The Steppingstone staff is a dedicated group of professionals who are committed to carrying out the Foundation's mission.

Executive Management

Michael Danziger, Founder, received his Ed.M. from Harvard University where he developed collaborative teaching programs at public schools in Brookline, Massachusetts. Prior to Steppingstone, he taught both middle- and upper-school English and coached several sports at St. Mark's School and Harvard School. He is a graduate of Oxford University and Yale College, where he participated in the New Haven Big Brother Program. 617-423-6300 ext. 223

Kelly Glew, Executive Vice President of Development and Operations, received her B.A. in English from Colby College and her M.A. in English at University College London. Formerly the Director of Publications and Press Relations at Dana Hall School, she was also Steppingstone's first volunteer. 617-423-6300 ext. 222

Yully Cha, Vice President of Programs, received her B.A. in English from Hamilton College and MBA from Babson College. Yully joined Steppingstone as a Fellow in 1999. Prior to coming to Steppingstone, she was an Assistant Dean of Admissions at Hamilton. 617-423-6300 ext. 227

Program Staff

Kristin Arcangeli, Counselor, received her BA in English from The College of the Holy Cross and her MA in Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling from Lesley University. Prior to joining Steppingstone, she worked in a therapeutic program at Arlington High School. 617-423-6300 ext. 283

Rob Arcangeli, Support Services Associate, is graduate of the Roxbury Latin School and received a BA in Political Science from Trinity College. Rob has previously worked on various political campaigns and with volunteer operations at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. In addition, he has served as an assistant varsity baseball coach at Roxbury Latin. 617-423-6300 ext. 247

Rachel Baker, Support Services Associate, received her B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Rachel taught first-third grade at Ejit Elementary School in the Marshall Islands. She also taught reading and writing at The Learning Center for the Deaf in Framingham and worked at a summer enrichment program for high school students. 617-423-6300 ext. 261

Angela Bouchard, L.I.C.S.W., Director of Counseling Services , holds an MSW from Boston College and has worked with the Massachusetts School Age Coalition and Luce Elementary School in Canton. She received her B.A. In Psychology from the University of Southern Maine. 617-423-6300 ext. 248

Alison Boyle, Preperation and Placement Associate,
double majored in Communication Disorders and Psychology while at the University of Connecticut, and received her M.S. in Elementary Education from the University of New Haven. Prior to joining Steppingstone full time, Alison worked as an Academic Year Aide, and taught 1st grade Special Education students in the Brookline Public Schools. 617-423-6300 ext. 250

Genesis Bracho, Program Assistant, worked at Upham's Corner Health Center before coming to Steppingstone. Genesis is the mother of Samuel, a Steppingstone Scholar who attends St. Sebastian’s. 617-423-6300 ext. 241

Sarah Conrad, Director of Academy Seven, received her B.A. from the University of Virginia and a joint M.A. in Urban Policy and Planning and Child Development from Tufts. Sarah has worked at the Cushing Academy and the Bottom Line. 617-423-6300 ext. 244

Jenny Foster, Communications Manager, received her M.Div from Harvard Divinity School and her B.A. from Cornell University. Prior to joining The Steppingstone Foundation, Jenny was an organizer with Grassroots Campaigns, Inc., and ran after-school theater programs and summer camps in Boston. 617-423-6300 ext. 254

Jessica Greenberg, Program Project Coordinator, received her B.A. in Religion and Political Science from Middlebury College. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Jessica worked at Building Excellent Schools, providing support for the building of charter schools across the United States. 617-423-6300 ext. 249

Kristi Jacobi, Director of Academy Six, graduated from Colby College with a B.A. in psychology and received her M.Ed from Harvard University. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Kristi served as the Director of Programming for Exploration Summer Programs, and taught 4th-6th grade at a Montessori school in Boston. 617-423-6300 ext. 263

Megan Wells Jamieson, Director of Academy Nine, holds a Master of Philosophy in Educational Research from Cambridge University and received her B.A. in Comparative Literature at Smith College. Prior to joining Steppingstone as a Fellow in 2005, she spent a year in Germany as a Fulbright Scholar. Megan has also worked as an afterschool classroom lead teacher and was an instructor at Exploration at Yale University and American Youth Foundation. 617-423-6300 ext. 225

Melanie Kay, Preparation and Placement Associate, received her B.A. in Education and Human Development from Boston College. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Melanie worked as a third grade teacher in a Boston Public School. She has worked or volunteered in several Boston Public Schools as well as schools in Spain and South Africa. 617-423-6300 ext. 232

Matt Kessler, Preparation and Placement Assistant, received his B.A. in Classical Civilizations and History from Boston University. Matt first joined Steppingstone in 2006 as an intern and then faculty member. He has also worked as a youth facilitator for Project Adventure, Inc. based in Beverly, MA. 617-423-6300 ext. 230

Andrew Martland, Support Services Associate, is a graduate of Hobart College where he graduated with a BA in English. Prior to joining The Steppingstone Foundation, Andrew taught English at Thompson Middle School in Newport, RI and worked at the Portsmouth Abbey School in the Alumni and Development office. 617-423-6300 ext. 279

Shanna Masdea, Admission Associate, is the sister of C.J. Masdea, Steppingstone class of '07. She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts. Before joining Steppingstone, Shanna served as an administrative assistant for the Graduate College of Education and for the Center for Women in Politics at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Prior to working in Admission, she served as an Office Coordinator and as an Outreach Assistant for the program. 617-423-6300 ext. 246

Luz Angelica Mederos, Support Services Assistant, received her BA in Business Administration from Northeastern University. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Luz Angelica volunteered at Bottom Line and NU's Legacy 2000, as a Peer Mentor providing one-on-one support to new students at Northeastern University. 617-423-6300 ext. 272

Nancy Shapiro Nelsen, Preparation & Placement Associate, graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in American Studies and received her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Teaching from Boston University. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Nancy worked in the School Division at Houghton Mifflin Company where she edited educational resources for children and teachers. 617-423-6300 ext. 278

Thanh Nguyen, Support Services Associate, is a graduate of the John D. O'Bryant and University of Massachusetts where he graduated with a BA in English.  Prior to joining the Steppingstone Foundation, Thanh was a Youth Counselor at the Vietnamese-American Civic Association. 617-423-6300 ext. 258

Helen Russell, Director of Admission and Outreach, graduated from Boston College with a B.A. in psychology and received her M.Ed from Harvard University. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Helen spent 11 years working in the Boston Public Schools, most recently as the Director of Communications and Program Development at Boston Arts Academy. 617-423-6300 ext. 234

Nina Sheff, Support Services Associate, received her B.A in Spanish from Union College. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Nina tutored students with learning disabilities at an international school in Costa Rica, and most recently worked as an Assistant Director of Admissions at School Year Abroad. 617-423-6300 ext. 256

Emily Smith, Preparation and Placement Associate, is a graduate of the Winsor School and received her A.B. in East Asian Studies from Princeton University. Before Steppingstone, she taught seventh and eighth grade math and social studies with Teach for America while working on her M.S. in Middle School Education at Bank Street College of Education in New York City. 617-423-6300 ext. 243

Janet Smith, Director of Organizational Learning, received a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross, M.P.S. from Cornell University, and Ph.D. from Boston College. Janet consulted to organizations such as Boston Public Schools and the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, focusing on programs for underserved youth and adults. 617-423-6300 ext. 231

Jean Transtamar, Preparation and Placement, earned his M.A.T in English from Tufts University, and his B.A. from Wheaton College in English Literature. Jean was a 9th grade Humanities instructor at Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester for several years. After leaving Codman, Jean began his business as an educational consultant, working with several area private schools, students and their families. 617-423-6300 ext. 245

Jane Ventrone, Preparation and Placement Associate, received her B.A. in Psychology from Boston College and her M.Ed. from Saint Joseph's University. Prior to joining The Steppingstone Foundation, Jane taught 7th grade Language Arts as a Teach for America corps member in Philadelphia. 617-423-6300 ext. 242

Jennifer Welch Admission Associate, is a graduate of The Loomis Chaffee School, in Windsor, CT., and received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Vermont. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Jennifer worked as a National Trainer at The Center for the Study of Sport in Society, a non-profit organization, where she facilitated educational trainings on topics such as diversity, conflict resolution, and gender violence awareness. 617-423-6300 ext. 233

National Partnership for Educational Access

Karin Elliott, Director, National Partnership for Educational Access, has her MSW from Boston College and her Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Karin was the Executive Director of Summerbridge Cambridge and led the training and technical assistance program at Horizons for Homeless Children. 617-423-6300 ext. 284

Marissa Lowman, Program Associate, National Partnership for Educational Access, is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and received her B.A. in Writing Seminars and German from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Marissa was a 5th grade teacher in Honduras, worked in the Communications department at Teach For America, and taught in Germany on a Fulbright Fellowship. 617-423-6300 ext. 228

Administrative and Development Staff

Amber Coughlin, Grants Manager, received her MLIS from Simmons College and her B.A. from Keene State College. Prior to joining The Steppingstone Foundation, Amber was a Librarian and Archivist in both public and academic settings. She's also worked as an English and writing teacher in the U.S. and China, and for a grantmaking consulting firm in Boston. 617-423-6300 ext. 222

Kate Golden, Director, Individual Giving, joined Steppingstone after serving as the Vice President of Development at Jumpstart, a national early education organization. Kate began her career in marketing at Fidelity Investments and received her B.A. in English from Union College. Kate is a member of the Circle Board at the Copley Society and a member of the Emerging Leaders Board of The Massachusetts Women’s Forum. 617-423-6300 ext. 238

Sufia Jamal, Publications Manager, received her B.A. from University of Massachusetts, Boston, and her MBA from Bentley College. She worked previously at City Year Boston and at The National Conference for Community and justice. 617-423-6300 ext. 224

Megan Johnson, Manager of HR and Administration, graduated from Colby College with a B.A. in International Studies and Economics. Prior to joining Steppingstone, Megan was the Director of Professional Recruiting at Brown Rudnick LLP. 617-423-6300 ext. 239

Tanya Joukov, Finance and Benefits Manager, received her BA at Mt. Holyoke College in Russian Literature and Language. She owned and managed a Kumon math center and is a long-time treasurer for a children’s non-profit organization. 617-423-6300 ext. 253

Allison Savage, Office Coordinator, graduated from Boston College with a BA in Human Development. Before joining Steppingstone, she worked at Nordstrom, a pediatrics office, and most recently in human resources at Merck. 617-423-6300 ext. 221

Alison Scheier, Development Associate, received her BA in English from Union College. Before joining Steppingstone Alison worked at the Westin Copley
Hotel as an Executive Meeting Specialist. She also worked for four summers as an instructor for AccesSportAmerica, a non-profit organization teaching high challenge adaptive water sports to children and adults with disabilities. 617-423-6300 ext. 226

Kerry Tavernese, Manager of Finance, graduated from Bentley College with a B.S. in Accountancy. Before joining Steppingstone, she worked at Lynn Community Health Center, Cambridge Health Alliance, and most recently at North Shore Community Health, Inc. as the Finance Director. 617-423-6300 ext. 264.

Miguel Urena, Information Technology Manager, graduated from Bunker Hill Community College with a degree in Information Technology. He has over 15 years of experience in customer services. Miguel is the father of Adriana, a Steppingstone Scholar who attends Noble and Greenough School. 617-423-6300 ext. 277