Haley Creed
She/Her/Hers
Haley Creed is a Coach of Leadership and Learning on the Greater Delta regional team. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College and joined the Teach for America Massachusetts corps in 2011. During her corps commitment she taught second grade special education in the Lawrence Public School System in Lawrence, MA and earned her M.Ed. in teaching and curriculum from Boston University. She remained in her placement district for two more years teaching third grade special education.For her fifth and final year in the classroom, Haley taught at Little Rock Preparatory Academy in Little Rock, AR. In the summer of 2016 she joined the Delta Institute staff as a CMA and then joined the Greater Delta Staff in August as a Coach. Haley currently lives in Horn Lake, MS with her husband and their two rescue dogs.

Washington Navarrete 
He/Him/His
Washington serves as the Education Leadership Program Manager for UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization. In this role, he leads the National Institute for Latino School Leaders (NILSL) that supports educators and administrators in developing and advocating for policy solutions that advance education equity and outcomes for Latinx students and their families. Previously, he served as the Manager of Alumni Communications and Engagement for Teach For America Greater Delta, where he worked with a network of 500+ alumni across Arkansas & Mississippi to expand opportunity for children and families. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, he attended San Diego State University where he got his degree in Criminal Justice and Chicanx Studies. He is a member of the GLSEN’s National Education Advisory Committee and Teach For America’s National PRISM Board. In 2018, Washington was named one of Little Rock’s 20 over 20 for nonprofit professionals.

Turner Cooper
He/Him/His

Turner Cooper was born in Los Angeles, California; however, at young age, his family relocated to Dallas, Texas. He is a 2011 graduate of Morehouse College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and completed some graduate work with John Hopkins University. Turner began his formal teaching career in Philadelphia in 2012. In 2014, Turner relocated back to Dallas and has been actively teaching and communing since. Over the last 7 years, he has done work with City Year: Chicago, Uncommon Schools and Achievement First, and Breakthrough Collaborative, and KIPP DFW. Turner’s education philosophy is rooted in being emotionally responsive – ‘our children have to see our feelings and we have to be healthy enough to articulate them.’ Alongside that adage, Turner believes in having a level of joy and curiosity that is unmatched and contagious. So contagious, that our children begin to expect that level of investment from all teachers. Turner's extracurricular activities include: running, traveling, photography, food, and laughter. Turner is a source of positive energy, creativity, effervescence, and whirlwind of fun! Turner lives by the quote from Frederick Douglass, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

Tim'm West
He/Him/His

Tim'm West is a pioneering author, poet, educator, and Hip Hop artist who can be best described as a Renaissance man, leveraging a broad and diverse set of skills and interests to advocate for marginalized communities. Since 2014, he has served as Senior Managing Director for Teach For America's LGBTQ+ Community Initiative, which advances safer and more supportive classrooms for students and their educators. Since returning to his hometown of Cincinnati in 2017, Tim'm has served his community as a CPS Strategic Planning and Engagement Committee member, a Wordplay Board member, and member of the Chase Elementary LSDMC, among other points of engagement. Tim’m taught at both secondary and post-secondary institutions, including Oakland School for the Arts, Cesar Chavez in Washington, DC, Humboldt State University, and Houston Community College. Prior to TFA Tim’m served as Director of Youth Services at Center on Halsted, Chicago’s LGBTQ center and the largest in the Midwest. A graduate of Duke, The New School, and Stanford universities, In 2018 Tim'm released his definitive music anthology, Prodigal Son, which captures 20 years of Hip Hop soul music across 6 solo projects.

Jared Henderson
He/Him/His
After attending Arkansas public schools his entire childhood, Jared Henderson graduated from the University of Arkansas, summa cum laude, with bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Physics. He later attended Harvard Business School where he earned a MBA and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government where he earned a master’s degree in public administration. In 2001 and 2002, Jared worked for NASA as an operations manager. After NASA, he joined the world’s top business strategy firm, McKinsey & Company where he advised a state superintendent of education, and mayors of two of America’s largest cities during the Great Recession. For the last decade, Jared’s career has focused on public education. As an executive director and senior vice president of a national non-profit, Jared had responsibility for more than 1,500 teachers and 150 employees across eight states. He is a former board member for AR Kids Read and a current board member for Pulaski County Imagination Library.  In 2018, Jared was the Democratic Party’s nominee for Governor of Arkansas. Over the last three years, Jared has assumed his most important and fulfilling jobs of his life as husband to Dr. Melanie Prince and father to a son, Duke. 

Kat Ling
She/Her/Hers/They/Them/Theirs
Kat is a queer, Asian American, genderqueer woman. Originally from Connecticut, she attended Cornell University where she majored in English and Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies. She joined Teach For America in 2011, through which she taught 4th grade in Hazlehurst, MS before joining Teach For America-Arkansas staff. She served as Manager, Teacher Leadership Development, coaching 50+ educators in southeast Arkansas, and as Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness, when she designed and facilitated trainings on cultural responsiveness and multicultural leadership for 100+ educators and a 15-person staff. She currently serves as Managing Director, Alumni & Lifelong Leadership Development for the Teach for America-Greater Delta: Mississippi & Arkansas region, where she leads a team responsible for supporting a cross-state 500+ alumni network. She serves as the Board Chair of GLSEN Arkansas, having been a founding board member in 2013, a member of GLSEN’s National Advisory Council and a founding member of GLSEN’s Race & Privilege Committee. She is currently pursuing a Master’s of Public Service through the University Of Arkansas - Clinton School Of Public Service. She lives in Little Rock, where she serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for Pulaski County, enjoys gardening, and volunteers for political campaigns.

Rachel Cole
She/Her/Hers
Rachel is proud to be in her second year as a board member with GLSEN-Arkansas. She is a former first-grade teacher; her professional career also includes work with several teacher preparation organizations in the ongoing support and development of novice teachers. Rachel is a graduate of Smith College. She is currently a candidate for a Master of Public Service degree from the Clinton School of Public Service. Rachel and David, her husband, have a 6 month-old daughter, Adrienne, and two chihuahuas, Valentine and Chickpea.

Kirby Richardson
(He/Him/His)
Kirby Richardson is a Master of Public Service candidate at the Clinton School of Public Service and the current Policy Coordinator for GLSEN Arkansas. In addition to GLSEN, Kirby also devotes a great deal of his time developing direct service projects for students at the Clinton School and volunteering with numerous organizations around central Arkansas. After graduation, Kirby will be traveling to Myanmar with Winrock International to continue work on a project that he began in Summer 2018 to build farmer coalitions to strengthen market access for smallholder farmers. Kirby’s public service interests are primarily LGBTQ equity, comprehensive health and sexuality education reform, combatting employment and housing discrimination, and HIV/AIDS relief.

Hannah Whisler
She/Her/Hers
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Hannah’s introduction to Arkansas was as a high school math teacher for four years in the Delta. Here, she saw the need for organizations like GLSEN who could help students understand their experiences while also shaping their school into a more inclusive space. Working with GLSEN allows her the opportunity to support students like her own. Presently, she works training teachers on curriculum in Arkansas and across the country. Volunteering as a GLSEN Arkansas Board member gives her the additional chance to support and connect educators, students, and supporters across the state. Outside of work and GLSEN, Hannah enjoys cooking, reading, fitnessing, and walks with her dog.

Hannah McCollester
She/Her/Hers
Hannah is proud to be the newest member of GLSEN-Arkansas's board! She's a former elementary school teacher, instructional coach, and nonprofit program leader who has worked in dozens of school districts across eastern, central, and southern Arkansas. She knows that students who identify as LGBTQ+ are often at best unseen and overlooked and at worst marginalized and traumatized in our state's classrooms and schools, and she also knows that educators who have access to the resources they need can make their classrooms and schools brave spaces that allow every child to reach their full potential. She spent the past year managing a statewide political campaign and had the joy of meeting and speaking with hundreds of students, parents, and educators from every corner of Arkansas. This work deepened her conviction about the transformative power of the teaching profession as well as the importance of supporting educators who want to transform their classrooms and schools to ensure that LGBTQ+ students are able to be and bring their full selves to school every day.

Am Norgren
He/Him/His
Am lives to connect. He has facilitated trainings in educational spaces for over a decade, first as a secondary mathematics teacher in Maryland, where he organized staff professional development sessions on culturally responsive teaching. After moving to Connecticut, he channeled his energy into Gender, Projected--a project he co-founded to explore gender identity and expression through photography and dialogue. For the last six years, Am has worked as a Professional Services Advisor at Agile Mind. In this role, he facilitates professional learning for teachers and administrators around the country. Working across disciplines to help professionals develop their practice while creating spaces for people to learn through brave conversations, Am is a leading voice for equity in K-12 classrooms. He advocates for teachers and leaders to incorporate social-emotional learning concepts into their pedagogy to provide all students with access to rigorous content, especially those from the most marginalized groups. Am held a teaching position at Johns Hopkins School of Education and currently serves as a National Prism Advisory Board Member at Teach for America, where he supports LGBTQ+ advocacy efforts in Connecticut and Arizona.

Reese Ramponi, PMHNP-BC, APRN
She/Her/Hers
Reese Ramponi moved to the East Coast from Alaska in 2009, where she studied Religion and Psychology at Dartmouth College. After a brief foray as a wilderness adventure guide, Reese earned her MSN Yale School of Nursing, where she began her work with transgender and queer youth and young adults. Reese is dedicated to creating accessible, collaborative spaces where clients are given agency to make informed decisions about their health. Her most recent endeavor was facilitating a 3-day clinical training on LGB+T healthcare needs with school-based APRNs and therapists at the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern CT, where she works as a Psychiatric- Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Reese has been involved in queer advocacy for the past 10 years as a photographer, healthcare educator, and curriculum diversity representative. She currently facilitates presentations at conferences and healthcare facilities, focusing on gender identity development in youth and young adults and creating inclusive healthcare settings for LGBTQ+ people. This work was inspired by her time as a diversity representative for the curriculum council at Yale, where she focused on integrating social determinants of health into nursing curricula. She has spoken at Yale Medical School, Dartmouth College, Southern Connecticut University, University of Vermont, Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference, and Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy’s Transgender Mental Health Symposium. Outside of the office, Reese performs as a jazz singer and plays roller derby. Other interests include home-brewed kombucha, living in a tiny home, and obscure 19th century Danish philosophers.

Jesse Holzman
They/Them/Theirs
Jesse Holzman is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a member of TFA’s Prism Advisory Board. They are a queer, non-binary, non-monogamist, anti-racist, educator, and gender, sexuality, and organizational scholar. Part of their dissertation explores how LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness conceptualize inclusion and safety, as it pertains to the spaces that they occupy. They are also interested in the way in which organizations, that serve LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness, reproduce and/or interrupt gender, sexual, and racial inequalities. Currently Jesse is working on a research project that examines how non-binary individuals conceptualize their identities in a binary world. Additionally, over the past few years, Jesse has offered professional development courses to middle school and high school teachers, social workers, and staff on how to work with LGBTQ youth. During these seminars, Jesse calls attention to both the assumptions people make about gender, sex, and sexuality and the way in which these assumptions are problematic and harm students.

Michael Pelts
He/Him/His
Michael Pelts is an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He received his PhD in Social Work from the University of Missouri in Columbia and he holds a MSW from Portland State University. Michael utilizes quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore the lived experiences and understand the disparities in health and resilience experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) populations. His interdisciplinary research focuses on LGBTQ older adults and LGBTQ military members, veterans, and their families. In his applied research he utilizes the findings and the personal stories that emerge from inquiry to develop and test culturally-informed training with service providers related to serving LGBTQ populations across disciplines. Work is framed in intergroup contact theory, minority stress theory, and storytelling.

Marquisa Wince
She/Her/Hers
Marquisa Wince is a concurrent degree student currently pursuing her Master of Public Service at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and her Juris Doctorate at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Marquisa earned her B.A. in Economics & Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she focused her research on the economic impact of black male incarceration and public school privatization. From 2016-2017, Marquisa was an AmeriCorps member in Wisconsin with Public Allies, where she acted as a housing and family law advocate, working to create a just and equitable society. Marquisa has also conducted graduate-level research for the Republic of Kenya’s Probation and Aftercare Services Department and Phoenix Youth and Family Services. Marquisa’s public service interests include legal advocacy, human rights, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and advocacy for young people, communities of color, and other marginalized groups.

Sam Slavinsky
She/Her/Hers
Originally from San Diego, Sam was a part of the 2013 South Dakota corps where she lived and taught on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation at Crazy Horse School in Wanblee, South Dakota. During her corps years, Sam taught 2nd grade and was the Head Coach of the Varsity Volleyball team. Sam stayed at her placement school for a third year where she looped up with her class and taught 3rd grade. In 2016, Sam moved to Chicago, IL where she started working at Rauner College Prep, a campus of the Noble Network of Charter Schools, as the 11th Grade Math Learning Specialist. Sam is now in her 4th year at Rauner and 7th year of teaching. In addition to her role in Special Education, Sam is also the Girls’ Athletic Director, Head Volleyball Coach, and Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club Advisor. Under Sam’s advising, the GSA club hosts annual National Coming Out Day and Day of Silence events, an LGBTQIA+ inclusive sex education night, and participates in community events, such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness walk. Having the opportunity to be out in her school community has been her favorite part of teaching and continues to motivate her as an educator. While Sam never had the opportunity to have a teacher who openly identified as anything other than cisgender and/or heterosexual during her own education career, Sam’s students and GSA club members continue to show the impact of being able to have teachers and staff members who are out in the classroom and at school.

Charity Jackson

She/Her/Hers

Charity joined the Teach For America Corps in 2011 in Connecticut.  She taught Spanish at Bassick High School in Bridgeport, CT, one of the lowest-performing schools in the state.  She moved back to Birmingham in 2013 to pursue her desire to create transformational change in her hometown.  She taught Spanish at the world-renowned, historical Arthur Harold Parker High School for 6 years. At Parker, she was the advisor to the Robotics team and the Multi-Cultural and Diversity Club.  She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the illustrious Howard University and Masters of Education in English as a Second Language and Spanish from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is now a member of the TFA-AL staff and is a Manager of Program Continuum and coaches teachers in Birmingham and Hale County. Also, she is the Chair and Co-Founder to Teach For America-Bamaly (TFAB) PRISM board and the Content Specialist for World Languages. 

Kevin Tarver

He/Him/His

Kevin L. Tarver is the Director of the Prevention and Education program at Birmingham AIDS Outreach, where he facilitates preventative sexual health education. He received his BA in English from Miles College in 2010. Since 2010, Kevin works to increase diverse narratives surrounding race and sexuality, sexual and emotional health, and the Black LGBTQ+ experience. A native of Birmingham, AL, Kevin moved to Atlanta, GA in 2011 to pursue freelance writing. There, he later discovered his love for nonprofit work in public health. In 2017, he moved back to Birmingham, AL to work for Birmingham AIDS Outreach, and has since worked tirelessly to create brave spaces for outreach and expression. Kevin also serves as a community partner and member of the TFA-Bamaly PRISM Board since 2018. Kevin is a gifted writer, and you can find his work on TheBody.com, TheCounterNarrative.org, and his personal blog, BamaBoiBlues.com.

Lexia Banks

She/Her/Hers

Lexia Banks is a second-year corps member from Indiana teaching 7th and 8th grade social studies and broadcast in Selma, Alabama. She is also a second-year member of TFA-Alabama’s PRISM board and uses what she learns to educate her students, provide a safe space within her classroom, and support her fellow teachers and corps members.

Sophia Arredondo

She/Her/Hers

Sophia Arredondo serves as the Director of Education and Youth Programs for GLSEN, a national organization whose mission is to create safe and affirming schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Her role in supporting LGBTQ youth prior to coming to GLSEN includes managing a program devoted to the well-being of LGBTQ students in California’s second-largest school district. Prior to her work in K-12 schools, she managed one of the only LGBTQ drop-in centers for middle and high school youth in San Diego County. Sophia has made it her life’s work to transform the experiences of LGBTQ students across the country, and ensure they are provided the chance at academic and personal success.

Dominique Norman, LMSW

She/Her/Hers

I was born and raised near Buffalo, NY and recently relocated to Arkansas where I now serve as the Program Coordinator of Lucie's Place. I obtained my undergraduate degree at SUNY Fredonia, and my MSW at the University at Buffalo. I am currently licensed in both New York and Arkansas, and am working to obtain my LCSW. 

Meagan Kenner

She/Her/Hers

Meagan Kenner is a third-year teacher at Douglass High School and is the Reading Intervention Team Lead. Meagan received her BA in Music and German from the University of Texas at Austin and couldn’t bear to sing another aria after finishing undergrad. After living in Germany and Hawaii, she joined Teach for America and completed her corps experience in Oklahoma City. As the chair of Prism Oklahoma, she works to ensure schools are safe, accessible spaces for queer students and educators. She spends her free time watching Gilmore Girls on repeat, volunteering with Planned Parenthood and Oklahoma City Pride, and studying for the LSAT. Meagan currently lives in Oklahoma City with her partner, AC and their pets, Alabama, Claudia Jean, and Zubenelgenubi.

Izzy Jordan

She/Her/Hers

I am Isabella Jordan. Ones I consider closer to myself call me Izzy. I was born in Little Rock, AR to a family of 3 children, that shortly after grew to 9. I am a transgender woman with 9 years as my authentic self under my belt. I am a daughter, sister, and a lover.

Jesús Vasquez

He/Him/His

Jesús Vásquez (TFA Oklahoma City ‘17) is a proud educator, activist, and advocate for students, currently serving as a Kindergarten teacher in the OKC metro area. Committed to providing access to a safe and equitable educational experience, he has served varied communities as an AmeriCorps alum, including terms with the Washington State Reading Corps, Oregon Campus Compact, and the Office for Inclusive Community at Reed College. He is a founding member of Prism Oklahoma, a current board member of the TFA Collective, Oklahoma City chapter, as well as a member of the Midwest City-Del City Association of Classroom Teachers.

Isaac Freeman

He/Him/His

Isaac was a 2010 Dallas-Fort Worth Corps Member. He taught in various positions for eight years before joining TFA staff as an MTLD in Oklahoma City in 2018. During his time in the classroom, he worked to provide equity for students on a number of levels, including starting his school's first GSA, executing professional development for other teachers on how to support LGBTQ+ students, and serving on several districtwide committees and commissions that worked to improve the school in district in several ways. In his current role, he is working to facilitate the growth and success of Prism Oklahoma. He is also currently pursuing his PhD in Instructional Leadership and Curriculum, with a focus on equity and anti-bias in teacher preparation programs.

Antoine Ghosten

He/Him/His

My name is Antoine Ghosten, and I am 31 years old. I currently serve as President of Little Rock Black Pride and Executive Director of Arkansas Black Gay Men's Forum. I am originally from Milwaukee but have been in Little Rock for about 14 years. In both my work with Little Rock Black Pride and the Arkansas BGM I work to bring awareness about the issues young Black gay men face in Arkansas. I am aware of the struggles many of our youth face who are gay, lesbian, or transgender and work to provide affirmation and support. In July of this year, Little Rock Black Pride held our Arkansas' first Pride ball; which was widely successful.

Carmen Gresham

She/Her/Hers

Carmen is a 23-year-old multimedia artist that likes nature, talking with people, and scary movies. She was born and made in Little Rock, Arkansas.  She is currently in school for her bachelor’s in science of nursing. Carmen is also a young political organizer fighting for trans liberation, focusing on housing stability, healthcare, and education on socialist praxis and theory. She works full time at Arkansas’ only homeless shelter that services LGBT young adults. She has served on the Southern Chapter of GSA Network’s Trans Truth Council and is on the board of Center for Artistic Revolution and Arkansas Trans Equality Coalition.

Willow Breshars

She/Her/Hers

Willow Breshars is a young transgender high school student who does national and local community organizing work with The Transgender Law Center, GSA Network, and The Center for Artistic Revolution. She has been apart of The TRUTH (TRans yoUTH) Program for the last 3 years and has traveled nationally to create social media content and storytelling resources for young trans students and organizers. She is most passionate about racial and gender justice, giving young trans people resources to share their stories and advocate and organize for their communities, and empowering young queer and trans leaders to take initiative in their communities and schools.  

Barbara Logan Smith, Ph.D

She/Her/Hers

Dr. Barbara Logan Smith has 20 years of dedicated service to building capacity and has contributed to the development of business executives, administrative leaders, educators, college students, and K-12 children across the country. Her roots as an educator began while serving elementary students in Milwaukee Public Schools. Her tenure involved a myriad of roles, including K-8 school administrator, classroom teacher, Title I teacher, technology teacher, programs implementer, and district trainer for efficacy, quality, and proficiency programs. Dr. Logan Smith served as Vice President for the Efficacy Institute, a national non-profit agency of education reform, dedicated to the mission of proficiency for all children in academics and character. In this role, she was responsible for the strategic development of training, marketing, and client management services. During her employ with the Institute, she trained approximately 10,000 teachers, certified over 200 teacher and parent trainers, and prepared more than 3,000 students to serve change agents in their schools through the Envoy Project, an Efficacy youth leadership program. Currently, Dr. Logan Smith serves as the Executive Director of Teach for America – Mississippi, where she continues to fight for educational equity and excellence for the children of the state. Dr. Logan Smith also facilitates training seminars for rising corporate executives and diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has trained approximately 1,500 participants from Edward Jones, The Partnership of Boston, Nestle Purina, St Louis Chamber of Commerce and St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative. After earning an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and graduating cum laude with her B.S. degree in Education (K-8) and Psychology from Lakeland College, she earned her Ph.D. from the School of Education at Cardinal Stritch University in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service. She has also served as adjunct faculty, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership, management, and business for the university. She lives with her husband, Christopher, an executive coach, higher education professional, and Ph.D. Candidate, in Jackson, Mississippi.