Steve Ciprani is a high school Latin and Social Studies teacher in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of West Chester University and holds two Master's degrees from Villanova University in Classical Studies and Education. In his seven years as an educator, Steve is a three-time nominee of the Citadel Heart of Learning Award and is considered among the distinguished faculty where he teaches. In addition to his passion for public schools, Steve spent two years teaching English at Huaxia Chinese School at Great Valley and hosted and taught international students from China in the summers of 2014 & 2015. Steve and Linzee Ciprani have been married for ten years and they have two daughters, Emerson and Alexis, who are ages four and two.

Pavithra Nagarajan is a PhD Candidate studying Sociology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a sociologist of education focused on qualitative methods. Her research interests include school culture, identity, masculinity and schooling, race, single-sex schooling and urban education. Pavithra is currently working on her dissertation on the organizational culture of single-sex schooling and how students negotiate masculinity in their identity formation. Pavithra earned her BA in Sociology with distinction from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 2008. Upon graduation, Pavithra moved to New York City to begin her teaching career through Teach For America. During her first two years teaching, she earned her Masters of Science in Teaching. She began her teaching career as a founding educator teaching Sixth Grade Mathematics, Social Studies, and Art at the Eagle Academy For Young Men II at Ocean Hill in Brownsville Brooklyn. She was also a 6th Grade team leader, instructional coach, and advisory leader during her four years at Eagle Academy. She continues to serve as a teacher-development professional and as a leader of teacher training.

After graduating from Pennsylvania State University, Linzee launched her career in Title Insurance.  She started out answering the phones and was quickly promoted to the Operations Manager of the Refinance Division of Smarter Title.  It was there that her leadership skills and talents were refined and she went on to lead a team of Insurance Sales Specialists under the umbrella of Nationwide Insurance to the number 1 position within the Tri-state area and was then recruited into the non-profit world working for the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers as their Manager of Development.  That position and the experience she gained from it eventually led to her back into the Real Estate world working for the Matt Fetick Real Estate Team where she was hired as the Operations Manager/ Listing Manager.  After spending 4 years helping that team grow Linzee opted to start her own team in August of 2013.  She was highly sought after at that point being asked to help others grow their teams and Ciprani Consulting was then born from those requests.  Linzee now has her own Real Estate Team (Round Table Real Estate Services) that will close over $32,000,000 in sales in 2016 and Ciprani Consulting has officially placed upwards of 350 people around the United States and has helped over 250 Agents either double or triple their businesses by implementing the processes and procedures Linzee has perfected over the course of her career in the Real Estate world.  

Grace Snodgrass, a Coro Fellowship alumna with a decade of education experience in the Bronx and Los Angeles, most recently served as Regional Field Director for the Indiana Democratic Party in the 2016 election. Driven by her passion for educational equity and background in government and journalism, Grace has worked within the classroom, organizing, and policy spheres to foster change that benefits underserved communities. As an education consultant, she has coached teacher-leaders to draft policies that will open new doors for kids and families. She is excited to combine a personal mission to serve her students' communities with her experience in politics, policy and communications in her work with the March for Public Education.

Miguel Rodriguez is a 7th grade English Language Arts teacher on the south side of Chicago. He is a graduate of Pomona College, where he double majored in Chican@/Latin@ Studies and Dance, and holds a masters degree from Pace University.  He loves to read, watch musicals, and direct youth theater. 

Mia Ives-Rublee is the Founder and Coordinator for the Women’s March on Washington Disability Caucus and was also a national organizer for the march. She helped coordinate services for over 40,000 people with disabilities at the march and worked directly with the Co-Chairs to ensure the disability community was fully incorporated in the March principals. She has provided advice and guidance to numerous marches, including the Science March and Climate March. Mia has her Master’s Degree in social work and is a civil rights activist. She has given several speeches, including speaking at the NY Tax March, National ADAPT Fun Run, and NC First in Families Annual Conference.

Kelly Boyle is a digital marketing professional with nearly 10 years of experience across various industries including publishing, advertising, entertainment, and education. She holds a Master of Science in Marketing from Columbia University. She lives in New York City in an apartment with no closets. In her spare time she enjoys practicing yoga, making bread, knitting, and playing mahjong.

Xavier Maciel is a third year transfer student studying History and Economics at Pomona College. His journey to Pomona College is anything but the usual, he got his AS from Essex County College in Accounting after being forced to drop out of engineering school and then business school due to being denied financial aid by the state of NJ because of his parents' immigration status. He is originally from Newark, NJ where he started advocating for his community at the age of 13. He has since worked for organizations including: The Newark Youth Court, The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, After-School All-Stars, and US Senator Cory Bookers Office. He has focused his advocating on education and immigration issues. His most recent work includes starting the Sanctuary School Movement to protect vulnerable students from the current administration. His work has been featured on top media outlets including: The Washington Post, The Chronicle for Higher Education, The Huffington Post, Univision, and NPR. He plans on getting an MBA and MPP upon graduating from Pomona College.

Kay Jacobs-Reed is a native Floridian, a French teacher, a wife, and the mother of two disabled sons.  As a public school teacher for 18 years, and a part-time advocate for our neediest children, Kay fights for social justice and to preserve and improve our public education system.  She has witnessed, first-hand, the decline of our system due to the overemphasis on testing-not learning-and the horrible impacts this has had on our children and our society. Kay is a strong advocate for respect, tolerance, and inclusion for each and every student; she often speaks on these topics at community and local school board meetings.  In addition her work as an advocate, Kay also serves on the executive board of several volunteer/civic organizations such as:  Women’s March-Broward, the Florida Education Association Governance Board, the SBBC ESE Parent Advisory Committee, as well as the ESE Chair of her local school’s SAC committee.  She was recently nominated as one of seven national finalists for NEA’s 2017 Social Justice Activist of the Year Award.

Veronika Konovalova is an undergraduate student at Temple University majoring in Mathematical Economics and Politicial Science. From teaching high school students from low-income families SAT test-taking skills to tutoring young students in juvenile detention centers through the Petey Greene Program in Philadelphia, Veronika has developed her passion for education through her experiences as both a teacher and a student. She is currently an intern with the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, where she conducts policy research on universal pre-K programs in order to push for more accessible, higher quality education in the Greater Philadelphia area. She hopes to bring the notorious political enthusiasm of a college student to the cause.

Wiaan de Beer is a first-generation immigrant, an American citizen, who was born and raised in Apartheid South Africa. He works as a teacher, a consultant, and a writer. He has a Masters degree in English: Teaching, Writing, and Criticism from West Chester University in America. In South Africa, he studied Performance Studies at Kwa-Zulu Natal University towards his Masters degree prior to immigrating. He is happily married to a fellow educator and artist.

Jessica Todd is a middle school English/Language Arts teacher in Saint Louis, Missouri. She has four years’ experience teaching in public schools (two of which were spent in an alternative program for at-risk students). She also spent three of those years coaching high school Speech and Debate. For the duration of the 2016-2017 school year, Jessica is on sabbatical in Berlin, Germany where she is learning a second language, providing English tutoring, and volunteering with Syrian refugee children. Jessica earned her Bachelor of Science in Secondary Language Arts Education from Kansas State University and went on to earn her Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning from The Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, Jessica focused much of her thesis work on adolescent literature, specifically LGBTQ-inclusive literature. As of last year, Jessica is also a certified K-12 Reading Specialist and she plans to pursue Teaching English as a Second Language certification so she can better serve her English language learners. When she’s not teaching, Jessica enjoys writing creatively, reading anything written by J.K. Rowling, and listening to the greatest hits of the 90s.