FFEE - Staff

STAFF LIST

Roger Schulman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Corrie Schoenberg, Senior Program Manager

Sharon Drevitch Dondes, Communications and Development Manager

Kathleen Wiess, Finance and Human Resources Manager

Professional Development Staff:

Robin Banks, Lead Professional Developer

Tara Chaney, Professional Developer

Rachel F. Fries, Professional Developer

Wendy C. Gibson, Professional Developer

Ruth B. Powell, Professional Developer

Arthur Satti, Professional Developer

Charla C. Walls, Professional Developer

Roger Schulman, President and Chief Executive Officer
E-mail: rogers@ffee.org

Roger Schulman joined the Fund in June, 2010, bringing to the organization his nearly 20 years of experience in urban education in Baltimore City and other major urban districts.

Mr. Schulman came to the Fund from The New Teacher Project (TNTP), where for nearly 10 years he worked to ensure our country’s lowest performing schools and classrooms were staffed with effective teachers. As a Senior Partner at TNTP, Mr. Schulman was responsible for launching and managing its Staffing Initiatives business line which began as a pilot program in Baltimore and grew it into one of the organization’s core national services working with 250 schools in 11 urban districts across the country. Mr. Schulman first came to Baltimore City 18 years ago as a Teach for America (TFA) corps member teaching at West Baltimore Middle School. He later served for five years as TFA’s Executive Director for Baltimore, bringing 50 corps members each year into some of Baltimore City’s highest needs schools.

Mr. Schulman earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College. He is an active member of the Baltimore City community, and has served on the Boards of the Pumpkin Theatre, KIPP Ujima Village Academy and The Megaphone Project.

Corrie Schoenberg, Senior Program Manager
E-mail: corries@ffee.org

Corrie has worked closely with a number of urban school districts across the country, including the Baltimore City Public Schools. Most recently, she served as a Senior Site Advisor for The New Teachers Project (TNTP), providing program management support to districts in meeting their customer service and human resources goals. Corrie began her career at TNTP as Director of Communications for the NYC Teaching Fellows Program, helping to prepare 1,500 teachers annually. She holds a B.A. from Northwestern University.

Ms. Dondes earned an M.B.A. from Loyola College in Baltimore, a a B.A. from Wellesley College, and is a former Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in the Humanities. A member of the Fund's staff since 2003, she has over 20 years of marketing, strategic planning, and business development experience. Prior to joining the Fund, she served most recently as Vice President, Network Development for MedStar Physician Partners.

Kathleen Wiess, Finance and Human Resources Manager
E-mail: kathleenw@ffee.org

Ms. Wiess holds a B.S. in Business and Finance from Mount Saint Mary’s College, and is responsible for maintaining all accounting functions including general ledger, accounts payable and accounts receivable. She previously served as Senior Accountant for Active Day, Inc. where she helped establish accounting functions for that $50 million company; and as Senior Account for Symphony Health Services with oversight responsibility for three divisions totaling $27 million in annual revenue.

Robin Banks, Lead Professional Developer
E-mail: robinb@ffee.org

A valued member of the Fund’s professional development team since 2005, Robin has over 15 years experience as both an elementary and intermediate educator. Among her varied experiences, Robin has served as a Reading Inclusion and Intervention Coordinator and Teacher, Special Education Staff Developer, Team Leader, and After School Mentoring Program coach. Robin holds a M.Ed. in Special Education from Coppin State University where she also earned her B.S. in Applied Psychology.

Tara Chaney, Professional Developer
E-mail: tarac@ffee.org

Tara is a former Instruction Coordinator for the ACCE School, and served for five years as a Blum Mentoring Program Teacher for the Baltimore City Public Schools, providing 1st – 3rd year teachers with instructional and emotional support. She is also an Adjunct Reading Professor at both Coppin State and Morgan State Universities. Tara earned her M.Ed. in Reading from Towson University, and her B.S. from Morgan State University.

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Rachel F. Fries, Professional Developer
E-mail: rachelf@ffee.org

Rachel brings a strong interest in literacy education and staff development to her position at the Fund. Rachel served for three years as a lead teacher in schools in the Washington DC area with a focus on first and second grade. Rachel earned her M.A. in Elementary Education and her B.A. at American University, and is currently pursing a M.S. in Reading Education at the Johns Hopkins University.

Wendy is a successful, former middle school reading teacher with expertise in improving basic reading skills of second language learners and at risk struggling readers. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the Towson University Master Graduate Reading Program. Wendy holds both an M.Ed. in Reading and a B.S. from Towson University.

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Ruth B. Powell, Professional Developer
E-mail: ruthp@ffee.org

A former principal and teacher, Ruth is an accomplished career educator with over 20 years of experience in the Baltimore City Public Schools. Prior to joining the Fund in 2009, Ruth was a Title I Professional Development Coordinator, Area Executive Assistant, and, most recently, Academic Director, Elementary/ K-8 Schools responsible for planning and providing professional development for principals on improving leadership practices and improving instruction. In addition to her M.Ed. from the Johns Hopkins University and B.S. from Morgan State University, Ruth earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in Education (C.A.S.E.) from Johns Hopkins.

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Arthur Satti, Professional Developer
E-mail: arthurs@ffee.org

Art brings nearly 10 years of secondary education experience to the Fund. A successful high school English Teacher in the Baltimore City Public Schools, he also served for three years as an Instructional Support Teacher (IST) at the National Academy Foundation High School. Art holds a M.A in Secondary Education from the Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. from the University of Baltimore.

Charla C. Walls, Professional Developer
E-mail: charlaw@ffee.org

Charla comes to the Fund from Children’s Literacy Initiative where she served as a Professional Developer for more than 10 years. She started her career as a teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools. In addition, she has served as an adjunct professor and lecturer at Towson University in the early childhood and elementary education departments. Charla holds a M.A. in Education from Towson University and a B.S. from Salisbury University.

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