Jodi Grant, Executive Director
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.
As Executive Director, Jodi oversees all aspects of the Afterschool Alliance’s work, setting its goals and strategies for reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and overseeing a team of top researchers who are developing a roadmap for achieving afterschool for all children. In just three years, she has enlisted powerful new partners including The Atlantic Philanthropies, Bright House Networks, T-Mobile and the MetLife Foundation.
Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance, Jodi served as Director of Work and Family Programs for the National Partnership for Women & Families. In that position, she worked to protect and to 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.
Jodi 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 on the Board of the Partners for Livable Communities and as a Trustee of America’s Promise. Jodi, her husband and two children live in Bethesda, Maryland.
Erika Argersinger, Policy Director
Erika Argersinger works with senior leadership to develop policy goals and to implement a policy plan that helps advance afterschool for all. She works to communicate the impact of policy on afterschool program providers, children and families and to make recommendations for future policy decisions. Erika has been an advocate for children and families for over 10 years. She has advocated on behalf of immigrant and homeless populations, Head Start children and families, in addition to her focus on child care, afterschool and other family issues. Prior to joining the Afterschool Alliance, she worked as the Associate Director of Government Affairs at the National Head Start Association where she worked with Hill staff on Head Start reauthorization and appropriations and coordinated advocacy activities with state associations and other coalitions. She has worked on and managed political campaigns at the city and state level. Before coming to
Washington D.C., Erika held public policy positions in both Utah and Massachusetts. She holds a Masters degree in public policy and child development from Tufts University in Massachusetts, and is an Emerging Leaders Fellow with the Children's Defense Fund.
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, Project Manager, Afterschool for All
Marie Coichy is Project Manager of Afterschool for All, an effort launched by the Afterschool Alliance to bring together diverse and unexpected voices in support of the goal of afterschool for all. The Afterschool Alliance is a national non-profit organization working to raise awareness about the urgent need for more afterschool programs. Marie's role at the Afterschool Alliance is developing strategies that will help Afterschool for All partners to leverage the support of a broad range of afterschool supporters to deliver a united and powerful message about the importance of afterschool programs, and to help build the case for expanding afterschool resources.
A passionate advocate for afterschool programs, 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.
Alice J. Gallin-Dwyer, Vice President, Partnerships
As Vice President of Partnerships for the Afterschool Alliance, Alice J. Gallin-Dwyer develops, manages and evaluates the organization's partnerships, as well as its revenue goals and progress. Alice brings over seventeen 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. Ursula also oversees public awareness initiatives such as the national Lights On Afterschool event and Afterschool for All, a campaign that unites a broad and diverse set of afterschool supporters. Previously, Ursula spent five years at the communications and advocacy firm of FowlerHoffman, where she worked on business development and campaigns ranging from youth violence prevention to telecommunications. She also edited a trade journal in Washington, D.C. and taught English in a Moscow public school. Ursula has a B.A. in Political Science and English from Duke University.
Megan Iversen, Policy and Research Associate
Megan joined the Afterschool Alliance team in the fall of 2008 as the Policy and Research Associate. As the organization continues to develop expert research, Megan helps to ensure that the stakeholders in youth policy will increasingly recognize the value of afterschool programming. She moved to D.C. just over two years ago to obtain her Masters in Public Policy from the George Washington University. Megan has interned with Senator Kennedy’s HELP committee as well as with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She comes most recently from the Girl Scouts of the USA, where she worked closely with the public policy and advocacy team. Megan is originally from California where she got her Bachelors in Politics from UC Santa Cruz and spent several years working in the wine industry.
Lorena Lopez, Director, Finance and 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 Washington D.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.
Barbara Seymour, Development Associate
Barbara works directly with the Vice President of Partnerships to assist in the management and coordination for all the Afterschool Alliance fundraising efforts; the creation of fundraising strategies to increase the organization’s support from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other sources; and the expansion and enhancement of the fundraising and strategic goal of the organization. Barbara joined the Afterschool Alliance in February of 2007. She previously served as a Municipal Development Volunteer for Peace Corps Honduras where she worked closely with local government, tourism boards and coffee cooperatives. She came to the Afterschool Alliance after a brief stint with Persevere Disaster Relief, a nonprofit working to re-build post Katrina. She graduated with honors from Connecticut College with a B.A. in Government. Barbara has worked and volunteered for many organizations whose missions are closely related to afterschool.
Susan Rohwer, Communications Assistant
As the Communications Assistant for the Afterschool Alliance, Susan assists in the development, editing and proofreading of publications, web pages and other communications. She makes sure that the organization’s 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.
