Board Of Directors

Melissa Reaktenwalt

Chair

Melissa Reaktenwalt is a biracial black woman financial services professional and wealth manager who is passionate about educating individuals and business owners about the power of smart and efficient money management. As the founder and lead advisor of EViE Financial Group, she strives to provide comprehensive financial planning and holistic wealth management to young professionals, executive women, and small business owner clients throughout the country, all from diverse financial backgrounds and with varied needs. During her more than 15 years in the financial planning industry, Melissa has focused on helping others create and sustain financial freedom and wellness through better understanding what their money has the potential to do for them. In addition to working with clients and small businesses directly, Melissa presents at regional and national conferences, as well as teaches in-depth educational courses focused on financial empowerment and actionable planning strategies.

Erika Bryant

Vice Chair

Erika is a nonprofit executive with 30 years of experience in education, international development, and organizational leadership. Her career began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, West Africa, where she taught English and developed a lifelong passion for language education and travel. She later worked with international development organizations across Africa to improve health and education outcomes in underserved communities. In the U.S., Erika has held roles as a school administrator, policy analyst, researcher, and nonprofit strategist focused on youth and family well-being. She led the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School as Executive Director for a decade and now serves as the school’s Chief Development Officer, overseeing fundraising, strategic planning, and the growth of mission-aligned partnerships. She has served on multiple nonprofit boards, including the Red Sweater Project and Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE). Erika is a member of the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s School Leader Advisory Council, a former Alumni Council member and mentor for the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a legacy member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. In 2022, Erika was named Chevalier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French government, a national honor recognizing her dedication to promoting French language and culture in the United States. A proud alumna of Spelman College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she enjoys gardening and travel. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is being the mother of two phenomenal young men.

Dave Paris

Treasurer

Dave Paris is a Principal in the Intellectual Property (IP) & Patent Damages practice at HKA Global, LLC.  He has over 30 years of experience addressing damages, valuation, and competition issues in complex commercial disputes in U.S. courts and administrative proceedings, and he also advises clients on issues involving intellectual property. These disputes and advisory engagements have involved patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, secondary considerations of non-obviousness, breach of contract, fraud, employment and antitrust violation, and covered a wide range of industries. Mr. Paris has provided expert testimony on damages, including lost profits and reasonable royalties, and on economic issues, such as irreparable harm and commercial success.

Nancy Waymack

Secretary

Nancy Waymack is the Director of Partnerships and Policy for the National Student Support Accelerator at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Prior to this role, she served as a senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and an education policy consultant. Nancy was also the Managing Director of District Policy at the National Council on Teacher Quality. She spent a decade at the San Francisco Unified School District, where she served as the Executive Director for Policy and Operations. Prior to moving to San Francisco, Nancy was the Assistant Budget Director at the District of Columbia Public Schools and an elementary school teacher in Houston.

Ja’Sent Brown

Ja’Sent serves as the Chief Impact Officer at DC Central Kitchen where they use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities through job training and sustainable food access programming. Prior to this, Ja’Sent served as the Homeless Education State Coordinator to connect homeless families to educational services, and the inaugural Director of the DC Reengagement Center, which provides barrier remediation services to youth and young adults who have dropped out of high school, all at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English degree at the University of the District of Columbia, and a Master of Social Work degree at Walden University.  She is the proud wife of a 5^th District police officer, and mother of two.

William E. Brown Jr.

William E. Brown Jr, or Bill as he prefers, joined One World Education’s Board in the summer of 2023. After joining UNCF in the fall of 2019, Bill currently serves as the Senior Community Engagement Manager on UNCF’s K-12 Advocacy team and has responsibilities for overseeing UNCF’s community engagement activities, both here in the Washington, DC, region, as well as UNCF’s national engagement activities. Bill comes equipped with vast knowledge and experience having worked on DC-specific K12 issues for over a decade. Prior to joining UNCF, Bill worked on education policy and oversight at the Council of the District of Columbia, having served in the offices of the Council Chair and two At-Large Council offices; including former At-Large Council Member Sekou Biddle who now serves as UNCF’s vice president for K-12 advocacy. Bill is a native Washingtonian and a graduate of DC Public Schools. He has served as an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and Chair of ANC 1A, in addition to his appointments to multiple commissions, boards, and councils.

Debbie Harrison

Debbie Harrison is a Senior Director of Government Affairs at Cigna. Her career has focused on policy and legal advice related to employee benefits, health care, and tax matters. She has a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, an MA in internal policy from the University of Sydney, and a BA in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard College. Debbie has been a member of the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill since 2008.

Jorge Membreño

Jorge (he/him), a licensed independent clinical social worker, has focused his career on the intersections of identity, marginalized communities, and supportive services. He provides a trauma-responsive and equity lens to his work, both in his advocacy and his counseling practice. Jorge serves as the Director of Youth Advocacy at DC Action, where he leads the Youth Economic Justice Coalition and the Out-of-School Time Coalition. Before joining DC Action, Jorge was a Special Advisor for Youth and Families with the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH). He previously served in multiple Director-level roles at SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders) to build safe and stable shelters, case management services, mental health counseling, crisis intervention, and community support for LGBTQ youth. He is a proud father, husband, and the son of Salvadoran immigrants, and was born in Washington, DC, which he calls home.

Joann M. Weiner

Joann is thrilled to serve as a member of One World Education’s Board of Directors.
Joann’s connection with One World occurred in 2009 through her older son, Josh, who
participated in the One World writing program when he was a high school student at the
Washington International School. Joann has prior board experience with Community
Tax Aid (she was also chair for several years), the National Economics Club, DC
Soccer Club, the EC Tax Review, and the Lafayette Tennis Association. She and her
husband have lived in D.C. for more than thirty years, apart from a 7-year stay in
Brussels with their then three young children and an academic sabbatical in London.
Joann is an associate professor of economics and Director of the Applied Economics
graduate program at the George Washington University. Prior to joining GW, she
worked as a journalist for Bloomberg Government, The Washington Post, Politics Daily,
and Tax Analysts, as a tax economist at the Treasury Department, and as a consultant
to the European Commission’s tax reform committee. Joann received her M.A. and
Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and her B.S. in Business Administration
from the University of California at Berkeley.

Trish Yan

As Vice President of Business Development and Community Leadership for TTR Sotheby’s International Realty since 2009, Trish has established and created several internal leadership coaching programs for associates and has proven to be a true differentiator for the firm. A self-made success story, Trish immigrated to the United States from her native Philippines at a young age. Her personal experiences have profoundly shaped her professional ambitions and attitudes, as she brings compassion, humor, and resilience as a certified executive leadership coach with two decades of experience in the real estate and nonprofit industries. Her commitment to community-based giving is reflected in her work with N Street Village, the largest homeless facility and resource for women in the Washington area. A member of the Ambassador’s Council for the past seven years, Trish created Celebrate Logan, a food crawl along the 14th Street corridor, to raise awareness and funds for N Street Village. Her credentials speak volumes to her work ethic and her ever-evolving professional development. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland; a Certification in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University, Institute for Transformational Leadership; is a Licensed Real Estate Associate and an ICF (International Coach Federation) Certified Coach. She recently received her certification with The Leadership Circle for 360 Assessments and The Collective Leadership Assessment. While she wears many hats, her greatest role is that of mother. An accomplished foodie and certified yoga instructor, Trish uses any spare time to visit her son Matt in Boston, who attends Northeastern University.

Margie Yeager

Margie Yeager is a Partner at Education Forward DC, leading their Advocacy portfolio. In this role she helps direct philanthropic resources to create enabling conditions to advance quality and equity in public schools. Prior to this, she was the Director of Advocacy and Policy at Chiefs for Change, a bipartisan coalition of state and district members, and the Chief of Staff to the DC Deputy Mayor for Education. Margie began her career as a second-grade teacher at Simon Elementary in DC with Teach for America. She received her BA from Tufts University summa cum laude and her MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School with thesis honors.

Rashida Young

Rashida Young is a Partner at Education Forward DC leading the Schools & Talent Team. Ed Forward DC provides funding for organizations and schools that aim to improve school quality and develop outstanding school leaders and teachers in Washington, DC. She was drawn to this work because of the sharp focus on improving educational outcomes for students furthest from opportunity. Living in the nation’s capital and seeing the economic disparities that exist, she believes that access to an excellent education is a fundamental part of the solution. Prior to joining Ed Forward DC, Rashida was the Chief School Performance Officer at the DC Public Charter School Board where she led key oversight and authorizing activities. She began her career as a high school teacher, teaching history and coaching soccer for Prince William County Schools in Virginia and Hyde Leadership Public Charter School in DC. Rashida earned her BA in History and MA in Teaching from Hampton University. She grew up in Indiana but has called DC home for roughly 20 years. She currently lives in Ward 5 with her husband, daughter, and son, with both children attending a DC public charter school. Rashida’s favorite activities include brunch with friends, exploring DC on a sunny day with her family, and playing soccer.

Eric Goldstein

Founder & Senior Advisor

Eric founded the program as a classroom teacher at SEED Public Charter School in Anacostia and has run the organization ever since. His career in education started after a solo, 5,000-mile bicycle trip across the United States. As a teacher, Eric earned a United States Department of the Interior Partners in Education Award. Eric holds a Master’s in Education from the University of Vermont and Master’s in International Policy from George Washington University.