"My Fellowship has equipped me with the tools to become a change agent in the education arena, and opened up important lines of communication at the local, state and national levels."

Dr. Marsha Broussard serves as Program Director at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI). Her current public health focus is supporting New Orleans’ most vulnerable students in successful educational completion, starting with meeting early childhood benchmarks through high school completion.

Since 2007, Dr. Broussard has served as Principal Investigator (PI) for the School Health Connection (SHC) program, initiated at LPHI through an investment by W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). SHC was aimed at recovering and expanding school-based health centers (SBHCs) to improve access to integrated health care services for vulnerable youth, post Hurricane Katrina, in the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area. SHC has led to the establishment of 12 new SBHCs in the Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes.

Dr. Broussard is Co-P.I. for a randomized control trial to analyze the efficacy of two evidenced-based programs to prevent teen pregnancy, which has led to local and state policy efforts to expand comprehensive sexual health education in schools. Dr. Broussard holds an A.B. in Anthropology from Stanford University (1978), a Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan (1983), and a Doctor of Public Health degree from Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (2013).

Sherdren Burnside currently serves as a pastor at Journey Ninth Ward Assembly of God. She is also the co-founder of Compassion Outreach of America, a faith-driven non-profit that plants vibrant churches, builds thriving communities, and supports excellence in public education. Burnside has over 20 years experience in capacity building, project management, and the administration of education and faith-based programs serving diverse communities. She began her career teaching as an undergraduate in the Breakthrough New Orleans program (formerly New Orleans Summerbridge). She is a proven innovator in large and small, urban school districts and non-profit sectors.

In 2002, she acted upon findings of a Voluntary Resolution from Office of Civil Rights (OCR) by serving on the design and implementation team for a 3-year high school turn around initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She served as founding teacher leader of a small autonomous school co-located on a single campus, doubling the number of high school graduates and tripling the number of high school athletes academically eligible to participate in sports resulting in teams reaching play-offs and State Championship level competition. Burnside served as the founding site director of College Track New Orleans (CTNO), a national college completion program for underserved youth. Under her CTNO has grown from an inaugural class of 37 high school students to over 300 high school and college students and increased TOPS Opportunity Award eligibility from 18% to 85% in four years. Burnside is a gifted teacher with a proven record of improving student achievement.

Burnside’s belief that all children deserve an excellent education drives her unwavering commitment to equity, service, and Biblical justice. She earned her B.A. in English and Political Science from Loyola University, New Orleans and her M.Ed. from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently pursuing ordination with the Louisiana District of the Assemblies of God through the Louisiana School of Ministry.

Dr. Lisa Green-Derry serves as Education Director for Urban Strategies, Inc. Lisa and her team of educators, social workers, and graduate interns collaborate with families and others to connect families’ assets to the assets of schools, local, and national organizations. The goal is to ensure that families have access to pathways to experience success in education and workforce preparation.

Lisa is experienced as a medical laboratory scientist and science educator, instructional strategies expert, teacher of teachers, mentor, and national presenter. She is a published author and independent scholar with more than 20 years teaching and supervising in Pre-K through 16 urban and rural elementary, middle, secondary schools, and colleges in Texas and Louisiana.

Dr. Green-Derry's research interests include teacher preparation, culturally relevant pedagogy, instructional strategies for K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and preparing teachers to respond to academic needs of children traumatized by natural disasters.

Lisa T. French serves at the Executive Director of Career and Technical Education (CTE) at Louisiana Department of Education. In this role, she manages CTE policy work, industry credentialing, and supports the implementation of the state’s new program, Jump Start, designed to prepare students for college and career.

After spending 10+ years working in the private sector — initially for General Motors as an Industrial Engineer, then Production Manager, followed by a transition to Kimberly-Clark Professional as a Business Unit Manager — Ms. French desired a different professional experience, one that would allow her to make a difference in the lives of young people. So she transitioned to higher education, where she served as the Program Director of the first Early College Program in the state of Georgia at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Ms. French holds a Masters in Business Administration from Emory University Goizueta Business School, as well as a B.A. in Business Administration and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Florida A&M University.

Sara Massey serves as the President of Communities In Schools of Greater New Orleans, Inc. Sara has led the Louisiana affiliate of the nation’s leading dropout prevention network since shortly after Hurricane Katrina, growing the organization from a staff of one serving 100 students to a staff of 40+ serving 6,000 students in 17 public schools in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The focus of CIS Greater New Orleans is the case management of more than 1700 students in grades pre K-12th using the CIS proprietary model for integrated student services to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Additional programs layer intervention and prevention services on students and include in-school mentoring in the purest form, a 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool program serving 300 students in “Champ Camp” at three schools, and the popular CIS Champs Choice store which collects inkind donations and makes them available to teachers at no cost.

Sara was awarded the Anne Hazard Richardson Volunteer of the Year Award by Reading Is Fundamental in May 2013. She was elected by the New Orleans City Council to serve on the Children and Youth Planning Board. She is also a member of the steering committee for YouthSHIFT, the collective impact initiative in New Orleans, and is also a member of the Youth Program Quality Initiative working group, piloting the YPQA tool in 15 nonprofit organizations committed to quality youth programming in out-of-school programs.

As Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Young Audiences Charter School in Gretna, LA, Brionne Janée Stewart oversees the development and implementation of the school’s unique and dynamic arts-integrated curriculum. Ms. Stewart also supports teachers with coaching and modeling of research-based instructional practices, and job-embedded professional development.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Louisiana State University and a Masters of Education in Educational Administration at Texas Woman’s University.

Ms. Stewart excitedly joins OPEN’s Education Policy Fellowship Program to gain exposure and knowledge of Louisiana’s most pressing issues related to policy. She is certain that completion of this program will be an integral part of her development as a well-rounded educational leader in Louisiana.

Adrian Todd currently serves as the Director for the Office of Children, Youth and Families at Total Community Action. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 35 years of experience working in various capacities for non-profits and government agencies. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Rutgers University and a Bachelor's degree, also in Social Work, from Dillard University.

"I have been an advocate for children and families all my life and have been fortunate enough to do work that feeds that passion," says Adrian.

Throughout her career in education, Susan Kahn has been guided by a singular vision—to positively impact student achievement through exemplary educational leadership. Mrs. Kahn began her career in education as a classroom teacher. She has taught students from a variety of backgrounds and learning styles and has also led the development of curriculum and professional development on local school campuses.

Mrs. Kahn has led the coordination of all district and state assessments for the Lafayette Parish School System as well as leading statewide Assessment Administration for the Louisiana Department of Education impacting over 720,000 students. She utilizes the skills and expertise of these professional experiences in her current role as an Instructor of pre-service teacher candidates and Supervisor of Student Teachers in the College of Education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Mrs. Kahn expects to receive her Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Research from the Louisiana State University in 2016. Mrs. Kahn has been recognized as an Emerging Leader by the international education organization, Phi Delta Kappa and was a recipient of the Education Policy Academy fellowship by the American Enterprise Institute in 2015.

Mrs. Kahn believes that educational leadership and research establishes the opportunity to develop critical skills in framing social justice and educational equity issues in this ever increasingly globalized world. It is her goal to contribute to improved teaching and learning resulting in positive learning outcomes for students and educators through exemplary educational leadership.