Our team reflects the rich variety of the American experience. We are united by the conviction that incredible things happen when you give students the resources they need to thrive. Our staff knows the impact of our program firsthand, with a number of former Scholars, parents, and board members among our ranks—including our Executive Director.
Karen is a dedicated public servant and experienced advocate for the immigrant community. After witnessing the 2010 collapse of the federal DREAM Act, she was one of the founding members of the Dream Project. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the Washington and Lee School of Law and possesses a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Southwestern Adventist University. Her expertise spans from nonprofit leadership, governance, and legal and policy research.
Michele brings more than two decades of diverse nonprofit leadership and development experience to her work advocating for students. She has independently raised more than $35 million in revenue, with an additional $100 million collaboratively for small, community-based nonprofits and large national organizations. Michele unites strong people skills, development acumen, and a well-developed network, giving the Dream Project the grounding it needs to fund students’ dreams.
Cecilia ensures the work of the Dream Project is undertaken with the highest professional standards. Cecilia studied law and accounting in her native Bolivia and now provides administrative support and bookkeeping for all our programs. The mother of two Dreamers, Cecilia is personally invested in making sure all students have access to education.
Iman crafts our thoughtful and conscious messaging of the Dream Project's robust programs. Before the Dream Project, she worked at the U.S. Department of State, the Virginia House of Delegates, and local community-driven nonprofits, merging her love for all things comms with international affairs. She understands the power of mentorship and community support and is inspired by her second-generation Ethiopian American identity to support and advocate for immigrants and members of her own community.
Belinda is a guide who enables Dream Project Scholars and their families to navigate a rich network of community resources. She has served in the educational field as a leader, social justice advocate, program director, and consultant. Belinda is also the Co-Founder and Associate Executive Director of Hermanas SOL, which seeks to empower women of color to achieve personal, professional, and spiritual growth through educational achievement, financial literacy, and leadership development within a culturally relevant framework.
Patricia tirelessly advocates for excellence and equity in education. Patricia promotes, plans, and implements career and college activities for Dream Project Scholars, with a keen eye to student needs and emerging opportunities. She holds more than twenty-five years of counseling experience working with culturally diverse populations and serves as the principal of Escuela Argentina, a weekly language instruction program for more than four hundred bicultural students from Pre-K to twelfth grade.
Samantha is a keen observer of how systems impact marginalized communities. A recent graduate of Dartmouth College, she studied Government and Public Policy with a focus on how inequality and discrimination present in communities, economies and institutions. Facilitated by the Lombard Fellowship, Samantha will be contributing to the Dream Project’s development and CTE pilot program initiatives. She is eager to leverage her prior experiences in non-profit outreach and programming research to serve the Dream Project.
Dr. Emma Violand-Sánchez is always working to strengthen her community. Throughout her career, she’s held numerous positions in education, advocacy, and community organizing. In addition to being the founder and Board Chair Emeritus of the Dream Project, Emma brought greater education access to students in Arlington Public Schools as the Supervisor of English for Speakers of Other Languages/High Intensity Language Training (ESOL/HILT) Office, Pre-K–grade 12. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University since 1998. Emma’s work has been lauded through many awards, including a senior scholar Fulbright Award as a consultant for educational reform in Bolivia and the James Hunter III Human Rights Award. In 2017, she was named Washingtonian of the Year.
Established community professionals partner with us to share their insights and expertise. Learn about our current panel of advisors below:
