Board of Directors | Offices and Staff | Job Openings

Afterschool Alliance Board of Directors

Terry Peterson, Chairman
Director, Afterschool and Comm. Learning Resource Network
Charleston, South Carolina

Kevin Walker, Vice Chairman
Associate Vice President, Programs, CS Mott Foundation
Flint, Michigan

Herb Sturz, Secretary
Trustee, Open Society Institute
New York, New York

Jaemie Ballesteros Altman
Independent Consultant, Food and Restaurant Industry
San Francisco, California

Mayor David Cicilline
Mayor, City of Providence
Providence, Rhode Island

Tyler Florence
TyFood Media Inc.
Mill Valley, CA

Dr. Lucy Friedman
President, The After-School Corporation
New York, New York

Glenda E. Hood
Former Secretary of State, State of Florida
Orlando, Florida

Donna Klein
President/CEO, Corp. Voices for Working Families
Washington, D.C.

Reinaldo Llano
Director, Corporate Community Relations, Bright House Networks
Orlando, Florida

Lisa Lucheta
Principal, Torani Syrups and Flavors
South San Francisco, California

Kenneth C. Montague, Jr.
Former Secretary of Juvenile Justice, State of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland

Gilbert Moreno
Senior Relationship Manager, JP Morgan Chase, NA
Houston, Texas

Mary Peavey
President, Peavey Electronics Corporation
Meridian, Mississippi



Afterschool Alliance Staff

Headquarters - Washington, DC

Afterschool Alliance
1616 H St., NW, Suite 820
Washington, DC 20006
Tel.: (202) 347-2030
Fax: (202) 347-2092
Email: info@afterschoolalliance.org

Staff (click name for bio):
Jodi Grant, Executive Director
Judie Ahn, A*VISTA Volunteer
Erika Argersinger, Policy Director
Rivka Burstein-Stern, Field Outreach Coordinator
Alice Gallin-Dwyer, VP, Partnerships
Shaun Gray, Program Associate
Lorena Lopez, Director of Finance and Administration
Jen Rinehart, VP, Research & Policy
Barbara Seymour, Development Associate
Yvonne Woods, Research Associate

New York Office

Afterschool Alliance
1440 Broadway, 16th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Tel.: (646) 943-8660
Fax: (646) 943-8664

Staff (click name for bio):
Ursula Helminski, VP, External Affairs
Marie Coichy, Manager, Afterschool for All
Susan Rohwer, Communications Assistant

Current Openings:

Part-time Accounting Assistant
Click for description/duties

*VISTA Volunteer
Click for description/duties

Staff Bios:

Jodi Grant

Since 2005, Jodi Grant has been Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance, a non-profit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality, affordable afterschool programs.

In America today, 14.3 million children take care of themselves after the school day ends, including almost four million middle school students in grades six to eight. Just 6.5 million children are in afterschool programs, but the parents of another 15.3 million children say their kids would participate if a program were available. The Afterschool Alliance educates the public, the media and policy makers about the enormous potential of quality afterschool programs and about how programs across the country are inspiring children and creating opportunities for them to succeed academically, socially and professionally. The Afterschool Alliance serves as a national voice for afterschool and provides resources and materials to more than 20,000 afterschool programs. It organizes national and local afterschool events including the organization’s signature event, Lights On Afterschool; conducts research on the need and support for afterschool; develops public service advertising campaigns with The Advertising Council; creates tools for afterschool practitioners; and connects afterschool leaders to national, state and local opinion leaders.

As Executive Director, Grant is managing all aspects of the Afterschool Alliance’s work, setting its goals and strategies for reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, and overseeing a team of top researchers who are developing a roadmap for achieving afterschool for all children. In just three years, she has enlisted powerful new partners including The Atlantic Philanthropies, Bright House Networks, T-Mobile, and the William T. Grant Foundation.

Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance, Grant served as Director of Work and Family Programs for the National Partnership for Women & Families. In that position, she worked to protect and expand the Family & Medical Leave Act, and was a member of the team that successfully defended the law before the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, she worked on Capitol Hill as General Counsel to the Senate Budget Committee and as Staff Director for a Senate Committee. Her legislative accomplishments include expanded support for the child tax credit, the Child Health Insurance Program and class size reduction. She also served as liaison to the National Governors’ Association, where she worked closely with Republican and Democratic governors.

She was elected to the Board of Directors of Partners for Livable Communities in 2007, and is a trustee of America’s Promise. Grant graduated from Yale University with honors in 1990 and was elected senior class president. She received her law degree from Harvard University, where she was elected class president (first marshall). As a student, she volunteered at an afterschool program. She, her husband and two children live in Bethesda, Maryland.

Erika Argersinger, Policy Director

Erika Argersinger works with senior leadership to develop policy goals and implement a policy plan that helps advance afterschool for all. She works to communicate the impact of policy on afterschool program providers, children and families and to make recommendations for future policy decisions. Ms. Argersinger has been an advocate for children and families for over 10 years. She has advocated on behalf of immigrant and homeless populations, Head Start children and families, in addition to her focus on child care, afterschool and other family issues. Prior to joining the Alliance, she worked as the Associate Director of Government Affairs at the National Head Start Association where she worked with Hill staff on Head Start reauthorization and appropriations and coordinated advocacy activities with state associations and other coalitions. She has worked on and managed political campaigns at the city and state level. Before coming to Washington DC, Ms. Argersinger held public policy positions in both Utah and Massachusetts. She holds a Masters degree in public policy and child development from Tufts University in Massachusetts, and is an Emerging Leaders Fellow with the Children's Defense Fund.

Rivka Burstein-Stern, Field Outreach Coordinator

Rivka Burstein-Stern joined the Afterschool Alliance in August of 2007. As Field Outreach Coordinator, Rivka serves as the liaison between the Afterschool Alliance and its growing network of afterschool providers. She keeps the field up-to-date on the ever-changing afterschool policy landscape and mobilizes them to affect the development of afterschool-related public policy. She is privileged to travel around the country speaking to afterschool providers about how to ensure the long-term sustainability of their programs. Rivka spent her childhood participating in a host of afterschool activities, and then working as a tutor and coach in an afterschool program in her hometown of Seattle, Washington. She attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she received a BA in political science and educational studies. She came to the Afterschool Alliance after completing a year-long fellowship with the Jewish Service Corps, during which she worked as an advocate and legal clinic coordinator for low-income workers in Washington, DC. She is excited to be part of the afterschool movement to give all children and families the opportunities that they need and deserve.

Marie Coichy, Manager, Afterschool for All: Project 2010

Marie Coichy joined the Afterschool Alliance in April, 2006 as Manager for Afterschool for All: Project 2010. Project 2010 is a national effort launched by the Afterschool Alliance to bring together diverse and unexpected voices in support of the goal of afterschool for all. Marie's role is developing strategies that will help Project 2010 to leverage the support of a broad range of afterschool supporters to deliver a united and powerful message about the importance of afterschool programs, and to help build the case for expanding afterschool resources. Several thousand prominent individuals and organizations have already pledged their support for Project 2010. A passionate advocate for afterschool programs, Marie is co-founder of Super Saturdays, an afterschool mentoring program that connects high-potential, underprivileged youths with supportive young professionals and she is an advisory board member of the New York Archdiocese's Patron's Program. Prior to joining the Alliance, Marie was an Assistant Director of Development and Alumni Relations at the University of Chicago. Prior to that, she was a research assistant for the National Center for Children and Families at Columbia University. Marie received her B.A. in French and Francophone studies at Barnard College in New York City.

Alice J. Gallin-Dwyer, Vice President, Partnerships

As Vice President of Partnerships for the Afterschool Alliance, Alice J. Gallin-Dwyer develops, manages and evaluates the organization's partnerships, as well as its revenue goals and progress. Alice brings over seventeen years of experience as a non-profit professional, attorney and advocate for women, children and families to her role at the Afterschool Alliance. Before joining the Afterschool Alliance, Alice worked for two organizations that advocate for low-income women and their families - the Washington Area Women's Foundation and the National Women's Law Center. During her tenure as Director of Development & Partnerships for the Washington Area Women's Foundation, the organization raised the greatest amount of funds in its history. As Deputy Director of Development and Director of Foundation & Corporate Relations at the National Women's Law Center, Alice developed and implemented fundraising strategies that led to a significant growth in funding for the Center's Family Economic Security and Employment programs. Before entering the non-profit arena, Alice practiced family law and commercial litigation at law firms in DC and New York. She also clerked for the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Alice graduated with honors from Amherst College and Boston College Law School. She lives with her husband and three children in Potomac, Maryland.

Shaniqua "Shaun" Gray, Project Assistant

Shaun Gray joined the Afterschool Alliance in February of 2003 as the Administrative Assistant. Bringing with her over 6 years of administrative experience, Shaun has taken on a key role in being apart of the Alliance team. Working closely with the Vice President of Public Policy and Research and the Director of Finance and Administration, she has taken on duties connected with local and state coalition building, accounts payable/receivable as well as preparing arrangements for annual conferences and meetings. Shaun also provides assistance to the Vice President of External Affairs and Executive Director with various projects and fundraisers. Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance, Shaun served as the Meetings and Executive Assistant of a national trade association, American Beverage Licensees. She planned much of the association's conferences and meeting and assisted the Director of Communications with newsletter updates, the Membership Coordinator with invoices and member dues and the Executive Director with correspondences to the Board of Directors.

Ursula Helminski, Vice President, External Affairs

Ursula Helminski has worked with the Afterschool Alliance since its inception, and was part of its founding team. She develops strategy and communications for the organization. Ursula also oversees public awareness initiatives such as the national Lights On Afterschool event and Afterschool for All: Project 2010, a campaign that unites a broad and diverse set of afterschool supporters. Previously, Ursula spent five years at the communications and advocacy firm of FowlerHoffman, where she worked on business development and campaigns ranging from youth violence prevention to telecommunications. She also edited a trade journal in Washington, DC and taught English in a Moscow public school. Ursula has a B.A. in Political Science and English from Duke University.

Lorena Lopez, Director, Finance and Administration

Lorena Lopez joined the Alliance in November 2005 as Director of Finance and Administration. She has thirteen years of working experience in public and private accounting. Ms Lopez received her Bachelor's degree in Accounting in Ecuador. She began her professional career in South America with Ernst & Young, one of the Big Four public accounting firms. Lorena worked with the firm for seven years, serving as an external auditor and consultant in Latin America and Spain. Before joining the Alliance, Ms. Lopez spent two years at a local accounting firm specializing in non profit organizations and government contractors. She is fluent in Spanish.

Jen Rinehart, Vice President, Research & Policy

Jen Rinehart joined the Afterschool Alliance in September 2002 and established the Alliance's Washington DC office. Jen takes a primary role in the Alliance's coalition-building, policy and research efforts, and serves as a spokesperson for the organization. Recent projects include America After 3 PM: A Household Survey on Afterschool in America and Kids Deserve Better, a campaign to get voters and candidates thinking and talking about children's issues, particularly afterschool. Jen also served as Interim Executive Director of the Alliance from December 2004 through June 2005. Prior to joining the Alliance, Jen served for more than five years on the staff of the U.S. Department of Education; primarily as a Project Officer for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, the principal federal program supporting afterschool. Jen has a B.A in Psychology with a minor in Elementary Education from Gettysburg College and a Masters degree in Human Development from the University of Maryland at College Park. She currently serves on a number of advisory boards of organizations who share the Alliance's vision of Afterschool for All.

Barbara Seymour, Development Associate

Barbara Seymour assists in the management and coordination of all of the Afterschool Alliance fundraising efforts, including the creation of fundraising strategies to increase the organization's support from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other sources. Barbara joined the Afterschool Alliance in February of 2007. She previously served as a Municipal Development Volunteer for Peace Corps Honduras where she worked closely with local government, tourism boards and coffee cooperatives. She came to the Afterschool Alliance after a brief stint with Persevere Disaster Relief, a nonprofit working to re-build post Hurricane Katrina. She is a graduate of Connecticut College , where she received a BA in Government. Barbara has worked and volunteered for many organizations whose mission's are closely entwined with afterschool.

Yvonne Woods, Research Associate

Yvonne Woods joined the Afterschool Alliance in April 2006. Yvonne assists with the management, writing and publication of all research materials produced by the Afterschool Alliance including issue briefs, fact sheets, surveys and polls. Yvonne brings with her a strong background in education policy and childhood development. She served as an Americorp member with Jumpstart in New Haven, Connecticut. As an Americorp member, she spent one and a half years teaching preschool and gaining professional development and training in early childhood development and best practices teaching methods. Enjoying her preschool teaching experience, Yvonne spent a year at All Our Kin – a nonprofit organization aimed at training low-income mothers to be high-quality child care providers. Yvonne has a B.A. in History from Yale University and a Master of Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.