Our Team

Meet the hardworking, fun-loving team that is making Inspired Teaching a reality.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

Meag Campos

Project Manager

LaTonia Smith Cokely

Faculty

Kaneia Mayo Crumlin

Faculty

Kathryn Eliscar

Financial Administrator

Jenna Fournel

Director of Teaching and Learning

Cosby Hunt

Director of Youth Programming

Brady Maiden

Faculty

Aleta Margolis

Founder and President

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Christine Sheridan

Program Grant Manager

Michelle Welk

Communications and Marketing Specialist

Board of Directors

Monica Brady-Myerov, Director

Founder and CEO of Listenwise

Dr. Michelle Edwards, Director

Founder & CEO, The Idari Collective

Jeffrey Franco, Director

CEO, Camino Consulting and Adjunct Professor, American University

Karol Kepchar, Pro bono counsel, Advisor to the board, Non-voting

Partner-Head, Trademark, Copyright, Internet, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP

Aleta Margolis, Director

Founder and President

John Nolan, Director, Board Chair

Chair; CFO & CCO, Options Solutions, LLC

Elly Young, Director

Teacher Leadership Specialist, Montgomery County Public Schools

Join our Team

Inspired Teaching offers you a chance to make a difference and grow professionally. We seek talented, dynamic, and highly skilled individuals who share our belief that every student, regardless of race, geography, or income level, can thrive in an engagement-based classroom with an Inspired Teacher.

We are educators, athletes, parents, bookworms, and storytellers. From DC natives to global travelers, our staff is a group of ambitious professionals passionate about improving the school experience for every student. Apply today to be part of our entrepreneurial and impact-driven team.

Grants Manager (Part Time)

Available Immediately
Remote
Part-time

Center for Inspired Teaching, a Washington DC-based nonprofit that is creating radical change in the school experience for students, away from compliance and toward authentic engagement, is seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented Grant Manager to join our team.

About Inspired Teaching: We are a social change organization that champions the power of curiosity. We invest in teachers to make school joyful for students. We provide transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers through live programming and the creation and dissemination of resources in the DC region, across the US, and worldwide.

This is a part-time, 1099 position. Weekly hours fluctuate depending on needs, but it is anticipated that the position will require 30-60 hours per month, $35/hr. This is a remote position with the ideal candidate residing in the DC-metro region.

About the position: The Grant Manager will report directly to the President, and is responsible for writing and submitting grant proposals, managing the funder calendar, documenting key dates, and preparing and submitting grant reports. This role is crucial for securing funding and ensuring compliance with all grant requirements.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Grant Writing and Submission:

Develop and submit compelling grant proposals and applications (approximately 20 per year) – building on plentiful existing language about organizational mission, programming, and priorities. Update language as needed, and ensure accuracy, completeness, and adherence to funder guidelines.
Collaborate with internal departments to gather necessary information and supporting documentation for grant proposals, such as Sources of Funding, project budgets, staff list, project timelines, etc.
Manage grant portal log-ins and access.
Prospecting: research and identify potential grant opportunities that align with the organization’s mission and goals.

Documentation and Reporting:

Prepare and submit detailed grant reports, collaborating with internal departments (programs, research, communications) to gather necessary information and supporting documentation for reports.

Ongoing Management of Awarded Grants

Ensure ongoing compliance with grant requirements, including staff background checks, insurance requirements, and data uploads/documentation into funder-specific portals. This work includes the management of a government grant with an associated set of detailed reporting responsibilities.
Responsible for file management and storage of all grant-related documents in shared drive. Expected to take leadership in file management.

Funder Calendar Management:

Maintain and manage grant calendar, tracking all important dates and deadlines for grant submissions and reports, and capturing relevant communications with funders.

Managing Individual Donors

Maintain a log of individual donations (approximately 100 donors per year), create donation acknowledgment letters and assist with giving campaigns when needed.
Submit organization information to development campaign platforms, such as Global Giving and Spur Local.
Submit fundraising reports, track donors who are received through development platforms, and provide compelling donation solicitations to fundraising platforms partners.
Draft fundraising emails, texts, etc. for fundraising campaigns (approximately 4 times per year), such as Do More 24, etc.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in English, Communications, Nonprofit Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 3 years of experience in grant writing and management, preferably in the nonprofit sector, including experience managing government grants and grants with detailed reporting requirements.
Proven track record of securing grants from foundations, corporations, and/or government agencies.
Exceptional writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines simultaneously.
Commitment to Inspired Teaching’s mission of ensuring all students experience an engaging, meaningful education that prioritizes curiosity and critical thinking.
Proficiency in using grant management software and tools.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to Christine Sheridan, christine@inspiredteaching.org.
AI-generated materials will not be considered.

Center for Inspired Teaching is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to a diverse workplace.

Our Commitment to Equity and Inclusion

Our work at Center for Inspired Teaching draws on a foundation of inclusivity, regard for the rights and safety of all people, and respect for the dignity of educators and students. We believe that it is our collective obligation as a society to take responsibility and care for every child, and to work together to give every young person a happy, healthy start in life.

Inspired Teaching recognizes that the education system can either perpetuate or combat systematic oppression. Our organization exists within a world that is historically designed to marginalize individuals and communities based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, and ability. To actively and intentionally interrupt systems of power and oppression, we are committed to promoting civil discourse and social justice, starting in the classroom.

Through Inspired Teaching’s authentically engaging programs, educators and students have meaningful opportunities to engage in discussion, debate, and action around the topics that affect their lives, across racial, ethnic, religious, political, gender, sexual orientation, and other identities. We enact our beliefs and values by investing in a continual process of strengthening awareness and deepening cultural competence.

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Dr. Michelle Edwards

Director; Founder & CEO, The Idari Collective

Dr. Edwards is the Founder and CEO of the Idari Collective. Idari means leadership in the Yoruba language. The Idari Collective is a coaching, mentoring, and consulting firm whose mission is to come alongside leaders, especially Black women leaders, so that they will thrive in leading their personal and professional lives.

She is a native Chicagoan and a career educator who found her way to the East Coast as a resident principal in New Leaders, Inc. during its inaugural year in Washington DC. She also served as a principal in Anacostia at Orr Elementary for almost a decade. Michelle returned to New Leaders in 2013 as the Director of the Emerging Leaders Program. Dr. Edwards served for nearly seven years as the Executive Director at Live It Learn It, an experiential learning nonprofit located in Washington, DC that partners with schools and cultural institutions to create and deliver experiential learning opportunities for Black and Brown elementary-aged students.

She earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and received a Certificate in Executive Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. Michelle is a graduate of Creative Results Management, where she was trained to coach. Dr. Edwards also advocates for social justice and racial reconciliation as a leader of the DC Unity and Justice Fellowship, a new 501c3 in Washington, DC where she serves as the inaugural Board Chair. She is a trained Urban Missionary, a proud, 25+ year-member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the mother of two adult sons, Darren and Dante.

Meag Campos

Project Manager

With over ten years of experience in education, Meag Campos is dedicated to making learning accessible for all students and to supporting their social-emotional growth. Her career spans working with elementary through high school students, during which she has served as a Teacher, Learning Specialist, and Instructional Coach.

She holds a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on literacy leadership from the University of New Orleans. Her passion for education is matched by her love for reading and exploring the world with her husband and two sons.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Speak Truth Faculty

As Speak Truth Faculty, Brady helps to lead one of our model youth programs. She provides training and support to high school students as they lead and engage in Speak Truth discussions on issues important in their lives. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.