National Staff

Luis grew up in Mexico, and graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A. in Communications and Spanish. He received an award from the “40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40” for his continuous work in the defense of immigrant rights in 2009, and in 2011 he served as president of the Somos America Coalition, the largest immigrant-rights coalition in Arizona. He has a background in journalism, radio production, public relations and political campaigns. One of his hobbies is producing radio and acting and directing in theater productions. Luis also leads the Isac Amaya Foundation, an organization focused on raising funds to provide scholarships to students who want to continue their higher education and do not receive financial aid.

Carol grew up in the Portland, Oregon, area and is a graduate of Marylhurst University with a degree in Business Management. She comes from a family of innovative educators and her father was a founding member of Metropolitan Learning Center, the first “alternative” school in the Portland Public School District. She spent 17 years in Austin, Texas working in the semiconductor and telecommunications industries and running her own Christmas tree farm. She joined the Stand staff in 2010 as a member of the National Finance Team, where she processes payroll, provides finance training for new hires, and supports Stand’s multiple state locations.

Jolea was born and raised in the Houston area, and is a proud product of the Houston public school system. She graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Public Policy, and later received her M.S. in Public Policy from the same institution. While in school, Jolea began working for a community-based, nonprofit organization that focused on bringing awareness to and addressing environmental justice issues in northwest and southwest Atlanta. This opportunity was the beginning of what would become a lifelong journey of working for and with community-based organizations. In 2009, Jolea moved back to Houston where she began working for the City managing their workforce development and digital inclusion programs. Jolea transitioned to the Stand team in 2013, and currently works to support network-wide development initiatives and develop systems and processes that will enable national programs to be successfully funded. Jolea spends her “spare” time working on the youth and women’s ministries at her church, and volunteering at organizations such as United Way of Greater Houston, Dress for Success, and Literacy Advance of Houston. She also enjoys trying new foods, singing and dancing in the mirror, reading, and traveling.

Brendan grew up in Colorado where he attended Colorado State University and studied Political Science. He spent the last decade helping organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association, LIVESTRONG and the American Heart Association achieve success in online advocacy and social media. Brendan leads our national online campaigns operation, which is looking to leverage the collective voices of education advocates from across the country to impact change. A father of two children who are in elementary school, he is passionate about providing an opportunity for all children to have equal access to education in this country.

Crystal grew up in Oregon and California, and holds a B.A. in Spanish Language Literature from University of California Santa Cruz and an M.B.A. from ESADE Business School in Barcelona. Prior to joining Stand in 2009, she worked in education in Boston, Massachusetts, for six years where she ran all aspects of a small tutoring center before ultimately pursuing an M.B.A. in Spain. In her role as National Trainer/Recruiter she creates various trainings for members of staff across the organization and recruits for members of our national teams.

Susie grew up in Michigan, but has lived in Texas for the past 10 years. Before coming to Stand, Susie raised $57 million for IDEA Public Schools, a network of high performing charter schools, allowing them to grow from 6 schools to 28 schools. At IDEA she also worked with their board of directors to add a multi-regional governance structure and launched support services to increase college persistence of IDEA’s high school graduates. Prior to that, Susie was project manager for Center for Reform of School Systems from 2005 to 2009 where she managed an intensive training and consulting program for select public school boards to learn how to reform large urban districts through governance. Susie has also held leadership positions in the private sector and in higher education administration. Susie earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts in Student Affairs Administration from Michigan State University. Susie lives in Houston, Texas with her husband Clay, her two sons, Ian and Zane, and her four small dogs, Benny, Ellie, Chuy, and Howie.

Kara was born and raised in Salem, Oregon, and is a 2006 graduate of the University of Oregon with bachelor’s degrees in both accounting and political science. Upon graduation Kara moved to Rwanda to intern for Columbia University’s Access project. During her time there she implemented computer-based accounting systems for more than 20 rural health centers and conducted training with their staff in the areas of budgeting, financial reporting, and asset management. After completing her internship and consultancy, Kara stayed in Rwanda to launch an artistic café and cultural event venue. Kara joined the Stand team in 2010.

Jackie grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, and is a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne University, where she majored in Communications and minored in Education. Prior to joining Stand in 2011, she focused on building talent and leadership pipelines for education endeavors. She served as Director of Talent Sourcing at The K12 Search Group, Manager of National Recruitment at Education Pioneers, and Program Coordinator for the National Leadership Development team at The Broad Foundation. As the National Program Director, Jackie collaborates with Stand leadership to establish a year-one organizing and campaign strategy for the new state affiliate, supports the implementation of that strategy until the affiliate is self-sustaining, and manages the overall launch process of new state affiliates.

Meet Nancy, the face behind the admin mailbox. A native Portlander, Nancy came to Stand as a temp, and was made permanently part of staff in July 2011. She loves living in Portland and knows that, if she tires of the rain, she can visit her grandkids on the dry side of the mountains. She does volunteer work at an organization called Community Warehouse, she loves to read, garden, and shop estate sales.

Amy studied Political Science and Sociology at the University of Oregon, where she was also involved with various state and federal political campaigns and student government. Amy grew up in Roseburg, Oregon, where she experienced first-hand the toll a low-income city can have on its children and became personally invested in improving education for all. Before coming to Stand, Amy worked in the for-profit insurance industry, and volunteered with various social organizations such as Planned Parenthood and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Amy started working with Stand in December of 2009.

Born and raised in North Carolina, Leslie attended Elon University and graduated with a B.A. in corporate communications and a minor in business administration. Throughout college, Leslie volunteered as a substitute teacher for a local children’s home. After college, Leslie worked with at-risk pregnant youth for Florence Crittenton Services in Charlotte, which strengthened her understanding of the public school system and its impact. She joined the Stand team in 2008, where she facilitates agile project management within the Information Team.

Laura grew up in Las Vegas and developed a passion for education from her parents, both lifelong public school teachers. After completing a B.S. and an M.A. in Communication from Arizona State University, Laura worked in marketing and sales leadership roles for an educational travel company. As the National Marketing Director, Laura guides the strategy for online outreach initiatives, oversees the communication process with our dedicated members, and supports our state affiliates.

Adria, born in El Paso, Texas, was raised immersed in the culturally enriching lifestyle of bordering cities, by a strong family whose main values were education and community involvement. After completing her basic education in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, El Paso, Texas, and Randers, Denmark as a foreign exchange student, Adria graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University with a B.S. in housing and community development and a minor in design studies. Her professional experience includes international project management across multiple industries, as well as advocacy work as VP for AIESEC - Ciudad Juarez, an international organization focused on youth leadership development. In her current role, she coordinates social media presence, manages visual brand projects, supports the state communications directors, and leads bilingual communications.

A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Will earned a B.A. from the University of Michigan, with double majors in History and English. Upon graduating, he was accepted into the one-year MATCH Corps program, working at a no-excuses public charter middle school in Boston. In addition, Will has worked, through Tutors For All, to coordinate a Saturday MCAS preparatory tutorial program at Codman Academy in Dorchester. Prior to joining Stand in 2012, he was serving as Operations Manager at one of the state’s highest-performing middle schools, Excel Academy Charter School in East Boston.

Jenny grew up in the Midwest and graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Kansas. After gaining extensive HR experience at another nonprofit, Jenny joined the Stand team in 2010 after watching her nephew try to navigate the Portland school system. As a member of the Talent Team, Jenny oversees employee relations, employment law and compliance, total rewards, and other HR related initiatives. She also collaborates with her team members to further expand organizational priorities focused on organizational and people development.

Dean is a native Oregonian and a graduate of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, where he majored in Accounting. Prior to joining Stand in 2010, he was the CFO for Planned Parenthood’s affiliate headquartered in Portland, where he was in charge of all aspects of finance and accounting, as well as IT, HR and employee benefits, purchasing and distribution, project management and facilities. Prior to his employment with Planned Parenthood, he spent twelve years as a CPA in public accounting, and a number of years in the private sector. As a staff accountant for Stand, Dean is responsible for general ledger accounting and financial reporting, and more generally for supporting the work of the Finance Managers and the CFO.

Scott has had a fascination with technology since his first introduction to computers in the 1st grade. After completing an Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Hawaii, he continued his passion for computing by leading e-commerce deployments for apparel companies such as Guess Jeans, Speedo and lucy activewear. Most recently he has been a CTO at numerous innovative start-up companies. Scott has been on the board for the Portland chapter of the Project Management Institute and currently provides technical assistance to Living Yoga, a non-profit outreach program focused on bringing yoga to prisons, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers and disadvantaged youth.