Riley Institute names afterschool/expanded learning policy fellows

Last updated June 29, 2015

By Tina Underwood

Fifteen leaders in the field of afterschool and expanded learning nationwide have been selected as White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellows as part of a partnership between the Riley Institute at Furman University and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The C.S. Mott Foundation has extended its funding for the program with a two-year renewal grant totaling $280,000.

Through discussion of actual case studies led by policy change-makers, the Fellowship equips graduates with a real world understanding of the art and science of sound policy-making for afterschool and expanded learning. In the 10-month program, which begins in October, Fellows will study afterschool/expanded learning policy and develop and implement state-level policy projects in partnership with their Statewide Afterschool Networks and the national Afterschool Alliance.

Launched in 2012, 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, and senior fellow at the Riley Institute.

The 2015-2016 White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellows are:

Thomas Azzarella, Director, Alaska Afterschool Network (Anchorage, Alaska)
David Beard, Director, Education Policy & Advocacy, School’s Out Washington (Seattle, Wash.)
Melissa Beck, Network Lead, The Civic Canopy (Denver, Colo.)
Susan Gamble, Network Lead, West Virginia Statewide Afterschool Network (Charleston, W.V.)
Ebony Grace, Director, Expanded Learning Opportunities, New Jersey School Age Care Coalition (NJSACC): The Statewide Afterschool Network (Westfield, N.J.)
Darren Grimshaw, Board Member, Iowa Afterschool Alliance (Burlington, Iowa)
Kathryn Johnson, Executive Director, Alternatives, Inc. (Ft. Monroe, Va.)
Don Kent, Chairman, Net Literacy (Carmel, Ind.)
Lani Lingo, State Director, Education & Specialized Programs, Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Alison Reis-Khanna, Director of Partnerships and Quality Initiatives, Texas Partnership for Out of School Time (TXPOST) (Austin, Texas)
Tammy Shay, Program Coordinator, Maryland Out of School Time (MOST) Network (Baltimore, Md.)
Erik Skold, Associate Director, Sprockets: Saint Paul’s Out-of-School Time Network (St. Paul, Minn.)
Bethany Thramer, Policy & Outreach Coordinator, Oregon Afterschool for Kids, (Eugene, Ore.)
Craig Williams, Teacher, Wyoming Afterschool Alliance (Cheyenne, Wyo.)
Mila Yochum, Director, Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST), United Way of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, Penn.)