Michelle joined the Network in 2004 and is widely respected as an expert on state level systems for after school and summer programming. In addition to her more than twenty years of non-profit experience, she holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Eagleton Institute for Public Policy at Rutgers University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Smith College. Michelle’s previous position was the City Scan Project Director for the Connecticut Policy and Economic Council. In the four years she served as Project Director, she expanded City Scan from a small pilot project to a model that is being used in nine cities across the country. Prior to her work on City Scan, Michelle was the Director of Education at the Connecticut Association for Human Services, where she managed the Connecticut Kid’s Count project. She is the author of seven reports on the well-being of Connecticut’s children.

Ken has been with the Network since 2008, his primary role with the is to oversee training and professional development work, creating linkages between the school day and after school, and working with communities to establish sustainable programs that both enrich and support children and families. He also leads and supports the Quality Advising efforts for State Funded After School Programs. Ken brings more than twenty years of experience in the field of after school and youth development. Ken recently graduated from the University of Hartford Educational Leadership Program with a Doctorate in Education, he holds a Master’s degree in Human Services with a concentration in Organizational Management and Leadership, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a concentration in Child Development. He has been a presenter at the local, regional, and national level on leadership and creating effective partnerships and collaborations. He authored a book entitled, “School and Afterschool Personnel Reports of Partnership, Communication, and Academic Resource Sharing” and is an area Ken is passionate about. He is the Former District Family Resource Center Coordinator for the Windsor Public Schools, where he administered five family resource centers as well as the Child Care Services Director for the New Britain YMCA and a national YMCA of the USA trainer.

Marla has been with the Network since 2008, she is responsible for maintaining the fiscal control of the organization, team relations, social media presence as well as provide technical support for all State Funded After School Grantees.
Before the Network, Marla worked with New Haven Public Schools for 8 years. There is where her passion for afterschool began, as she organized and ran the afterschool program at the Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration each year. Marla has 20+ years of experience in afterschool and Transact Data Collection System.
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Albertus Magnus College and earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Accounting in 2018.
Marla enjoys hiking, camping, stargazing, traveling as much as possible and spending time with her family.

Khadija brings over 15 years of experience working in informal education in a variety of direct service and supervisory roles with organizations dedicated to connecting, conserving, and educating our next generation about the natural environment including Zoo New England and the Student Conservation Association. A graduate of the vocational aquaculture program at The Sound School, she holds a B.S. in General Studies from Cornell University with study focused on Education and Animal Science and an M.S. in Environmental Education from Southern Connecticut State University. More recently, Khadija’s personal interests in mindfulness and self-improvement combined with her last role as program director for a youth development organization with an environmental focus, connecting her more specifically to tools and training needed for sharing positive life skills development and social and emotional learning. Khadija joined the Network in 2019 as SEL Coordinator supporting the work of SEL4CT and leading various trainings as a Professional Development Specialist for the Connecticut After School Network. Currently she serves as STEM Coordinator and Assistant Director of Professional Development for the Network.

Monica has been with the Network for more than 20 years as the Training Service and Conference Coordinator. In addition, Monica serves as an after school Quality Advisor and trainer.
Prior to joining the Network, Monica worked for 10 years in a directorial capacity in the after school and summer camp field. During that time she supervised 11 state licensed after school sites, including a nationally accredited program. She also supervised day camp for elementary and middle school campers, an ocean studies camp, and an overnight outdoor adventure camp. Monica took great joy in working with children, developing staff, and focusing on high quality programming. She continues to focus on providing support for the continuing development of staff and programs.
Monica holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Providence College, a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Bridgeport, and additional graduate credits in Elementary Education including Child Development, Developmental Reading, Literature, Science, and Special Education from Central Connecticut State University. Monica has extensive training in afterschool, youth work, and supervision including NIOST (Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College), the YMCA of the USA Program School, and the National Afterschool Alliance.
Monica is the mother of five children and several pets. When time allows Monica loves to garden, sew for her small handmade business, and spend time reading at the beach.

Shawna has been with the Network since 2018, beginning her work as a Research Intern and now working as the Quality and Engagement Coordinator. She is interested in addressing issues of social inequity in the community and has recently developed an interest in addressing disparities in the afterschool field and workforce. The thing she loves most about her work is engaging with afterschool staff, helping to provide tools and empowering resources that make their lives and jobs more manageable. She’s currently pursuing her master’s in Community Psychology at Central Connecticut State University, hoping to enhance her skill set to better serve the afterschool community.

Dan graduated from the College of Charleston in 2015 majoring in Public Health. Since then, most of his professional career has been focused on Oncology. Dan started as a Care Coordinator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and eventually transitioned into Medical Communications to work on a variety of chemotherapy drug launches.

A native of West Hartford, and graduate of Conard High School, Dan moved back to the area in 2022 and decided that he wanted to give back to the community that provided so much for him in his youth.

He has a passion for equitable family services for all. With a heavy focus working with the Connecticut Children’s Collective Dan looks forward to enhancing and spreading our services to reach more CT residents.

In his free time Dan enjoys gardening and spending time with his two dogs, Bosco, a Chocolate Lab and Bunny, a Golden Retriever.