LEDA Staff
Executive Director Beth Breger | Beth joined LEDA as its Executive Director in September of 2009. Most recently Beth served as the Director of Special Projects in the Office of Student Enrollment Planning and Operations at the New York City Department of Education (DOE), where her responsibilities included developing and implementing enrollment policy reforms and managing enrollment issues for the system's special population students. Prior to working at the DOE, Beth served as the Director of the School Connection Center at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), where she launched the first-of-its-kind school admissions office for court-involved students, in partnership with the City and State juvenile justice agencies. Before CASES Beth spent eight years working at the Open Society Institute (OSI), the foundation funded by George Soros. While at OSI Beth founded the Urban Debate Program and the New York Urban Debate League, initiatives which have successfully re-introduced policy debate to underserved school districts around the country. Beth also managed the foundation's educational grantmaking. Beth received a Bachelor Degree in International Relations from Brown University and a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. | |
Director of College Guidance Desiree Jones | Desiree is a graduate of Georgetown University with a B.A. in History and English. She is also a proud Prep for Prep alumna. Desiree joined LEDA in 2004 and has held a variety of positions in the organization. Serving first as Director of Admissions, then Dean of Students, Desiree is now Director of College Guidance. Desiree truly enjoys working with the Scholars and helping them find their best college options. | |
Director of Recruitment Assia Elgouacem | Assia graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A in Mathematics and Philosophy. She is also an alumna of the Posse Foundation. In the summers of 2005 and 2006, Assia served as a LEDA Teaching Assistant for A.P. Statistics (2005 & 2006), Writing & Composition (2005), and A.P. English (2006) classes. During her tenure as a LEDA Project Coordinator (2006-7), Assia was actively engaged in every aspect of LEDA, from Recruitment to the Summer Institute to the College Guidance and Admissions Process, on through to Scholar Support. As LEDA's Director of Recruitment Assia's role is to locate and recruit deserving and promising young people who would benefit from the LEDA Program. | |
Director of Scholar Support Raquel Cardona | Raquel joined LEDA is December of 2009 as the Director of Scholar Support. Raquel graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. in History with a concentration in East Asian History and Culture. Raquel comes to LEDA after 4 years of working at Amherst College on developing and implementing programs and policies to support low-income students. As Director of Scholar Support Raquel will be working with the LEDA Scholars to support their transtion to college life, to assist them in identifying resources, and to provide guidance as they identify their post-graduate plans. | |
Director of Administration Shayna Jeffers | Shayna graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in African American Studies, and is an alumna of Prep for Prep. Shayna has been with LEDA for close to two years. As Director of Administration, Shayna is responsible for managing all aspects of the organization's day-to-day operations including budgeting, finance, human resources, and office administration. | |
Recruitment Officer Iris Early | Iris graduated from Haverford College with a B.A. in Political Science, a minor in sociology, and a concentration in Africana studies. She is most interested in pursuing racial justice and human rights in her professional career and hopes to bring this passion to her work at LEDA. She has worked with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the National Conference for Community and Justice in Los Angeles, and has joined LEDA as a recruitment officer. Working closely with the director of recruitment, Iris will be visiting schools across the country in order to select future LEDA scholars.
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