Sonya Castellino joined Read Charlotte as Deputy Director in July 2018. She has worked as an educator in New York City, Eastern North Carolina, and in Charlotte. She has served a variety of roles, from classroom teacher to Resident Principal, since 2002. She’s coached teachers to improve instructional practices in grades K-12, with subjects ranging from Music to Chemistry. Most recently, she was a Curriculum Coordinator for Project L.I.F.T.
Brian Kingsley was appointed Chief Academic Officer for CMS in August 2018. Kingsley had been assistant superintendent of academics at Wake County Public School System since 2015. He was acting chief academic officer and executive director, instructional and intervention, in Broward County Public Schools, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. from 2014 to 2015.
Tisha Greene is the Assistant Dean for School and Community Partnerships in the Cato College at UNC Charlotte. Tisha is a two-time graduate of UNC Charlotte, having received both a BA and MA in English and English Education in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is a North Carolina Teaching Fellows alumna.
Dr. Herring’s passion about equity-driven education reform fuels her work. Her career spans all levels of education, with professional experiences in Head Start thru higher education and leading state education policy. She currently works as President, CEO & Founder of BranchED.
Kiera Busching grew up with missionary parents, living internationally. She became a Teach For America corp member in 2015, entering the field of education. She currently works as Dean of Students at McClintock Middle School in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Dr. Anthony Graham is now the Provost at Winston-Salem State University, after serving as dean of the College of Education at N.C. A&T State University. As an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill, Anthony found his passion in education, and it has never felt like “work.”
Deepti Panjabi is Read Charlotte’s Data and Research Manager. She currently leads the Data Collaborative.
Mebane Rash is the CEO and Editor-in-chief of EducationNC, a collection of nonprofits, including the education-focused daily, on-line newspaper EdNC and a non-partisan think-tank called the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.
Throughout his distinguished career, Ralph Smith has been a leader who brings together unusual allies. Ralph is the managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a national network of communities focused on ensuring children read on grade level by the end of third grade.
While an undergrad at Appalachian State University, Dwight Miller was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, and he came to West Mecklenburg High School in 2013 as a Teach for America corps member.
