Meet Our Team

DSLN is implemented by FHI 360, a global organization that works to advance human development and social justice around the world. FHI 360 leverages its expertise in research, evaluation, and learning to support DSLN’s mission of providing high-quality and evidence-based technical assistance to districts. FHI 360 also brings a diverse and experienced team of staff who are committed to helping districts achieve their goals and improve student outcomes, learn more about them here.

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Nancy Gannon

Project Director

About Nancy

Nancy Gannon, DSLN Project Director, has 30 years of experience as a teacher, coach, principal, and district administrator. In addition to DSLN, she directs a range of projects designed to build state and district capacity to ensure that young people have access to high-quality academics in environments that center educational equity and whole child development. Nancy has led large-scale initiatives and designed programs in the areas of leadership development, school quality and improvement, curriculum, social-emotional learning, equity, and instruction. Prior to joining FHI 360, she served as Director of Instructional Materials for Student Achievement. As Executive Director of the Office of Academic Quality at the New York City Department of Education, she led a city-wide review and adoption of standards-based curriculum, helped develop and implement the school quality review process, and launched the middle school quality initiative (MSQI). Nancy began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer and has a MEd in Educational Leadership from Baruch College of Education, Principals Institute, in New York, NY as well as an MAT from Towson University. 

Risa Sackman

Risa Sackman

Director, US Education

About Risa

Risa Sackman serves as the Director of U.S. Education at FHI 360, with over two decades of experience providing leadership and support to schools and school districts, higher education, non-profits, foundations, the federal government, and cultural organizations, as well as to school improvement initiatives at the school, district, and state level. Risa has deep experience designing programs and supports in the areas of student success systems, equity, literacy, social-emotional learning, positive youth development, chronic absenteeism, postsecondary readiness, middle grades reform, child/adolescent development, financial literacy, out of school time learning and educational leadership. 

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Giulia Cox

Professional Development Lead

About Giulia

Giulia Cox works on program design and professional learning for FHI 360 US Education projects.  She facilitates the work of our outstanding DSLN consultants who coach participating districts and states. Previously, she served in the New York City public schools as a middle school teacher, AP, and principal; as executive director of Student Support Services for the NYC alternative schools citywide district; and as executive director of the Office of Teacher Effectiveness, the city’s first systemwide effort to link instructional supervision and teacher evaluation with professional learning rooted in evidence-based standards for classroom teaching. Themes across her career include innovation, job-embedded learning, deeper learning, continuous improvement, and a commitment to serve students equitably where and as they are.

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Liliana Polo-McKenna

Network Professional Learning Lead

About Liliana

Liliana Polo-McKenna, Ed.L.D., has 25 years of experience as an educator, spanning a career as a teacher, high school principal, nonprofit leader, program designer, curriculum designer and facilitator, and executive coach. As the DSLN Professional Learning Lead for the District Summer Learning Network she leads the design and delivery of network-based professional development, bridging research-based principles and practice. Her expertise is in program design for system-level transformation, opportunity youth, work-based learning design partnerships, curriculum design and delivery, adult learning, coaching, and program evaluation. As a professional development designer and coach, Liliana has partnered with districts, nonprofit partners, and state departments of education to design system-level PD opportunities.

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Gabrielle Espina

Continuous Improvement Lead

About Gabrielle

Gabrielle Espina, MSc, is a research associate at FHI 360 and leads the DSLN continuous improvement process. She has experience in mixed-methods research, data visualizations, analytical writing and continuous improvement. Gabrielle is passionate about research that has a meaningful, long-lasting impact on the well-being of people and communities. Additionally, Gabrielle has research and K-12 teaching experience in Latin America and Europe and is bilingual.

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Sara Doughton

Project Manager and Communications Lead

About Sara

Sara Doughton has more than 15 years of experience designing projects and communications strategies and leading experiential education programs for US-based and international programs. Her work focuses on cross-curricular programs that bridge students’ academic learning with their life outside of the classroom. She is adept at supporting both technical and operational program elements and leverages her content expertise to effectively manage teams, delivery schedules, and budgets for high-quality work products. Sara brings expertise in building and managing partnerships with diverse actors – including funders, states, national and community-based organizations, and higher education institutions – to share learning and achieve common goals. As project manager and communications lead for DSLN, Sara oversees all internal and external communications and co-leads the team’s work with state education agencies.

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Jen Kristen Taylor

Content Strategist

About Jen

Jen Kristen Taylor has almost two decades of experience as an educator, editor, writer, and user-centered graphic designer. A former high school English teacher and undergraduate rhetoric and composition lecturer, she has also written, copyedited, designed, and managed print and digital communications projects for teams at several institutions of higher education. She holds graduate credentials in creative writing, visual design, user-experience design, and secondary English education, and currently serves FHI 360's U.S. Education team as a user-centered visual and content designer. On the DSLN project, she has designed tools and templates, monthly update communications, and project reports and deliverables.

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Kari Kraus

Learning Environment Manager

About Kari

Kari Kraus is a dedicated advocate for youth well-being, student voice, and family engagement. With a background in arts and community-based programming, Kari has made significant strides in educational settings, particularly in Chicago and New York City schools. Her passion began in transforming school buildings into vibrant resource hubs within their communities, utilizing the Community Schools model to optimize support for students, families, and staff alike. Through that work she fostered connections between schools and their surrounding communities. She now champions the design of innovative learning experiences that deeply resonate with participants, ensuring meaningful understanding and engagement. 

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Frances Santiago

Support Staff

About Frances

Frances Santiago is a Program Officer at FHI 360, where she brings over 20 years of experience to program and project support.  Frances works across multiple projects with the U.S. Education team providing operations and procurement support to the team.

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Kate Nugent

Support Staff

About Kate

Kate Nugent joined FHI360 and the DSLN team in 2022 as a Program Officer after many years in education, including serving on her local board of education, teaching elementary school, and running a home based childcare business. Kate assists with DSLN project management, especially supporting travel needs for members of the team.

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Wendy Douglas-Nathai

Finance Manager

About Wendy

Wendy Douglas-Nathai has over 24 years of experience in secondary and post-secondary education, from student support services to program and project management. She works with diverse cross -organizational teams in the areas of technical assistance, research and evaluation, and training and development to deliver services and support to government educational projects/programs and private foundation grants programs serving diverse populations in higher education.

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Kari Kraus

Project Manager and Communications Lead

About Nancy

Sheila Smith-Anderson has consulted on the national level and for school districts focusing on school leadership, equity initiatives, and professional learning. She has served as a DSLN consultant and facilitator for the National Institute of School Leadership, as well as Director of Leader Pathways and Professional Learning and Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for St. Louis Public Schools.

Meet Our Coaches

The DSLN coaches are a diverse and talented group of professionals who provide customized technical assistance to districts and states across the country. They have extensive experience in education, you development, leadership development, and research, and they support districts and states to improve student outcomes and equity.

Alexandra Anormaliza

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About Alex

Alexandra Anormaliza worked with New York City Public Schools for three decades as a teacher, principal, and district leader, where she developed and implemented system-wide professional development programs grounded in adult learning principles. As Senior Advisor for Education in the NYC Mayor’s Office, she facilitated the inauguration of NYC’s Summer Rising program. Now a consultant, Ms. Anormaliza coaches with an emphasis on strengthening instructional quality. Her wide-ranging experience includes significant work supporting multilingual learners, organizational and program design, leadership development, and the incorporation of systemic improvements over time.

Alison
Huguley

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About Alison

Dr. Alison Huguley is the CEO of All Excel Consulting which supports school districts, nonprofits, and advocacy groups in promoting highly effective, racially equitable, and culturally responsive leadership. She leverages her 29 years of experience as a special education teacher, literacy specialist, school leader and assistant superintendent to build the coalitions necessary for broad and sustainable improvement efforts. Dr. Huguley received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and education from Swarthmore College, a master’s degree in special education from Bank Street College, a reading certification from Fordham University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Harvard University.

Irma
Zardoya

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About Irma

Irma Zardoya was the former CEO of the NYC Leadership Academy and served as Region One Superintendent and Superintendent for Community School District 10 in NYC. Irma is an executive coach for superintendents and others in cabinet-level positions. She has extensive experience helping districts develop their leadership pipelines in Chicago, Hillsborough County, Newark, Puerto Rico, and Yonkers. Ms. Zardoya brings expertise in addressing the needs of multilingual learners and is adept at building collaborative inquiry teacher teams and leading instructional supervision. She is a founding member of The NYC Charter High Schools for Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industries I & II in the Bronx.

Jill
Resnick

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About Jill

Jill Resnick is a social worker by training who excels at deep listening, curious questioning, and on-point synthesizing.  She was an executive leader in New York City DOE on the team that expanded pre-K for all 4-year-olds where she set the vision for family engagement and mental health and wellness for the city’s youngest learners, and hired and trained a team of over 200 to implement it. She is a human-centered systems thinker, problem-solver, and bridge-builder who loves helping humans vision their futures and make plans to get there.  

Kimberley
Ednie

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About Kimbeley

Dr. Kimberley Ednie works across educational contexts to advance educational equity, including in non-profit, government, higher ed, and K12 public systems. She led the 9th grade Success Initiative in Oregon, supporting 300 educators through networked continuous improvement to create culturally sustaining and deeper learning experiences for historically marginalized students. Throughout her career, she has focused on transforming professional learning for district leaders and teachers, centering equity, whole child development, partnership, and innovation. Kimberley has a doctorate in educational leadership from Harvard and is a leadership coach with the International Coaching Federation.

Laura
Dukess

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About Laura

Laura Dukess is a listener, coach and community builder. Partnering with school districts and states, universities, and nonprofits, she interviews, researches, evaluates and coaches leaders in social services and education. Laura managed leadership development for the NYC Department of Education and was Director of Professional Development for the Office of School Leadership. She served as Director of Policy Programs at the Center for Educational Outreach and Innovation at Teachers College, Columbia University and was the Director of Programs and Senior Program Officer at New Visions for Public Schools. Laura graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia University School of Law.

Lori
Krzeszewski

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About Lori

Lori Krzeszewski is a human-centered consultant, coach, and community builder. She has 23 years of experience as an educator, facilitator, and leader. Lori has 11 years of service in public education as a classroom teacher and district leader. She has over a decade of experience leading the design, implementation, and evaluation of out-of-school time and youth development programs in partnership with schools, districts, community organizations, nonprofits, and higher education institutions. Lori is equity focused with expertise in systems change, coalition building, culturally responsive teaching, and culturally affirming programs for multilingual learners and older youth.

Sheila
Smith-Anderson

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About Sheila

Sheila Smith-Anderson has served as a classroom teacher; principal; professional developer; assistant superintendent; executive director of curriculum, instruction and professional learning; consultant; and executive director of leadership development and leader pathways within talent, strategy and management. She has worked at the district and state levels in Kentucky and Missouri; in higher education as adjunct; coach for NISL; principal pipeline development through the Wallace Foundation – Principal PLC and Equity-Centered Principal Initiative; and in school reform with the Kentucky Department of Education. She combines her education and experience with passion and love as a voice leading with courage and conviction toward an equitable system.

Stacy
Silverman

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About Stacy

With over 20 years of service in education and youth development, Stacy Silverman is CEO of the Youth Development Training Collaborative. Professional experiences include work with out-of-school time intermediaries, therapeutic educational wilderness programs, mental health services, social work, assessment, coaching, adult learning, and facilitation. He has extensive experience working with K-12 educational systems, primarily in support of out-of-school time and summer initiatives. In addition to serving as a DSLN coach, Stacy supports the State Summer Learning Networks, is a Weikart Center and NSLA field consultant, and served as a quality coach on an IES federal research study of 21CCLC programs.

FHI 360 is a global organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways. In the United States we work to improve the well-being of all Americans by focusing on what can help them succeed: education, employment, and health. We advocate for equity in everything we do to ensure that everyone has access to the opportunities they need to lead full and healthy lives. 

DSLN is funded by the Wallace Foundation.