About Us
The Learning Agenda Team
Our national team of consultants are experts in summer and expanded learning and innovative school and program design. We collectively hold extensive experience in: nonprofit leadership and philanthropy, youth program and system development, research and evaluation, and adult learning and group facilitation.
All of our results-focused team members are thoughtful and organized, collaborative, and genuinely interested in expanding the impact of the field. In addition to team members listed here, we regularly partner with other leading minds in education, youth development, and research on our projects. We carefully assess the requirements of each project and provide you with the ideal team to achieve your goals.
Hillary Oravec
Managing Partner
Brenda McLaughlin
Founding Partner
Matt Pilarski
Partner
Hillary Oravec is the Managing Partner of The Learning Agenda, where she leads capacity-building and strategic planning initiatives in collaboration with state and city agencies, national and regional foundations, nonprofits, and school districts. She led the National Comprehensive Center’s expanded learning strategy and technical assistance for states, and represented the Center in the U.S. Department of Education’s Engage Every Student initiative under Secretary Cardona. As part of The Wallace Foundation’s National Summer Learning Project team, Hillary led the development of the widely used Summer Learning Toolkit and continues to guide The Learning Agenda’s work with state agencies to translate evidence-based guidance and planning tools and deliver technical assistance supporting local education agencies.
Previously, Hillary served as Director of Strategic Initiatives, Research & Evaluation, and Community System-Building at the National Summer Learning Association. Her community engagement and strategic planning work in Birmingham, Alabama helped catalyze support for the state’s afterschool network and establish a summer learning-focused funding collaborative that now supports communities across the state. Earlier in her career, she managed school accreditation and institutional research at Johns Hopkins University and coordinated school-community-university partnerships through the P-12 Project at The Ohio State University.
Hillary holds a master’s degree in Educational Policy and Leadership from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Sociology from Kent State University. She earned the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute in 2009.
Brenda McLaughlin has worked at the intersection of education and youth development research, policy and practice for 20 years, translating key learnings to positively influence the well-being of youth and their families, and strengthen organizations and systems. Her insight and expertise have led nonprofits, school districts, philanthropies and communities to expand their capacity and better serve young people.
As The Learning Agenda’s Founding Partner and Senior Advisor, Brenda offers strategic guidance and coaching, plans and facilitates learning communities and events, engages in research projects, and develops tools and resources to build the capacity of the field. She is currently co-leading the Strategic Use of Summer and Afterschool Set-Asides Community of Practice for the National Comprehensive Center at Westat, and she previously led capacity-building efforts for districts engaged in The Wallace Foundation’s National Summer Learning Project.
Brenda founded The Learning Agenda in 2011, and rejoined the team in 2022 after serving as Chief Impact Officer at BellXcel and launching The Sperling Center for Research and Innovation – a division of BellXcel focused on elevating the quality and impact of summer and afterschool programs nationally. She also served as vice president at the National Summer Learning Association from 2004 – 2011, leading research, evaluation, and strategic initiatives.
Brenda holds a MA in Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University, and a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from the University of Pittsburgh.
Matthew Pilarski is an experienced educator most recently working with Connecticut RISE as the Director of Network Success, where he oversaw the school-facing teams responsible for providing high quality professional development, raising student outcomes in all network schools, and using data to drive decision making. Prior to RISE, Matthew was a Senior Director at Springpoint: Partners in School Design, where he worked nationally to both design and redesign high schools models with a focus on equity-based principles, student-centered design, and instructional leadership. Matthew also worked at TNTP as a Partner on TNTP’s Client Team heading up the SanFranciscoPLUS program which focused on helping school leaders develop and retain irreplaceable teachers, strengthen a school’s instructional culture, and understand how to use data to improve student outcomes. Matthew began his career working for two of the largest urban districts in the country as an Instructional Support Leader with Chicago Public Schools on Chicago’s South Side and as both a teacher and a school leader for eleven years in the South Bronx in New York City, overseeing a high school where over 90 percent of students qualified for free and reduced-price lunch.
Matthew holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan, an MA in Secondary English Education from NYU, and an ME in School Leadership from Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Kate Coleman, CPA serves as the fractional Chief Financial Officer for The Learning Agenda, overseeing accounting and financial reporting, providing financial planning and analysis, and working closely with the management team to ensure achievement of financial objectives. Kate is the founder and President of Fusion Solutions LLC, an outsourced CFO advisory and consulting firm that helps small businesses with financial strategy and accounting oversight at every stage of the business lifecycle.
Before devoting her work full time to Fusion Solutions LLC, Kate served as an Audit Partner at a mid-size public accounting firm where she worked with privately held companies servicing both commercial and Federal customers.
Kate holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Degree in Accounting from the University of Richmond.
Allison Hardt has over 20 years of experience in public policy analysis and research administration. Her 23-year career with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) begin in 1998 as a graduate intern in the Office of Policy and Research. After receiving her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore, she was hired by MDOT SHA to work as a project manager in the Research Division. From 2005 – 2021 she managed a federally funded research program, facilitated relationships with several universities including establishing research agreements and internship programs, and managed MDOT SHA’s participation in national research activities. Allison has served on several national committees and technical advisory panels including four for the Transportation Research Board, part of the National Academy of Sciences. From 2013 – 2021 Allison also served as the Deputy Director of Policy and Research, where she was exposed to policy analysis and development at the state and federal level.
Allison completed her undergraduate studies at West Virginia University and received a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she currently lives in Millersville, Maryland, with her husband and son
Steph Moore has spent 20 years working with extraordinarily brilliant people to help them share their expertise and experiences. With experience planning in-person and virtual events, conferences, and educational webinars as a government consultant, she quickly learned that clear and relatable event information resulted in happier and more engaged participants. Working with the Corporation for National and Community Service, Steph organized convenings, webinars, e-newsletters, and phone clinics for groups, including the Social Innovation Fund grantees, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service grantees, and SeniorCorps.
Her neighborhood blog passion project led her into the world of social media and writing for online content. The now retired blog won numerous local web awards. Working at NOAA on the Joint Polar Satellite System program, she produced consumer education content and was also charged with keeping the website content fresh and engaging.
Most recently, as a senior web specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, she managed the web content for departments and institutional priority areas, creating messaging for both internal and external audiences. Steph also created new websites and converted older sites into a more consumer-friendly mobile-first platform with new architectural structures and content.
Throughout her career, she has found success in quickly learning and adapting messaging and media to meet the needs of different audiences. Steph is finishing her master’s degree in communications at Johns Hopkins University.
Aimee is a detail-oriented and collaborative Project Coordinator who loves bringing structure and creativity together to make projects run seamlessly. With a background in event planning, operations, and administrative management, she supports workshops, technical assistance projects, and organizational initiatives that help teams thrive and ideas take shape.
Before joining the team, Aimee coordinated corporate events and managed accounting operations at Russula Corporation, and earlier in her career spent several years at Hartford Stage Company, where she oversaw costume production for full-scale theatrical productions and led a talented creative team. Her experience in the arts fostered a deep appreciation for collaboration, communication, and the power of bringing people together toward a shared vision. She has also held roles in small business operations, where she honed her organizational and leadership skills in fast-paced environments. Based in Sturbridge, MA, Aimee enjoys planning meaningful events, building strong working relationships, and contributing to projects that create lasting impact.
Jared Scheck specializes in strategic planning and development in the education and nonprofit sectors with a focus on implementing systems of continuous quality improvement. He utilizes proven project management tactics and design thinking strategies to support school district and nonprofit leaders to plan, improve, and develop concrete steps to achieve their goals.
Jared holds a B.A. with Honors in Psychology from Boston University, an M.A. in Politics and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Professional Certificate in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations from Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies. Jared has provided consulting for multiple public education districts in their strategic planning, design, and implementation of summer learning programs, working with district leaders across Texas to strategically utilize community partnerships within the region to enhance the quality of their educational programs. Jared is currently advising several organizations through the updating of their service descriptions for marketing and business development, growth, and long-term sustainability. He also supports nonprofits in fundraising and development strategy through planned giving, annual campaign planning, and partnership retention.
Lauren is an experienced Events Consultant and Production Manager with nearly two decades of expertise in logistical planning, collaborative leadership, and creative problem solving. A Cleveland native and proud John Carroll University alumna (2007), she brings a detail-oriented yet flexible approach shaped by a strong foundation in theatre and work across nonprofit, education, corporate, and cultural sectors.
Lauren previously founded and operated LCEventsCLE, producing large-scale events for local nonprofit and corporate clients. Her arts organization work includes Playhouse Square’s Dazzle Awards Red Carpet, Cleveland Public Theatre’s Pandemonium, and the Cleveland Play House Annual Gala. She also partnered closely with Motogo—a nonprofit empowering youth through STEAM education and motorcycle maintenance—on its annual Bringin’ Back Shop Class benefit. Lauren currently serves as Event Chair of Cleveland Kurentovanje, one of the region’s largest winter festivals, leading a multi-layered volunteer committee to deliver a week-long celebration of culture and community.
Earlier in her career, Lauren worked at Saint Martin de Porres High School, a Cristo Rey Network school, in its Corporate Work Study Program—first as Operations Coordinator and later as Relationship Manager for corporate partners. She also served as Venue Manager for the historic, renovated LaSalle Theatre, where she established operational systems while supporting a diverse slate of performances and community events.
Grounded in her upbringing in Cleveland’s urban core, Lauren is driven by a commitment to equitable access to education and community resources. At The Learning Agenda (TLA), her work includes supporting the Barr Foundation team on Student Summits and the Portrait of a Graduate learning community. Her first full project with TLA was the Catalyze New Models Summit in May 2023, and she is excited to collaborate with TLA’s newest client, the Oak Foundation, on its Grantee Convening in October 2026.
Joe Bertoletti brings over 20 years of experience in working to change the odds for young people through direct service, capacity building, and building systems in the education, human services, and youth development fields. His approach to consulting combines social worker facilitation skills and social justice and ecological frameworks with engineering systems building and problem-solving skills. He has partnered with policy makers, funders, and system leaders using data driven and people centered approaches to build systems of support that inspire and equip leaders and educators to improve their evaluation and assessment practices to ensure high quality instructional practices and high quality settings where young people spend their time. Joe’s bring experience and knowledge based on his proven track record of fee-for-service and philanthropic fund development, client and partnership development, team building and management, building organizational business systems to support scaling of continuous improvement approach and other proven innovations, designing, implementing, and assessing organizational strategy, health and culture, thought leadership, relationship building with a wide range of stakeholders, and customizing supports to ensure long-term client partnerships that have grown to meet the evolving needs of the educational youth serving field.
In 2008, Joe was one of a small team that helped launch and scale the Forum For Youth Investment’s Weikart Center from a small unit that was serving a handful of partners to partnering with over 150 local, state, and national systems in 3 countries by 2020. During his 15-year tenure at the Forum, he has played a role in multiple rigorous research and evaluation projects, multi-year initiatives, nurtured long term partner relationships, and supported organizational development and change management efforts around operations and business systems.
Reed Dyer has been active in the struggle for educational equity for nearly 30 years, working as a teacher, interventionist, literacy coach, curriculum designer, principal, and educational consultant. In his eight years as a Senior Associate for Great Schools Partnership, Reed provided direct, context-specific support at the elementary, middle, and high school level, to traditional district schools, charter schools, alternative education programs and career and technical education programs.
Before working as a consultant and school coach, Reed spent 20 years in public schools across the country. Reed was the principal of a progressive K–5 charter school in Denver, taught in classrooms in New Jersey, New York City, and Maine, and served as a literacy coach and intervention teacher. Through these experiences, Reed developed deep professional interests in the role of child development on quality teaching and learning, the social-emotional development of students within school settings, and the role of race and identity within supportive learning environments. He has presented about literacy, assessment, proficiency-based learning, and parent engagement at the state, regional, and national levels
Reed received a bachelor’s degree in English from Princeton University and earned his master’s degree in education from the University of Maine, where he also trained as a literacy coach with the Maine Literacy Partnership. He lives in Maine with his awesome educator wife and trombone-playing son.
Xochitl Garcia is an experienced educator committed to working with schools and nonprofits to create more equitable learning environments for young people. She brings over 14 years of experience as an educator, curriculum developer, professional development leader, and program manager. Xochitl is the K-12 education program manager at Science Friday, where she focuses on supporting educators (of all types) as they engage students in science, engineering, math, and the arts. She collaborates with educators to develop new science experiments based on current research, leads STEM professional development, and designs programming to increase justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion work in STEM. Xochitl is also an advisory board member for the Center for Antiracist Education, a project of STAND for Children and an education consultant working with districts nationally on educator and leader professional development.
Xochitl was the Manager of Instruction and School Design at Springpoint: Partners in School Design, where she worked nationally to both design and redesign high school models with a focus on equitable design grounded in student and community voices. She was a teacher for seven years in the South Bronx in New York City, where she led work in both Special Education and STEM. Xochitl began her career working with GEAR-UP Project Higher Learning in LAUSD to develop peer mentoring programs to increase support and access to post-secondary opportunities.
Xochitl holds a BA in politics from Occidental College, an MA in leadership and special education from City College of New York, and was a Lehman College Teacher Education for Advanced Science Preparation in Biology Fellow.
Dr. Pat Lewis is a veteran educator with over 40 years of experience leading instructional improvement and expanding opportunity for students. Most recently, she served as Associate Superintendent of Schools in Grand Prairie ISD, following prior roles as Deputy Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Innovation and School Improvement. In Grand Prairie ISD, Dr. Lewis oversaw a wide range of academic programs spanning curriculum and instruction, special education, bilingual and ESL services, early childhood, career and technical education, and professional development. She led major initiatives including the Additional Day School Year (ADSY), School Action Fund (SAF) grants aligned with the Effective Schools Framework and System of Great Schools, and the launch of in-district charter schools. She also helped develop the district’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program and expanded choice and grow-your-own teacher pathways.
Dr. Lewis began her career as a classroom teacher in Dallas ISD and held instructional leadership roles in both Dallas and Lancaster ISDs. She is widely recognized for her instructional expertise, collaborative leadership, and deep commitment to student success. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Jackson State University, a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Texas Tech University.
Sarah Lohnes is a former nonprofit CEO who is passionate about telling memorable stories that generate support for important causes. As a freelance writer, editor, and consultant for nonprofits and foundations, Sarah takes a journalistic approach to help her clients get to the root of why their work matters and how to communicate that purpose effectively. Whether for fundraising, stakeholder engagement or field building, she translates research and data into impactful tools and content across multiple media. Previously, Sarah held progressive leadership roles in a 10-year career at the National Summer Learning Association, culminating as its chief executive officer from 2013 to 2016.
Sarah is a leading national expert on summer learning, authoring numerous white papers and practitioner guides, making regular presentations to state policymaking bodies, and overseeing implementation of multiple state and federal initiatives. She has served as an expert source for NPR, Education Week, Essence Magazine, and the Baltimore Sun, among other media outlets. Sarah is co-editor and co-author of the research anthology, The Summer Slide: What We Know and Can Do About Summer Learning Loss (Teachers College Press, 2016).
Katherine Plog Martinez is a strategic facilitator and capacity builder working at the intersection of youth development practice, policy, and field-building. She partners with youth-serving organizations, intermediaries, funders, and national networks to design and lead strategic facilitation, build organizational capacity, develop professional learning infrastructure, and conduct research and landscape analyses that advance equity and strengthen systems.
Katherine is a sought-after facilitator for national convenings, cross-sector alignment processes, and collaborative decision-making forums. She designs and leads large-scale strategic planning sessions, ongoing collaboratives, organizational retreats, and action-planning processes for foundations, intermediaries, coalitions, and national youth-serving organizations. Her facilitation consistently centers equity and community voice while driving toward aligned action and shared goals.
She brings over 20 years of experience in youth development and K-12 education. Katherine previously served as Executive Director of Whole Child Supports at Denver Public Schools, where she provided visionary leadership for district-wide strategy serving 90,000+ students and managed a $25M+ budget. Earlier in her career, she served as Director of Extended Learning and Community Schools at Denver Public Schools, co-founded the Denver Afterschool Alliance, and directed statewide positive youth development training programs at Assets for Colorado Youth. Her work spans strategic planning, intermediary development, quality systems building, cross-sector partnership infrastructure, and professional learning design at local, state, and national levels.
Katherine holds an Ed.D. in Out-of-School Learning from the University of Pittsburgh, where her dissertation research focused on developing a foundational knowledge framework for early-career youth development professionals. She holds a master’s degree in Human Services – Youth Development from Kansas State University and resides in Castle Rock, Colorado.
Dr. Marshaé Newkirk is a career educator with over 20 years of experience serving public school students and families in New York and New Jersey. Her work as a teacher in the South Bronx, NY served as a springboard for a career in educational leadership and advocacy for children in historically marginalized and under-appreciated communities. She is the lead founder of an independent charter school in Newark, NJ, where she served as the School/Executive Director for 8 years. Marshaé currently serves as a leadership coach and trainer for new and aspiring school leaders. In addition, she is an independent consultant offering leadership coaching with a focus on reimagining “best-practices” in schools in order to disrupt the status quo. Marshaé has earned Masters Degrees in Elementary Education and Administration and Supervision from Lehman College and Fordham University respectively, and holds a doctorate in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jennifer is a nationally recognized leader in the Afterschool/Youth Development field who has played an instrumental role in advancing awareness, innovation and investment in afterschool and summer learning programs over the past three decades. For more than two decades, Jennifer served as President & CEO of the Partnership for Children and Youth, a statewide intermediary in California which she founded and led for more than 20 years. Under her leadership, the Partnership led the charge on building the largest public investment in out-of-school time learning opportunities in the nation. Jennifer, her team and their many partners successfully advocated for investments now totaling $5 billion annually serving hundreds of thousands of underserved students and their families.
Jennifer led the creation of multiple ground-breaking efforts including the Summer Matters Campaign and the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance, a broad coalition of community-based program providers, school districts, statewide organizations and other allies who collectively advocate for OST investment and policy change. Her journey and achievements as a strategic advocate and system-builder were documented and featured in a 2022 brief by the Wallace Foundation as a learning tool for leaders in other states and communities.
Prior to founding the Partnership, Jennifer spent eight years at the U.S. Department of Education during the Clinton Administration where she supported multiple initiatives including the newly created 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Jennifer currently resides in Sacramento, CA.
Michele Phillips serves as a senior advisor for the Learning Agenda’s Portrait of a Graduate learning community with the Barr Foundation bringing over 17 years of experience in public, urban education. Michele has partnered with the Barr Foundation and Springpoint: Partners in School Design to provide guidance for school leaders in improving student outcomes by using data to create strategic plans for student programming and innovative school design. Through her collaboration with Springpoint, the Barr Foundation and the Urban Assembly network of schools in New York City, Michele has collaborated with dozens of schools nationally to incorporate creative programming solutions, operationalize strategic feedback, and provide ongoing technical support for schools enacting school design and re-design efforts. Her ongoing mission is to support schools in providing all students with equitable access to a relevant and rigorous curriculum through engaging and rich learning experiences anchored in strong, sustainable school design.
Michele also serves as the current Data Specialist & Program Design consultant for the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice and the Urban Assembly (UA) Bronx Academy of Letters. Prior to consulting, she was an Assistant Principal and full-time Data Specialist overseeing accountability and compliance at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice where she began her career as a Spanish teacher in 2002. An alumna of Middlebury College in Vermont, Michele graduated with her B.A. in Spanish and Sociology and her M.A. in Spanish Language & Literature and later, received her licensure in School Administration and Supervision at Massachusetts College for Liberal Arts. Michele currently resides in her hometown of Sturbridge, MA with her three sons and her husband, Kadion.
Chris Sweeney is a business and community leader with over thirty years’ experience with firms ranging from IBM and Oracle to smaller, entrepreneurial companies and a nonprofit agency called 3 Rivers Connect. He’s an evangelist for regional collaboration and creative uses of information and technology to drive innovation. His consulting practice is focused on advancing educational innovation in K-12 as well as nonprofit/civic sector transformation initiatives through work with leadership teams in articulating their vision and translating it into an actionable plan that can be successfully implemented.
Chris currently leads the Pittsburgh Personalized Learning Network (PLPGH), a network of 25+ school districts in SWPA to build awareness and accelerate the implementation of personalized learning strategies in the region. He formerly served as the President and COO of OnHand Schools, a mission-driven education services company that developed EdInsight, a student performance suite used by over 150 districts in Pennsylvania. Prior to his role at OHS, Chris was CEO of 3 Rivers Connect (3RC). 3RC was a civic sector agency that helped non-profit organizations use innovative technology and better information to optimize the delivery of their services and improve the lives of underserved communities in southwestern PA.
A passionate youth and community advocate, Katie Willse‘s work is rooted in her personal goals to build strong communities that provide positive opportunities for all youth and families. As a Senior Consultant for The Learning Agenda, Katie brings over 15 years experience in the nonprofit field. Her background in out-of-school time and youth development runs a full spectrum from working in a direct service capacity to developing and managing community programs and leading organizational development. Katie leverages her experience to support clients with program development and management, meeting planning and execution, and professional development design and facilitation.
Prior to joining The Learning Agenda, Katie Willse worked with the National Summer Learning Association, most recently serving as the Chief Program Officer where she steered the organization’s core work and strategic development. In her time with NSLA, Katie also led the development of community and national system-building initiatives that supported program capacity building and scaling summer learning opportunities across communities. In addition to summer learning, her expertise in youth programs includes mentoring, youth development and youth employment.
A resident of Austin, TX, Katie has lived in and worked with organizations in cities across the country including Baltimore, Boston, Madison (WI), Miami, New York City, and Sacramento. Katie holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and communications with an emphasis in rhetorical studies and interpersonal communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Learning Agenda Difference
We are trusted partners, working alongside leaders to turn insight into action and strategy into results.
Your mission is our mission.
We’re passionate about educating and supporting the development of under-served youth and closing the opportunity gap, and we understand the field.
It’s where we came from and what we continue to do.
We get you.
We’re up to speed quickly because we’ve worked in organizations and environments like yours. We’ve navigated the field, tackled issues like yours and we’re well-connected.
We work to help you do what you do better – with greater knowledge, capabilities and efficiency.
We’re with you all the way.
We won’t hand off strategies that you don’t have the capacity to implement.
We’re part of your team from vision through implementation –managing the initiative and collaborating with you, and building your team’s capacity and confidence throughout the process.
If you are interested in partnering with The Learning Agenda, contact Hillary Oravec at hillary@thelearningagenda.com. We welcome opportunities to diversify our team and expand our network!
“When we started the project, I expected The Learning Agenda to bring knowledge of programs and facilitation expertise, but the full and thoughtful commitment of the team to help our client, our team, project participants and the OST field itself was outstanding. The project benefited from the deep knowledge of The Learning Agenda team about OST programming, current challenges and trends, and the network of experts/trainers brought to bear on the project.”