Sylvia Williams is the Civic Site Director of Operations

Sylvia Williams brings 16 years of management experience at Bell South to the Civic Site. She guides the team in implementing systems and structures that will increase the impact and effectiveness of the ACS work in NPU-V. She also works to streamline the Civic Site's communications processes and vehicles so that it can better collaborate and connect with its partners. Sylvia brings a deep commitment to community building and economic development, having been an active volunteer with the Atlanta Urban League. Her skills, experience and interests greatly strengthen the Civic Site as it continues to deepen and expand its work moving forward.

Dr. Dana Rickman is the Director of Research and Evaluation

Dr. Dana Rickman brings a strong academic and policy-focused background to support the Civic Site. Dana earned a PhD from Georgia State University in Political Science and worked on vast, complex research projects while affiliated with the University. Her research focused on child outcomes related to poverty and education so she is well versed in the issues involved in improving conditions for children and families. Dana works closely with Janelle Williams, the Research and Data Analyst at The Center for Working Families, Inc., evaluation consultants, Civic Site team members and partners to track and measure the impact of our collective efforts.

Susan Bertonaschi is the Early Learning Partnership Manager

Susan Bertonaschi is a child development specialist with diverse human service experience. She has held positions in philanthropic, government and nonprofit settings focused on ensuring that young children grow up in safe and healthy environments. In prior philanthropic work, Susan managed grant investments through non-profit organizations' support to disadvantaged families with young children in Atlanta. As a public health administrator, she lead the effort to integrate child development services into the state of Georgia's public health districts and helped to improve data collection as a method of strengthening program performance for infants and children. She brings more than 20 years of experience to the Atlanta Civic Site where she now serves as the Early Learning Partnership Manager. The Early Learning Partnership is a part of the Civic Site's Education Achievement result area, which aims to strengthen education outcomes for all young people in Atlanta's NPU-V neighborhoods from birth through post-secondary education. Susan provides leadership for the implementation of the Fulton County Early Learning Community-Based Partnership grant, which unites public and private organizations working toward the goal of ensuring that all children in NPU-V are healthy and prepared for school success. In this position, she works closely with NPU-V parents, stakeholders and partners to achieve this goal.

Ronnie Galvin is Senior Community Builder

As Senior Community Builder for the Atlanta Civic Site, Ronnie is responsible for helping to seed and grow the social networks that contribute to physical and human development efforts supporting the work of ACS. As the Civic Site's work to responsible redevelop the Pittsburgh neighborhood in the wake of the foreclosure crisis deepens, Ronnie is playing a critical role in ensuring that residents are engaged in the work and informed of its progress and the opportunities that the work is making available to them. Since 2002, Ronnie has been an active partner and leader in the work in NPU-V. Between 2002 and 2004, he served as the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Community Improvement Association, the community development corporation in the Pittsburgh neighborhood and a mission critical partner with ACS. There, he initiated improvements in the areas of housing, economic development, public safety, community cohesiveness, resident involvement and the development of strategic partnerships with local and state officials and major philanthropic organizations. Under his tenure, PCIA launched its Terrible 24 campaign to bring attention and redress to vacant and dilapidated homes in the neighborhood that were posing health and safety hazards. Since 2004, he has been more directly engaged with the work of the Civic Site, initially as a consultant assisting in outreach to and engagement of historically hard to reach and underserved populations in NPU-V. Between 2005 and 2007, he worked at The Center for Working Families, Inc. where he initiated community organizing and advocacy campaigns to support the Center's Workforce Development and Community Building Programs. While at the Center, he partnered with researchers at Georgia State University to implement the Photovoice project in the NPU-V neighborhoods. Photovoice is a needs assessment methodology that places cameras in the hands of neighborhood residents and empowers them to document, through both images and words, the health issues they see in their community. This project led to the creation of the Dirty Truth Campaign (DTC), a collaborative effort led by residents to eradicate the presence negative effects of vacant and unoccupied properties in the NPU-V neighborhoods. As a part of DTC, Ronnie has helped to convene, train and mobilize hundreds of resident leaders, including many young people.

Michelle Hampton is Education Achievement Community Builder

Michelle Hampton is a long-time partner in the ACS Education Achievement efforts. For more than two years, she served as the Communities In Schools Program Coordinator at Gideons Elementary School. There she worked closely with parents of elementary age children, ACS team members and community partners such as the Salvation Army. She led the School Readiness Team in the development of the inaugural Countdown to Kindergarten community event which provided neighborhood parents with the information they needed to ensure a smooth and successful enrollment process at Gideons. Her eight years with Communities In Schools combined with several years of experience working with Prevent Child Abuse Georgia and the DeKalb County Department of Family and Children Services provide Michelle with the contacts, knowledge and experiences she will need to ensure that NPU-V residents are aware of and engaged in ACS Education Achievement programs and strategies.

Cerrice Sanders is the Early Learning Community Partnership Program Assistant

Sanders brings a diverse background in nonprofits and community education. In addition to more than two years of service at The Center for Working Families, Inc. as an Operations Associate and Administrative Assistant, Cerrice was involved in education and outreach activities at several nonprofits in New York City and the northeast. She supervised college-aged tutors and high school peer tutors and taught an eighth grade humanities course at The Door-A Center of Alternatives in New York. She recruited mentors to serve in the S.T.R.I.D.E.S. program at C.L.U.S.T.E.R., Inc. in Yonkers. She also provide classroom based and in-home instruction as a part of The Princeton Review's SAT course. Cerrice brings these diverse experiences to her work to coordinate the Early Learning Community Partnership as a part of the Civic Site's School Readiness strategy. In this new role, she is working with NPU-V residents and School Readiness staff and partners to ensure that the Civic Site's programs and efforts are successful in ensuring that all NPU-V children are healthy and prepared to succeed when they enter school. .

Sheila Taylor is the Office Manager & Executive Assistant to the Site Manager

Sheila Taylor brings more than 14 years of experience supporting executives and overseeing office operations to her work at the Atlanta Civic Site. Most recently, she was executive assistant to the operations president at Newell Rubermaid. With experience organizing large meetings and conferences, preparing presentations, managing vendor relationships and implementing cost reduction efforts, Sheila offers a skill set that strengthens the communication and coordination of our work in NPU-V. Her role on the Atlanta Civic Site team includes providing executive support to Civic Site Manager Gail Hayes and managing the day-to-day operations of the Civic Site office.