Meet Our Founder
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Karen NewsomeKaren Newsome is a parent coach and a certified group leader of the Chicago Parent Program. She has facilitated various parenting programs for over 20 years and served on boards of organizations focused on supporting parents and children. She has provided parent training to parents at Baltimore City Schools, Catholic Charities, The Family Tree, Sasha Bruce Youthwork, Alfred Street Baptist Church, and Prince George’s County Schools. Karen served on the Advisory Board for Moms Mentoring Moms and U2Can. She completed training in the following: the Common Sense Parenting Program; Active Parenting Today Leader Training; Strong Parents, Strong Children Parent Educator Program; and the Positive Parenting Program. She is the founder and executive director of Purpose Parenting Inc., a nonprofit organization. Karen has a BS in Biology and an MA in Human Resource Management.
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Meet Our Board
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Chelsi ChangChelsi Chang is the senior associate for the Education and Society Program at the Aspen Institute, where she is committed to advancing educational equity and fostering environments in which students from all backgrounds can thrive. With a deep passion for creating ecosystems that enable student success, Chelsi has dedicated her career to improving access to education, particularly for underserved student populations. Before joining Aspen, Chelsi worked with an organization focused on increasing postsecondary access for low-income, first-generation, and students of color. In this role, she managed a portfolio serving over 7,000 students across South Florida, providing guidance to school administrators on how to cultivate a college-going culture and improve support systems for students. Throughout her career, she has remained steadfast in her commitment to dismantling barriers and building pathways for all students to succeed. Chelsi holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in education and civil rights. She currently resides in Washington, D.C., where she enjoys exploring the city’s vibrant food and coffee scene, albeit at the risk of spending far too much time and money in the process.
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Gwen ClavonGwen Clavon is the Chief Operating Officer at BlackLynx Technologies. She has over 30 years of experience in government and commercial industry. Gwen received a Bachelor of Art in Political Science from University of Maryland Baltimore County; Master of Science, Computer Systems Management with a concentration in Information System Management and an MBA from University of Maryland. Gwen currently volunteers as the Food Branch Director for Tree of Life Ministries, she is a STEM mentor working to increase the presence of minorities and women in the technology Industry.
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Dr. Valerie GarciaDr. Valerie Garcia is Director of Programs and Grants for 4Kira4Moms, Inc. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the field of Public Health, working in the past for National Healthy Start Association, holding faculty appointments at NYU School of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Brooklyn College, and was a Fellow at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Garcia completed her doctoral training in Biobehavioral Health (Ph.D.) at Penn State University, and holds degrees in Psychology (B.S., M.S.) from Florida A&M University.
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Father John MuddFather John Mudd has been a priest for over 40 years serving as Pastor, Associate Pastor and Assistant Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Social Development. He continues to be active in urban and social justice arenas and provides pastoral services to many communities. He established a Development Office and built a firm base of individual, corporate and foundation support for Archbishop Carroll High School and continues to assist with fundraising.
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Dr. LeTea PerryDr. LeTea Perry has been in the mental health field since 2003. She has her B.S. from Pennsylvania State University in Psychology with a concentration in Business and her M.Ed. in School Counseling with a specialization in Adlerian Theory from Bowie State University. Dr. Perry received her Doctorate of Education from Argosy University in the concentration of Counselor Education and Supervision. She is also a Nationally Certified Counselor and attained her license as a professional counselor. Dr. Perry is an adjunct faculty at Trinity Washington University. For her doctoral thesis, she researched the impact of fairy tale media exposure on the love attitudes and life satisfaction of single African American women. The story of the African American woman is often untold in Social Science research and Dr. Perry has added to the data with her groundbreaking study.
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