Staff
Tom Blanford, The NEA Foundation Institute for Local Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Tom, a loaned executive from the NEA , is directing the NEA Foundation Institute for Local Innovation in Teaching and Learning. For the last seven years Tom has been Associate Director of the Teacher Quality Department and the lead on creating the NEA Academy, NEA’s on-line professional development site.
Prior to coming to NEA, Tom taught engineering and technology in high schools in Detroit and North Carolina. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and was Chair and Executive Director of the North Carolina Teaching Standards Commission. He has received several state and national awards recognizing his contributions to Education. Tom was one of the first public school teachers selected to participate in the three-year Kellogg Foundation leadership development program. He is completing a Masters Degree program from George Washington University in Educational Technology. He also holds a degree in History from the University of Chicago and University of Wisconsin, and a MA in Education from Wayne State University.
Susan Burk, Special Projects Director
Susan has spent her entire career in the nonprofit sector. Currently, she staffs the Board of Directors, manages the Awards for Teaching Excellence and the Salute to Excellence in Education Gala, and is actively involved in her 13-year-old son's education at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in the District of Columbia. Prior to joining the Foundation staff, she worked for the National Community Education Association to secure federal funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers and served as the Director of Adult Education for the American Bar Association in Chicago.
Rudy Careaga, Assistant Director of Programs
As Assistant Director of Programs for the NEA Foundation, Rudy assists in the provision of technical assistance to sites participating in the Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative, and manages several smaller grant programs for the Foundation. Prior to joining the NEA Foundation, he served as a senior associate at the Public Education Network. He holds a degree in Linguistics from Georgetown University, and is currently completing a Doctorate of Education at the University of Maryland–College Park.
DeAnna Duncan Grand, Development Officer
DeAnna is responsible for supporting all non-gala contributed revenue to support the Foundation's work. She has over 19 years of fundraising and nonprofit management experience working in a variety of arts, education, and public interest organizations in the Washington, DC area.
She is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Theater, Film, and Television, both from UCLA and is currently pursuing her doctorate in education policy and practice at the University of Maryland-College Park. DeAnna is also active in Washington, DC's theater community having directed over 15 plays for small professional theaters throughout the region.
Jesse Graytock, Grants Manager
As the NEA Foundation's Grants Manager, Jesse oversees the Learning & Leadership and Student Achievement grants offered by the Foundation. He has coordinated various national education grant programs and has more than four years experience in the field of grants management. Jesse is a graduate of Bucknell University.
Nicole L. Johnson, Finance Assistant
As Finance Assistant at the NEA Foundation, Nicole assists in the daily oversight of all administrative, financial and HR activities. She has over 10 years experience as a Finance Assistant and is currently a student at the University of Maryland pursuing a B.A. of Accounting.
Nancy Moll, Director of Finance
As Director of Finance, Nancy oversees all of the Foundation's financial activities including, banking, investments, insurance, monthly recording and reporting of financial information, coordinating the financial statement audit, and financial analysis for the staff and the Board of Directors.
Nancy is a licensed CPA and has worked with nonprofit organizations since 1990. She worked for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as financial manager and the Child Welfare League of America as CFO prior to joining the NEA Foundation. In addition, Nancy taught accounting and business math courses at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA.
Mike Paquette, Communications Associate
As Communications Associate, Mike assists in promoting the Foundation's work and mission to educators, stakeholders and the public. Mike also serves as the Foundation's Web master. He has a diverse background in communications that ranges from working as an account executive at a public relations firm to teaching Web design courses in Bolivia as a Peace Corps volunteer. He has a B.A. in Public Relations from Gonzaga University.
Betty Paugh-Ortiz, Director of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships
Betty leads the development and advancement of innovation initiatives that support the mission of the NEA Foundation. She works with educators to identify innovative solutions to instructional practices as well as provides opportunities for the public to support educator efforts to close the student achievement gaps.
Prior to joining the NEA Foundation, she was Vice President of the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP), where she managed the organization’s programs and events, supervised staff, conducted trainings, and developed curricula. She also served as director of the University of Puerto Rico-DC Initiative and as director of Maternal and Child Health at the National Council of La Raza. She holds graduate degrees from DePaul University and a Bachelor’s degree from American University.
Harriet Sanford, President & CEO
Harriet is a former public school teacher and the parent of a Maryland public school student. Sanford's senior executive career spans more than 25 years, with 19 years as the president and chief executive officer of non-profit organizations including the Arts and Science Council in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Fulton County Arts Council in Georgia.
Previously, Sanford spent 10 years in leadership positions in the City of Atlanta government. Prior to joining the NEA Foundation, Sanford served as the primary consultant to "South by South Africa: Crafting Cultural Understanding," a project that built economic links and cultural understanding between South Africa and U.S. partner cities.
Sanford has managed annual budgets of more than 18 million dollars and capital funds of $200 million. A recognized specialist in the field of charitable fundraising, Sanford has led several initiatives that have raised more than $55 million to support the mission of various non-profit organizations. She has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of some 10 non-profit organizations, having contributed her vision and managerial expertise to institutions including a merger of The National Association of Local Arts Agencies and The American Council for the Arts that resulted in the major arts advocacy organization Americans for The Arts.
Sanford's contributions to the advancement of arts education, culture, and cultural understanding have been recognized by numerous non-profit organizations including the North Carolina Arts Education Association, Americans for the Arts, National Black Arts Festival, the National Association of Counties, and The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Through the generous support of grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation, Sanford also served as a United States Information Agency (USIA) fellow to South Africa in the late 1990s. She currently serves as the chair of the Board of The NAMES Project Foundation, and a board member of Americans for the Arts, Hispanic College Fund, Festivals DC, Caversham Centre ( South Africa) and The NEA Foundation.
Sanford holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and a BA in Education from New England College, as well as a MPA from the University of Connecticut.
Anna Smith, Database Coordinator
As Database Coordinator, Anna provides database management for the grants and development programs. She has a diverse background in administrative, graphics and database management that ranged from government to private companies. She has attended George Mason University.
Janice Ward, Executive Assistant
As Executive Assistant, Janice provides administrative, programmatic, and research support to the Foundation's President & CEO.
Janice has a diverse background in regulatory and educational affairs from working as a business analyst at a Fortune 500 company to coordinating outreach projects for an education non-profit. She has a Master of Public Policy degree from George Mason University and a B.A. in Political Science from Virginia Tech.
Edith Wooten, Director of Communications
As Director of Communications, Edith promotes the Foundation's work and mission to educators, stakeholders and the public.
She has more than 20 years of experience in communications, working at some of the nation's top PR agencies, including Ogilvy PR and Ketchum PR, where she led account teams for well-known brands, including MasterCard International. She ran her own PR consulting firm that included the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the NEA Foundation as clients. She served as press secretary for a US representative and began her career as a reporter. She received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.