Our Team

Director

Lindsey T. Allard Agnamba

Lindsey T. Allard Agnamba is the Founder and Director of School Readiness Consulting. She holds a B.S. in Human Development and Early Childhood Education from Wheelock College, an M.Ed. in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Allard Agnamba has consulted with national, state and local organizations, publishers, non-profits and government agencies. Her portfolio includes work in education policy, design and delivery of professional development and instructional coaching programs, and evaluation of education initiatives. The success of School Readiness Consulting stems from Ms. Allard Agnamba's knowledge of the early care and education lanscape and reform efforts, ability to generate solutions that expand clients' skills and knowledge, and her relationships with stakeholders within the local and national early care and education community.

Senior Partner

Miriam Calderon

Miriam Calderon is a Senior Partner at School Readiness Consulting. She holds a BA in Sociology with a Social Welfare concentration from the University of Delaware and a Masters in Social Work from Portland State University.  Most recently, she served as a political appointee in the Obama Administration advising on early learning policy at the Domestic Policy Council at the White House and at the Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to joining the Administration, Ms. Calderon served as the Director of Early Childhood Education at DCPS, where she oversaw Head Start and pre-kindergarten programs serving nearly 5,500 children in 84 elementary schools throughout the city. She worked as the Associate Director of Education Policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization where she focused specifically on early education policy for Hispanic and dual language learner children. She began her career in early education working as a mental health consultant in Head Start programs in Portland, Oregon. She has published several reports on early childhood education and her work is cited in both the English and Spanish media. 

Project Director

Elisa Rosman

Elisa Rosman is Project Director for Infants, Toddlers and Families at School Readiness Consulting. She works as a consultant for non-profits and research organizations.  Most recently she worked on research and publications at the National Council for Adoption. Elisa's research interests include children at risk and their families and the policies that affect them. She has conducted projects ranging from a study of low-income women who have children with disabilities to a review of best practices on the part of pediatric primary care providers. Elisa holds a Ph.D. in Community Psychology, with a focus on Developmental Psychology, from NYU and a B.A. from Yale University. Organizations that she has worked for include Docs for Tots, the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, the National Research Council, and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. 

Project Advisors

Jaimie H. Caleb

Jaimie H. Caleb  is Project Advisor for Systems and Facilitation at School Readiness Consulting. She earned a B.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Humanities and Science and an M.S. in Organizational Development from American University’s School of Public Affairs. Mrs. Caleb has worked for and consulted within government, nonprofit and higher education settings and was previously employed by the District of Columbia’s Department of Health Community Health Administration where she assisted the agency in securing approximately $1.3 million in federal funding to provide services to women, infants and children. Her experience, skills and expertise range from process facilitation, grant development, project management, team development and strategic planning.

Kate Anderson Simons

Kate Anderson Simons is Project Advisor for Evaluation and Assessment at School Readiness Consulting. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine University and a Masters in Public Policy (M.P.P.) from Georgetown University. Ms. Simons has consulted on domestic and international education projects for the Brookings Institution, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Child Trends, Inc., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and a number of local organizations. She brings highly developed skills in project management, evaluation, and quantitative analysis to the School Readiness Consulting team. Ms. Simons’ interests focus on vulnerable children both in the U.S. and internationally who are affected by poverty, armed conflict, and inequitable learning environments.

Marissa Castro Mikoy

Marissa Castro Mikoy is a Project Advisor for Charter School Development at School Readiness Consulting.  Marissa is a graduate of St. Edwards University in Austin, TX where she earned a degree in Business Administration and Management and holds a Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.   Marissa has over 13 years of professional experience in the education and non-profit sector.  Marissa’s work experiences include directing and leading early childhood programs with several grassroots nonprofits as well as with the charter school authorizer, the DC Public Charter School Board. Marissa has worked on early childhood policy issues at the local and national level and is passionate about increasing the level of quality of early childhood programming in under resourced communities. Marissa is bilingual (Spanish and English) and is committed to the education reform movement, specifically from the early childhood perspective.

Project Managers

Kimberly Pearson Cooke

Kimberly Pearson Cooke is a Project Manager at School Readiness Consulting. Kimberly holds a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education English from the University of St. Thomas, and a master's in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to working at School Readiness Consulting, Ms. Cooke was a preschool teacher at DC Prep in Washington DC. She served as the DC Director of Talent and Operations at Teach For America, trained at the Reading Institute at Teachers College, researched federal policy projects at ZERO TO THREE, and performed teacher selection and training for TFA and The New Teacher Project.  She has served as a grant reviewer for the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and for the U.S. Department of Education.  Cooke is licensed to teach English in grades 6-12, and is currently earning her Pk-3 endorsement.  She is especially interested in early childhood education, teacher quality, and urban education. Kimberly brings skill and experience in project management, teaching and evaluation to the School Readiness Consulting team.

Dori Mornan

Dori Mornan is a Project Manager at School Readiness Consulting. She holds a Masters Degree in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from the State University of New York at Albany and a B.A. degree from the same institution.  Mrs. Mornan has a broad range of policy expertise in the field of early childhood most specifically related to workforce issues. Most recently, Mrs. Mornan has worked for the American Federation of Teachers and the Center for the Child Care Workforce where she developed, coordinated and implemented the organizations early childhood programmatic activities including those related to public policy and research.  Mrs. Mornan is especially knowledgeable in developing and advocating for federal legislative policies and tracking research and implementation activity on the state and local levels.  She has worked as a Policy Associate for a nonprofit organization and as a Legislative Assistant for a Congressman on Capitol Hill.  

Katherine Fleer Rowell

Katherine Fleer Rowell is a Project Manager at School Readiness Consulting. She earned B.A. degrees in Psychology and Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with a concentration in children and adolescents at risk for problems in school. Ms. Rowell has six years of experience working as a director for child care programs--one serving women in transition and their children, the other serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Most recently, her focus has been on various aspects of literacy and language development among preschoolers and school-age children.

Susan Werner

Susan Werner is a Project Manager at School Readiness Consulting. Susan holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Cornell University, and a master’s in Education from The University of Auckland, New Zealand. Prior to joining School Readiness Consulting, Susan Werner worked on international programs and the development of new products and materials for Teaching Strategies.   Susan previously lived in Auckland, New Zealand where she managed the nationwide Literacy Professional Development project and then lectured in Early Childhood Teacher Education.  As a lecturer, Susan taught Bachelor’s courses on curriculum approaches, assessment and evaluation, reflective writing, and action research. Susan also coached and mentored new and experienced early childhood teachers in classroom settings as they worked to improve their teaching practice. Susan previously served as the Manager of the CDA Specialist Program and as an Early Childhood Specialist for the Council for Professional Recognition where she worked on the development of the new CDA 2.0 process, trained CDA Representatives and Advisors and worked with CDA Candidates.   Susan is passionate about early childhood education and early childhood teacher education.  

Project Coordinators

Sherylls Kahn

Sherylls Kahn is a Project Coordinator and Data Coordinator at School Readiness Consulting. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Pomona College and a M.S. in Couple and Family Therapy from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Family Science at the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park. Sherylls’ main research interests include family mental health and well-being, as well as issues affecting Latino and immigrant families. She previously worked as a senior research assistant at Child Trends, a non-profit research organization focused on issues affecting children and their families.  

Natasha Stovall

Natasha Stovall is a Project Coordinator and Lead Data Collector at School Readiness Consulting.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies- Elementary Education concentration and a Masters of Science in Education, Pk-6 from Old Dominion University.  She currently holds a Post-Graduate Professional License in Elementary Education, Pk-6 from the state of Virginia and has six years of experience in urban education working as a teacher and as a field coordinator.  Recently, Ms. Stovall has worked closely with families, educators, community based organizations and childcare facilities educating them on the importance of early intervention, developmental milestones and the special education process.  Ms. Stovall’s interests include early childhood education best practices, early literacy development, social-emotional skills, cognitive sciences and family engagement.

Julia Wessel

Julia Wessel  is a Project Coordinator at School Readiness Consulting. She earned her B.A. in psychology from Kenyon College and is currently pursuing her MSW at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to pursuing her degree, Ms. Wessel worked for three years at Child Trends, a non-profit, non-partisan research center, as a senior research assistant in the Early Childhood Education and Development area. Her interests include early childhood mental health, education, and homelessness.

Professional Learning Consultants

Deitra Nealy-Shane

Deitra Nealy-Shane is a Professional Learning Consultant for School Readiness Consulting. Ms. Nealy-Shane is a full time consultant specializing in early childhood professional development and organizational development. She received her M.S. in Early Childhood Curriculum Development from Emporia State University and her M.P.A. in Non-Profit Management from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Ms. Nealy-Shane has served as a teacher, assistant director,  Head Start education coordinator, Head Start Fellow, Region III Head Start technical assistance specialist and director of professional development at Teaching Strategies, Inc. . In these capacities, she developed and directed early childhood professional development & educational services implementation plans,  managed a quality improvement system for a Head Start/Child Care partnership and monitored compliance of Head Start Performance Standards. Deitra also taught a range of early childhood coursework as adjunct faculty at Penn Valley Community College.

Terri Cofer

Terri Cofer is a Professional Learning Consultant for School Readiness Consulting. She holds a B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from Towson University and a M. Ed. in Reading Education from Bowie University.  She is a full-time consultant specializing in early childhood professional development and coaching.  She has worked for public, private, and charter schools as a teacher, Reading Specialist, Math Content Coach, Literacy and Early Childhood Coach, and Deputy Director of Curriculum.  Her personal goal is to provide the coaching and training necessary to increase student achievement by building teacher capacity and understanding of instructional practices.

Michelle Marbury

Michelle Marbury is a Professioanl Learning Consultant and a Master CDA Instructor at School Readiness Consulting. Ms. Marbury has trained over a thousand early childhood providers in successfully achieving the CDA credential, and has also served as their advisor during the CDA renewal process. Currently, Marbury works for the Council for Professional Recognition as a CDA Bilingual Representative and a Member of the CDA Advisory Panel. She has been the Director of Northwood Presbyterian Child Care Center for over 13 years serving children ages 2-12.  Marbury is currently a Bilingual International Trainer for Teaching Strategies, providing e-CDA for teachers in South Africa as well as training on the Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers and Twos, and the Creative Curriculum for Preschool and Gold assessment system. Ms. Marbury brings over fifteen years of experience training early childhood providers in the DC Metropolitan area in a bilingual setting and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Data Collectors/Project Associates

Our data coordinator is Sherylls Valladares Kahn. Our data coordinator ensures that our larger team of data collectors are prepared and supported while in the field.

Our experienced team of data collectors/project associates includes: Lauren Alicandri, Granada Butler, Tayanna Casseus, Geri Fernandez, T. Rafiah Jones, Sarah Ozment, Natasha Stovall, and Eileen Twohy.

Our CDA Field Advisors assist CDA candidates in all areas of completing the CDA credential. Our advisors are T. Rafiah Jones and Geri Fernandez.

Account Controller

Elaine Davis

Elaine Davis is an Accounting Controller at School Readiness Consulting. She earned a B.S. in Accounting from Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS and went on to become a Certified Public Accountant in 1996.  Elaine brings more than 20 years experience to the team.  She has consulted with and managed various accounting departments at such companies as Coca- Cola, Lucent Technologies, Hewlett Packard, St. John’s Community Services, and Millennium Services 2000+.  The bulk of her career has been working with non-profit and government contracting companies.  More recently, Elaine started a fitness and wellness business with her sister in the DC Metropolitan area and works with clients from school age to seniors to educate and motivate them to live healthy lives.  

Executive Assistant

Grace Farmer

Grace Farmer is an Executive Assistant at School Readiness Consuting. Bio coming soon...