Our Team
Staff
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Pam Allyn founded LitWorld in 2007 to create a global movement for literacy. She brought with her years of entrepreneurial leadership in the field of literacy. Since 2007, LitWorld has provided a welcoming environment for community based leaders from around the world to learn best practices in literacy and to use their own strengths to forge a new world where literacy, “humankind’s greatest innovation”, is available to everyone.
Pam is a renowned literacy educator and the author of many acclaimed books for educators and parents, including What to Read When (Penguin/Avery) and the Mom’s Choice winner Your Child's Writing Life (Penguin/Avery). She is the co-author of Every Child a Super Reader (Scholastic) and Tell Your Story: Teaching Students to Become World Changing Writers and Thinkers (ASCD) with her longtime collaborator Dr. Ernest Morrell.
Pam is the creator/author of many successful and widely used academic programs, including ReadyGen (Pearson), LitCamp and MathCamp (Scholastic) and, with Dr. Ernest Morrell, Mindscapes (Zaner-Bloser). Pam has received many honors for her work, including the James Patterson PageTurner Award, The Children’s Village Legacy of Service Award, Scholastic’s Reading Champion Award, the Kent Williamson NCTE Award, and The Columbia University Teachers College Distinguished Alumni Award.
OPERATIONS SUPPORT
Paige Heimark is a leader in operational and strategic thinking in the field of educational innovation. Her passion for working alongside children and families began in New York City, where she began working for LitWorld as Pam Allyn’s Executive Assistant. Paige quickly ascended in the field moving into Communications and Operational roles in both for and non-profit educational spaces. She brings keen insight and an eye for detail into her work scaling educational initiatives, including World Read Aloud Day, and many of Allyn’s nationally-recognized curricula, including LitCamp, MathCamp, and PALS Town. Paige is a 2024 Fellow in the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Education Policy Fellowship Program.
CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER
Amber Peterson brings years of on the ground experience to her work at LitWorld. For 10 years she has led local, women-led partnerships at LitWorld to create change for the better in their own home communities. Her compassionate, humane literacy leadership has inspired and influenced not only LitWorld partners, but thousands of educators worldwide. She has been instrumental in scaling World Read Aloud Day from a seed of an idea to an annual event, reaching many countries and millions of children.
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Monica Valentin brings a wise and holistic approach to operations at LitWorld. Her side-by-side work with LitWorld partners gives her a unique and collaborative vision for how operations is interwoven with programming to create optimal opportunities for LitWorld partners. Monica skillfully steers LitWorld to best practices in the day to day work of the organization.
COMMUNICATIONS LEAD
Ruby Veridiano brings 15+ years of expertise in social impact communications to her vital work at LitWorld. In addition to her background in arts, broadcasting and journalism, Ruby’s time working on the field leading LitClubs for young women provides her with the lived experience to help LitWorld share the soul of its work. Ruby's work with LitWorld from the very beginning has helped expand LitWorld's reach to Asia and beyond. She leads LitWorld in sharing the stories of local communities and how those stories can become scalable models for the world.
Board
Pamela Schiess is Chair of the Executive Board at LitWorld. She is the Executive director at Morgan Stanley, and in this role, she works on New Product Development and Partnerships supporting Morgan Stanley U.S. Banks’ Residential Loan business. Formerly, Pamela has held roles in Project Management, Operations, Risk Management, Digital Marketing & Strategy, and Digital Product Development. At Morgan Stanley, she also serves as co-chair of the Women of the U.S. Banks employee networking group. She is a founding member of Level, a multiracial community of women tackling the racial wealth gap by investing in Black women. Pamela earned her BS in Broadcast Journalism and Judaic Studies from the University of Miami, and her MA in International Economic Development from the University of Denver.
Thais Carter is the Director for Strategic Initiatives at Princeton Theological Seminary, guiding work that deepens engagement with a broader public, including online learning, live events, and more. In addition to her strategic work, she directs Iron Sharpening Iron, the Seminary’s executive leadership program for women. Before coming to higher education, Thais developed expertise across a variety of fields, including publishing, marketing, and nonprofits. In all her vocational pursuits, storytelling and lifelong learning have been the connective threads. Thais received her MPA at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She lives in Princeton, NJ with her family.
Brenda Joy Gilmore serves as Secretary for LitWorld and is an Independent Consultant, Certified Professional Coach, and proud owner of BJGsolutions. She also holds the position of Senior Director of People & Culture with Gin & Luck, Inc. The majority of Brenda’s volunteerism has been led by her passion to nurture and champion children. For years, she has utilized her gift of writing and creativity to inspire people from all walks of life, most especially children from marginalized communities. Thus, her appointment to the LitWorld Board of Directors allows her opportunity to achieve one of her long-awaited goals of being a blessing to children around the world by promoting an atmosphere that cultivates educational equity through literacy.
Nicole Nakashian, recognized as one of The Top 25 Financial Technology COOs by The Financial Technology Report, brings over 25 years of operational leadership to Communify, the Financial AI, Digital & Data Solutions Company. Most recently, she served as COO of InvestCloud, where she helped scale the platform to over $6 trillion in assets.
Katie Somerville is a Senior Strategist at Adobe Inc.’s Digital Strategy Group. She advises top Fortune 500 retail corporations helping them to optimize their online presence and assisting them successfully effect their digital transformation. Katie holds a BA degree from University of Michigan where she was a James B. Angell Scholar and admitted to Phi Kappa Phi. While at Michigan, Katie was on the board and the Executive Director of PALMA (Proyecto Avance: Latino Mentoring Association), which provided tutoring to Hispanic students and parents in the Ann Arbor area. Katie received her MBA from Columbia Business School where she received the Student Service Award. Katie is passionate about early education and reading and has interned at Fundación Educacional Oportunidad in Chile and at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard University. Katie lives in Manhattan.
Dr. Naama Wrightman has trained thousands of teachers, facilitators, and leaders, both domestically and internationally. She is currently the Global Head of Learning and Development at Scoot Education, where she leads programs for teachers and school support staff. She has spent her career building innovative pipelines into the teaching profession, including leading the teacher residency program at Relay New York and serving on the founding team of TeachStart, Scoot Education's substitute-to-certification pipeline program. Naama is passionate about early literacy, having started her career as an elementary school teacher in Washington, DC and later in Brooklyn. She holds a BA in International Affairs from The George Washington University, an M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from American University, and an Ed.D from the University of Southern California in Organizational Change and Leadership. She lives in New York and in her free time enjoys spicy food, long walks, and reading stories with her two daughters.
Georgiy Zhikharev is Litworld’s Treasurer, and a Director of Investments at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, based in New York. His team is responsible for enhancing investment process and coordinating investment research and technology efforts across Wealth Management Investment Solutions platform, as well as fostering and overseeing a robust investment governance framework for internal and external investment solutions. Georgiy’s career spans roles in Risk Management, Portfolio Management and Alternative Investments. He is passionate about diversity and has been a sponsor of the Women’s Network within his business, focused of female empowerment, retention and engagement. Georgiy was born and raised in Kazan, Russia and came to US for his master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from DePaul University in Chicago. He also holds a Ph.D.-equivalent degree in Economics and teaches at Fordham University Graduate Business School. Georgiy resides in Englewood Cliffs, NJ with his wife and two daughters. He is passionate about children education, creative writing, bread baking, and chess.
Emeritus Board
Sue Atkins has over 40 years of experience leading Corporate Financial Restructurings. She previously was the Global Head of Workout at JPMorgan. Sue currently serves as an Independent Director for several pre and post restructuring companies. She also serves on non-profit boards including Her Justice, which provides legal help to women living in poverty in NYC; Journeys2Change, which develops and leads interactive civil rights learning trips; as a Mentor for Refugee Employment Project, finding employment opportunities for refugees that are legally able to work in the US and on the Special Advisory Committee of Every Woman, advancing a treaty to prevent worldwide violence against women and girls. Sue was a founding board member and long-time Chair of the Board of LitWorld, where she established a strategic plan, developed governance protocols and systems for tracking financial and community impact. She also negotiated corporate partnerships for some of LW’s programs, which now contribute to the stability and sustainability of the organization. Sue has a degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA in Finance from the University of Minnesota. She lives in New York City.
Lauren Blum has been a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for over 35 years and currently practices at Union Community Health Center in the Bronx, a Federally Qualified Health Center that recognizes and promotes the vital role of literacy in family health and wellness. A committed volunteer and advocate, she serves on advisory boards supporting children’s welfare and global health initiatives, emphasizing the link between literacy and lifelong well-being. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Emory University and a Master of Science in Nursing from Columbia University.
Christine J. Chao is currently General Counsel and former Interim CEO of Foremost Group, an international shipping company. Christine has extensive corporate and commercial law experience having worked in senior legal positions for three Fortune 100 companies: GE, Federal Express and Ultramar Corporation. Christine began her legal career upon graduation from Columbia Law School with the Wall Street law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf focusing on M&A, US securities, leasing and project finance. Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for her alma mater and is a former Board member of Foremost Foundation, which strives to help young people access higher education and greater opportunities generally, and The One Love Foundation, which promotes healthy relationships, especially among our young people.
Sabrina Conyers is a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young, LLP, specializing in partnership tax planning. Sabrina has an LLM in Taxation from NYU Law School (2010). She received her JD from Columbia Law School (2004) and her BA from Morgan State University (1999). Prior to joining EY, Sabrina practiced corporate, real estate and tax law at the law firms of Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York City. In the nonprofit sector, Sabrina assists clients with the formation of nonprofit corporations and securing exemption from federal income taxation. She also provides general corporate counseling advice to nonprofit organizations advising them on a broad range of operating issues including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, structuring subsidiaries, grants management, program related investments and other tax issues. Sabrina has been a frequent lecturer on the legal issues facing nonprofit organizations for various nonprofit organizations throughout New York City.
Ellen Fredericks is an executive coach and founder of Partners in Possibility, a consulting company focusing on executive and leadership development. Prior to starting her own business, Ellen held executive positions in marketing and product management in the telecommunications industry. She is one of several hundred coaches worldwide awarded the designation of Master Certified Coach by the International Coach Federation (ICF). Ellen holds a certificate in coaching, a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Management. She attended Executive Management Training Programs at Duke University and Arizona State University. Ellen is a contributing author to the ASTD published book, “Coaching for Extraordinary Results” and the co-author of three books on executive development.
Dr. Ernest Morrell is Associate Dean of Humanities in the College of Arts and Letters, Coyle Professor of Literacy Education, Professor of English and Africana Studies, and the Director of the Center for Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Education, Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and a past-president of the National Council of Teachers of English. Ernest is the recipient of the NCTE Distinguished Service Award, the Kent Williamson Leadership Award from the Conference for English Leadership, and the Divergent Award for 21st Century Literacies. He is also the Director of Teachers College’s Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME). Prior to this, Dr. Morrell was an award-winning high school English teacher in Northern California, and he continues to work with teachers, schools and adolescents across the country to infuse multicultural literature, youth popular culture and media production into standards-based literacy curricula and after school programs. Dr. Morrell received his Ph.D. in Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of California at Berkeley where he received the Outstanding Dissertation Award. He is an award-winning published author of ten books, and his books include Critical Media Pedagogy: Teaching for Achievement in City Schools and New Directions in Teaching English. He has also co-authored books with Pam Allyn, including Every Child a Super Reader: 7 Strengths for a Lifetime of Independence.