Staff

Keino Fitzpatrick, Community Organizer
Keino brings over 15 years experience in working with youth and the community in various capacities and with various nonprofit agencies in the City.  Most recently Keino worked at Kingsley Association as the Health and Wellness Program Manager after spending time with Operation Better Block, Pressley Ridge, Youth Places and others. 

He is a graduate of Westinghouse High School, the husband of a seasoned Educator and a father to one daughter and two sons.  He is also an active youth football coach, including coaching the Pittsburgh Allderdice football team this past season. 

Keino's primary responsibilities at A+ Schools will be building, managing and mobilizing youth and adult networks to improve public education in Pittsburgh through volunteer work, advocacy and educational opportunities.

DaVonna L. Graham, Youth and Community Organizer
Prior to joining the A+ team, DaVonna worked as a Behavioral Health Case Manager for young adults with mental and behavioral disabilities at The Bradley Center Residential Treatment Facility.  Through this and other agencies such as the Indiana Community Guidance Center, DaVonna has gained a wealth of knowledge and understanding of child development while working with students with emotional, learning and behavioral needs. As a tutor and mentor with The Center that C.A.R.E.S. community outreach organization since its inception in 2000, she has developed a tremendous amount of experience in youth engagement and programming. 

DaVonna holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Business Administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania as well as Master’s of Business Administration from Point Park University.   Valuing community involvement and giving back, DaVonna serves as an Urban League Young Professional, City of Pittsburgh Propel Commission Member, board member for AJAPO (Acculturation for Justice and Peace Outreach) and a Coro Center for Civic Leadership alumni.  

DaVonna’s primary responsibility is building, managing and mobilizing youth networks for great public schools in Pittsburgh.

Carey Harris, Executive Director
Carey has been with A+ Schools since its inception serving as co-director, then deputy director before being appointed Executive Director in May 2007. Prior to joining A+ Schools in October of 2003, Carey was the Executive Director of South Side Local Development Company – a nationally recognized community development organization that develops residential and commercial real estate, develops and manages community plans, and engages in a variety of programs to build and support human and physical  development in South Pittsburgh.  Before joining the South Side LDC, Harris worked at the Mon Valley Initiative – a coalition of community development organizations- as a community organizer and lead organizer. Carey is a graduate of Temple University and holds a Master of Social Work and a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.  She is a Certified Economic Development Professional and a graduate of EPLC’s Education and Policy Fellowship.  Carey serves on the Board of the Birmingham Foundation and is a Trustee of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School.  Carey resides on the South Side with her husband John Werling and their three young children Audrey, Lilly, and Jamie.

Rebekah Jenkins, Manager of Operations
Rebekah Jenkins has been on staff at A+ Schools since June 2004 when she was hired to work as a graduate intern, assisting with the creation and compilation of the Pittsburgh Afterschool website. Soon afterward she was hired as the Program Associate to assist with a number of initiatives and ongoing projects. Rebekah holds a Masters of Science in Public Policy & Management from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University where she was a Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Fellow. She also has a Bachelors of Arts in Marketing & Communications from Chatham College and an Associate of Arts in Biblical Studies from Word of Faith Bible Institute. She is a graduate of the Fellows Program in Public Affairs with the Coro Center for Civic Leadership and has served time as a VISTA volunteer with AmeriCorps. Rebekah is an active member of the Church of God and Saints of Christ and serves as Dean of Academics for their recently accredited Word of Faith Bible Institute. She resides in Beechview with her husband Peter and their little ones, Lauren and Reuben.

Pamela Little-Poole, Family and Community Organizer
Pamela Little-Poole is the Family and Community Organizer. She supports the work of A+ Schools by engaging and organizing parents in low-income neighborhoods to improve Pittsburgh Public Schools. She provides support by helping to build strategic alliances, implement community campaigns, and offer technical assistance through trainings and resource sharing. Prior to joining A+ Schools, she spent five years as the Director of Parent Education for Beginning with Books, Center for Early Literacy in Pittsburgh. Ms. Little-Poole is the parent of three Pittsburgh Public School students, and is a North Side resident.

Mayada Mansour, Program Director
Led by the view that it is a moral imperative for a quality education and the opportunities it affords to be equally accessible to all people, Mayada’s career path has happily brought her to A+ Schools, where her role is to manage and implement projects that empower communities to take action on improving the educational system in Pittsburgh Public Schools. To the organization, Mayada brings a B.S. in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she also studied abroad in Brazil and Denmark. Professionally, she brings 3 years of experience as an Education Coordinator for Mission Discovery, a Carnegie Museum-based after school program and summer camp at the Hill House Association and the knowledge and skills she grew through a year as a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. Mayada currently serves as a trainer for Coro participants and as an adjunct trainer for the Pittsburgh Emerging Leadership Academy (PELA). Originally from New Castle, PA, Mayada currently lives in Bloomfield and has faith that through the work of the entire community, Pittsburgh Public Schools can be one of the best districts in the nation.

Mollie Pollack, Public Ally
Mollie Pollack is working with A+ Schools during her time as a member of Public Allies Pittsburgh’s Class of 2011-2012. At A+ Schools Mollie is working on volunteer recruitment and engagement as well as working to increase community awareness. Mollie attended Taylor Allderdice High school and is a recent graduate of Rollins College where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a minor in Women’s Studies. She is thrilled to be working with A+ Schools this year especially because education is one of her passions. Mollie lives in Regent Square.

Amy Scott, Data Analyst
Amy began working with A+ Schools in 2009 while attending Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. After graduating with a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management in 2010, she joined A+ Schools full-time, where she conducts data and policy analysis for A+ Schools’ programs. She hopes to help families, students and the community use research-based data to improve Pittsburgh Public Schools. Amy developed a deep passion for creating equitable educational and leadership opportunities for youth through her work in San Francisco’s public schools, where she instructed K-12 students, directed a nonprofit uniting diverse young adults to empower students as community leaders, and coordinated the service learning program for June Jordan School for Equity, San Francisco's first small school by design. After working directly with schools for five years, Amy decided to expand her ability to make systems-wide change, so she moved to Pittsburgh to complete a Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and graduate school. Amy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and Psychology from Northwestern University. She lives in Lawrenceville.

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A+ Schools | Pittsburgh's Community Alliance for Public Education
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