Board & Staff

Kristin Ehrgood

President and Board Chair

Kristin Ehrgood is the President and Board Chair of Flamboyan Foundation.  Additionally, she is the founder of Sapientis, a nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing a diverse and informed network of change agents committed to improving the quality of public education in Puerto Rico, and was part of the founding team of DC School Reform Now, a non-profit organization committed to supporting education reform in Washington, D.C. 

After earning her master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2001, Kristin and fellow Kennedy School alumnus Vadim Nikitine started Sapientis in Puerto Rico.   In the spring of 2005, her work at Sapientis was recognized by Ernst & Young when she was named Entrepreneur of the Year in the area of Social Responsibility.  

Kristin attended Bucknell University, where she earned a B.A. in International Relations, before joining Teach For America and teaching for three years.  She later joined the Teach For America staff as Executive Director of their New Jersey region and then as Director of New Site Development.

Kristin currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Vadim Nikitine, their son, Pavlik, and their black lab, Zubi.  She also sits on the boards of Sapientis, DC School Reform Now, Stand for Children, Teach For America *D.C. Region, and Venture Philanthropy Partners. 

Rea Carey

Rea Carey has served on the Flamboyan board of directors since its founding.  She shares a vision for improved outcomes and excellence in public education for all children.  She currently serves as the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a nonprofit organization that builds the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. The Task Force is the country's premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of LGBT people, and working to create positive, lasting change and opportunity for all.

She has over 20 years of experience in nonprofit start-up, fundraising, program oversight, boards of directors, management and leadership development. She has worked extensively in HIV/AIDS prevention for youth and young adults.  Rea was the founding executive director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. In 1999, the Advocate named Rea one of its “Best and Brightest” for individual contributions to the LGBT rights movement.

Rea served on the board of directors for Sapientis, which advances the social and economic development of Puerto Rico by developing leaders who improve public education, from 2001 – 2005. She has also served as an advisor to individual major donors and foundations and has served on the advisory boards for such wide-ranging publications as Teen People magazine and the Georgetown University Journal of Gender and the Law. Rea earned her master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.  She lives in Washington, DC with her partner and daughter.

Vadim Nikitine

Vadim Nikitine is the President of Commercial Centers Management, a holding company involved in 6 million square feet of commercial space in Puerto Rico, Florida, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwestern United States.  His companies are actively involved in all phases of the development of shopping centers, mixed-use projects, hotels, and mini-warehouses.  In Puerto Rico, Vadim developed the first self storage facilities that rely primarily on solar energy.  In the last several years, Vadim has continued to invest in the energy field, primarily focusing on efficiency and alternative energy sources.

Vadim is a graduate of Harvard University, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in economic development and sociology in 1989, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government in 2001.

Vadim is a co-founder of Sapientis, a non-profit organization committed to improving public education by mobilizing a diverse and informed network of change agents. Additionally, he is on the Board of Rare Conservation, an international environmental non-profit organization, and he has participated in the creation and preservation of a 580,000 acre national park in Peru.

In December 2001, Vadim was recognized in Caribbean Business as one of 40 people under the age of 40 having a significant and positive impact on the Caribbean.  In June 2003, he received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from Ernst and Young in the field of Real Estate, Construction and Hospitality.

Yolanda Cabassa

Program Officer: Puerto Rico

Yolanda Cabassa joined Flamboyan Foundation Puerto Rico office in March 2008.  She co-leads and is responsible for managing and supporting grant-making strategies in the area of Inspiring Effective Philanthropy.

Since its establishment in 2009 and as part of her work at Flamboyan, Yolanda chairs the Puerto Rico Donors’ Education Collaborative site committee, a pooled fund established by four local foundations in partnership with Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) to provide capacity building grants to Puerto Rico based nonprofits working in the area of education.   

From 1995 to 2005, her career path has been shaped with successful work experiences in business development, online marketing, project management, and legislative affairs in Washington, D.C., New York City and Puerto Rico.

From 2005 to 2008, she worked as an independent consultant, a translator and project manager for diverse clients in the profit and nonprofit sectors.  This independence allowed her to actively volunteer most of her time to Iniciativa Comunitaria (ICI), a nonprofit community organization that provides health, education and prevention services to populations at risk.  She also fundraised for and served as project manager of a health-related humanitarian project in Guatemala lead by Iniciativas de Paz- ICI’s international volunteer program, and served as president of  ICI’s Board of Directors from 2007 to 2009.  This 4-year period was a life-changing experience in her life.

 She is currently a volunteer at Sapientis and ICI’s Operación Compasión.

Yolanda holds a B.S. in Languages and Linguistics from Georgetown University.

Guiomar García Guerra

Executive Director: Puerto Rico

Guiomar García Guerra is the Executive Director of Flamboyan Foundation, Puerto Rico office. In this role, she is responsible for shaping, implementing, and overseeing all aspects of Flamboyan Foundation’s strategy in Puerto Rico.

Before joining Flamboyan in 2007, she worked independently as a consultant to several nonprofit organizations based in Puerto Rico, including education and nature conservation ONGs, universities, and private schools. Her work included strategic planning, donor development and fundraising, program evaluation and conceptualization of new programs to help nonprofits reach their organizational goals.

Guiomar also worked as Development Officer at the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, where she established Giving Circles as a new vehicle for philanthropic giving. Before returning to Puerto Rico in 2002, where she was born and raised, Guiomar worked as Education Program Officer at the Wallace Foundation in New York City. At Wallace, she managed the Ventures in Leadership fund, a grant-making program created to invest in innovative leadership programs for public school administrators across the United States.

While pursuing her doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), Guiomar worked as Teaching Fellow at HGSE and as Associate Researcher at Education Matters, conducting a multi-year study on the impact of district-wide school reform in Boston Public Schools and their partnership with the Boston Plan for Excellence. Guiomar has taught Preschool in Seattle, WA and Kindergarten-3^rd grade at Escuela Juan Ponce de León in Puerto Rico. She received her undergraduate degree from Williams College in 1991.

Erika O'Neill

Administrative Assistant: Puerto Rico

Erika O'Neill joined Flamboyan Foundation since its beginnings in 2008 as an intern and now serves as Administrative Assistant.  In this role, she is responsible for supporting the daily work of the foundation.  Erika graduated in 2009 from Josefa Pastrana High School in Aguas Buenas and is currently a sophomore in Huertas College studying health sciences with a concentration in nursing.  In 2005, Erika worked at the Office of the Assistant Secretary in the Puerto Rico Department of Education and in 2007 she was an assistant teacher at a summer camp in an elementary school in Caguas.  Erika has volunteered in Casa Cuna San Cristobal, at senior centers and organizations that provide services to homeless people.

Anette Ruiz

Program Assistant: Puerto Rico

Anette Sofía Ruiz Morales is the Program Assistant at Flamboyan Foundation- Puerto Rico office.  In this role, she supports the area of Inspiring Effective Philanthropy, and the Foundation’s in-house communication efforts, such as the website.

Anette recently joined Flamboyan after 5 years of professional experience in local and national organizations, such as Prensa Comunitaria, Corporation for National & Community Service, National Council of La Raza, and Kettering Foundation.  She has a B.A. in journalism with a minor in anthropology from The University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, and is currently developing her thesis for a M.A. in Media and Contemporary Culture from Universidad Sagrado Corazón.

Aside from working in Flamboyan, Anette supports the development of a critical thinking and news literacy project in the Center for the Freedom of the Press as an Assistant of the Director, and she is involved in two international networks: the Dialogues for Thought Leaders in Media of Images and Voices of Hope and the Deliberative Democracy Network of the Kettering Foundation. 

Ricky Da Costa

Administrative Assistant: Washington, D.C.

Ricky M. Da Costa joined the Flamboyan Foundation as the new Administrative Assistant in August 2011. In this role, he is responsible for supporting the day-to-day operations of the Foundation. Ricky is a 2010 graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton with a B.A. in History and Geography. While at Binghamton, he was elected Student Association Vice President for Multicultural Affairs in addition to serving on the executive board of the Haitian Students Association. During the Summer of 2009 he interned at the New York State Washington Office of the Governor, serving as the staff’s primary legislative and administrative assistant. In 2008 Ricky took part in the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program’s Summer Research internship which culminated in the presentation of his project “U.S. Imperialism in the Caribbean: 1915-1935” at the University at Buffalo McNair Research Conference. Ricky is also a former volunteer assistant wrestling coach at Holy Trinity Diocesan High School in Long Island, New York.

Nathan Driskell

Program Associate: Washington, D.C.

Nathan Driskell is the Program Associate at Flamboyan Foundation. Nathan supports all of the Foundation’s district, school, principal, and teacher partnerships. He also manages the Foundation’s quarterly newsletter, grant disbursement and reporting process, data system landscape assessment, and home visiting initiative. Prior to assuming his current role, Nathan served as Flamboyan's Program Assistant, providing administrative support to the Foundation's offices.

Nathan joined Flamboyan Foundation after receiving his bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Brown University in 2009. Previously, he worked as an Administrative Assistant at the Choices for the 21^st Century Education Program, a national education initiative that provides teaching resources and teacher professional development on historical and current international issues, and volunteered as a writing instructor at Hope High School in Providence, RI.

Kennietha Jones

Director of School Leadership: Washington, D.C.

Kennietha Jones is Flamboyan’s Director of School Leadership and supports our partnerships to build the capacity of D.C. schools and principals to engage families in ways that accelerate student learning.

Kennietha comes to Flamboyan with a strong background in teaching, school leadership, coaching and professional development.  She is the former Director of Strategic Programs with New Leaders for New Schools-Washington, D.C., where she was responsible for coordinating program delivery for aspiring principals and shaping the support offered to new principals of the New Leaders community.  Prior to New Leaders, Kennietha served as Managing Director of Program with Teach for America*Baltimore. She also has experience in transformational school leadership having served as a Principal, Director of Instruction, and a member of the first cohort of Boston Principal Fellows with the Boston Public Schools.  Under Kennietha’s leadership, Mildred Avenue Middle School received the First in Math Outstanding School Achievement Award.  As a former English teacher and adjunct graduate professor at University of Massachusetts, Boston, she has extensive experience in middle school learning and teaching.  Kennietha received her B.A. in English from Spelman College and an Ed.M. in Teaching & Curriculum from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Kendall Mattos

Special Assistant to the President and Board Chair: Washington, D.C.

Kendall Mattos is the Special Assistant in the office of the President at Flamboyan Foundation. She provides support to the President on internal foundation management and communications strategy. Kendall comes to the Foundation with five years of experience providing administrative and project support to nonprofit executives. Prior to joining the Foundation, she spent two years at policy consulting firm EducationCounsel, providing executive-level support to the Managing Director and assisting with the management of a strategy group of 20-30 of the country's leading education foundations focused on policy.

Kendall began her professional career supporting the manager of the family office of AOL founder Steve Case, eventually moving on to provide program and development support for two of the Case Foundation’s grantee organizations, PlayPumps International and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure.

In her spare time, Kendall celebrates her family’s heritage by serving as a volunteer staffer for cultural and community outreach programs at the Embassy of the Republic of Cape Verde to the U.S. She studied at the College of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University. 

Lela Spielberg

Manager of Professional Development Partnerships: Washington, D.C.

Lela Spielberg is the Manager of Professional Development Partnerships at Flamboyan Foundation. In this role, she develops curricula, training, and resources for teachers and other school personnel to engage families in ways that improve student academic performance. She also provides expertise on structures and operations, such as school wide data-sharing systems, that support teachers in their efforts to partner with families around monitoring student learning and progress.

Previously, Lela was the Education Policy Analyst for the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), where she monitored and analyzed legislation, regulations and federal funding streams related to public education and family engagement in education.  During her tenure at PTA, she spearheaded the bipartisan introduction of the Family Engagement in Education Act of 2010 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Prior to joining PTA, Lela was a Teach for America (TFA) corps member in Phoenix, where she taught 4th grade and facilitated professional development for other corps members on investing and engaging students and families, data-driven instruction, and classroom management. Lela holds a master’s degree in elementary education from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in history from Brown University.

Susan Stevenson

Executive Director: Washington, D.C.

Susan Stevenson is the Executive Director of Flamboyan Foundation’s Washington, D.C. office. In this role, she is responsible for shaping, implementing, and overseeing all aspects of Flamboyan Foundation’s strategy in Washington, D.C.

Susan brings over twenty years of experience in non-profit management, strategic planning, early childhood development and education to her role at Flamboyan. She began her career in international development, working for Save the Children in Bolivia and serving as Vice President, Latin America and later as Vice President, International for Ashoka. At Ashoka, Susan oversaw the expansion of programs in Latin America from two to eleven countries and, in her capacity as VP, International, she managed 45 staff in 31 countries.

Susan spent several years with McKinsey and Company as a management consultant in McKinsey’s New York and Buenos Aires offices. She also co-founded and served as President of En Route Entertainment, a start-up company that provided movie and hardware rentals to Amtrak train travelers.

More recently, Susan co-directed Success by 6, United Way America’s national network of 350 early childhood initiatives. Susan’s previous experiences in D.C. education include strategic planning consulting with a D.C.-based education non-profit and many years of active involvement in her children’s DCPS school, where she has served as LSAT co-chair, annual campaign co-chair and recruitment committee member.

Susan has a master’s of business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor of arts in political science and Spanish from Indiana University.

Helen Westmoreland

Director of Program Quality: Washington, D.C.

Helen Westmoreland is the Director of Program Quality at Flamboyan Foundation. She is responsible for overseeing the foundation’s school and principal partnerships and informing the development and implementation of Flamboyan’s strategic family engagement initiatives.  In this capacity, Helen identifies partners, strategies, and exemplary programs that will help Flamboyan achieve broad impact and she designs systems to evaluate its results.

Before coming to Flamboyan, Helen worked for the Harvard Family Research Project, where she provided research, evaluation, and technical assistance support to non-profits, philanthropies, government agencies, and research policy organizations across the country.  She has also consulted with a variety of organizations to document and share their lessons learned with others in the field. Prior to that, Helen oversaw student tutoring services and site evaluations for community-based afterschool programs in the Duke–Durham Neighborhood Partnership.

Helen has authored numerous publications on the topics of family engagement, education organizing, and out-of-school time. In 2011, she was asked to join the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, a leadership collaborative whose purpose is to inform the development and implementation of federal policy related to family, school, and community engagement in education.

Helen received a master's degree in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2006 and bachelors’ degrees in Spanish and biological anthropology from Duke University in 2003.