JOE ROGERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (VOLUNTEER)

A leader for literacy and educational justice, Joe Rogers supports young people’s and parents’ advocacy and activism, develops strategic partnerships and coalitions for equitable policymaking, and has conducted extensive research on students’ access to required learning opportunities and supports.

Joe currently leads Total Equity Now—the organization he founded in 2008 to advance educational excellence and social justice—as volunteer Executive Director and Board Treasurer.

Having laid the foundation for a career in education through an AmeriCorps VISTA action research project, he went on to launch an AmeriCorps program for a coalition of community-based adult-and-family literacy organizations in Washington, D.C. More recently, he served as both Director of Public Engagement and Government Affairs and a Senior Researcher with the Center for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University; Director of Policy and Civic Engagement with Education Voters of New York; and in Teaching and Learning at New Visions for Public Schools.

Joe has been appointed to the New York State Education Department’s Civic Readiness Task Force as well as its advisory panels on Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education and Family & Community Engagement. In his civic life, he has served on the boards and steering committees of numerous cultural, educational, and governmental institutions.

Joe holds a master’s degree in Education Leadership, Policy and Politics from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The George Washington University.

CHRISTINA CELUZZA

Hailing from Harlem, Christina Celuzza envisions a transformed education system that is free of racism and harmful practices, policies and systems negatively impacting Black and Brown students.

During her studies at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Christina laid the foundation for a communications career by channeling her love of vintage fashion into co-founding the university's first-ever fashion magazine, The WALK. Post-college, she expanded her contributions to the fashion industry in positions with Jones Apparel Group and Bloomingdale's (Macy’s Inc.). Later, having served as a web editor for NYC & Company, NYC’s official marketing organization, she consulted as a social media manager and marketing consultant for small-business clients throughout NYC. In 2015, she launched the Harlem Business Alliance’s Disrupt Harlem Code Squad, a free coding program for young adults.

After relocating to St. Louis, Christina joined Venture Café St. Louis as Program Manager, curating innovation sessions for the largest weekly gathering of entrepreneurs in the world. Returning home to Harlem in 2019, she became Venture Café Global Institute’s first Program & Experience Design Lead, collaborating with all 11 Venture Café organizations across the globe. In her next role as Director of Communications at the Education Equity Center of St. Louis, she worked with a brilliant team of educators to advance racial equity through convening, capacity building, and systems change.

Most recently, Christina served as Director of Marketing & Communications for the Harlem School of the Arts.

VALERIE GARCIA (SECRETARY)

Valerie Garcia is passionate about introducing community members to Black and Brown authors and books featuring characters they can relate to, including works by authors from Harlem/East Harlem and any of the five boroughs.

As the senior children’s librarian at the Aguilar Branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) in East Harlem, Valerie develops and facilitates programs serving 40+ district, parochial, charter schools, from nursery school through 6th grade. From read-alouds during classroom visits to facilitating library-card sign-ups and everything in between, she loves making the library a magical place for ideas and adventure and an essential part of young people’s lives.

The daughter of a 47-year career NYPL librarian, Valerie herself, still in high school, began working with the NYPL in 1987 as a page. During those formative years, she would travel from the Bronx to El Barrio to spend weekends and holidays with her family and friends. In 1991, drawn to librarianship and the prospect of serving the community, she embarked on a 30+ year professional career with the NYPL.

Over the years, Valerie’s love of and service to the community have garnered public recognition as well as resources for her library branch. For three consecutive years, she led a community campaign to win a NYC Neighborhood Library Award, ultimately winning $25,000 in additional funding for the Aguilar Library. In 2021, East Harlem’s El Museo del Barrio honored her as a Three Kings Day Parade “Madrina” in recognition of her outstanding leadership and community service.

Valerie received a Bachelor of Arts degree from The City College of New York and a Master’s in library science from Pratt Institute.

JAYE JONES, PH.D. (VICE PRESIDENT)

Jaye Jones’ work in adult literacy initially evolved out of a desire to help others find joy in reading. However, her career in education and social work has shown her that joy is just the beginning when it comes to the impact of literacy on a person’s life. From opening personal and professional doors to being a source of healing and connection, literacy is at the foundation of a healthy, thriving life—particularly for people of color, who have been historically under-resourced. It has become her mission to promote literacy to uplift, center, and support these communities.

As part of this mission, she has had the pleasure and privilege of serving several non-profit organizations and public institutions, including eight years as a volunteer and senior program manager at Literacy Chicago, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering people through language and literacy. While there, she created Reading Against the Odds, a discussion group where adult literacy students engaged with diverse writers and texts, focusing on culturally marginalized thinkers and ideas.

For the last decade, she has worked at Lehman College in various teaching and leadership roles aimed at increasing educational access and support for urban populations. She served as executive director of the college’s Institute for Literacy Studies, where she developed programs, promoted research activities, and managed a multimillion-dollar budget. In her current role as director of strategic initiatives, she supports Black and Latinx students in successfully navigating college and honing the skills that will allow them to pursue meaningful careers.

Jaye holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Chicago.

JOE ROGERS (TREASURER)

See Executive Director (Volunteer) bio.

KUAE NOEL KELCH

Kuae Noel Kelch serves as Vice President, Media Relations for public-strategy firm Mercury, where she specializes in strategic communication, media relations and government affairs.

An Emmy-nominated journalist with more than 30 years of experience in print, broadcast and online media, Kuae previously served as an Editorial Producer for CNN and has worked for NBC, MSNBC, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC News, and King World Productions. She is a former education reporter for The Miami Herald, and her articles have appeared in The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She is the former editor in chief of Black Family Today magazine.

Kuae is National President of Mocha Moms, Inc., a non-profit organization with nearly 100 chapters in 29 states and a fast-growing online presence of more than 100,000 followers dedicated to supporting mothers of color.

Kuae holds a B.A. in Print Journalism from Howard University and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

WILLIE PERDOMO
New York State poet laureate and East Harlem native Willie Perdomo is the author of Smoking Lovely: The Remix (Haymarket Books, 2021), The Crazy Bunch (Penguin Random House, 2019), The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon (Penguin Random House, 2014), and Where a Nickel Costs of Dime (Norton, 1996).

Winner of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, the New York City Book Award in Poetry, the International Latino Book Award, and the PEN Open Book Award, Perdomo was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award. He is co-editor of the anthology, Latínext, and his work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Poetry, Washington Post, The Best American Poetry 2019, and African Voices.

Perdomo is currently a Lucas Arts Literary Fellow, and teaches at Phillips Exeter Academy.

SHARIFA RHODES-PITTS

Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts is the author of Harlem Is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America. A New York Times Notable Book of 2011 and National Book Critics Circle Finalist, it was also cited by BOOKFORUM as the "Best New York Book" written in the twenty years since the magazine's founding and included on Slate.com's 2019 list of the 50 best nonfiction books of the past 25 years.

Her book for young readers Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence a Young Artist in Harlem (commissioned by MoMA and illustrated by Christopher Myers) was named by Booklist among the year's top books about art for children.

Rhodes-Pitts is an assistant professor of writing at Pratt Institute.