Relay Leadership

Jessica Smith is a strategic culture, change management, and systems leader who believes in creating radical spaces of belonging. Currently, Jessica serves as Relay Graduate School of Education’s Chief Operating Officer. In her role, she leads the people, technology, and legal teams to build the infrastructure to sustain the institution’s mission-driven work. Prior to Relay, Jessica spent six years at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, building Alliance’s first employee relations and engagement team and systems and creating and leading Alliance’s organizational strategy of becoming an inclusive and equitable public charter school network.

In her role as Provost, Teacher Preparation, Dr. Weatherton leads Relay and the Teacher Prep team to key institutional milestones, maintaining outstanding institutional performance and recognition, faculty performance and staff experience.

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Dr. Weatherton brings her current experience as both a Regional Dean as well as the Dean of Relay Houston to the role. She was also the Director of Teacher Residency for Relay Houston, where she was responsible for teaching and coaching incoming teacher residents.

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Before coming to Relay, Dr. Weatherton served as Principal of Foerster Elementary in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). There she dramatically turned around student performance, student and teacher attendance, and teacher morale. She did exemplary work for students in HISD for 16 years, including winning numerous awards for work as a teacher, regional curriculum specialist, assistant principal, and principal in at-risk schools.

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Dr. Weatherton graduated from Paul Quinn College, earned her Masters in Educational Administration from Texas Southern University, and is part of the prestigious Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program. Dr. Weatherton recently completed her PhD in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies (HELPS).

In her role as Chief Professional Learning Officer, Dr. Shavonne Gibson leads the Professional Education team at Relay.

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Prior to this role, Shavonne was the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in Washington, DC. Shavonne had oversight of training and technical assistance for educators, educator quality and effectiveness, including educator licensure and approval of teacher preparation programs, English learner education policy, and educator awards. Shavonne is a career educator having held roles ranging from teacher, assistant principal, principal, and managing director of schools/principal supervisor in New York City and Washington, DC schools.

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She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Rochester, a master’s degree in Secondary Education-Social Studies from Long Island University, second master’s degree in Educational Leadership from George Mason University, and her doctorate in Learning and Organizational Change from Baylor University. Shavonne lives in Maryland with her husband and two sons.

Akilah Rosado is a scholar, practitioner, and educator specializing in organizational leadership and development. As Relay’s Chief Transformation Officer, Akilah is responsible for advancing systemic and structural change through strategic planning and implementation while fostering the development and engagement of both formal and informal leadership across the institution. Prior to this role, she served as Relay’s inaugural Chief Equity Officer and spent twelve years at Bank Street College of Education in various leadership capacities. Throughout her career, Akilah has worked to redesign organizational systems by identifying and leveraging key strategic mechanisms to drive institutional change.

Before transitioning into education, Akilah spent a decade in the New York State Assembly. She later joined the Public Strategies Group, a boutique consulting firm specializing in organizational development, change management, leadership coaching, and strategic planning. These experiences provided her with a systems-based analytical approach to institutional effectiveness, enabling her to examine and address structural challenges in educational and nonprofit organizations.

Akilah is a doctoral candidate at Fielding Graduate University. She holds a Master of Science in Public Policy and Organizational Management, a Master of Philosophy in Urban and Public Policy from Milano, The New School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from SUNY Purchase. A lifelong Brooklyn resident, Akilah lives with her daughter and remains deeply committed to scholarship and leadership that drive institutional transformation.

Derek Richey is Relay’s Chief Financial Officer, responsible for both the overall financial operations and stewardship as well as ensuring resources are planned for and optimized toward organizational goals, strategies, and priorities.

Derek deeply believes in the power of education and equity to transform lives. Prior to joining Relay, he spent 15 years working in roles aligned with Relay’s vision and mission. Beginning as a school board member in Kansas City, MO to his most recent Chief Financial Officer role with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, his professional focus and passion has centered on improving student achievement with a specific “true north” of ensuring equity of access, opportunity, and outcomes for students from historically marginalized communities.

Derek has a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College and master’s degrees in business administration and education leadership from London Business School and the University of Missouri, respectively. He also participated in the Broad Foundation’s two-year Broad Residency in Urban Leadership program.

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Darren Reed serves as Relay Graduate School of Education's Chief Growth Officer, bringing a 30-year career dedicated to improving educational opportunities for all students. In this role, he leads Relay's sales, partnerships, and marketing efforts. Previously, Darren served as Senior Vice President at Stride, Inc., where he scaled education and edtech companies, led product innovation, and managed a portfolio of K-12 schools. A former classroom teacher and school principal, Reed has also consulted for schools nationwide, advocating for policies that expand educational access and improve outcomes, particularly in underserved communities. He holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from Hiram College and advanced degrees in education leadership from George Washington University and The College of William and Mary.

Dr. Nichelle Bowes is the Vice Provost of Student Affairs and Services at Relay Graduate School of Education where she leads the institution’s efforts to ensure an academically fulfilling experience for all students. Dr. Bowes has previously served the institution as the Dean of Student Affairs, Associate Dean, and later Dean of Relay’s Newark campus. Her scholarly interests include academic advisement, and the centrality of the student experience at institutions of higher education. Prior to joining Relay, Dr. Bowes held teaching positions at K-12 institutions in urban settings in New Jersey. Her certifications include K- 5 teacher, School Counselor and Principal in the state of New Jersey.

Dr. Bowes earned her BA in Psychology and English from Binghamton University (SUNY), her MA in Counselor Education from Kean University, her Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University, and her Ed. D. from Johns Hopkins University. She is a member of the Education Steering committee of NACADA and chair of its scholarship subcommittee, a member of the Advisory Board of the St. Petersburg Sister Kin-nect Leadership Fellowship, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

As Vice President, Professional Education Operations, Dr. Tanisha Bynum is responsible for the effective and efficient operations of the Professional Education team, providing strategic advice to improve partnerships, operations, and budget strategy.

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For 20 years Tanisha has dedicated her career to improving the lives of others: ensuring the effective preparation and performance of educators; monitoring and providing technical assistance to nonpublic schools and institutions of higher education; and developing, designing, and overseeing the administration of federal and local grant programs - which involved establishing systems, policies and procedures to maximize efficiency and standardize operations across teams and within programs. Through her leadership, Tanisha has coached teams to ambitious results, garnering one agency national attention through the administration of one of their federal programs.

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At heart, Tanisha is an educator, believing in the importance of knowledge and the power it has when shared effectively. Tanisha holds a BA and MA in Psychology, from The George Washington and American Universities, respectively, and a doctorate in Education Administration and Policy from The George Washington University.

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Jallon Brown-Croskey is the Partner of the Regional Leadership Programs Team. In this role she supports and manages the team of Partners and Associate Partners that deliver professional development and coaching to instructional leaders across the country. In addition, she leads a portfolio of work supporting leaders in the District of Columbia’s Public Schools.

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With over 20 years of experience in public education, Jallon has worked in elementary through high school grades as a teacher, full-time mentor, leader, and administrator. After working for several years as a classroom teacher, Jallon accepted a fellowship with the KIPP Foundation. In partnership with the KIPP, she founded one of the first charter schools in the state of Maryland. Jallon also served as the Director of Academics at The SEED School of Maryland, a public boarding school in Baltimore that serves low-income students. In her time at SEED, student achievement improved dramatically by over 30%. Additionally, Jallon led the academic program as the Chief Academic Officer for KIPP Baltimore, a charter network in Maryland. In her time there she supervised and coached principals and assistant principals, led the implementation of new curricula, and established an assessment strategy that was the foundation of a data driven culture.

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Jallon has earned a BA in Sociology and Elementary Education from The College of William and Mary and a graduate degree from George Washington University in Educational Administration.

As Vice Provost of Teacher Preparation and Founding Dean of Relay Connecticut, Dr. Good believes that empowering teachers with a rigorous curriculum of practical application, theory, and educational pedagogy can have a dynamic impact on PK-12 students. An award-winning educator, Dr. Good started her career as a secondary language arts teacher in the Miami-Dade County Public School district, as a charter corps member of Teach For America. Upon relocating to New Haven, Connecticut in 2006, Dr. Good, inspired by the middle school experiences, spent 9 years teaching and leading at Elm City College Preparatory, 6 of those years as principal. Dr. Good earned her B.A. in Sociology from University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an Ed.D in Global Education at the Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California. Dr. Good serves on multiple educational boards and was appointed by the Connecticut Commissioner of Education to serve on the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council.

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As Relay’s Vice President of Development, Rachel Innes is responsible for defining and executing Relay’s national and campus-specific fundraising strategies. Prior to joining the development team in 2016, Rachel led Relay’s new sites efforts and co-managed the institution’s accreditation activities. Before joining Relay in 2014, Rachel worked in operations at the New York City Department of Education. She began her career as a third grade teacher in the South Bronx as a Teach for America corps member.

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Innes earned her MBA with a concentration in Social Enterprise from Columbia University, a MS in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Pace University, and a BA in Government from Georgetown University.

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LaResha Jola-Isiba is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Relay, where she leads cross-functional collaboration to implement strategic plan initiatives, strengthen internal processes, and drive institutional effectiveness. With over a decade of experience in education leadership, she specializes in designing operational systems that not only improve efficiency but also drive strategy and create sustainable impact. Her work has always been centered on building structures that support educators, streamline processes, and enhance the overall learning experience.

Before stepping into her current role, LaResha worked on Relay's flagship program and supported the first fully online campus at Relay. Prior to Relay, LaResha held roles at KIPP Texas and Teach For America, focusing on program strategy, operations, and building systems that remove barriers for students and educators. She is committed to fostering inclusive, student-centered approaches that expand access to high-quality education.

LaResha holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Howard University. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, baking sugar cookies, exploring all things personal finance and watching sports!

In partnership with the Provost of Professional Education, Dr. Klompus provides critical organizational leadership related to developing and executing a vision that leads to meeting or exceeding team and organizational goals in the areas of program impact, program scale, financial sustainability, and participant experience. In addition, Klompus also leads the National Principal Supervisor’s program and serves as an instrumental voice in external relations and thought partnership in an effort to codify and spread the word related to both best practices within Relay Professional Education and among Relay Professional Education’s partners, participants, and alumni. With more than 25 years of experience serving students at the classroom, school, and system level, Klompus has worked extensively at the nexus of data driven network improvement, instructional leadership development, and design thinking.

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Dr. Klompus holds his Ed.L.D. and Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a B.S. in Philosophy from The Colorado College. He and his spouse Janine live in Williamstown, Massachusetts where their five sons keep them busy and smiling.

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Cindy Luk currently serves as Vice President, Talent Acquisition on Relay’s Talent Team, responsible for spearheading the strategies and processes to ensure our teams have mission-aligned and impactful talent to propel Relay’s vision forward. She enjoys working collaboratively with hiring managers to build their teams and helping candidates feel prepared and excited for their next career move at Relay GSE. By doing so, the talent acquisition team plays a critical role in bringing humanity into the workplace, fostering an environment of radical joy & belonging, where individuals are appreciated for who they are, beyond their professional roles.

Prior to talent acquisition, Cindy was a high school science teacher in Camden, NJ. Afterwards, Cindy transitioned into a role as a recruiter and eventually became the Director of the Talent Acquisition team at Democracy Prep Public School, a multi-state Charter Management Organization. In this position, she led the strategy for the recruitment of staff for founding, established, and turnaround schools across multiple states. Aside from education, she also was part of the Oscar Health technical recruiting team as one of their first product management & design and data science recruiters during a period of hypergrowth as a unicorn startup.

Cindy holds a Bachelors of Arts in Neuroscience & Behavior from Columbia University and a SHRM-CP. In her spare time, she finds joy spending time with her family and pets.

As Vice President, Teacher Professional Education, Dr. Sarah Marder-Eppstein oversees all aspects of professional learning opportunities for teachers at Relay. Prior to joining professional education, Dr. Marder-Eppstein co-led degree-granting programming for over 1,500 teachers in Relay’s online campus and taught elementary methods and general pedagogy coursework. Dr. Marder-Eppstein also ran the annual Educator Summit conference for six years in partnership with the Character Lab, serving thousands of educators from around the world.

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Before joining Relay in 2013, Dr. Marder-Eppstein taught third grade at Achievement First Brownsville in Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Marder-Eppstein holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, a Master’s in Teaching from the Relay Graduate School of Education, and a Doctorate in Education from the Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California. Her research interests include new teacher retention strategies, culturally responsive teaching, and character development.

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Nancy Olisma currently serves as the Vice President, Human Resources on Relay's Talent Team. In this role, she oversees HR compliance and works towards actualizing the team's vision of bringing humanity into the workplace, fostering an environment of radical joy and belonging, where individuals are appreciated for who they are, beyond their professional roles. Prior to her role at Relay, Nancy worked in various HR and operations roles at Explore Exceed Charter Schools and the charter management office of Ascend Public Charter Schools. Before venturing into the education sector, Nancy held various administrative and production positions at CBS Sports. During her time there, she managed an internship program for undergraduate students nationwide.

As a first-generation college graduate, Nancy passionately believes in the transformative power of education as a great equalizer. She is dedicated to ensuring students who share her background have access to opportunities that align with their individual pathways of choice. Nancy holds a Master of Science degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from CUNY Hunter College.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Nancy is an avid runner, often spotted running throughout the boroughs of New York City in her spare time.

Dr. Eneida Padró is Vice President of National Leadership Programs at Relay GSE leading the team responsible for the vision, design, and execution of national school leadership programming. This includes the National Principal Academy Fellowship (NPAF), the National Principal Supervisor Academy (NPSA), the Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute (ISLI), the Leverage Leadership Institute (LLI) and the national Instructional Leader Professional Development (ILPD). In previous roles at Relay, Eneida served as Associate Dean of Regional Support providing on-the-ground coaching and delivering professional development to school and system-level leaders.

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Eneida has worked in education for over eighteen years, primarily serving communities in Dallas-Fort Worth while delivering professional development across the country and internationally. Prior to joining Relay, she was an Executive Director in Fort Worth ISD supervising a group of PK-12 school principals in the development of instructional, culture and leadership systems. Dr. Padró has also served as a leadership development coach and program manager in the non-profit sector. She engaged in turnaround work as a former school principal in Dallas ISD, with student progress ranking in the top 5.6% in the district and state.

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She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas. She is an alumna of the Leverage Leadership Institute Fellowship. Eneida resides in Dallas, TX, and enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband.

Vilas Panicker brings a diverse perspective to education finance -- combining great expertise in budgeting, educational administration, and strategy and governance. He has worked in multiple capacities in a traditional ISD (Dallas ISD), a charter network (Uplift Education), and is currently the Vice President of Financial Operations for Relay Graduate School of Education, managing core Finance functions such as Budgeting, Payroll, Business Operations, and Business Technical Solutions.

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As an executive, he has guided educational administrations through multiple budget iterations (including helping build the DISD fund balance to over $300 million over the course of 6 years), organizational restructurings, software implementations, strategic planning, and design and implementation of the Teacher Excellence Initiative model at Dallas ISD. Beyond this broad work in education, he is an investor and entrepreneur with wide-ranging expertise in derivatives to wholesale business ownership.

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Vilas is a graduate of the University of Texas in Dallas and holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Business Administration. A Dallas native, he is a world traveler, cocktail connoisseur, avid fan of Dallas sports teams (particularly the Dallas Stars), “sneakerhead”, and currently resides in the East Dallas community of Lower Greenville.

As Relay’s Vice President of Information Technology, Avi Popovich oversees the technology team. Avi has extensive experience in IT with over 15 years of IT leadership, across multiple industries. Prior to joining Relay, he was the Chief Information Officer and Information Security Officer of Tri-State Memorial Hospital as well as a member of their Executive Team. Avi directed key technology initiatives, including large scale EHR system projects, technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, and cloud compute adoption. Under his leadership the hospital was awarded a top technology ranking (CHIME) for several years running. He also led the expansion of a new IT team that supported Tri-State hospital’s extensive growth in recent years.

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Avi holds a master’s degree in Information Technology Management – with specialization in Project Management from Southern Cross University. Avi’s technical expertise allows him to take a hands-on approach to problem solving and leading. His diverse work experience spans across multiple countries and three different continents.

Cliff Thomas is the Vice President, Policy & Government Affairs, leading the public funding teams, policy strategy, and government affairs work. He has previously served as a high school science teacher, founded and led a high-performing charter middle school, and led the initial national expansion of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation's Fellowship Initiative. He's a passionate amateur paleontologist and (unfortunately) loves the New York Jets.

As Vice President of Innovation, Dr. Alice Waldron leads Relay’s collective efforts to accelerate progress toward our mission and vision through meaningful innovation. With a focus on impact, values, and financial sustainability, she creates and leads processes to test and scale innovation initiatives to meet the evolving needs of schools and educators. Prior to this role, Dr. Waldron was the founding Dean of Relay’s Online Campus as well as Relay’s national Dean of Clinical Experience.

Dr. Waldron has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Pomona College, a master’s degree in teaching from Pace University, and a doctoral degree in education with a specialization in technology integration from Johns Hopkins University. Having started her career as a middle school science teacher, she is motivated by the potential and passion of all students and maintains a deep love of rocks.