Since 2005, Jodi Grant has been Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance, a non-profit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality, affordable afterschool programs.

In America today, 15.1 million children take care of themselves after the school day ends, including almost four million middle school students in grades six to eight.  Just 8.4 million children are in afterschool programs, but the parents of another 18 million children say their kids would participate if a program were available.  The Afterschool Alliance seeks to educate the public, the media and policy makers about the enormous potential of quality afterschool programs and how programs across the country are inspiring children and creating opportunities for them to succeed academically, socially and professionally.  The Afterschool Alliance serves as a national voice for afterschool and provides resources and materials to more than 26,000 afterschool programs.  It organizes national and local afterschool events, including the organization’s signature event, Lights On Afterschool; conducts research on the need and support for afterschool; creates tools for afterschool practitioners; and connects afterschool leaders to national, state and local opinion leaders.

As Executive Director, Grant oversees all aspects of the Afterschool Alliance’s work – setting its goals and strategies for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, working with the field to help programs tap into federal funding streams, and supervising research to help national, state and local afterschool advocates and providers support, create and expand quality afterschool programs.

Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance, Grant served as Director of Work and Family Programs for the National Partnership for Women & Families.  In that position, she worked to protect and expand the Family & Medical Leave Act, and was a member of the team that successfully defended the law before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Prior to that, she worked on Capitol Hill as General Counsel to the Senate Budget Committee and as Staff Director for a Senate Committee.  Her legislative accomplishments include expanded support for the child tax credit, the Child Health Insurance Program, and class size reduction.  She also served as liaison to the National Governors’ Association, where she worked closely with Republican and Democratic governors.

Grant graduated from Yale University with honors in 1990 and was elected senior class president.  She received her law degree from Harvard University, where she was elected class president (first marshall).  As a student, she volunteered at an afterschool program. She currently serves as: a Trustee of the America’s Promise Alliance, an Advisory Board Member of Time Warner Cable’s “Connect a Million Minds” campaign, and as Co-Chair of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s Student Development Advisory Committee.  Grant, her husband and two children live in Bethesda, Maryland.  Grant is an avid cyclist.

Rivka Burstein-Stern , Field Outreach Coordinator

Rivka Burstein-Stern joined the Afterschool Alliance in August of 2007. As Field Outreach Coordinator, Rivka serves as the liaison between the Afterschool Alliance and its growing network of afterschool providers.  She keeps the field up-to-date on the ever-changing afterschool policy landscape and mobilizes them to affect the development of afterschool-related public policy.  She is privileged to travel around the country speaking to afterschool providers about how to ensure the long-term sustainability of their programs.  Rivka spent her childhood participating in a host of afterschool activities, and then working as a tutor and coach in an afterschool program in her hometown of Seattle, Washington.  She attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she received a BA in political science and educational studies.  She came to the Afterschool Alliance after completing a yearlong fellowship with the Jewish Service Corps, during which she worked as an advocate and legal clinic coordinator for low-income workers in Washington, D.C.  She is excited to be part of the afterschool movement to give all children and families the opportunities that they need and deserve.

Marie Coichy Dauphin, Project Manager, Afterschool for All

Marie Coichy Dauphin is Project Manager for the Afterschool Alliance.  Having started work in April 2006, Marie's role at the Afterschool Alliance is consulting with advocates at the national, state and local levels to develop strategies that will help grow Afterschool for All, a national public awareness campaign in support of universal access to quality, affordable afterschool programs.  To date, nearly 24,000 individuals and organizations have joined Afterschool for All.  Marie also manages the Leadership Circle, a program that honors high-profile afterschool champions and America’s Afterschool Storybook, an online gallery of stories of people and communities transformed by afterschool.  Marie has made numerous presentations on afterschool and sustainability at conferences nationwide.

A passionate advocate and volunteer, Marie is affiliated with Super Saturdays, an afterschool mentoring program in an inner-city community to connect high-potential, underprivileged youths with supportive young professionals. Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance, Marie was an Assistant Director of Development and Alumni Relations at the University of Chicago.  Prior to that, she was a research assistant for the National Center for Children and Families at Columbia University.  Marie received her B.A. at Barnard College in New York City.    

Diana Delfin, Policy & Research Fellow

As the Policy and Research Fellow for Afterschool Alliance, Diana Delfin works to collect and analyze information on current policy initiatives and issues in the field of afterschool. She collaborates closely with both the Vice President of Policy & Research and Field Outreach Coordinator on issues advancing afterschool programs for all. Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance in January 2010, Diana attended graduate school to better understand factors affecting the youth experience during out-of-school time. In her final paper she analyzed the distribution of afterschool programs across Chicago using ArcGIS and studied the ease of access to such critical assets in underserved communities. Diana has also served numerous afterschool programs in various capacities throughout the country, including San Jose, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Diana holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of California – Irvine in Social Ecology and Educational Studies. Currently she is completing a Master of Arts (MA) with Loyola University Chicago in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies with an emphasis in the Sociology of Education.

Alice J. Gallin-Dwyer , Vice President, Partnerships

Alice J. Gallin-Dwyer joined the Afterschool Alliance in 2006.  As Vice President of Partnerships, Alice develops, manages and evaluates the organization's partnerships, as well as its revenue goals and progress. Alice brings over fifteen years of experience as a non-profit professional, attorney and advocate for women, children and families to her role at the Afterschool Alliance.  Before joining the Afterschool Alliance, Alice worked for two organizations that advocate for low-income women and their families—the Washington Area Women's Foundation and the National Women's Law Center.  During her tenure as Director of Development & Partnerships for the Washington Area Women's Foundation, the organization raised the greatest amount of funds in its history.  As Deputy Director of Development and Director of Foundation & Corporate Relations at the National Women's Law Center, Alice developed and implemented fundraising strategies that led to a significant growth in funding for the Center's Family Economic Security and Employment programs. Before entering the non-profit arena, Alice practiced family law and commercial litigation at law firms in D.C. and New York. She also clerked for the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  Alice graduated with honors from Amherst College and Boston College Law School.  She lives with her husband and three children in Potomac, Maryland.

Shaniqua "Shaun" Gray , Project Associate

Shaun Gray joined the Afterschool Alliance in February of 2003 as the Administrative Assistant.  Bringing with her over 6 years of administrative experience, Shaun has taken on a key role in the Afterschool Alliance team.  Working closely with the Vice President of Policy and Research and the Director of Finance and Administration, she has taken on duties connected with local and state coalition building, accounts payable/receivable as well as preparing arrangements for annual conferences and meetings.  Shaun also provides assistance to the Vice President of External Affairs, Vice President of Partnerships and Executive Director with various projects and fundraisers.  Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance, Shaun served as the Meetings and Executive Assistant of a national trade association, American Beverage Licensees.  She planned much of the association's conferences and meetings and assisted the Director of Communications with newsletter updates, the Membership Coordinator with invoices and member dues and the Executive Director with correspondences to the Board of Directors.   

Ursula Helminski , Vice President, External Affairs

Ursula Helminski has worked with the Afterschool Alliance since its inception, and was part of its founding team.  She develops strategy and communications for the organization, and oversees public awareness initiatives such as the national Lights On Afterschool event and Afterschool for All, a campaign uniting high profile and grassroots voices from diverse sectors in support of afterschool.  Before coming to the Afterschool Alliance, she was a Senior Associate at the communications and organizing consulting firm Fowler Hoffman, where she worked on issue campaigns ranging from youth violence prevention to telecommunications, and advised foundations on their communications strategies.  She has served as editor of a trade journal covering policy in Washington, D.C., worked in cause related marketing at The Nature Conservancy and taught English in a Moscow public school.  Ursula has a B.A. in Political Science and English from Duke University.

Lorena Lopez, Director, Finance & Administration

Lorena Lopez joined the Afterschool Alliance in November 2005 as Director of Finance and Administration.  She is a CPA and has been working in public and private accounting since 1991.  Lorena received her Bachelor's degree in Accounting in Ecuador.  She began her professional career in South America.  Lorena also worked with Ernst & Young, one of the Big Four public accounting firms, for seven years, serving as an external auditor and consultant in Latin America and Spain.  Before joining the Afterschool Alliance Lorena spent two years at a local accounting firm specializing in non-profit organizations and government contractors.  She is fluent in Spanish.

Jen Rinehart , Vice President, Policy & Research

Jen Rinehart joined the Afterschool Alliance in September 2002 and established the Afterschool Alliance's WashingtonD.C. office.  Jen takes a primary role in the Afterschool Alliance's coalition building, policy and research efforts, and serves as a spokesperson for the organization.  Recent projects include America After 3 PM: A Household Survey on Afterschool in America and Kids Deserve Better, a campaign to get voters and candidates thinking and talking about children's issues, particularly afterschool.  Jen also served as Interim Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance from December 2004 through June 2005.  Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance, Jen served for more than five years on the staff of the U.S. Department of Education; primarily as a Project Officer for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, the principal federal program supporting afterschool.  Jen has a B.A in Psychology with a minor in Elementary Education from Gettysburg College and a Masters degree in Human Development from the University of Maryland at College Park .  She currently serves on a number of advisory boards of organizations that share the Afterschool Alliance's vision of afterschool for all.

Frank Mazzucco, Development Associate

As Development Associate for the Afterschool Alliance, Frank works to cultivate, develop and manage the organization’s partnerships.   By researching and interacting with potential partners at the local, state, and federal levels, Frank helps to build the Alliance’s capacity to advocate on behalf of afterschool programs and the children they serve.  Prior to joining the Alliance in June 2009, Frank spent a year teaching basic English skills to high school students in Rach Gia, Vietnam on a Princeton-in-Asia Fellowship.  He is a graduate of Swarthmore College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Political Science and History.  

Erik Peterson , Policy Director

Erik joined the Afterschool Alliance in July 2009 as Policy Director. In this position he coordinates and advances the Afterschool Alliance’s policy efforts at the federal level by helping develop policy goals and implementing strategies that advance afterschool programs for all.  Erik works to build and strengthen relationships with policy makers and allied organizations to increase public support and funding for afterschool programs. Prior to coming to the Afterschool Alliance Erik served as Director of Public Awareness in the Government Affairs Center of the School Nutrition Association (SNA) for almost nine years overseeing the spokesperson network, handling media relations, conducting award-winning awareness campaigns, managing the Political Action Committee and mobilizing members at the grassroots level to help achieve federal and state policy goals. Prior to working for SNA, he organized community gardens, nutrition classes and farmers markets in Central Texas as both a VISTA and staff for the Sustainable Food Center. Erik has authored manuals on starting community gardens and school community kitchens, in addition to writing several articles for School Nutrition magazine. He originally hails from Texas and received his Masters in Public Affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas, as well as a Bachelor degree from Georgetown University.   

Chris D'Agostino , Research Associate

Before joining the Afterschool Alliance full time in July 2009, Chris worked for a year as the organization’s Policy and Research Intern. Now, as Research Associate, Chris works with the Policy and Research Director to coordinate annual research activities, design surveys on pressing afterschool issues and represent the Afterschool Alliance at coalition meetings, events and briefings. Through this effort, Chris aids in building connections with policymakers and the public by communicating research findings that detail the need for and great successes of afterschool programs. Chris graduated with high honors from George Washington University in May 2009 with a BA in Political Science. He currently resides in the Cleveland Park area of Washington, DC and is eager to continue the fight to ensure that all children have access to a safe and educational environment during the afterschool hours.

Susan Rohwer, Communications Assistant

Susan joined the Afterschool Alliance in October of 2007.  As the Communications Assistant for the Afterschool Alliance, Susan assists in the development, editing and proofreading of publications, web pages and other communications.  Susan manages and develops content for the Aftershool Alliance blog and launched and maintains the Afterschool Alliance's Web 2.0 presence.  She also makes sure that the organization’s communications materials are consistent in look and format.      

Susan came to the Afterschool Alliance after serving as a court advocate for two Brooklyn-based fatherhood pilot programs.  In addition to preparing her clients for family court proceedings, she facilitated and created workshops on family law, conducted outreach and supported staff in building the program.  Susan is from Boston , where she worked for Massachusetts Child Support Enforcement and was active in community organizing around issues of affordable housing, as well as women’s rights.  Susan received her B.A. in literature with a focus on post-colonial literature from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Anita Krishnamurthi, Director of STEM Policy

Anita Krishnamurthi joined the Afterschool Alliance in June 2010 as Director of STEM Policy after serving as the John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow for the American Astronomical Society.  As STEM Policy Director, Anita is responsible for creating and advancing federal, state, and local opportunities and policies to expand resources and activities that provide students with access to a rich STEM curriculum in their afterschool programs.  Anita brings nearly a decade of experience in science education and outreach to a wide variety of audiences to this role.  Prior to her fellowship, she worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for six years, firstly as an Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Program Planning Specialist at NASA-HQ, and then as Lead for EPO in the Astrophysics Science Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.  Before joining NASA, Anita was a Program Officer at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. in the Office on Public Understanding of Science.  Anita's formal training is as an astrophysicist, receiving her PhD from The Ohio State University.  She conducted her postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado at Boulder.