grant seeking, and strategic planning services to Prince George’s County Public Schools.
Dr. Gray’s unwavering commitment to academic excellence for all students has been reflected in her work, as she supported teachers in the delivery of rigorous instruction, created opportunities for underserved students through grant-funded programs, and worked with program staff to develop and refine strategies and practices to support the attainment of state and system goals. She holds a Doctoral Degree from the University of Maryland in Education Policy, Planning, and Administration. Dr. Gray also served at Adjunct Instructor, teaching graduate courses at the University of Maryland and at Trinity College.
Sukari Ivester, Ph.D.
Research and Evaluation Manager
Dr. Ivester brings over a decade of experience designing and conducting quantitative and qualitative research in the fields of education, psychology, public health and sociology. She has held research and teaching appointments at the University of California Berkeley, the University of Chicago, and currently holds a teaching appointment at California State University. Dr. Ivester received a BA. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Ivester oversees all research and evaluation activities for School Leaders Network. A specialist in research methods, she provides leadership and management to the functions of collecting and analyzing student achievement data, survey analysis, as well as qualitative inquiry for the Network.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Peter McNally - Board Chair
Vice President
Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (New York City)
Carole Kennedy, Secretary
Principal in Residence US DOE (1999-2001)
Retired President, NAESP
Matthew Cronin – Treasurer
Vice President, Finance and Administration
School Leaders Network
Nigel Andrews
Retired Executive Vice President
GE Capital
Steve Bryant
Business Systems Manager
Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Kelly Garrett
Chief Executive Officer
KIPP St. Louis
Edgar Helms
Director
University of New Hampshire Health Institute
Cordell Jones
Woodridge Elementary School
San Antonio, Texas
Frances McLaughlin
Chief Operating Officer
Education Pioneers
Elizabeth Neale
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
School Leaders Network
LaVerne Srinivasan
President, North America
Time To Know
