Our People
Our team loves what we do. We make a difference in the world by helping every individual reach their full potential.
Jillian Coppley, Ed.D.
President and CEO
Dr. Coppley currently serves as President and CEO of Mayerson Academy. Under her leadership, the Academy has developed strengths-based programs and services for organizations, schools, and neighborhoods that maximize engagement, learning and performance and ultimately transform cultures. The Academy’s work has been featured in EdWeek, Live Happy, and US News and World Report and Dr. Coppley has been invited to share the Academy’s work around the globe, including presentations in China, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and Hong Kong. Prior to her current role, Jillian held leadership positions in philanthropy, public television, and K-16 education. At KnoweldgeWorks, a national education foundation, she led the development of a highly regarded future trends publication, consulted with hundreds of organizations to construct future-oriented visions and strategies for education, developed state collaborations to transform education, and created a robust, teacher-to-teacher learning community. In her former roles, Jillian led teams to create widely distributed multimedia products and services, and received national recognition for the design of an organizational learning system. She is an award-winning educator, passionate about the potential of learning to create an increasingly positive future.
Joe Moorman
Senior Director, Organizational and Community Development
As Senior Director of Organizational and Community Development, Joe leads Mayerson Academy’s efforts to strengthen workplaces and neighborhoods across Cincinnati and beyond. He has led the development of MA’s Strong Cincinnati Institute, which engages cohorts of local organizations in using strengths-based practices to transform workplace engagement, performance and wellbeing. He also provides strategic consultation and coaching to individuals and organizations on topics such as professional learning, change management, leadership development, program design, and diversity, equity and inclusion. Prior to joining Mayerson Academy, Joe worked in several roles for Teach For America, including as Senior Managing Director for Teach For America’s Arkansas region, Chief of Staff for Regional Operations and Founding Executive Director for Teach For America – Delaware. He discovered his passion for education as a 7th and 8th grade English teacher and head basketball coach in Philadelphia. Joe received his undergraduate degree from Xavier University’s Philosophy, Politics and the Public honors program and earned his M.Ed in urban education from the University of Pennsylvania.
moorman.joe@mayersonacademy.org
Lynn Ochs
Senior Director, Education Programs
Lynn Ochs, Senior Director of Education Programs, is a widely acknowledged leader in the field of education technology, having won numerous awards throughout her career. Most recently she served as the Vice President of Learning Architecture Services, helping design professional learning and support services, marketing, and sales strategy for an innovative digital learning company. Through this experience and her many leadership roles in school districts and regional service centers, Lynn has designed and delivered professional development to thousands of educators across the country. Beginning her career as a classroom teacher, Lynn is passionate about developing and facilitating the delivery of innovative solutions that impact educators and deliver positive results for students.
ochs.lynn@mayersonacademy.org
Amber Brown
Sr. Director of HR & Operations
is the Senior Director of Human Resources & Operations at Mayerson Academy. She holds a B.S. in Marketing (Xavier University) and an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies (IUPUI). A native of Cincinnati, Amber has spent nearly 20 years working on various community efforts to improve academic outcomes for local children and youth. A self-proclaimed education equity advocate, Amber holds a lifelong interest in maximizing community impact while also strengthening organizations from the inside out. Powered by her top strengths (spirituality, hope, and honesty), Amber hopes to bring a unique and innovative approach to building positive workplace cultures and systems that work well for all team members. Amber has extensive experience in the areas of K-12 grantmaking, strategic planning and facilitation, relationship management, change leadership, and team development.
When Amber is not “working to improve the community”, as her eldest daughter would describe it, she enjoys spending lively moments at home with her family.
brown.amber@mayersonacademy.org
Milynn Hoffman
Director of Finance
Milynn Hoffman, CPA serves as Mayerson Academy’s Director of Finance and Human Resources. She is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in demanding leadership assignments in accounting services. She has served clients both in the public and private sectors in numerous industries ranging from sports training to real estate development to non-profit organizations. Milynn has significant experience in auditing, general accounting services, tax preparation, budgeting and payroll. She enjoys creating the infrastructure and processes to streamline and enhance financial, accounting and operational systems. As a strong leader she has successfully built relationships, established interaction among diverse communities and created a high level of trust with those whom she interacts.
hoffman.milynn@mayersonacademy.org
Carolyn Hefner
Director of Development
Carolyn’s passion for lifelong learning, inclusivity and equitable opportunities for all led her to joining Mayerson Academy as Development Director in June 2021. Carolyn brings with her experience in fundraising and relationship-building, engaging multiple sectors of the community along the way, including over six years spent at Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC), departing as Senior Director of Philanthropy & Campaign Director. During her time at CMC, Carolyn managed CMC’s $85 million comprehensive campaign, providing strategic leadership and direction during her tenure. Carolyn enjoys building relationships with supporters and community partners to thoughtfully help them connect-the-dots to find where their passions fit with organizational needs and opportunities.
When not working, Carolyn enjoys spending time with her husband Cody, her stepkids, and their dogs. Carolyn is a lifelong Cincinnatian, and as of 2020, a Northern Kentucky resident. On the weekends, if not having fun at home, Carolyn and family are most likely to be spotted exploring different offerings in Covington or downtown Cincinnati.
hefner.carolyn@mayersonacademy.org
Philip Cunningham
Sr. Manager of Strengths Based Initiatives
As Senior Manager of Strengths Based Initiatives, Philip works to strengthen workplaces, universities and neighborhoods across Cincinnati and beyond. He focuses primarily on Mayerson Academy’s Strong Cincinnati Institute, which engages cohorts of local organizations in using strengths-based practices to transform workplace cultures and unleash the potential of people in order to increase performance. In addition, Philip also provides consultation on topics such as organizational development, adult learning, leadership development, public and private partnerships, educational product development, design thinking and workforce development. Before joining Mayerson Academy, Philip led marketing and development efforts at McGraw Hill Education/Cengage Learning as the Market Development Team Leader and Marketing Manager. Philip earned his MBA from the University of Toledo.
cunningham.philip@mayersonacademy.org
Lori Crowe
Director, Thriving Learning Communities
Lori joined the Mayerson Academy in the Fall of 2019 as Senior Program Manager. She has been in public school education for the past 24 years. Prior to joining the Mayerson team she was a school administrator for 12 years in both the Forest Hills and West Clermont school districts. She has presented at local as well as national conferences. Lori brings her passion for helping individuals realize their strengths and use them to thrive! At Mayerson Academy, Lori assists schools and districts to discover innovative ways to recognize, develop and capitalize on the strengths of staff, students, parents & community partners. She enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 sons, reading historical fiction and practicing scales on her flute.
Marissa Rowley
Director, Thriving Learning Communities
For over a decade, Marissa has been dedicated to educational equity, focusing on strong classroom culture both internationally and stateside. Prior to joining Mayerson Academy, Marissa’s experiences included serving as a middle school English language arts teacher and English as a foreign language teacher in Hangzhou, China, as well as coaching and mentoring beginning teachers. Through these varied experiences, Marissa discovered her passion. Strong professional development and positive classroom cultures positively impact equity for all students. Currently, she is applying lessons learned from both classroom and coaching settings to her role as the Thriving Learning Communities Program Manager.
rowley.marissa@mayersonacademy.org
Diana Viltrakis
Accounting Specialist
As the Accounting Specialist, Diana provides support to the Director of Finance managing the Accounts Payable and Receivable, contracts, and additional aspects of the financial processes. She joined the team at Mayerson Academy in February 2021 after working for 10 years in non-profit administration. As a self-proclaimed PBS junkie, Diana enjoys sharing the love of learning with her young son and husband and believes in the Mayerson value of searching for joy in all you do.
viltrakis.diana@mayersonacademy.org
Janice Weiss
Sr. Manager of Strengths-Based Initiatives
As Senior Manager Strengths-Based Initiatives, Janice collaborates with organizations and businesses to infuse workplace cultures with a strengths-based mindset, sharing hands-on character-strength tools uniquely designed to inspire authentic employee well-being and everyday associate engagement. She’s a serial entrepreneur who launched a fruit and vegetable-themed cookie company called Yucky Cookies in her third year of law school in Philadelphia. While Janice’s “sweet dreams” eventually crumbled, it allowed her to pivot from law into a marketing career that combined over fifteen years of classic consumer product management in Fortune 100 companies with nine years of employee engagement and internal branding work at Macy’s Inc. Originally from New York, Janice brought her family to Cincinnati almost twenty years ago, falling in love with everything Cincy from the moment they arrived. Driven by her signature strengths of fairness and gratitude, Janice’s personal passion is to fight for social justice and, in the words of Dr. Neal Mayerson, “help tip humanity towards its better nature.”
weiss.janice@mayersonacademy.org
David Schiopota
TLC School Facilitator
David Schiopota comes to us from Springboard Education and the Center for Arts Inspired Learning where he had experiences in implementing curriculum, working with administrators and coaching teachers. His previous experiences will serve him well in the role of TLC coach. David believes strongly in character strength building and promoting these strengths in all students and throughout the community. He believes the world becomes a better place when we encourage individuals to recognize and use their unique strengths to propel them to become the highest and best versions of themselves. We are all unique and when we join forces together great things can be accomplished. Flipping the mindset of individuals from the negative to the positive encourages individuals, families, and communities to thrive and grow.
schiopota.david@mayersonacademy.org
Kimberely A. Childress
Administrative Coordinator
Before joining the Mayerson staff, Kimberely proudly retired from Cincinnati Public Schools after 33 years of service. Her tenure began in June 1979 in the Special Education department where she was a junior stenographer. Over time, Kim received many promotions. She ended her career as the executive secretary to the assistant superintendent. Other positions held during her tenure with the district included secretary to the superintendent, senior lead secretary and acting coordinator of the Customer Help Center. Embracing thoughtful leadership, a dedicated work ethic and careful attention to detail, Kimberely managed several software programs including the Development Assessment Center (DAC) and served as the webmaster for the Office of School Management and Performance.
childress.kim@mayersonacademy.org
Caren Karlage
Literacy Professional Development Specialist
Caren joined Mayerson Academy in 2008 as a school improvement coach for Cincinnati Public Schools. She became the Literacy Professional Development Specialist in July 2018. As Literacy Specialist she administrators the Orton-Gillinham program that serves teachers world-wide through both Face-to-Face as well as Online courses. Caren has 41 years of experience in education as a teacher, School-Wide Lead Teacher, Academic Coach, and Professional Development Presenter. She has presented at local as well as national conferences. She received certification in Orton-Gillingham through Mayerson Academy’s IMSLEC accredited program and has a Dylexia Certificate through IDA. Her passion is reading and working with struggling readers so they too can enjoy the experience of reading.
karlage.caren@mayersonacademy.org
Miyah Byrd
Operations & Communications Coordinator
Miyah has worked in public education and the nonprofit field for almost 10 years partnering with The Holocaust and Humanity Center, Public Allies, Community Matters, The Welcome Project, and Santa Maria Community Services. As Administrative Coordinator, Miyah organizes workshops and events for Strong Cincinnati Institute, an initiative of Mayerson Academy, that guides people to tap into the best versions of themselves and provides executive support to our CEO.
byrd.miyah@mayersonacademy.org
Lisa Dillon
TLC School Facilitator
Starting her education career as an elementary school teacher, Lisa has been working in education since 2008. Her passion for early elementary education and educational equity led Lisa to Teach For America staff in Southwest Ohio in 2012. Fueled by her signature strengths of hope and love, Lisa believes deeply in what’s possible for all students and she tries to infuse humor along the way. When she is not working with educators, Lisa is spending her time playing with her three children, exploring her new community, and watching The Office for the 100th time.
Dillon.lisa@mayersonacademy.org
Karen Graves, Ph.D
TLC Senior Consultant
Karen is an experienced psychologist with more than 20 years of distinguished service to children, adolescents and their families. She is an experienced facilitator who has designed and led highly regarded professional learning experiences for parents, teachers and clinicians, and is a sought-after expert in online coaching. Karen is passionate about the potential of nonprofit organizations and has served as a consultant to develop nonprofit leaders’ capacity in strategic planning, efficiency management and team building.
graves.karen@mayersonacademy.org
Carly Rospert
Strong Cincinnati Program Consultant
Carly joined Mayerson Academy in July 2016 as Senior Project Manager. In her current role as Director of Strategic Initiatives, she provides leadership and support to innovative initiatives like Strong Cincinnati and NKU Strong. Carly’s experience is grounded in Knowledge management, design, and organizational learning in the collective impact field. Prior to joining Mayerson Academy, she worked for StriveTogether where she built a strategy and team focused on turning quantitative and qualitative data from education reform initiatives across the country into actionable stories and tools. Carly received her undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati in Urban Planning. As a long-time tutor at Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, she is passionate about the ability for education to change the lives of individuals and communities..
rospert.carly@mayersonacademy.org
Tosha May
TLC Program Consultant
A former high school science teacher, Tosha has spent the last eleven years working with students and teachers to create strong academic content, inspiring visions for student learning and a culture in which all kids feel valued and accepted. Tosha brings her passion for professional development and teacher engagement to our Thriving Learning Communities team, working with educators and students to understand their signature strengths. When she is not working with educators, reading and learning more about educational equity or learning more about how to leverage strengths to be our best selves, Tosha will be found with her husband and young kids enjoying the great outdoors.
may.tosha@mayersonacademy.org
Indi Ekanayake
TLC Program Consultant
Indi joined Mayerson Academy in August 2019 as TLC Program Specialist. After receiving degrees from Ohio State (BS in Health Sciences) and the University of Pennsylvania (MS in Urban Education), and teaching high school science and coaching novice teachers in Philadelphia, he moved to Seattle to help open Rainier Prep as the founding 5th and 8th grade science teacher and the school’s first Dean of Instruction. His experience is grounded in student-centered instruction, restorative practices, and building positive culture in Title I schools. In addition to his work with schools, Indi helped start the Prosocial Supper Club (PSC) in 2017, an informal group combining family-style meals and fundraising for progressive non-profits. He’s really excited to bring PSC and his passion for educational equity back to his hometown of Cincinnati.
ekanayake.indi@mayersonacademy.org
Interested in joining our team?
We’re always searching for great people to work with and who could help us change the world for good. If you’re the kind of person who takes pride in helping others achieve their best, you could be a great fit for Mayerson Academy.