Live It Learn It is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in Washington, DC in January 2005.
> Supporters, large and small, make our work possible. A huge thanks to you all!
Major funding has been provided by Lynne & Joseph Horning, Betsy & Robert Feinberg, and CharityWorks
and by Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Herb Block Foundation, Van Otterloo Family Foundation, Commonweal Foundation, Anonymous, John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation, FedEx Corporation, Horning Family Fund, Leonard & Hilda Kaplan Charitable Foundation, DC Children & Youth Investment Trust Corporation, Emily & Stephen Ward, Philip L. Graham Fund, Hattie M. Strong Foundation, Samuel P. Pardoe Foundation, Sara & Jeff Lesk, Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, National Geographic Channel, Harman Family Foundation, 21st Century Community Learning Center, Perry & Arthur Wheelock, Susan & Peter Hoffman, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, RealNetworks Foundation, Eric Ottesen, New York Avenue Foundation, Mullen Family Fund, DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative, Natasha & Patrick Campbell, Elizabeth & Michael Gray, George Preston Marshall Foundation, Richard E. and Nancy P. Marriott Foundation, Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation, Jeanne Hoffman Smith, Susan Welch, Inasmuch Foundation, Moran Family Fund, Nancy Folger, Candy & Greg Fazakerley, Liesbet Koromzay, Ann & Tom Friedman, and Gannett Foundation.
> Staff
During his time at Penn State University, Quay Anthony, was committed to leadership, social justice, and the arts. Using his passion for spoken word poetry and his basic love for humanity, Quay created a social justice arts movement that reinforces concepts around reflection and learning through experience.
Erica Harper - Program Director
A product of the Memphis City Public Schools, Erica Harper is deeply committed to public education and to Live It Learn It's mission. She is a graduate of Duke University, where she tutored local elementary school students, worked as a peer educator, and helped found and implement a mentoring program that connected Duke students with girls living in nearby Durham. Erica graduated with an A.B. in sociology and additional coursework in childhood education and psychology.
Lauren Hawley - Program Manager
Before joining Live It Learn It, Lauren Hawley taught 5th grade in rural North Carolina. She is passionate about bringing curriculum to life through hands-on educational experiences, in and out of the classroom. Lauren graduated with a B.A. in sociology from DePauw University and is a Teach for America alumna. She continues to support the professional development of new teachers nationwide by facilitating summer trainings and as the leader of an online community for elementary educators in English Language Arts and social studies positions.
Emily Levy - Senior Program Associate
Emily Levy has a background in experiential learning and youth development. She firmly believes that intentionally designed, hands-on learning experiences are powerful tools for engaging students in their own education and promoting their personal growth, and is fully committed to bringing these principles to life for students in the DC Public Schools. Emily has a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington and a graduate certificate in Environment, Education and Community from IslandWood.
Chris Magnuson - Instructional Specialist
Chris comes to Live It Learn It with a passion for designing learning activities outside the classroom. While teaching social studies at Paul Public Charter School for ten years, he created a monthly competitive scavenger hunt program on the National Mall and also a study abroad preparatory program that introduced his students to the international communities in the DC metro area during "Saturday Abroad" trips. He earned his bachelor's degree in anthropology from American University and his master's degree in teaching social studies from Brown University.
Matthew Wheelock - Executive Director
Founder Matthew Wheelock piloted Live It Learn It’s approach while teaching at DC’s Walker-Jones Elementary School, where he supplemented classroom instruction with carefully planned, educationally focused trips to local museums, memorials, and parks. In 2003, Matthew was a finalist for DC public schools’ New Teacher of the Year award. He is a graduate of Williams College, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Stanford Law School, and worked in the fields of international relations and law prior to teaching. A native Washingtonian, Matthew is a product of DC public elementary and junior high schools and has spent countless hours exploring this city’s tremendous resources.
> Advisors
Danielle Bierzynski - Curriculum Advisor
As a classroom teacher in the New York City public schools, Danielle Bierzynski realized that in order to raise student achievement, learning had to take place not only inside the classroom, but outside of it as well. She started a "Saturday Exploration Program" where she and her students explored New York City's cultural venues and restaurants. After completing a master's degree at Brooklyn College, Bierzynski discovered Live It Learn It, where she worked for 4 years. Her experience at Live It Learn It inspired her to pursue an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at George Washington University, where she currently is a student. She whole-heartedly believes in Live It Learn It's mission and hopes to use what she learns in school to help Live It Learn It continue to grow.
Anne Eigeman - Strategic Advisor
Anne Eigeman is an independent communications and development consultant with a background in museum education and classroom teaching. Ms. Eigeman holds degrees from Lawrence University, George Washington University and New York University. A long-time DC resident and museum fan, she is always impressed with the level of engagement that students have in Live It Learn It programs.
> Board of Directors
Mayealie Adams
Mayealie Adams is manager for government affairs at FedEx Corporation. She manages the day-to-day operations of the Washington, D.C. office and is responsible for monitoring certain legislative issues at the Federal and local level. Reporting directly to FedEx's corporate vice president for government affairs, Ms. Adams is an instrumental part of a government affairs team responsible for protecting and promoting the interests of all FedEx operating companies. Ms. Adams earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Akron McDowell School of Law and holds a bachelors degree from George Mason University. While in law school, Ms. Adams served as a teaching assistant and tutor for first-year law students, was a trial team and moot court member, and served as mentoring program chair and chapter marshall for the Akron chapter of Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity.
Ray Bledsoe
Ray Bledsoe has been an educator for thirty five years, twenty of which have been spent as principal of DC public elementary schools. He spent eighteen years as principal of Gibbs Elementary School in NE and, subsequently, was called in to turn around three other struggling elementary schools, including, most recently, Walker-Jones Elementary School.
Patrick S. Campbell - Chair
Patrick S. Campbell is a partner in the DC office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and is on the boards of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and of Street Law, Inc., where he is vice-chairman. Mr. Campbell is a graduate of the DC public schools, Georgetown University, and Stanford Law School, and is a strong proponent of creating opportunities outside of the classroom for DC youth.
Kathleen Carroll
Kathleen Carroll, M.Ed, is a senior faculty member at Cambridge College, where she co-founded the College's National Institute for Teaching Excellence. She is the author of numerous books, including Science for Every Learner and Brain-Compatible Pathways to Scientific Literacy, and is currently writing a book on utilizing field trips as a component of instruction. Ms. Carroll conducts educational workshops and presentations nationally and internationally concerning topics such as multiple intelligences, classroom assessment, creativity, science education and brain-compatible teaching techniques. Ms. Carroll has won numerous awards for her work.
Nancy "Bitsey" Folger
Nancy "Bitsey" Folger has a long and distinguished record of public service, with a particular focus on two areas: creating educational and life opportunities for children, and championing political causes on a local and naional level. Her beginnings as a classroom teacher in Montgomery County Public School system paved the way for her distinguished 40+ years of commitment to education and the arts. In this capacity, she has long served as a key ally to the Children's Defense Fund and the Black Student Fund, and she has been instrumental in the success of other organizations ranging from the Sitar Arts Center to the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In addition, Mrs. Folger has been active on the political scene for many years, serving on various local and federal campaign committees. She is a long-standing member of the Women's Leadership Forum for the Democratic National Convention. Mrs. Folger's commitment to her community is made evident by her membership on the boards of several non-profits including White House Historical Association, The National Symphony Orchestra, and the Black Student Fund, where she serves as Chairman Emeritus. She has said of her work, "I am involved in a lot of things because I see so many needs." Mrs. Folger received her undergraduate degree from Bryn Mawr College and her Masters of Arts in Teaching from Harvard University.
Gaela Gehring Flores
Gaela Gehring Flores is a partner in Arnold & Porter LLP's litigation practice group and concentrates her practice on international arbitration matters. She has been active for many years in an array of education- and community-related causing, teaching Street Law at Anacostia High School, serving on the board of the Hispanic Bar Association for the District of Columbia, and, most recently, serving on the pro bono committee for the DC Bar. Ms. Gehring Flores is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Hope Harrod
Hope Harrod is a 5th grade teacher at Burroughs Education Campus in northeast D.C. She has taught in DC Public Schools for nine years. In addition to her work as a classroom teacher, Hope has formally mentored new teachers, written curricular materials for the district, helped to norm standardized tests, and conducted professional development modules. Hope has also served for three years on the faculty of a research institute funded by the Teaching American History Project, which is affiliated with Kenyon College, her alma mater. She has a Masters in Elementary Education from Boston College. Hope serves on Live It Learn It’s Teacher Advisory Committee and has been a strong advocate for the organization since first working with Live It Learn It in 2006.
Joseph F. Horning - Treasurer
Joseph F. Horning is the president of Horning Brothers. Reflecting a long-standing commitment to Washington, DC, Mr. Horning has worked with six of the seven non-profit community development corporations (CDCs) chartered by the City. A belief that education is the most essential tool for economic advancement has led him to create after-school education programs and adult job training programs in Horning Brothers’ moderate-income communities throughout the City. Mr. Horning previously served on the Charter School Board and currently serves on the Boards of the Center City Consortium, Washington Middle School for Girls, and City First Bank, the first federally chartered community development bank in DC. He is recipient of the Minority Employment Award from the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Sidney Glassman Award from the Apartment and Office Building Association.
Sara Mark Lesk
Sara Mark Lesk is Senior Educator and Manager of the National Gallery of Art's Art Around the Corner program for students in the DC public schools. She has written multidisciplinary learning materials for the National Gallery of Art, the National Park Service, the Phillips Collection, the National Museum of American History, and others. She directed literacy-based museum experiences at In2Books and coordinated a teacher institute on African-American art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Ms. Lesk worked for many years as a book editor at Time-Life Books and Time-Life for Children. She is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a master’s degree in Museum Education from the George Washington University.
Stephen E. Ward
Steve Ward is president of Ward & Company LLC and executive director of the National Fund for the U.S. Botanic Garden. Previously, he served for seven years as a foreign service officer in the Middle East before returning to the Washington, DC area to work as a diplomat, staff member of the House International Relations Committee, senior aide to Senator Lloyd Bentsen, and, for eleven years, vice president of government relations for Shell Oil Company. Mr. Ward and his wife Emily have been married for forty-four years. They have two children, five grandchildren, and live in Reston, Virginia, where they are active in Reston Interfaith and Mrs. Ward volunteers at the Laurel Learning Center. Mr. Ward is a graduate of Amherst College and has a Masters in International Relations from Columbia University.