Our Team
MELISSA MEDINA
Chief Executive Officer
Melissa Medina holds a Master of Arts in Teaching in Special Education. She is an action-based leader with nearly 10 years of experience working in Out-of-School Time programs. Her tenure in the field has demonstrably refined her skillsets as an effective planner, student/family supporter, and a frontline figure in attendance intervention. She has been charged with and successfully brokers partnerships, organizes programs and services, and maximizes family/ community engagement. She continues to maintain partnerships with diverse segments of the community for a continuum of services within the schools structures.
Melissa has an eye for identifying student and school needs and synchronizing the objectives of the school with measures that support grade promotion, academic preparedness, and social support.
EVY WRIGHT
Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Evy Wright received her School Building Leader Certificate (NYSED) after completing a Master’s Degree at Hunter College. A results-oriented thought partner, change agent, and educational leader with over 15 years of experience in the Department of Education as a permanent teacher, she is a proud faculty member at City College of New York.
She has a track record of success in creating and facilitating policies, school culture, mentoring core competencies in early career teachers and school building administration. She is seasoned in creating learning environments for student and teacher development, restorative practices, and social growth. An advocate for the performing arts, she regularly stages productions with her students.
Helen Mesa
Director of Development
In her position as Director of Development, Helen Mesa leads fundraising and engages the full range of donors. As part of Helens strategic plan, she has already attracted local donors who have long sought to support community initiatives. Helen continues to foster relationships with corporate and foundation donors.
Helen has positioned herself where she can directly impact access to resources having previously worked directly with the children who attend Achievement Lab. Her insight has been a catalyst for her rigorous approach to procuring resources to advance our mission. Helen exercises exhaustive measures to ensure transparency to donors and the general public.
CARMEN JONES
Artistic Director
Carmen Jones has 20 years of experience as a teaching artist working in various educational institutions and organizations in both Chicago and New York. For 8 years she held the position of Director and Facilitator for "After School Matters: Colored Girls are Cover Girls” spoken-word program which promotes female empowerment and provides a safe space encouraging young women to share their story in poetry form.
Carmen has developed artistic curricula in both the elementary school and high school levels. Her competencies include leading classes, workshops, and seminars to aid in enriching inner city youth through theater performance. Her background in dance has garnered her opportunities to develop competitive dance groups to travel the country for yearly dance conferences and competitions. Carmen recently worked as an advisor for a charter high school assisting youth whom are interested in artistic pathways to pursue their dreams of being a performing artist.
NATHALIE CHAVEZ
Director of Enrollment & Retention
Nathalie Chavez has a professional track record of developing and implementing analytical, empirical, and data-driven systems to advance the mission and vision of charter executives.
Nathalie has developed a proven system of building relationships with external agencies and social service organizations to identify a full range of interventions that keep students on-track and mitigates decreased enrollment by having re-entry plans for students in temporary housing and/or living with foster families/kinships.
Nathalie assumes accountability for achieving annual and multi-year enrollment objectives for every individual at Achievement Lab Enrichment locations.