Introducing
Beyond Literacy

Since 1998, Dawn has dedicated her professional life to improving the academic and personal success of out-of-school youth and striving adult learners. The length of Dawn’s tenure in education is a testament to her passion for bridging the academic gaps that can limit one’s life-chances.

Dawn began her career as adjunct faculty at the Community College of Philadelphia, teaching ESL, GED, and developmental English courses. She later served as a researcher and project manager at the University of Pennsylvania’s National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL). Building on lessons learned as both an educator and education researcher, Dawn left NCAL and began her career in education administration in 2007. Since then, Dawn has served as Education Coordinator at Congreso de Latinos Unidos, and held a number of positions at the Center for Literacy, including In-School Youth Program Manager, Manager of Data Systems, In-House Professional Development Specialist, and Assistant Director of Education. In 2013, Dawn accepted the position of Director of Education at the Community Learning Center (CLC). In 2018, she was charged with management of CLC’s intake and student support teams. Dawn now serves as the agency’s Chief Program Officer.

Dawn’s commitment to adult education is grounded in her personal journey as one of the first in her family to attain a postsecondary credential, and the only one until recently to have earned an advanced degree. Dawn holds a B.S. in Spanish from Georgetown and an M.A. in linguistics from Stanford.

Get in touch with Dawn at [email protected]

Sara joined Beyond Literacy as Chief Operating Officer in August 2023. She has held senior leadership positions at Mental Health Partnerships, The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, White-Williams Scholars (now Heights Philadelphia) and the American Heart Association. Sara has 18 years of nonprofit management experience in development, communications, operations, board relations, and events. In her prior roles, she built her expertise in implementing new systems for greater efficiencies, leading efforts to increase and diversify organizational revenues, and raising brand awareness. 

Before entering the nonprofit sector, Sara held several account management positions in major broadcast, cable, print and radio with Fox Philadelphia, KYW-TV, Metro Philadelphia and Radio One. During her tenure, she spearheaded creative partnerships with several nonprofit organizations resulting in increased community engagement and exposure for all parties.

Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Temple University and is a first-generation college graduate. An active member in her South Jersey community, Sara is a founding board member of The Victory Group, a nonprofit based in Westville, NJ, which addresses basic needs within surrounding underserved communities around food insecurity, clothing essentials, education, and job training. Early in her career, Sara served as a volunteer for the Center for Literacy. She is excited that her career journey has brought her full circle to Beyond Literacy. 

Get in touch with Sara at smanning@beyondliteracy.org

Gianna is dedicated to helping others utilize education to become the best versions of themselves. She grew up in North Philadelphia and experienced many of the systemic inequities that still plague urban areas today. Thankfully, she was able to receive excellent educational experiences. It was those experiences that allowed her to gain access to a variety of opportunities. She believes that having options makes all the difference in life. Therefore, she strives to ensure that others receive high-quality academic instruction, so that they will have choices about what they want to do with their lives and who they want to become.  

Gianna currently serves as the Director of Education for Beyond Literacy. Her previous roles include Math, Reading, Science, and Social Studies teacher, In-House Professional Development Specialist, Academic Coordinator, and Neuroscience researcher. She earned both her Bachelor of Science in Biology and her Master of Science in Neuroscience degrees from Delaware State University. She also earned her Master of Science degree in Secondary Education from the University of Pennsylvania.   

Get in touch with Gianna at [email protected]

Get in touch with Kelly at [email protected]

Get in touch with LaShonda at [email protected]

Soon after graduating from Antioch College with a BA in Sociology, Robin founded the Women’s Alliance for Job Equity (WAJE), a former member agency of WOMENS WAY, and served as its executive director for 13 years. During National Secretaries Day, she organized Bad Boss Contests with the Philadelphia Daily News and led workshops for employers on how to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Robin moved on to work at the Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC) for 18 years, where she secured discretionary federal funds for workforce development programs supporting homeless adults and welfare-to-work clients, coordinated the development of UAC’s five-year strategic plans, directed events/press conferences, wrote external communications, and did media placements for UAC programs, including the Campaign for Working Families. In April 2015— her third career—Robin was hired at Center for Literacy to do fundraising and communications, and later was promoted to chief advancement officer. She is a board member of Northern Children’s Services.

Get in touch with Robin at [email protected]

Amanda is passionate about strengthening and expanding our new agencies impact to directly combat systemic injustices in Philadelphia. As Director of Communications, she is committed to creating partnerships that align with our agency’s collective action to create empowered and equitable opportunities for our learners. Amanda earned her B.A. in Mass Communications and Women’s Studies from Towson University. Previously, she served as Director of Events at the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce where she developed dozens of corporate events focused on city-wide economic and workplace initiatives for minorities, women, and young professionals. She was co-editor and designer of the InBusiness Magazine, as well as being a contributing writer.

Get in touch with Amanda at [email protected]