Pat Bassett
Assistant to the Director and Financial Manager
bassett@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Pat recently moved back to South Jersey where she was born, raised and lived most of her life after living in the Gettysburg, PA area for two decades. She worked for Kosta Glove and Safety for 28 years before moving to Pennsylvania and then back to New Jersey to be closer to her son and his family. She is an avid tennis player, is learning to play golf, and loves spending time with her two grandchildren.
Martha Fitzpatrick Bishai
Director of Education and Program Development
bishai@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Martha has 15 years of experience in the education nonprofit sector and the design of both in-school and after-school enrichment programs and curricula. Since 2012, she has served as founding Director of The Umkhumbane Schools Project, an NGO based in Durban, South Africa that draws on the power of engagement with universities and other community partners to bring resources to a cluster of deeply disadvantaged township schools. This work continues to inform and embolden Martha’s enduring interest in advancing equity and sustainability through education. Martha holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is an active member of The Climate Reality Leadership Corps, the Comparative and International Education Society, and Maryland activities for The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
Zandra Cuff
Assistant Director for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI), AmeriCorps, & Programs
cuff@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Zandra leads and envisions various TMA initiatives, including its Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative and the AmeriCorps VISTA program. She is a five time AmeriCorps VISTA, previously serving as a VISTA Leader for North Carolina Campus Compact in 2018 and as an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader at TMA from 2021-2023. During her time at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she developed a passion for public policy and law, and how these tools can be used to address poverty. Her experience with AmeriCorps VISTA has deepened her belief of the power of community and how we must work together with unique partners to accomplish change. In her free time she enjoys listening to her diverse music collection and playing guitar.
Nicki Fiocco
Director of Programs and Communications
fiocco@transformmidatlantic.org
(443) 694-0089
Nicki has more than a decade of leadership experience in the field of national service, service learning and volunteerism. She is particularly passionate about connecting people with opportunities through workforce development and professional networking. Nicki serves on the Board of Directors for the Baltimore Community ToolBank and was part of the inaugural Alumni Committee for Service Year Alliance 2020 - 2022. She served as Regional Voice Lead for the Baltimore DC Metro area for the IMPACT 2030 council (2018 - 2021). She received her undergraduate degree from the University Maryland Baltimore County, and holds a certificate from University Maryland, Do Good Institute for the Nonprofit Leadership and Management graduate program. Nicki is a proud AmeriCorps alumni serving with Volunteer Maryland 2011 - 2012.
Asia Fortune
AmeriCorps VISTA Leader
fortune@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Asia Fortune is a Philadelphia native who attended Bowie State University and recently received her B.S in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing in 2022. After graduating, she completed a year of service as a VISTA member supporting Bowie State's Nutrition Lounge. There she maintained a close relationship with her campus community while making an effort to decrease food insecurity. Asia enjoys caring for impactful issues while building a sense of community by giving back and serving. After her first year, Asia decided to continue on working with the TMA team and became a VISTA leader for this 2023-2024 service year.
Justin Heimberg
Communications and Strategic Partnerships Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA Member
heimberg@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Justin Heimberg is a Maryland native who returned home after a stint in Los Angeles, where he worked as a teaching artist for an arts education organization that taught in juvenile detention centers, while simultaneously working as a professional Hollywood comedy writer. A graduate of Duke University, Justin has continued to work to give voice to those who too often go unheard, serving as a refugee family mentor and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster care youth.
Jared McLean
AmeriCorps VISTA Leader
mclean@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Jared McLean is a Maryland native, growing up on a family poultry farm. He received his B.A. at Salisbury University studying early Maryland history. After college, Jared decided to join AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) as a Member and traveled across the United States volunteering his time and service at food banks, national parks, and various nonprofit organizations. As a recent graduate of the NCCC program, Jared decided to join Transform Mid-Atlantic's AmeriCorps VISTA program as a VISTA Leader, where he will help to support, mentor, and advise the program's 30+ AmeriCorps VISTA members across the region.
Desmond Hearne Morrey
AmeriCorps VISTA Member - Grants and Community Education Support
morrey@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Desmond Hearne Morrey has a B.A. from Oberlin College in creative writing, with a minor in gender studies, and is passionate about literature, the arts, which he believes are key to creating a deeper understanding of our entanglement with the natural world and with each other. Desmond also loves to work with kids, and has worked with children and teenagers in fencing classes, acting classes, summer camps, and writing workshops.
Anthony Wagner V
Associate Director
wagner@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Anthony has professional and research experience working in international education contexts. As an undergraduate student, he researched youth civic engagement and the work of community-based organizations in a township of Durban, South Africa. He was a 2018-2020 Fulbright grantee at a federal university in Brazil. He is currently a doctoral student at NYU Steinhardt studying international education. His research interests focus on education development and civic and community engagement in higher education. He received a B.A. from Gettysburg College in 2017 and an MS.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education in 2021. Anthony grew up on a family farm in Western Pennsylvania.
Madeline Yates
Executive Director
yates@transformmidatlantic.org
(301) 696-3280
Madeline is the founding director of the Transform Mid-Atlantic with 25 years of experience in cross-cultural programming and service-learning, both K-12 and higher education. She has traveled extensively, living, working, and volunteering for extended periods of time in Japan, Haiti, the Philippines, Nicaragua, and New Zealand. While teaching and working at the Maryland State Department of Education, she received several fellowships, including two Fulbrights to India and South Africa, and others to Kyrgyzstan and Ecuador. She has consulted domestically and internationally. Her B.A. and M.A. are from Gettysburg and Hood College, respectively.