The America Achieves TeamOur team is dedicated to ensuring that all America’s youth – regardless of background – are ready to lead and succeed in a changing world. Read on for background on each individual as well as the team or initiative they support.

Jay Altman

Jay Altman is a senior advisor to America Achieves and a senior advisor at Greenhouse E3, a fellowship program for charter network executives.

John Blackmar

John Blackmar focuses on operations and technology integration at America Achieves.

Kim Cassel

Kim Cassel is a leader in the advancement of evidence-based policymaking.

Monica Chellam

Monica Chellam started her career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department before spending the last decade as an operator in venture-backed technology companies building high-value customer and employee programs.

Ming Cheuk

Ming Cheuk is the Senior Accounting Manager at America Achieves.

Victoria Van Cleef

Victoria Van Cleef is an experienced education management consultant and former Executive Vice President at TNTP, a nonprofit that fights educational inequality.

Frank DiGiammarino

Frank P. DiGiammarino III, Founder and CEO of NOW Matters, LLC, has a career leading strategic business innovation and digital transformation.

Molly Dillon

Molly Dillon is a Senior Policy Advisor at America Achieves. In this role, she is focused on expanding an inclusive, good jobs economy, with opportunities for training, building careers, and economic mobility for people from all backgrounds.

Sarah Duska

Sarah Duska leads learning, research, and evaluation at America Achieves.

Michelle Einstein

Michelle Einstein’s work focuses on the intersection of strategy, research, and communications – with an overarching goal to advance equity.

Leyla Farah

Leyla Farah has focused on the intersection of technology, innovation and storytelling for the better part of 20 years and is currently the Managing Partner of Narrative Arc, a narrative strategy firm that focuses on the Nonprofit and Social Impact sector.

Robert Fisher

Robert Fisher is a multi-sector leader with over a decade of experience in the cradle-to-career, economic mobility sector.

Kate Forester

Kate Forester is an accomplished financial and operational leader with over twenty years of experience in non-profit and start-up organizations.

Cyrus Garrett

Cyrus Garrett, Senior Advisor, has a national security and domestic policy background. His expertise is in the areas of workforce development, risk management, educational attainment, and equity and justice policy.

Alicia Gorham

Alicia Gorham recently joined the America Achieves team as a Program Manager, jumping in to assist with the launch of the Education to Employment Initiative.

Johana Muriel Grajales

Johana comes to America Achieves from the Boston Consulting Group.

Francesca Ioffreda

Francesca is an experienced economic development professional who has worked across sectors to lead large-scale economic growth, innovation, and workforce efforts.

Jorge Jimenez

Jorge Jimenez is an urban policy professional specializing in economic development, small business procurement, stakeholder and community engagement, and the built environment.

Allison Jones

Allison Jones is a Senior Director at America Achieves and leads America Achieves policy work and supports the Program Team.

Kristy King-Pritzl

Kristy King-Pritzl is the Special Assistant to the CEO at America Achieves. In this role, she is focused on managing the schedule and priorities of the CEO and serving as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders.

Jason Kloth

Jason Kloth is the Chief Executive Officer of Golden Mean Advisors LLC, a firm that provides comprehensive consulting services and expertise spanning K-12 education, post-secondary education, workforce development, and economic growth.

Seth Kolker

Seth Kolker leads external relations at America Achieves, managing communications, advocacy, and funder engagement.

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins

Born and raised in Sitka, Alaska, Jonathan served in the Alaska Legislature from 2013-2023, representing his home region of rural Southeast Alaska.

Joanna Mikulski

Joanna is a former White House advisor and executive with over 15 years of strategic leadership experience at the intersection of government, business, and philanthropy.

Connor O’Brien

Connor O’Brien is a regional lead for America Achieves' Good Jobs Economy initiative, providing strategic guidance and support to regions to drive inclusive economic growth.

Leila Pedersen

Leila Pedersen founded Triangle Solutions Consulting to support public and social sector clients in achieving meaningful results and sustainable impact.

Jim Peyser

Jim Peyser served as Massachusetts Secretary of Education under Governor Charlie Baker from 2015-2022, responsible for overseeing pre-school through post-secondary and adult education.  He also served as a member of the Workforce Skills Cabinet.

Joy Polefrone

Joy Polefrone brings more than two decades of business leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship, and organizational strategy experience to her work as a Senior Advisor with America Achieves.

Scott Resnick

Scott Resnick is a leader in the Wisconsin startup ecosystem. He is a serial entrepreneur, leading his first startup to nearly nine-figures in revenue.

Jon Schnur

CEO

Jon Schnur is the Chief Executive Officer of America Achieves — a national nonprofit organization that partners with local communities to create Good Jobs Economies across the country. For more than a decade, America Achieves has incubated effective and promising initiatives in education, workforce, and economic development, launched new nonprofit organizations, advanced federal and state policy priorities, and partnered with local leaders focused on making their communities better places to live, learn, work, and raise a family.  Jon also serves as lead outside advisor on education to Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Jacques Steinberg

Jacques Steinberg is a New York Times best-selling author and longtime, award-winning Times journalist who has more recently served as a senior leader, strategist, advisor, and board member for national nonprofit organizations.

Andrew Trueblood

Andrew is a senior advisor for economic development at America Achieves, whose firm Trueblood.city specializes in housing, economic development, and place-based policy.

Kathleen Warner

Kathleen Warner serves as a Senior Advisor to America Achieves, providing strategic guidance and support to regional coalitions across the country focused on inclusive, transformative economic growth.

Cali Williams

Cali Williams has served as an advisor on place-based projects to America Achieves since 2021.