Relay Leadership

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bryetta Calloway serves as Vice President of Marketing at Relay Graduate School of Education, bringing more than 15 years of experience leading brand strategy, growth marketing, and storytelling for high-growth organizations in education, EdTech, healthcare, and innovation. She holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University and brings a strategic, human-centered approach to growing market visibility, deepening customer relationships, and driving revenue through marketing and communications.

Throughout her career, Bryetta has built and scaled integrated marketing strategies that connect brands with the communities they serve. Her work has focused on clarifying brand identity, driving market and revenue growth, and elevating thought leadership across digital, content, and partnership channels.

Bryetta is an award-winning marketer whose work has been recognized by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA) with a Communicator Award for excellence in branded experiential campaigns. She is also a sought-after speaker on marketing innovation, leadership, and building healthy, high-performing teams, having presented at national conferences and industry events.

Prior to joining Relay, Bryetta held senior marketing and communications leadership roles at LifeLabs Learning, MassChallenge, and Flatiron School.

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.

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.

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.

Renée McKinney serves as Vice President of Business Development, where she leads new partner acquisition, drives enrollment growth, and expands Relay’s reach and impact. With more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, and business development, Renée has a proven track record of accelerating revenue through strategic partnerships and market expansion.

In addition to her corporate leadership, Renée brings experience as an adjunct professor teaching business communication course and is deeply passionate about supporting students throughout their academic journeys. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication with a concentration in Advertising from Savannah College of Art & Design and a graduate degree in Business Communication from Southern New Hampshire University.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time on the golf course, at the beach, and taking fitness classes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rebecca Utton has worked in education for over 25 years in roles as diverse as school secretary, para-educator, teacher and leader. She served as a school leader with STRIVE Prep Charter Schools in Denver, Colorado, first as a principal then Managing Director of Schools. She has a Masters in School Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Masters of Science in Teaching from Pace University and a Bachelors in Pan-African Studies from Barnard College. She participated in Relay's NPAF in 2013-2014 and was a member of the Leverage Leadership Institute Fellowship in 2014-2015. In addition to teaching and learning, she’s passionate about hiking, reading and volunteering at her local food bank.

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.