Afterschool leaders selected as 2016 White-Riley-Peterson Fellows

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley

Earlier this month, sixteen advocates for afterschool and expanded learning leaders from across the country were chosen as the 2016-2017 cohort of White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellows.

Throughout the White-Riley-Peterson Fellowship, a partnership between the Riley Institute at Furman University and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, fellows will study policy-making for afterschool and expanded learning through real world case studies. During the 10-month program, fellows will also design and implement a state-level policy project with the support of their Statewide Afterschool Network and the Afterschool Alliance.

The White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship is named for William S. White, President and CEO of the C.S. Mott Foundation; Richard W. Riley, former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Secretary of Education under President Clinton; and Dr. Terry Peterson, National Board Chair with the Afterschool Alliance, Director, Afterschool and Community Learning Network, and senior fellow at the Riley Institute.

The 2016-2017 White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellows are:

• Billie Jo Bakeberg, Steering Committee Chair, South Dakota Afterschool Network (Spearfish, S.D.)
• Suzanne Birdsall, State Director, 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), Department of Education (Silver Lake, N.H.)
• David Carroll, Chief Program Officer, Neighborhood Houses (St. Louis, Mo.)
• Lisa Caruthers, Director, Center for Afterschool, Summer and Expanded Learning, Harris County Department of Education (Houston, Texas)
• Leslie Garvin, Executive Director, North Carolina Campus Compact (Elon, N.C.)
• Nichelle Harris, Network Lead, Ohio Afterschool Network (Columbus, Ohio)
• Jessica Hay, Program Director, California Afterschool Network (Sacramento, Calif.)
• Stephanie Lennon, Policy & Advocacy Coordinator, School’s Out Washington (Seattle, Wash.)
• Amber May, Organizer – Program Director, Mississippi Statewide Afterschool Partnership Network — Operation Shoestring, Inc. (Jackson, Miss.)
• Shallie Pitman, Youth Development Associate, ACT Now (Chicago, Ill.)
• Kelly Riding, Network Lead, Utah Afterschool Network (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Laura Saccente, Director, Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) (Camp Hill, Penn.)
• Megan Stanek, Network Director, Oklahoma Partnership for Expanded Learning (OPEL) (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
• Patrick Stanton, Creative Research Director, Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership (Boston, Mass.)
• Kelly Malone Sturgis, Executive Director, New York State Network for Youth Success (Albany, N.Y.)
• Courtney Sullivan, Executive Director, Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence (Tempe, Ariz.)

You can find more information about all 75 fellows who have participated in the program since its creation in 2012 through the Riley Institute.