Afterschool Alliance

Afterschool Alliance Board of Directors

Dr. Terry K. Peterson, Chair
Senior Fellow, Richard Riley Institute at Furman University and College of Charleston
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Dick Riley has called Terry “the king of afterschool.”  During his decades-long tenure in public service, Terry held senior state- and federal-level positions in which he developed numerous education policies and funding streams, including  at the U.S. Department of Education, where he helped create the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative.

Lisa Lucheta, Vice Chair
Principal, Torani/R. Torre & Co.
San Francisco, California
As a Principal of Torani, Lisa provides leadership to the private, family-owned company and its more than 125 team members.  She leads Torani's philanthropic efforts with a strong focus on afterschool programs and spearheaded Torani's Art for Kids contest (2005-2013), where select bottles of Torani syrups featured artwork submitted by afterschool students. She is a fifth-generation San Franciscan and UC Berkeley graduate.

Barry D. Ford, Esq., Secretary
Bethesda, Maryland
Barry is a passionate advocate for afterschool's role in improving children's health and fitness, and he brings experience as a government official, lawyer and nonprofit executive to his work on the Afterschool Alliance board.  Barry directed public affairs and advocacy for the United States Tennis Association from 2006-2013, and he holds a B.A. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.  

Reinaldo Llano, Treasurer
Director, Corporate Outreach & Special Projects, Bright House Networks
Orlando, Florida
Reinaldo leads community relations at Bright House Networks, one of the nation's largest cable and internet providers. During his tenure, he has re-branded and launched numerous industry partnerships and initiatives, including the Bright Kids Network, which has invested more than $1 million into afterschool programs in Florida.  Reinaldo is a proud graduate of an afterschool program and says: “Afterschool saved my life and put me on track towards a bright future.”

Jaemie Ballesteros Altman
Consultant, Food & Restaurant Industry
San Francisco, California
Jaemie works as an independent consultant to the food and restaurant industry, providing services to restaurateurs and entrepreneurs interested in starting new restaurants. She has served as CFO for Stock and Bones Culinary Group in San Francisco, CA since 2004 and as accountant and financial advisor to Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA since 1998.

The Honorable David Cicilline
Representing the 1st Congressional District of Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
U.S. Rep. Cicilline was elected to represent Rhode Island's first congressional district in 2011. He previously served four terms in the state House of Representatives and was mayor of Providence in 2003.  During his tenure established Providence as a national leader in citywide afterschool programming, community policing and urban renewal.  He formed the Providence After-School Alliance in 2004.

The Honorable Karl Dean
Mayor, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Nashville, Tennessee
Mayor Dean first held public office as Nashville's public defender and metro law director. He was elected mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County in 2007, and in 2009, he launched the Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA) in partnership with Metro Nashville Schools. He was reelected in 2011 and remains committed to progress on his priorities of education, public safety and economic development.

Dr. Lucy Friedman
President, The After-School Corporation
New York, New York
Lucy N. Friedman is president of The After-School Corporation (TASC), a New York City-based nonprofit established in 1998 to ensure that all children have access to high quality learning opportunities through increasing and improving school-based after-school, summer and expanded learning initiatives. TASC led the efforts to build New York's citywide afterschool system. Prior to TASC, Lucy founded and directed Victim Services (now Safe Horizon), the nation's leading crime victim assistance and advocacy organization.

Joan Higginbotham
Director, Community Relations, Lowe's Companies
Charlotte, NC
Joan Higginbotham is a former NASA astronaut, bringing years of expertise in science, technology and engineering to her role on the board of directors.  Joan began her career in 1987 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1996. In 2006, she flew aboard the Discovery Space Shuttle on a 13-day mission to the International Space Station.  Joan now works as director of community relations at Lowe's Companies.

The Honorable Kenneth Montague
Former Secretary of Juvenile Services, State of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Kenneth served as Secretary of Juvenile Services from 2003-2007. During his tenure, he emphasized the role of mentoring and positive youth development in juvenile justice reform. As a member of the Governor's Executive Council, he was also a member of the Maryland Partnership for Children, Youth and Families, and the Advisory Board on After-School Opportunity Programs.

Gilbert Moreno
Vice-President, Community Banking, iBERIA BANK
Houston, Texas
Gilbert previously served as president and CEO of the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA), one of the nation's largest Hispanic-serving nonprofits.  At AAMA, he raised more than $20 million in revenues and partnered with a variety of local and international organizations. He has served as president of the Association of Charter Educators and on numerous national and Texas-based nonprofit boards. 

Larry Pintacuda
Tallahassee, Florida
Larry retired from his position as CEO of the Florida Afterschool Network (FAN) in December 2013.  Under his leadership, FAN advocated for the development and sustainability of high-quality afterschool programs and for state policies to support them.  He also expanded FAN's outreach to business leaders, law enforcement and city government to broaden the base of afterschool stakeholders in Florida. Before FAN, Larry spent 33 years with the Florida State Department of Children and Families (DCF), where he served as assistant secretary of operations during Gov. Bush's administration.

Bonnie Reiss
Global Director, USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy
Santa Monica, California
Bonnie is an accomplished attorney, strategist, nonprofit executive and afterschool advocate. Prior to leading the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, she served as California Secretary of Education in 2009, as senior advisor to Gov. Schwarzenegger from 2003-2007, and led the campaign for Proposition 49, which created the first and only statewide funding stream dedicated to afterschool. She currently serves on the University of California Board of Regents.

Diane Rogers
Partner, Capstone National Partners
Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
Diane Rogers is a 25-year veteran of state and federal government, and a former Clinton Administration appointee in the U.S. Department of Education.  She previously served as vice president for governmental and external relations at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and spent eight years serving in the Clinton Administration as the chief of staff to the Deputy Secretary of Education.

Jean Margaret Smith
S.V.P. of Public Affairs & Administration, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids & Family Group
New York, New York
Jean Margaret Smith is senior vice president for public affairs and administration at Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. She is responsible for managing the networks' strategic relationships with social advocates, policymakers and public opinion leaders, as well as handling the company's overall public affairs agenda.  Her initiatives at Nickelodeon include Beyond the Backpack and Worldwide Day of Play.

Herb Sturz
Senior Advisor, Open Society Foundations
New York, New York
Herb is a social innovator with a legacy of social and criminal justice reform.  He has founded many nonprofits in New York City, such as the Vera Institute of Justice and The After-School Corporation. His public service has included positions as New York City Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice and chair of the New York City Planning Commission.  Herb has served on the editorial board of the New York Times and is the subject of the book A Kind of Genius: Herb Sturz and Society's Toughest Problems by Sam Roberts (2009).

Stacey Gillis Weber
New York, New York
Stacey brings a wealth of experience in leading educational institutions to her work on the 
Afterschool Alliance board. She served on the Dean's Alumni Leadership Council at the
Harvard Kennedy School of Government and on the Board of Trustees of the Horace Mann
School in Riverdale, New York and of Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. Stacey led development efforts at the Beginning with Children School in Brooklyn and at public television station WNET after a career on Wall Street underwriting municipal bonds.  She earned a B.S. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.P.A. from Harvard University.



Afterschool Alliance
1616 H St., NW, Suite 820; Washington, DC 20006; Tel.: (202) 347-2030; Fax: (202) 347-2092