Anna Janush

Director College Access

Anna guides our high school seniors through the college access process, ensures students have college options that support their interests and goals. With her support in identifying prospective colleges, submitting competitive applications, and securing financial aid and scholarship, students are prepared to review and accept their best matched college offer. As a former Baltimore City Public Schools teacher, she is experienced working with students and committed to their success. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with family and friends, hanging outdoors, and staying active.

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Asia Cole

Director Outreach and Engagement

Asia is dedicated to new student outreach, recruiting, onboarding and STEM Seminars. Integrated throughout her work is creating and supporting a culture of belonging, responsibility and connectedness among our students and program team. Focused on increasing the number of Baltimore City students who earn a college degree, Asia is pursuing her passion for reforming education and providing resources for college and career success. When not at work, Asia spends her time working out, watching movies, and playing with her nephews.

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Kolani Mosley

Director College Success

Kolani is dedicated to our students’ college start, persistence, and completion. Focused on connecting our first-year students with resources and opportunities to advance their goals, she provides a breadth of direct support. Advising the upperclassmen, she guides them through Backpack2Briefcase, Building STEPS curriculum for preparing for and securing their first college-level job. With her bachelor’s degree in psychology and experience in college support services and crisis management in education settings, Kolani is dedicated to youth’s professional and personal growth. Outside of work she enjoys reading, trying new foods, and spending time with family and friends.

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Sheyna Mikeal

Chief Program Office

Sheyna oversees all aspects of student engagement, from recruiting to the Alumni Council. Guiding the program team, she ensures they have the support and resources necessary to deliver engaging, effective and consistent programming. With expertise in education and student counseling, Sheyna is skilled at curating and linking program components, enabling students to move seamlessly through Building STEPS successive core components. Since college, Sheyna has known that she wanted to work in education with a focus on college completion for underrepresented students. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling and crocheting.

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Elizabeth (Beth) Dolce, Director

Ciena, Blue Planet Division, VP of Finance and Operations

Beth is the vice president of finance and operations for Ciena’s Blue Planet Software division. She leads the commercial contracting, financial planning and business operations activities partnering with sales, services and product leaders to ensure the business achieves its financial objectives. Beth has been with Ciena Corporation since 2010, starting as their vice president and Treasurer. Before Ciena, she held various leadership positions in Treasury, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations at Stanley Black & Decker, Cablevision Systems, and General Motors Corporation. She is originally from the New York City metro area, where she spent most of her career, and now resides in Maryland with her family. She is a passionate believer in the power of education to unlock new life opportunities, and in giving back to the local community. When she’s not busy with work or volunteer activities, she enjoys traveling, skiing, kayaking, and spending time with family and friends.

Nichola Bailey

Program Assistant

Nichola is finishing her final semester at Bowie State University where she is a psychology major. She is focused on serving children and young adults. As a Building STEPS alum, she stays connected to the organization as a program chaperone. In this expanded position, Nichola directly supports College Access and College Success, ensuring students successfully navigate the college and financial aid application processes, the transition to college, and first-year challenges and opportunities. When not in class or at Building STEPS, Nichola enjoys hiking and painting.

Andrea van Wyk

Chair of Building STEPS Young Professional Council

Andrea van Wyk is a Building STEPS alumna and serves as Chair of Building STEPS Young Professional Council, creating and implementing alumni events and programs that create relationships and rapport among program graduates. She has a passion for educating, engaging, and empowering diverse, urban communities. Andrea is the Baltimore Community Project Manager at The Nature Conservancy where she strives to enable equitable access to nature for Communities of Color, and foster their connection to nature for improved emotional, mental, and physical well-being. She spends her free time outdoors, gardening and exploring local green spaces.

Jennifer Chiang

Head of People Strategy Execution

Jennifer is the Head of People Strategy Execution, US at MilliporeSigma. In her role, she supports the recruiting, retention, and wellbeing of over 600 site employees. Her favorite part of the role is building partnerships with the community and working with early talent to help them grow in both their education and careers. Prior to this role, she served in the federal government for just over a decade in various HR leadership roles. In her spare time, you can find her out and about with her two young daughters or at home with her pets.

Debra Hettleman

Chief Executive Officer

Debra launched Building STEPS in 1999 with the purpose of creating a college pathway for underrepresented students to become STEM professionals. Today, she oversees all aspects of this Baltimore not for profit from developing and maintaining corporate and institutional partners to advising the Board on creating and implementing growth strategies. She is a graduate of the Greater Baltimore Committee’s The Leadership and has been honored by the Baltimore Business Journal as Maryland’s Top 100 Women. She earned her Project Management Professional certification in 2020. Outside of work, Debra can be found hiking the trails of Maryland’s parks.

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Allyson Tarbox

Program Associate College Success

Allyson is dedicated to our students’ college persistence, completion and transition to young professional. Through proactive direct support, she helps students navigate first year opportunities and challenges, ensures students maximize campus resources and prepares them for the backpack to briefcase transition. With her experience as a non-tradition college student and background as a social worker and working with middle school students and their families, Allyson’s goal has been to work with college students. Outside of work, Allyson enjoys gardening, spending time with her cats and husband and rewatching 2000’s teen dramas!

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Erika Cabrera

Program Associate College Access

Erika guides our students through the college access process. She helps them explore the breadth of college options, complete and submit competitive college and financial aid applications, and prepares them for first year opportunities and challenges. A former educator and first-generation college student, Erika is motivated to impact large scale change in education equity. She is committed to aiding underrepresented students realize and actualize their full potential. Outside of work, Erika is invigorated by travel, family, and learning and sharing history in a way that informs all facets of her life.

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Jennifer Descoteau

Director Stakeholder Engagement

Jen is integral to all aspects of our organization. She is engaged in donor cultivation, volunteer experience and Board development. Skilled in marketing, social media, and customer service, Jen brings a breadth of expertise to Building STEPS. Jen spends her spare time with her husband, two teenage children and her dog, Stella. Her favorite place to relax is at the beach and she loves to watch scary movies with her daughter.

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Kieara Thomas

Kieara Thomas is a customer-centric Technical Project Manager and UX Designer with 9 years of experience overseeing the delivery of successful software products. Kieara passion for strategic design, organization, problem solving, and analytics lead her to manage solution driven products and programs that enhance customer experience. Kieara is meticulous about projects and applies an empathic attitude to solving customer pain points. In her spare time, Kieara enjoys traveling, fitness, mentoring high school/ college students, and spending time with family.

Vernon Hurte, PhD

Dr. Vernon J. Hurte is the Vice President of Student Affairs at Towson University, a member of the president’s cabinet and an officer of the university. He provides university-wide leadership on all-inclusive services and programs that promote student engagement and success. With nearly 20 years of experience in higher education, in addition to his professional practice, Vernon has served as a consultant to several institutions on topics such as diversity and inclusion initiatives, staff support and engagement, student success, and sexual misconduct policy and protocol. As a leader in the field of student affairs and the local community, Dr. Hurte served on the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Region IV-East Executive Board and the Board of Directors for ACCESS, a nonprofit offering services for survivors of abuse and those in housing crisis. Recently, Dr. Hurte was appointed to serve as a member of NASPA’s Future of Student Affairs Task Force, the Governing Board of the Baltimore Collegetown Network, and represents President Kim Schatzel on the Collegebound Foundation’s Board of Directors. A husband and father to two, Vernon enjoys traveling, playing golf, and working out in his free time.

Matthew Weinberg

Building STEPS Founder and Chair Emeritus

Matthew Weinberg is the ProPharma Group Global Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and the Chief Executive Officer of The Weinberg Group, the U.S. regulatory consulting arm of the ProPharma Group. In these roles, he is both responsible for the growth of regulatory efforts worldwide and the specific growth of The Weinberg Group. His tasks include strategic planning, marketing, business development, and overall coordination of worldwide regulatory efforts.

Matthew is heavily involved in a number of community efforts. He is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program and has served on the boards of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, the Bender Jewish Community Center, and the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, chairing a number of task forces and community efforts.

Sam Tawiah

As vice president of guest services and information technology at the National Aquarium, Sam Tawiah provides high-level technical guidance and advice to the organization’s leaders and strategic planning for all aspects of the National Aquarium’s technology infrastructure spanning business applications, physical hardware, internal and customer-facing networks, and audio/visual technology. He is also responsible for all aspects of daily guest operations spanning guest services, guest engagement, building safety & security, custodial services and all on-premise partner operations.

Sam is a passionate technology strategist with PMP certification and more than 25 years of experience in a variety of industries including nonprofits, banking and finance, and federal, state and local government.

He loves music and dancing, and is a closet DJ with a small studio at home. He never hesitates to sing his own funky and customized version of the Happy Birthday medley for anyone interested (at no cost!). He is also a new grandpa and enjoying every minute with his granddaughter. His favorite phrase is “Make every day count.”

Candace Osunsade

Candace is the Executive Vice President, Global Chief People and Diversity Officer with Catholic Relief Services. She is a respected thought leader with 30 years of business experience in large to mid-size for profit and non-profit organizations, providing guidance and leadership to senior managers in startup, growth and stable organizations. She is an experienced leader of transformational change, a skilled developer of high performing teams, and a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategist. She is a certified Senior Human Resource Professional, Non-Profit Standards of Excellence Consultant and a certified Leadership Coach.

Candace was recognized as the Non-Profit CHRO of the year and most recently as one of the top 100 Women in Maryland. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Executive Alliance, and the Women’s Business Council. Candace is an engaged Board Member with several Baltimore community organizations and a committed volunteer with mission-based organizations focused on improving education outcomes for under-served students.

David E. Lockhart, DM

Dave Lockhart is a retired US Army Officer and Senior Manager with the Boeing Company. He represents a range of Boeing products and services aligned to US Army needs in the communications, command and control, sensors, global positioning systems, cyber, testing, training, and unmanned aircraft systems. Dave sits on several boards in the local area dedicated to improving collaboration and interaction between industry, APG, and local community leaders, helping people and organizations collectively realize their full potential. Dave is an avid reader, enjoys tennis and cruising, is an active tennis player, and strong advocate for lifetime learning.

Brooke Lierman

Brooke Lierman is an effective and passionate advocate in the Maryland General Assembly and a modern-day juggler: she is a mother of two, a wife, a state legislator, and a disability rights and civil rights attorney. Brooke was elected to represent Maryland’s 46th Legislative District in the House of Delegates in 2014. She spent her first five years on the House Appropriations Committee. In 2019, Brooke was awarded a leadership position by the new Speaker, Adrienne Jones, on the Environment & Transportation Committee. This committee oversees all policies related to the environment, transportation, housing, land use, ethics, and more.

Currently in her second term, Brooke has earned a reputation as an effective advocate and skilled legislator who works tirelessly on behalf of her constituents and on a variety of issues that get at the root causes of poverty and inequity in Baltimore, including education, transit, and environmental and social justice. Brooke has successfully passed legislation to invest in and improve public transit; fund evidence-based gun violence prevention programs; end cash bail; eliminate sex trafficking in Maryland and aid victims; stem the school-to-prison pipeline by prohibiting suspensions and expulsions of pre K-2nd graders in Maryland public school; close loopholes in our family & paid leave laws; increase access to financial aid for undocumented immigrants; tackle housing discrimination; and so much more. Notably, in 2019 she passed the nation’s first statewide ban on foam food containers.

Outside of the legislative session, Brooke maintains an active presence in her neighborhoods – visiting schools, meeting with business leaders, and acting as a convener and networker for communities and organizations. She is also a candidate for State Comptroller.

Stuart Kaplow

Stuart Kaplow is an attorney and a founding board member of Building STEPS. He represents a broad breadth of business interests in a varied law practice based in Maryland, concentrating in real estate and environmental law with focused experience in sustainability and green building. Stuart was selected by the American Bar Association as one of ten Legal Rebels for his work in creating and advancing the emergent body of law that is green building and sustainability law. When not volunteering with Building STEPS, in an effort to gain perspective and, admittedly to recreate, Stuart has trekked to some of the wildest real estate on the planet from Kilimanjaro to K2 and Everest, with many summits and mountaineering adventures in between.

Kevin Jennings

LTC (R) Kevin Jennings is the Co-Founder of Millennium Corporation, a cyber security and system engineering firm driven to help customers achieve mission success. As CEO, Kevin is responsible for the strategic vision and the short and long-term profitability and growth of the company. A U.S. Army veteran, Kevin brings more than 25 years of senior-level experience in program management, strategic planning, system engineering and operational execution. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys the outdoors, fishing, hunting, boating, mentoring young entrepreneurs and spending time with family, especially grand kids.

Vernon Hurte, PhD

Dr. Vernon Hurte is the Vice President of Student Affairs at Towson University, a member of the president’s cabinet and an officer of the university. He provides university-wide leadership on all-inclusive services and programs that promote student engagement and success. With more than 18 years of experience in higher education, Vernon is a leader in campus-wide initiatives including the Critical Incident Readiness Team, Sexual Misconduct Leadership Committee, Academic Success Center, Multicultural Student Affairs, Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success and Veterans Center. An active member of the professional community, Vernon serves on the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Region IV-East Executive Board and the Board of Directors for ACCESS, a nonprofit offering services for survivors of abuse and those in housing crisis.

Havaca Ganguly

Hava is the Executive Director for the Middendorf Foundation. In this capacity she leads the foundation’s grantmaking efforts supporting the arts, education, historic preservation, health, environment and social services largely in the Baltimore area. Her support to Building STEPS draws from a former role, as a research and policy analyst for education research and policy philanthropic efforts at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. She is a member of Maryland Philanthropy Network and Exponent Philanthropy. She enjoys book clubs, writing groups, creative projects, travel, and spending time with her eight year old bundle of joy. She learned Spanish as an exchange student in Valdivia, Chile and as a second grade teacher in Cancun, Mexico.

Richard Edlow, OD

Dr. Richard Edlow was, most recently, Senior Advisor to EyeCare Services Partners, a consolidator of vertically integrated eye care platforms including Katzen Eye Group, encompassing 150+ providers and 50+ locations throughout the US Mid-Atlantic Region, California, Illinois and Colorado. He recently retired from clinical care and his partnership in Catonsville Eye Group in the Baltimore market.

Richard frequently writes and lectures on EYECONOMICS: business and market issues surrounding the eye care profession, market trends and workforce issues. He previously served as Chair of the AOA’s Information & Data Committee for over 15 years compiling the American Optometric Association’s State of the Profession Report. He has served on a variety of boards & committees including the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Integrated Ophthalmic-Managed Eyecare Delivery (IOMED) Committee. Dr. Edlow was one of the early developers of comprehensive managed eye care programs in the United States. He and his wife enjoy camping with their grandchildren.

Jamie Watt Arnold

Profiles, Inc., Senior Vice President

Jamie is a communications and marketing professional who joined the Building STEPS board in 2014 after providing public relations and marketing guidance to the organization. Jamie is Senior Vice President at Baltimore-based marketing, communications and events firm, PROFILES. At PROFILES, Jamie has been highly successful in advancing client messages through strategic communication and marketing programs. Jamie manages media relations programs, coordinates special events, develops grassroots marketing initiatives and handles social media efforts for a variety of clients in addition to supporting the business’ daily operations and business development efforts. She is from Harleysville, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia and now resides in Crofton, Md. Jamie has two children—Averie and Will—who keep her busy.

Courtney Delph

Director High School Engagement

Focusing primarily on our high school students, Courtney plans, implements and oversees all aspects of the Junior Seminars, Internship Workshops and College Workshops. Joining Building STEPS in 2016, she is instrumental in ensuring that each high school senior prepares and completes their college and financial aid applications. As a former teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools and Team Leader for Youthworks, Courtney is uniquely qualified to create exposure and prepare our students for college success. She graduated from Loyola University Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts in Writing.

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