P20 CONNECTS is a collective impact initiative to strengthen college, career, and civic readiness throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
“P20” represents the linking of all levels of education, from Pre-Kindergarten through graduate school (20), in collaborative service and civic activities to develop the skills, attitudes and understandings necessary for college, career, and civic readiness.
“CONNECTS” is an acronym that stands for Communities Organizing Networks Now to Engage Citizens Through Service.
P20 CONNECTS seeks to unite individuals and groups in higher education, K12, the corporate sector, nonprofits, and other community organizations, for positive actions to achieve common goals. These goals focus on improving educational, career, and civic engagement opportunities and equity in the region, reviewing and revising existing policies, and enhancing existing programs to better engage all students.
P20 CONNECTS Program Partnerships 2019 – 2020
P20 CONNECTS Program Partnerships 2018 - 2019
P20 CONNECTS Assessment Leadership Team 2019-2020
Dr. Sandy Dunnington
Former Vice President, Formerly Prince George’s Community College
Dr. Heather Kelly
Director of Institutional Research, University of Delaware
Ms. Anne Weiss
Director of Assessment, Indiana Campus Compact
Ms. Michelle Wolff
Director of Shriver Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
P20 CONNECTS Leadership Team 2019 - 2020
The P20 CONNECTS Leadership Team is comprised of individuals from diverse education and engagement organizations, who are committed to increasing college, career, and civic readiness in the Mid-Atlantic region. Meeting monthly, the P20 CONNECTS Leadership Team seeks to guide, implement, spearhead, and amplify the P20 CONNECTS initiative’s collective impact.
Ms. Julie Ayers
Service-Learning Specialist, Youth Development Branch, Maryland State Department of Education
Julie Ayers is the current Service-Learning Specialist for the Maryland Department of Education. She previously worked as a Humanities Instructor & Staff in the Independent Learning Center for the Florida Institute of Technology, an adjunct instructor at Loyola University, and a communications coordinator for the Maryland Food Committee. Ayers earned both a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Ms. Shella Cherry
Coordinator, Student Leadership and Volunteers, Montgomery County Public Schools
Shella Cherry serves as the Coordinator for Student Leadership and Volunteers for Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland (MCPS) where she is responsible for the student leadership, students service learning and volunteer programs for the school district, to include the Student Member of the Board of Education, two county-wide Student Government Associations, and the Superintendent’s Leadership Academy. Shella has served MCPS for 21 years as a former social studies teacher, coach and assistant principal and has been in this role for one year. She is a graduate of James Madison University (BS, Geography, 1996), Old Dominion University (MS, Secondary Education, 2002), and Hood College (Certification for Administration and Supervision, 2006). Shella is a proud member of Alpha Phi Omega, a National Service Co-ed Fraternity, and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated, a National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority steeped in education and service.
Ms. Elizabeth Duffy
Executive Director of Open Campus and Dual Enrollment, Frederick Community College
Beth Duffy is the current Director of Open Campus and Dual Enrollment at Frederick Community College. Prior to this she as an English teacher for Frederick County Public Schools from 1993 to 2003, and then served as an assistant principle for FCPS from 2003 to 2013. Duffy earned her B.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and later went on to earn her M.A. from Frostburg State University. She currently lives in Maryland.
Ms. Mary Gable
Assistant State Superintendent, Maryland State Department of Education
Mary L. Gable serves as the Assistant State Superintendent for the Division of Student, Family, and School Support/Academic Policy for the Maryland State Department of Education. Her major responsibilities include the development of Maryland’s Consolidated Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act and leadership for the Division. In addition, Mrs. Gable serves as Maryland’s Commissioner for the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.
Mr. Scott Ganske
Vice President of Partnerships, Youth Service America (YSA)
Scott Ganske leads YSA’s collaboration with local and national partners in the K-12 education, out-of-school time, youth development, national and community service, and community-based organization fields. He oversees resource development, and developed YSA’s innovative education framework, designed to create a culture of sustainable service in schools and communities. Prior to his arrival at YSA, Scott was an Education Consultant at Service Learning Texas (SLT), where he managed a portfolio of Learn and Serve America programs, and provided support, coaching, and mentoring to school districts, education centers, and organizations. Scott has eight years of teaching experience in Arizona and Texas and also co-founded a non-profit organization that matched community volunteers with students in Title I schools. He holds an M.A. in Public Administration and a B.A. in Education, both from Arizona State University.
Ms. Jaleesa Hall
Manager, Institute for Community Engagement
Jaleesa Hall works to provide visionary, programmatic, and logistical support to the programs of Wesley downtown, and seeks to find ways to better connect Wesley students to community engagement opportunities in the DC area. Sarah graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Media Arts, and a Master of Public Administration from American University. At Wesley, Jaleesa is also a Urban Fellow and her Fellowship project is the Raising A Village Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides high-quality intervention programs and community resources for under-served children and families. Jaleesa is deeply passionate about issues of social justice and enjoys spending time traveling, being active, dancing, and spending time with those she loves.
Dr. Chris Jensen
Director, Civic Engagement & Social Responsibility, Towson University
Christopher Jensen is the Director for the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility. He came to Maryland from Michigan where he was working at Oakland University. Chris has worked in higher education for over 17 years, in the areas of leadership development, community service/service-learning, campus safety, housing, Greek life, orientation, and enrollment management. In addition, he has provided leadership training nationally, through his affiliations with LeaderShape, Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
Ms. Blake Kohn
Executive Director, National Network of Schools in Partnership
Blake Kohn is the Executive Director of the National Network of Schools in Partnership. Prior to this appointment, she spent two years as the Program Manager for NNSP cultivating the membership, establishing its brand and advocating for collaboration and partnership amongst all schools. Blake Kohn started her career as a high-school Spanish teacher. Blake continued teaching as she took on administrative leadership roles in the schools she served. At Ravenscroft, she was the Assistant Director of Financial Aid and Admissions and was Director of Student Activities at Oldfields School. Blake holds a B.A. in Spanish and International Relations from Bowdoin College and an M.Ed. in School Counseling from University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
Dr. Lisa J. Littlefield
Director, Center for Career Development and Experiential Education, Hood College
Lisa J. Littlefield is the Director of the Center for Career Development and Experiential Education at Hood College. Littlefield has been a career counseling professional for the past 20 years. Littlefield holds a B.A. in mass communications from Southern Illinois University, a M.A. in communication and a M.S. in professional counseling from Georgia State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling and Student Personnel Services from The University of Georgia and is a licensed professional counselor in Georgia.
Mr. Bill Mandicott
Assistant Vice President, Student and Community Involvement, Frostburg State University
Bill Mandicott is a service and community development specialist with over thirty-eight years of experience. Mandicott received his B.A. in Economics from SUNY, College of Arts and Sciences at Geneseo, and later went on to earn an M.A. in Counselor Education/Student Personnel Services from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Mandicott has also participated in post-master’s work for the Educational Leadership doctoral program at West Virginia University. Mandicott has previously worked at Clemson University and SUNY Cortland. Since 2001, Mandicott has served as the Assistant Vice President, Student and Community Involvement at Frostburg State University.
Dr. Sabine O’Hara
Dean and Director, College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability & Environmental Sciences, University of the District of Columbia
Dr. Sabine O’Hara is Dean and Director of Land-grant Programs for the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). As Dean of CAUSES, she is responsible for academic, research and community outreach programs in the tradition of land-grant universities, and is leading the University’s efforts to build a cutting-edge model for Urban Agriculture and Urban Sustainability that improves the quality of life and economic opportunity for urban populations.
Dr. Kristine Pearl
Supervisor of Career and Technology Education, Frederick County Public Schools
Dr. Kristine Pearl holds the position of supervisor for Career and Technology Education for Frederick County Public Schools. In that role she provides oversite for the 32 Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs at the Career and Technology Center as well as agriculture, business education, computer science, engineering, family and consumer science, technology education and work based learning at all of the middle and high schools. Dr. Pearl is a graduate of Walkersville High School and Towson State. She holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Frostburg State, a Master’s equivalency in Administrative Leadership from Hood College and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Frostburg State.
Dr. Debbie Ricker
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Hood College
Debbie Ricker began her administrative experience at York College of Pennsylvania in 1996 as a coordinator of the secondary education program in biology. She has served in that capacity until 2002 when she became chair of the department of biological sciences, leading more than 300 students, 15 faculty members and two staff members. Ricker earned Ph.D. in Reproductive Biology from The Johns Hopkins University. She earned her M.A. in biological science from East Tennessee State University and her B.A. in biological science from Mars Hill University in North Carolina. She also completed the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management program.
Ms. Becky Slogeris
Associate Director, Center for Social Design, Maryland Institute College of Art
Becky Slogeris is the Associate Director at the Center for Social Design at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where she is responsible for program coordination, operations and communications for various initiatives engaging MICA students and faculty in social change through human-centered design. Becky also runs the Center’s Practice-based studios, which bring together students at MICA from various disciplines to collaborate with outside partners on pressing social problems. Past partners include Baltimore City Health Department, Behavioral Health System Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Center for Child and Community Health Research, Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, and the Baltimore Campaign for Grade Level Reading. Becky is a graduate of MICA with a BFA in graphic design and an MA in Social Design, where her thesis work focused on designing curriculum and tools for teachers and empowering students to create change in their communities.
Ms. Ashley Valis
Executive Director of Community Initiatives and Engagement, University of Maryland, Baltimore
Ashley Valis is Executive Director of Community Initiatives and Engagement for the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). In this newly created position, Ms. Valis leads UMB’s Community Promise Initiative, coordinating and focusing the University’s many community engagement programs to provide an even greater service to the UMB’s neighboring communities in West Baltimore and Downtown. Ashley Valis is a graduate of University of Delaware where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Family and Community Services. Additionally, Ms. Valis holds a Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
History of P20 Connects Initiative
2009 – Member presidents of higher education institutions in the Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic (CCMA) network discuss joining in a collective impact initiative to improve quality of life in the region.
2010 – CCMA member presidents decide to focus the collective impact initiative on education.
2011 – CCMA member presidents decide to focus the education-centered collective impact initiative on strengthening partnerships with K-12.
2012 – CCMA member presidents discuss what they could do together to address education and the needs of the region, and ultimately agreed on the critical urgency of college readiness.
2013 – K12 superintendents and leaders from Maryland and the District of Columbia ask that the initiative broaden to include both college and career readiness.
2014 – CCMA convenes a region-wide cross-sectoral taskforce to issue the College, Career, and Civic Readiness White Paper.
2015 – Further stakeholder focus-groups give input on how to best address college and career readiness in the region.
2016 – The P20 CONNECTS Implementation Taskforce issue the P20 CONNECTS Action Plan which outlines pertinent goals for the initiative from 2016 – 2021.