Brandi Kenner | Co-Founder, Chair and Academic Committee Chair
Brandi has over a decade of experience in education, including 5 years as a classroom teacher, 4 years in higher education as an instructor and student teaching supervisor, and nearly 4 years as an early childhood education consultant and trainer certified by GA’s Bright from The Start: Department of Early Care and Learning. Brandi holds teacher certification in both Early Childhood Education (P-5) and Special Education (K-12, all subjects) at the Masters level T-5. Brandi is currently a Ph.D. candidate in advanced standing at Emory University in the Department of Psychology: Cognition and Development. Her research focuses on the cognitive competencies underlying young children’s early language and symbol acquisition and how these competencies relate to their future literacy acquisition. She holds a Master of Education degree in Behavior and Learning Disabilities from Georgia State University and obtained her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and Sociology from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Brandi is passionate about providing all children with access to quality, early, research-based language and literacy enrichment and remediation opportunities, and developing the next generation of innovative and empathetic global leaders. Brandi is bilingual in French and English. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family.
Reshma Kakkar | Secretary
Reshma Kakkar, MA, is currently a consultant with the St. John’s Group after working at the Centers for Disease Control both in Atlanta and overseas for the past 10 years, primarily in the area of HIV prevention and treatment helping laboratories improve their data management systems. Reshma had spent seven years in East Africa and South East Asia and has developed a comfort and sensitivity to working in an environment of cultural and language diversity as well as political uncertainty as well as using project management skills to lead projects from conception to completion. She has mentored staff at various country offices and been a trainer as well. She is originally from India and is multilingual in Hindi, Bengali and English. She has a BA in Economics from India and a MA in Communication from Ohio State University. While in graduate school Reshma taught undergraduate Communication classes for two years. Reshma lives in Atlanta with her husband and two young children.
Karen Gravel | Board Member, Facilities Committee Chair
Karen M. Gravel, AIA, LEED AP, Associate with Lord, Aeck and Sargent Architecture in Atlanta, Georgia has 12 years of experience, which includes preservation planning, restoration, renovation and new construction. She has extensive condition assessment and construction administration experience. As a Fulbright scholar in Germany, she studied German and art history, which not only compliments her technical background in architecture but illustrates her passion for foreign languages. She combines her dedication to architecture with a strong personal commitment to client service and a love of old buildings. Karen was a founding board member of Friends of the Beltline with her husband, Ryan Gravel, in 2003. Karen is originally from Cynthiana, Kentucky, attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky earning a B.A. with honors in History and the Georgia Institute of Technology where she earned a Masters of Architecture in 1999. Karen currently lives with her family in southwest Atlanta and was active in NPU-X prior to the birth of her children. She focuses on facility planning with The GLOBE Academy.
Cindy Thigpen | Board Member
Patricia Holliday | Board Member, Talent Committee Co-Chair
Miguel Dominguez | Board Member
Davina Marraccini | Board Member, Public Relations Committee Chair
We are actively recruiting qualified school leaders, faculty, exploratory teachers and support staff who have a passion for language education. For information about current job openings, please visit Careers at GLOBE.
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