Meet the Dedicated Team
Behind Community Reading Buddies
Our Team
Kathleen Mautner
Executive Director, Aspire Education
Kathleen is an Oregon native who has dedicated her career to closing the opportunity gap in education. Since beginning her career as a high school teacher in New Orleans, Kathleen has held district leadership roles focused on improving academic outcomes for all students. She was previously the Director of Community Reading Buddies at Aspire, where she brought her passion for literacy development and systems change to CRB. Kathleen holds a BA in Politics and Spanish from Scripps College and an MPP in Education from Vanderbilt University.
Aaron Rubio
Program Manager
Aaron is a Los Angeles native who has a passion for community development, education and social work. He is a Program Manager for Community Reading Buddies. In this role, Aaron helps in the planning and implementation of the program. Prior to joining CRB, Aaron worked as a primary and secondary school teacher in Chiang Rai, Thailand for a number of years. He was a lead teacher in the subjects of English, science and math. He joined Community Reading Buddies because he believes every child should have equal access to a formal education. Aaron holds a BS in Sociology from Arizona State University.
Aaron Rubio
Program Manager
Aaron is a Los Angeles native who has a passion for community development, education and social work. He is a Program Manager for Community Reading Buddies. In this role, Aaron helps in the planning and implementation of the program. Prior to joining CRB, Aaron worked as a primary and secondary school teacher in Chiang Rai, Thailand for a number of years. He was a lead teacher in the subjects of English, science and math. He joined Community Reading Buddies because he believes every child should have equal access to a formal education. Aaron holds a BS in Sociology from Arizona State University.
Kristian Adams
Program Coordinator
Kristian is a Texas native who is dedicated to reducing inequities within society. Kristian has led campaigns to uplift voices of underserved communities, specifically, the Black and Indigenous communities throughout his undergraduate years. He has a BA in History from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and he plans to attend dental school to pursue a career in orthodontics.
Joy Patterson
Program Coordinator
Joy is a current student at Vanderbilt Law School, and also serves as a Program Coordinator for Community Reading Buddies. Social justice and community engagement are passions that drive her to join many initiatives aimed at balancing the scales for underrepresented groups and giving back to the community. Joy holds a BA in Psychology from Trinity University.
Emma Lancaster
Program Intern
Emma is an Oakland native who currently attends the University of San Diego. There, she is studying psychology with minors in sociology and business administration. Emma has a passion for social justice, activism, and serving her community. She is excited to be joining the CRB team as a program intern.
Mikaela Santos
Program & Outreach Intern
Mikaela is a Bay Area native who is currently pursuing a Nursing BSN degree with a minor in Health Equity at Gonzaga University. She is interested in Public Health and passionate about engaging with health disparities and understanding change for social barriers. While in high school, Mikaela served as a CRB Youth/Lead Mentor for three years and is now excited to be program/recruitment intern!
Namugga Nakayiza
Program Intern
Governing Board
Jack Woodruff
Board Chair
Jack is an Oakland native dedicated to improving education and childhood experience for all Bay Area kids. Once a Youth Mentor in Community Reading Buddies himself, he has also served as an educator and leader in classroom, international development, nonprofit, and corporate contexts. Jack holds a BA in Historical Studies from Bard College, and was also formerly the Executive Director of Aspire Education from 2014 – 2018.
Nancy Glasenk
Nancy has an accounting and finance background. She worked at Price Waterhouse (briefly) and at Levi Strauss & Co. (20+years), including a stint as Finance Director in the UK. She joined the Board in 2019 because she believes strongly in the opportunities afforded by education and the need for more students to access higher education. An avid basketball fan (starting with the Knicks but graduated to the Warriors), she has some sports knowledge that might surprise you!!
Dana Sherry
Dana Sherry
Albert Liu
Albert is an education policy researcher with deep expertise on secondary education, postsecondary education, and workforce development. He has a PhD and MA in economics from Cornell University and has worked at Westat, Insight Policy Research, Mathematica Policy Research, and the Urban Institute. Albert and his wife Denise have lived happily in the Bay Area for almost 15 years and have two young children who are both avid readers. He serves on the Governance Committee and is very excited to support Aspire Education as it grows to better support the East Bay community!
Fatemeh Khatibloo
Linda Pelton
Gwyneth Hutchinson
Advisory Board
Jamil Miles
Nat Smith
Brian Sokolow
Brian has dedicated his career to reducing inequity in society, and is particularly passionate about equity in our educational systems. He currently works in corporate strategy at Kaiser Permanente, and has had previous roles in climate and climate justice investing, strategic operations at New York City government’s early education division, and risk consulting at KPMG. Brian holds a BA in history from Brown University and an MBA from UCLA. A relative newcomer to the East Bay, he enjoys taking advantage of the great local hiking options, reading in scenic places, and running with his local run club.
Monica Chellam
Monica began her career as a diplomat with the U.S. Foreign Service and has spent the last decade leading operations teams in growth-stage technology companies, including ed tech companies Coursera and Udemy. Monica holds a BA from Pomona College and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. An East Bay native, Monica grew up in Richmond and now lives in Alameda, where she spends much of her time reading with her two daughters.
Join the Team!
Any educational program is only as good as those who provide it, so we strive to attract, develop, and reward the most effective, committed change-makers who deeply believe that the early literacy problem is solvable. Interested?