Our enthusiastic and award-winning staff goes above and beyond to provide high-quality programs to participants and their families. Many staff members are former volunteers or members of the community that Horton’s Kids serves.

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• Brenda Chamberlain, Executive Director

  

  Brenda Chamberlain began her career with Horton’s Kids as a volunteer in 2003, tutoring on Tuesday nights at the Anacostia Public Library. She says she was “hooked from the first second.” After a year and a half of volunteering, Brenda was hired as the growing organization’s first-ever Director of Volunteers – a position in which she quickly excelled. After creating one of the largest volunteer groups in the city, Brenda became known as one of Washington, DC’s experts in recruiting, training, and managing volunteers.

  In 2008, she was promoted to the position of Operations Director and was responsible for the myriad of logistics for a multi-site, volunteer-staffed tutoring program. After she became the Deputy Director in 2009, she worked closely with the organization’s founder, Karin Walser, and eventually took over all aspects of managing the organization during the executive transition.

  Brenda was hired as the Executive Director of Horton’s Kids after an extensive, national executive search and a resounding unanimous vote by the organization’s Board of Directors.

  Under her leadership as the Executive Director, Horton’s Kids had a number of new initiatives, including launching a three-year strategic plan, expanding parent empowerment services, and opening a Community Resource Center in the children’s neighborhood.

  Brenda has also focused on continuing Horton’s Kids’ financial sustainability. The organizational budget increased by 24% from FY10 to FY11.

  With Brenda as the Executive Director, Horton’s Kids has also received numerous accolades. In November 2009, Horton’s Kids won the NPower Greater DC Region Technology Award from Accenture and NPower. In the same month, WUSA9 aired a segment about Horton’s Kids and our partner, the Junior League of Washington. In May 2011, Horton’s Kids was honored to become the recipient of The Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management.

  Brenda grew up in southern Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her continuing education includes courses in non-profit financial management, human resources, fundraising, personnel management, youth development, capacity building, program evaluation, and risk management. In addition to non-profit management, Brenda has expertise in human development with a Certificate in Gerontology and spent several years designing homes and public places to better accommodate elderly and disabled. She enjoys art, traveling with her husband, and volunteering in the community.

• Kimberly Liotta Atkinson, Operations Director

  

  Kim served as a Horton’s Kids volunteer for more than six months before joining the staff full time in 2009.  As Operations Director, Kim structures and manages the budget and directs human resources. She is also responsible for procurement, contract negotiations, logistics, and IT management.

  When not at Horton’s Kids, Kim coaches intercollegiate D-III women’s basketball and plays intramural basketball.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree from the George Washington University.

• Lisa Peri, Development Director

  

  Lisa received her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Clark University and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from University of Pennsylvania. She previously worked in the profit and non-profit sectors with more than 15 years in development. As the Development Director, Lisa is working to rapidly expand the diversity in funding for Horton’s Kids.

  Lisa is married to her husband, Jeff, and is mother to their two girls, Kayla and Lulu. When she is not editing grants, throwing parties, or writing thank you notes to donors, you can probably find her at Girl Scouts or a soccer game!

• Kristen Woodiwiss, Program Director

  

  Kristen joined the Horton’s Kids team as Education Lead in January 2011 after receiving a Master’s Degree in Education with a focus on curriculum and instruction from Trinity Washington University. Before becoming a staff member, Kristen volunteered with Horton’s Kids for four years. In July 2011, Kristen was promoted to the Program Director position, and she now manages all Horton’s Kids’ programs, including one-on-one tutoring.

  Since starting at Horton’s Kids, Kristen has initiated a number of new projects including a pilot program at tutoring for our most struggling readers. She has also collaborated with the Volunteer Coordinator to provide better and more efficient trainings and resources to tutors.

  In her spare time, Kristen enjoys taking advantage of the many resources and activities in the DC area.

• Latrina Bowman, Program Assistant

  

  Latrina joined the Horton’s Kids family as a Development Intern in January 2009. Since then she has returned to Horton’s’ Kids every summer to teach the third and forth graders about Rome and Ancient Greece. She has been able to spread her love for the advancement of people, working in Ghana, West Africa, overseeing and developing the construction of small projects in a rural village.

  Her love for the kiddies is constantly growing and now she loves spending time in the K-2 room during tutoring. When she’s not playing games on the bus or encouraging “Shout-outs” from the kids, she is probably tutoring middle school students in Baltimore or making plans to go back to Ghana for more development projects. She graduated from Gettysburg College in May 2010 with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies.

• Dan Chiu, Health & Enrichment Associate

  

  Dan grew up in New York City and joined Horton’s Kids after graduating from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Biology. (Fun fact: Dan went to the same school as his favorite children’s author – Dr. Seuss!)  When not hanging out with the kids on field trips, he is focusing on ways to improve their health and wellness and making sure that our services meet their dental, vision, nutritional, and other basic needs.

  Outside of work, Dan enjoys browsing bookstores, elongating his movie queue, and sitting in coffee shops.

• Katie Firestone, AmeriCorps VISTA: Enrichment Coordinator

  

  Katie joined Horton’s Kids as an intern in the fall, working in development and programs. She was very excited when an AmeriCorps opportunity opened up. Katie previously worked at a tutoring program during college in Baltimore and is happy to continue working in education.

  Katie grew up in New York City. She graduated from Johns Hopkins in 2011 with a BA in International Studies and Africana Studies. She is loving living in DC.

• Mitzy Franklin, Program Assistant

  Mitzy’s four children have participated in Horton’s Kids, and she is an aunt to many of the children in the neighborhood. Mitzy’s fun-loving yet stern personality has made her a popular staff member among the older youth. When Mitzy is not chatting with the children, you can find her reading one of her favorite books.

• Kavya George, Operations Coordinator

  

  Kavya has been with Horton’s Kids since fall 2010 and as the Operations Coordinator, she handles much of the organization’s “business side,” including hiring and helping with financials and program logistics.

  Kavya grew up in Pennsylvania and received her B.A. in Psychology from Goucher College. After traveling the world for a few years, she came to DC in 2010 and is still learning the city. In her free time and sometimes at work, she enjoys singing, dancing, entertaining people, and being cool.

• LaToya Hackett, Program Assistant

  LaToya lives in Wellington Park and has a fifth-grade son and two nieces in the Horton’s Kids program. She is a very devoted mother to her son. Her calm and patient personality helps her work with the children in our middle school room at tutoring. After programs, she always makes sure that the youngest children walk home safely.

• Asha Henson, AmeriCorps VISTA: Program Coordinator

  

  Asha recently joined the Horton’s Kids team and is focusing on advocating for the children by connecting them with special education services and helping enroll students into higher performing schools.

  Asha’s previous experience in education and under-resourced communities includes working with Jumpstart in addition to many volunteer and internship activities. She was born in Washington, DC and studied psychology at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.

• Mike Langen, Volunteer Coordinator

  

  Mike joined Horton’s Kids in February, 2012. He is very excited to work with the organization’s great staff, volunteers, children, and families. As the volunteer coordinator, Mike supports volunteers in their dedicated involvement with tutoring and Invest in Kids programs.

  Mike grew up in Rochester, New York and studied English and philosophy at the State University of New York at Geneseo. He then earned his master’s degree in inclusive childhood education from the University of Rochester. Before joining Horton’s Kids, Mike served with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), which included traveling through the Midwest to complete a variety of community service projects.

  Outside of work, Mike enjoys playing banjo and harmonica, playing ultimate frisbee, and exploring the city.

• Julie Lonardo, Program Specialist

  

  Julie began volunteering at Horton’s Kids in 2000, before the organization had a staff, and rose through the ranks to become the Volunteer Coordinator. She joined the staff full time in 2002 and spent six years as Program Director. In this position, she oversaw tutoring and field trips, coordinated volunteer activities, managed databases, and arranged health services for the children.

  In 2008, Julie briefly “retired” to become a full-time mom but quickly realized that there was more she could do for Horton’s Kids’ families. In 2010, she returned to work part time as a Program Specialist. She currently focuses on empowering parents and strengthening community involvement.  In 2010, she was in charge of opening Horton’s Kids’ Community Resource Center in the children’s neighborhood.

  Julie grew up in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and graduated from Susquehanna University with a degree in sociology.

• Henry Sell, AmeriCorps VISTA: Operations & Development Associate

  

  Henry joined Horton’s Kids in 2011 and is very excited to have fun with the children. In his position, he is updating and strengthening databases as well as working with volunteers and funders to make sure everything is running effectively and efficiently.

  Henry grew up in Stillwater, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science. During his free time, he enjoys going to basketball games and fixing up old bicycles.

• Frances Thunder, Education Lead

  

  In December 2011, Frances was promoted to Education Lead. She is thrilled at the opportunity to invest more time and energy in the children’s well-being, and continue her support of the tutors! In this position, she will manage all one-on-one tutoring programs, maintain the children’s individual learning plans, and track their academic progress at tutoring as well as school. Most importantly, she is responsible for keeping the children engaged and having fun learning!

  Originally joining the Horton’s Kids team as Volunteer Coordinator in Fall 2009, Frances has recruited, trained, and screened more than 400 new volunteers and helped increase full-time tutor retention by 15%. In Fall 2011, she implemented Invest in Kids Projects to promote volunteer opportunities during Horton’s Kids’ many wrap-around services.

  Frances graduated in 2009 from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in Liberal Studies.

• Sveta Wilkson, Development Coordinator

  

  As the Development Coordinator, Sveta writes grants and helps fundraise for Horton’s Kids’ amazing programs. She also loves reading books to children at tutoring whenever she gets a chance.

  Sveta grew up in Houston, TX and graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.  On the weekends, she likes playing soccer, going on bicycle rides with her husband, and spending time with her housemates.