Presenter Biographies
NH 21st Century Community Learning Centers Summer Conference - Reignite the Passion

August 2-3, 2010 | Church Landing | Meredith, NH

Keynote Speaker - Maureen Sedonaen, Youth Leadership Institute, has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit leadership and management sector. A nationally and internationally recognized authority, advocate and thought leader in the field of Leadership, Youth Engagement and Youth Development.

In 1989, Ms. Sedonaen founded the Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), incorporated in 1991, and currently serves as the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer. An accomplished keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, she has received the State of California Governor’s Award of Recognition for developing youth programs that truly empower young people; a Congressional Award of Innovation for her youth leadership and development work. Maureen has written numerous articles, thought and policy papers and contributed to several books.  In 2008, Maureen was selected as Non-Profit CEO of the Year in Marin County, CA. Currently she serves as Board Member for the Bay Area Chapter of the Social Enterprise Alliance and The Center for Volunteer and Non-Profit Leadership. She is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management and holds an MBA in Strategic Leadership from Dominican University of California.

Heidi Bell-Isle, Project SUCCEED. Heidi is a graduate of the University of Maine, and Antioch New England Graduate School.  She has been teaching for 16 years and has classroom experience with children from preschool through high school.  Currently Heidi teaches 6th grade in Conway, New Hampshire, and is the Site Director of the Morning and Afterschool Programs at Pine Tree Elementary School

Gail Bourn is the Literacy Coach at Elm Street School in Laconia, NH, Co-Director of the Plymouth Writing Project (the New Hampshire site for the National Writing Project) at Plymouth State University, Adjunct Faculty at Plymouth State University for Reading and Writing Undergraduate and Graduate Courses Reading and Writing Specialist K-12.

Andi Fletcher, Center for Collaborative Solutions

Dr. Andi Fletcher is a nationally recognized leader in afterschool program and policy development. In additional to designing and directing one of the most outstanding programs in the country, she initiated California’s first afterschool legislation, which has resulted in $550 million in funding for programs serving close to a million children and young people. As a consultant, she has worked closely with more than 200 leadership teams and led six national, statewide and regional learning communities. Over 20,000 people have attended her workshops and keynote speeches. Her books and articles are among the most widely used in the United States. A Guide to Developing Exemplary Practices in Afterschool Programs, Lessons in Leadership, Expand and Excel: Taking your Program to the Next Level and Changing Lives, Saving Lives can be purchased at Amazon.com or AfterschoolSolutions.org. She can be contacted at DrAndiAsp@aol.com.

Jennifer Frank, PSU Police Department. Investigator Jennifer Frank earned a BA in Political Science with a concentration in Pre-Law from Gordon College and a Masters of Education from Plymouth State University.  She graduated from the 248th Part-Time and the 142nd Full-Time Police Academies with the distinguished honor of the highest academic average and highest level of physical fitness, the first time a female has ever earned both awards in the history of the Police Academy.  She is the recipient of the 2009 Hero for Justice award, the 2008 Hometown Hero award and the Beverly B. Seavey Community Service Award.  She is also the recipient of  a 2007 Chief’s commendation a Citation of Bravery from the Governor of New Hampshire and most recently, she was honored with the 2010 40 under 40 Leadership Award for the State of New Hampshire and the 2010 DOSA award.

She currently serves as the Special Investigator for Crimes Against Women at the Plymouth State University Police Department.  Her role at the university is to investigate crimes that involve members of the campus community with a specific concentration on crimes against women, sexual assault, hazing, harassment, rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. 

Investigator Frank is a member of the Grafton County Juvenile Diversion Board, and adjunct faculty at Plymouth State University and the NH Police Standards & Training Academy.  She is the Co-Chair of the New Hampshire Violence Against Women Campus Consortium and an executive board member of the New Hampshire Violence Prevention Team, Plymouth Area Sexual Assault Resource Team and a liaison to the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General for Project Safe Childhood.

Joan Liptrot, Institute for Global Education and Service Learning. As the Executive Director of the Institute for Global Education and Service Learning Joan provides training and technical assistance to schools, higher education institutions, community, and faith based organizations as well as National Service programs. A former classroom teacher, with over 20 years of experience in education, international teacher training, and curriculum development, Joan has helped youth and adults develop, expand, and enhance their service-learning practice.

Catherine Ndunge Mbindyo. Catherine received her BA in Community Development from Daystar University in Kenya and an MA in Sustainable Development from the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont. Prior to joining Global Kids as a Senior Trainer, she worked as a Teaching Assistant for SIT's Graduate Program in Intercultural Service, Leadership and Management. She coordinated and co-facilitated courses such as Education for Social Justice, International Policy and Citizen Advocacy, and Program Planning and Project Design. Catherine also worked as a Program Assistant with 'Our Common Future' sustainability project at the University of Southern Maine (USM), aiding in initiating projects that link the local community to the university. While at USM, she also worked with the Upward Bound Summer Program, teaching her native language Swahili to High School students.

Susan O’Connor is the Director of the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative.  This initiative was launched in Summer 2006 to bring equity in summer opportunities and learning for low-income children.  The initiative provides supports to a network of 45 programs, including thematic curriculum, training, technical assistance, action grants, scholarships and a teen apprenticeship program.   HSLI has merged with the WestMOST Network that works to build public awareness about the importance of after-school and out-of-school time learning. 

Susan’s prior experience includes directing twelve 21st Century Community Learning Centers and as a Research Associate with the National Institute on Out-Of-School Time at Wellesley College, developing standards and continuous improvement tools for after school programs.  She is an author of Advancing School-Age Child Care Quality (ASQ).   She has also published papers on Resiliency and After School programs, Workforce Issues, Homework Assistance and Literacy Activities for after school programs.

 She has an MSW from West Virginia in community development.  She has been involved with child and family welfare issues for over thirty years.

Readnex Poetry Squad Embracing the eternal tradition of conveying knowledge orally the group is comprised of four spoken word poets/emcees and one D.J. Through the art of writing and the power of music, esteemed lyrical scholars Decora, FreeFlowin, Jarabe Del Sol, Latin Translator and DJ H20 continue to uplift urban communities with their universal message and sound influenced by Hip-Hop, Soul, Latin and Caribbean music.
in the Summer of 2008 they toured 40 cities. They were also the Featured Artist of the World Social forum in Brazil in January 2009. In April 2009, the ReadNex Poetry Squad hosted the second annual Hip Hop Seasons, a week-long festival in the Hudson Valley, NY.

Vince Pelote, MBA is currently the managing partner with daVinci Consulting, based in Intervale, NH. The focus of Vince’s work is strategic planning, executive coaching, and large-scale transformation. He utilizes his many years of experience and training in the behavioral sciences to provide a systematic approach for developing and implementing best practice competency models. The application of these models becomes the focus for developing leaders.

Organizational Learning (SOL), was the lead researcher for a major leadership-training grant that was funded by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) and Hay/McBer, and was a member of the steering committee for a leadership benchmarking initiative for the University Health System Consortium. Vince also directed the research for and co-edited Masterpieces In Healthcare Leadership: Cases and Analysis for Best Practice.

Saskia Traill, The After-School Corporation (TASC). Saskia Traill is the Director of Policy at The After-School Corporation (TASC), dedicated to giving all kids opportunities to grow through after-school and summer programs that support, educate and inspire them. She is currently leading policy efforts surrounding TASC’s 10-site pilot for expanded learning time, ELT/NYC, and a planning project to align high school out-of-school time with high school reform. She has co-authored articles for peer-reviewed journals and books, as well as written policy briefs and reports on a range of issues, including family economics and after-school programming. Prior to working at TASC, Saskia was a Program Manager for the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, working to build state systems for early care and education.

Dr. Traill currently serves on the Public Policy Committee of the Society for Research on Adolescence and is co-leader of the National Science Foundation’s Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) Policy Study Inquiry Group. She received her B.A. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in research psychology from Stanford University.

Amy Upton, East Side Learning. Amy Upton has been providing Afterschool care for more than 20 years. In 1990, Amy founded East Side Learning Center in Concord, New Hampshire.  She has been the director there since its doors have opened.  It is the first and only nationally accredited school-age program in New Hampshire.  Additionally, Amy holds a NH Afterschool Credential as a Master Professional with endorsements as: Workshop Trainer, Faculty and Program Consultant.

Youth Voices. The presenters are comprised of freshman members “Voices of Franklin High School” and facilitated by Katrina Kretschmar.

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