Management and Structure

NAZ manages with multiple levels of leadership, including NAZ Board of Directors, collaborative partner leadership, our parent leaders, and NAZ Central leadership staff.

NAZ Leadership Staff

Sondra Samuels, President and Chief Executive Officer (Founding Leader) (biography)
Karen Kelley-Ariwoola, Chief Operating Officer (biography)
Karen Casanova, Chief Development Officer (biography)
Tanisha Bradford, Vice President of Heart Resources (biography)
Andre Dukes, Vice President, Family and Community Impact (biography)
Michelle Palo, Senior Director, Collaborative Learning (biography)
Natalie Obee, Vice President of Finance
Ann Johnson, Vice President of Education
Robbie Droddy, Senior Director of Individual Giving
Precious Fritz, Director of Family Achievement
Paige Buchanan, Director of Family Support
Arielle Handevidt, Director of Early Childhood Education
Kalin LeBrun, Director of Communications and Marketing
Amy Susman-Stillman, Vice President of Evaluation
Jaton White, Director of Community Wellness
Erica Gates, Individual Giving Officer
Bianca Jones, Foundation & Corporate Relations Officer
Vincent Frazier, Family Academy Program Director
Fallon Gleason, Collective Impact Associate
Doug Olson, Operations Manager
Valerie Fleurantin, NAZ Healthy Ways Manager
Rachel White, Executive Assistant to President & CEO

NAZ Board of Directors

Board Officers

Board Chair, Dianne Haulcy^, CEO, The Family Partnership
Vice-Chair, Karen Grabow, Executive Consultant, Navigate Forward
Treasurer, Sarah Curfman+, Executive Director, Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota

Directors

Ziad Amra, SVP & Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation
Tom Borman, Of Counsel, Maslon L.L.P.
Deb Burke, Senior Government Relations Consultant, Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions
Michael Ciresi, Founding Partner, Ciresi Conlin L.L.P.
Annie Gillette Cleveland, VP, Communications & Marketing Strategy, Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Damien Fair, Director, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota
Jacob Frey, Mayor, City of Minneapolis
Kirsten Gorsuch, Chief Communications Officer, UnitedHealthcare
Amelia Williams Hardy, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Best Buy
David Hough, County Administrator, Hennepin County
Paul Johnston, EVP, Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel, Thrivent
Al Lenzmeier, Retired, President & COO, Best Buy
Tim Manning*, Senior Associate General Counsel, Scoular
Matt Marsh, Managing Director, Deloitte
Geoff Martha, Chairman & CEO, Medtronic
Benito Matias, Principal, Ascension Catholic School
Dominique Mays, Parent Representative
Kim Nelson, Retired, SVP, External Relations, General Mills
Brian Taylor, Founding Partner & CEO, Pine River Capital Management
Karen Wilson Thissen°, General Counsel and Secretary, General Mills
Laysha Ward, EVP & Chief External Engagement Officer, Target
Makeda Zulu^, Executive Director, Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center

* Development Chair
+ Finance Chair
° Governance Chair
^ Impact Chair

Parent Advisory Board Members

Ethrophic Burnett
Nancy Burns
Tamara Campbell
Ogi Carter
Charise Curry
Nichole Flowers
Marquita Haynes
Dominique Mays
Calahena Merrick
Taya Morgan
Gregory Wheeler

NAZ Executive Leaders

Yusuf Abdullah, Principal, Patrick Henry High School
Randa Ayoub, Beacons Center Director, YMCA Beacons
Sarah Beraki, VP of Talent & Culture/Co-Interim Executive Director, KIPP North Star – Minnesota
Sylvia Beevas, School Leader, Mastery School
Suzanne E. Burks, Executive Director, Phyllis Wheatley Community Center
Alika Galloway, Executive Director, 21st Century Academy
Molly Greenman, President & CEO, The Family Partnership
Dianne Haulcy, Sr. VP of Family Engagement, Think Small
Anne Long, Executive Director, Plymouth Christian Youth Center
Amy Luehmann, Principal, Nellie Stone Johnson School
Benito Matias,  Principal, Ascension Catholic School
Jeb Myers, President, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
Laurie Ohmann, EVP/Chief Operating Officer, Northside Child Development Center
Brooke Rivers, Executive Director, Reading Partners
Clare Sanford, Director of Government & Community Relations, New Horizon Academy
Maureen Siewert, Executive Director of Early Childhood Education, Minneapolis Public Schools
Phyllis Sloan, Executive Director, La Creche Early Childhood Center
Audrey Suker,  Executive Director, ServeMN