Meet the ALP Charlotte Team

Tutor Support

Shannon Blair

SSC: Montclaire & Starmount

Shannon Blair graduated from The University of South Carolina Honors College and pursued a career in teaching English, first at the secondary and then post-secondary level. After teaching for more than fifteen years as an English professor at Central Piedmont Community College, she embarked on a new career path during the pandemic as a freelance writer with a nutrition certification. During that time, while supporting her own children with remote schooling, she discovered the important work ALP was doing in the community and wanted to become involved. She began tutoring with ALP in 2021 and grew increasingly fascinated by and committed to literacy intervention. Shannon joined the ALP staff as a site coordinator in 2023 and is thrilled to support other tutors, new and experienced, in their efforts with aspiring young learners.

Lauren Brown

SSC: ETES & Bruns Avenue

Email: lbrown@alpcharlotte.org

I have been an ALP tutor for five years. I am a wife, mother of three CMS elementary students, and native Charlottean. I enjoy cooking, gardening, and spending time outside with my family. I am invested in the future of our city and believe the kids who live here are our greatest asset. I am looking forward to the upcoming school year diving into a new learning community with tutors and scholars to help meet the literacy needs in our city.

Anissa Burwell

Remote Support: Hidden Valley

Email: aburwell@alpcharlotte.org

Anissa Burwell began working at ALP as a Virtual Tutoring Room Monitor in February 2025. Before joining the team, She worked with several nonprofit organizations in varying capacities to address educational inequity within Charlotte and the surrounding areas.

Anissa studied at UNC-Greensboro, where she graduated with a B.A in Political Science. During her time at UNC-Greensboro, Anissa served as a Resident Assistant within the Housing Department, and a Student Advisor on the University’s Conduct Team. Though her background is not directly related to early education and literacy, the importance of education was instilled within her at a young age by her mother. Anissa believes that every child deserves the ability to access quality education, and is excited to support ALP in bringing interactive literacy programs to students.

During her free time, Anissa enjoys reading books, trying new foods, traveling internationally, and spending quality time with her friends and family.

Lauren Dorsey-Sisk

Site Manager: Winding Springs

Email: ldorsey@alpcharlotte.org

Lauren Dorsey-Sisk joined the ALP team as a Site Coordinator in September of 2023. Having over 18 year of education experience she has taught children at the Transitional Kindergarten level all the way through High School. Lauren’s most recent education experience was in an adapted curriculum, Special Needs classroom where she was able to work alongside speech, occupational, and physical therapists who have helped broaden her skills on teaching the “whole” child as every child learns differently. Lauren’s passion for children and seeing the light in their eyes when accomplishing something they have been striving for is what brings her the most joy, this is what led her to ALP as she believes that our program is one that is impacting the lives of children, who may have otherwise fallen through the cracks. She believes “We ALL can do Hard Things” and strives daily to live this out in her own life experiences. An Ohio native, Lauren has called Concord NC, home since the age of 10 and is a product of Cabarrus County Schools. Lauren lives in Cabarrus County with her husband, four children and four pups. Her interests involve attending her kids sporting events, spending time with her husband, reading a good book, and volunteering in her community.

Kari Heyink

SSC: Rama & Oakhurst

Email: kheyink@alpcharlotte.org

Kari Heyink joined ALP as a remote tutor in Fall 2020, transitioned to in-person tutoring for two years at Oakhurst STEAM and then became a Site Coordinator in August 2023. She graduated with a BA in Elementary Education and went on to earn a Master of Arts with a Literacy Concentration, both from Michigan State University. She holds a current teaching license and has ten years of elementary teaching experience. She has been an active volunteer at her children’s schools and also serves on her neighborhood association board. For the past six years she has been raising two young readers of her own. But as a teacher she experienced firsthand the impact strong reading and literacy skills have on a child and is grateful for the opportunity to support CMS students, tutors and teachers through the ALP mission. A Michigan native, she has called Charlotte home since 2007. Kari lives in East Charlotte with her husband, two children and two Australian Shepherd dogs. Her interests involve visiting family in Michigan and Ohio in the summer, tent camping and hiking all around North Carolina in the fall and spring and getting lost in a good book.

Charlotte McGhee

SSC: Ashley Park & Westerly Hills

Email: cmcghee@alpcharlotte.org

Charlotte McGhee, Student Success Coordinator, joined ALP in March 2025. Charlotte graduated with an MA in Spanish Literature from UNC Charlotte and a BA in Latin American Studies/Spanish from Elon University. After traveling throughout her 20’s in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, she settled down back in Charlotte close to her family and friends. She brings over 12 years of education experience (teaching English and Spanish) to ALP and is excited to continue working with elementary students and the amazing ALP volunteer tutors. In her spare time Charlotte enjoys hiking with her husband, Ryan and their rescue pup, Maya, or planning their next trip.

Philisha Orr

Site Manager: Newell

Email: porr@alpcharlotte.org

Philisha Orr, joined ALP as a tutor in January 2023. While being a Therapeutic Foster parent, she realized that many kids that came into her care were struggling readers and she wanted to continue to make a huge impact in their lives, not only by opening her home but also opening their minds to a world of possibilities while in her care. This led her to ALP while seeking out volunteer opportunities to learn how to teach reading skills to aspiring readers. The growth that she saw in her student while tutoring has made the biggest impact in wanting to get behind the ALP mission and help drive the organization forward. Philisha graduated from The University of Phoenix with a BS in Business Management. She is a true Charlottean and can be found at the Zmax Dragstrip (need for speed) or riding the trails after a rainy day (all things muddy) with her husband, 3 boys and a slew of bonus kids that call her Mom.

Leslie Rivver

SSC: Sterling & Greenway Park

Email: lrivver@alpcharlotte.org

Leslie grew up in the Deep South in a house filled with books and kids. As an adult, she still lives in a house filled with books and kids! She has earned her Reading Recovery Certification, her BA from Montreat College, and her MA degrees from Princeton, Auburn, and East Carolina Universities. Leslie has taught public school children in Arctic Alaska, Vermont, and North Carolina for over 25 years, and sees joining ALP as the just-right place to now be of service. A few other facts about Leslie: She has the best spouse and kids in the world, but one of the worst cats. She would rather be around kids than most people of other ages. She is small and strong, likes to laugh, and loves family, music, sunshine, and a good story.

Sara Smith

Remote Support: Newell

Email: ssmith@alpcharlotte.org

Sara Smith, a proud mom of two elementary school kids. I’ve had the joy of working with students from kindergarten through fifth grade, including those with special needs and behavioral challenges. Every child is unique, and I love helping them grow and learn in their own way. When I’m not working or cheering on my kids, I enjoy spending time with my family and traveling whenever we get the chance.

Mission Support

Grey Brownlow

Positive Learning Developer

Email: gbrownlow@alpcharlotte.org

Grey Timberlake Brownlow is a native Charlottean, a graduate of Davidson College, and a former teacher with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. She most recently served as a third grade teacher at Selwyn Elementary, and she is also a former ALP tutor. Grey and her husband Robbie are parents to three young adult children. Grey is thankful for the opportunity to serve and make an impact on the community through ALP.

Shamecia Collins

Events and Engagement Support

Email: scollins@alpcharlotte.org

Shamecia Collins joined Augustine Literacy Project–Charlotte as a remote tutor in 2024 and became a member of the Advancement Team in 2026. A proud UNC Charlotte alum, she earned a B.A. in Psychology with an emphasis on development. Her early career was rooted in student support services, where she led afterschool and summer programs serving underserved communities throughout Charlotte.

For nearly 15 years, Shamecia supported students with learning, social, and behavioral challenges, including her time at Brain Balance, where she ultimately served as Regional Director. These experiences reinforced her belief that early development—and especially literacy—is foundational to a child’s success. Since transitioning into the corporate world, she is grateful for the opportunity to blend her passion for supporting students with her experience in event planning and engagement through ALP. Outside of volunteering, Shamecia treasures time with her family, finds joy on the dance floor, enjoys discovering new restaurants, and travels whenever she can. She’s equally content with a good book in hand, soaking up the sunshine on the patio. As a mom to a college freshman at NC State and a second grader in CMS, she sees firsthand the power of reading and is honored to help children build that foundation while connecting the community to ALP.

Judy Degernes

Operations Coordinator

Email: jdegernes@alpcharlotte.org

Judy Degernes joined ALP as a tutor in 2017. Tutor friends recommended Augustine to her and she felt an immediate connection with the work that was being done by ALP. She has a love of reading, and hopes to instill that love in young struggling readers. Judy has been involved in education for many years, as a volunteer and as a staff member. She was a Teaching Assistant at Providence Day School and also worked in the PDS Admissions Office for 6 years. She has lived in seven different states and is happy to call Charlotte home.

Kate Degernes

School Program Manager

Email: kdegernes@alpcharlotte.org

Kate Degernes joined ALP as a Site Coordinator in August of 2023. She has been involved in education for many years working in admissions for schools in New York and California. Kate is passionate about education equity and believes reading is the foundation of education. She is excited to join ALP and to help aspiring readers in the Charlotte community. Kate has a Bachelors degree from Drew University. A native New Yorker, she is happy to be a North Carolinian. Kate lives in South Charlotte with her husband and is raising two little southern girls. When not in carpool, she enjoys practicing yoga, doing crosswords, and baking.

Carolyn Drake

Positive Learning Developer

Email: cdrake@alpcharlotte.org

Carolyn Drake began tutoring for ALP in 2022 and joined the training team soon after. Carolyn comes to ALP with 20 years of high school English teaching experience. She holds a Masters of Arts in teaching and is at the associate level in Orten Gillingham. She is excited to be part of an organization that is meeting the literacy needs of our children. Carolyn is from Albany, New York and has lived in Charlotte for 12 years. She, her husband and two daughters enjoy traveling, cheering for the Buffalo Bills and playing tennis together.

Shauntel Foulks

ALP Pro: Mint Hill

Email: sfoulks@alpcharlotte.org

Charlotte native Shauntel McCluney holds a B.S. in Sociology with a minor in Gerontology from UNC Charlotte. Her background in education includes serving as a CMS substitute teacher and volunteering in Title I schools. Shauntel is passionate about serving others, enjoys reading, spending time with her family, and active in her church. She and her husband, Brandon, are raising three children and are deeply rooted in their Charlotte community.

Kathy Graham

Recruitment Coordinator

Email: kgraham@alpcharlotte.org

Kathy Graham began volunteering as a tutor with ALP in 2019 and joined the recruitment team in 2024. Kathy has a very active volunteer history with her church and her children’s schools. She has recruited and coordinated volunteers throughout the years for both. Kathy is a graduate of Appalachian State University – Go Mountaineers! She has a MA in Communication Disorders and worked as a Speech Language Pathologist for a CMS school as well as an adult rehabilitation center. She expanded her knowledge of reading development and instruction by completing the Orton-Gillingham training with the Institute of Multi-Sensory Education. Kathy strongly believes that reading and writing are essential communication skills. Her experience as an ALP reading tutor, Speech Language Pathologist, and avid volunteer drives her desire to recruit and train ALP tutors to impact the literacy development of more students in our community.

Juanita Green

Director of Partners and Growth

Email: jgreen@alpcharlotte.org

Juanita Green, Director of Partners and Growth, joined ALP in August 2023. She is mission-driven and comes with 10 years of nonprofit experience. Juanita is excited about sharing her love for reading with all children. In her spare time, you can find Juanita roaming around town in search of Art, good eats, and second-hand books.

Abby Gruber

Data Operations Lead

Email: agruber@alpcharlotte.org

Abby Gruber, Data Operations Lead, joined ALP in October of 2024. She is originally from Columbia, Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland, starting her career at a federal technology consulting company. She later transitioned to a role at the US Department of Agriculture as a supervisory statistician, managing a team of data analysts and statisticians within the Food Safety and Inspection Service. She is extremely excited to be part of the mission and vision of ALP, and to enter the nonprofit world. She is a mom of two boys and enjoys CrossFit, reading, and exploring Charlotte with her husband, Joe.

Steve Hall

Executive Director

Email: shall@alpcharlotte.org

Steve Hall is an action-oriented leader with deep roots in the Charlotte non-profit community and a steadfast commitment to educational equity. He first partnered with ALP while serving as Head of School at Brookstone Schools, later joining ALP’s Finance Committee to help guide strategic growth and sustainability. In 2022, Steve officially joined the ALP staff, bringing with him a unique blend of business acumen, systems thinking, and a heart for children. With an engineering background and a career grounded in process excellence, Steve leverages his expertise to build and optimize systems that help ALP maximize its impact. His leadership is informed by both professional and personal experience—since 2009, he has served as a therapeutic foster parent with Thompson Child and Family Focus and has also served on their Board of Directors. Coming from a family of educators, Steve is especially passionate about ensuring that all children become functional, confident readers. He is driven by the belief that literacy opens doors to opportunity and is foundational to lifelong success. Steve’s dedication to education is shared by his family: his wife is a National Board Certified teacher in Literacy, his daughter teaches middle school English, and his son works full-time for an education-focused community center in Raleigh. The Hall family has called Charlotte home since 1995.

Jess Heath

Advancement Specialist

Email: jheath@alpcharlotte.org

Jess Heath, Communications Specialist, joined ALP in May 2012. She spends her time managing ALP’s social media accounts & communications and preparing for special projects & events. Jess loves working for ALP; she says, “Everyone at ALP, the staff, board and tutors, are such an inspiration. It is amazing to see the amount of dedication they selflessly devote to the students they work with.” With two little readers at home, Jess knows the importance of reading and is honored to be a part of ALP’s mission to assist struggling readers that might otherwise not receive the help they need.

Shellie Hubbard

Standardization Lead

Email: shubbard@alpcharlotte.org

Shellie Hubbard is a Charlotte native and graduate from N.C. State University where she earned a B.S. in Elementary Education. Shellie is very passionate about children’s education and wrapped up her seventh year of teaching this past June. She has worked with ALP Tutors as a teacher and saw the wonderful things they did for her students’ progress and confidence. Shellie is excited to be a part of the ALP team where she can support children’s learning in a different way!

Amy Martin

Small Group Optimization Specialist

Email: amartin@alpcharlotte.org

Amy is excited to bring her passion for literacy to the ALP community. She has worked in elementary education since 1994, focusing on early childhood literacy since 2000. Amy specializes in interventions, phonics, and developing strategies to support student success. A proud graduate of Western Carolina University, she is dedicated to helping young learners thrive. She and her husband have recently relocated to North Georgia to be more centrally located to family, including their four grown children.

Brock Morrell

Systems Support

Email: bmorrell@alpcharlotte.org

Bio coming soon!

Martha Overaker

Director of Advancement

Email: moveraker@alpcharlotte.org

Martha Overaker, Director of Advancement at ALP, brings over 15 years of experience in event management and nonprofit leadership. Most recently, she served as Director of Volunteers, Charity, and Events for the Wells Fargo Championship, a signature PGA TOUR event. Her expertise spans strategic planning, volunteer management, and community engagement, highlighted by impactful initiatives like the “Reading Champs” literacy program and overseeing nearly $6M in annual charitable contributions. Originally from Knoxville, Martha moved to Charlotte on a golf scholarship and holds a B.A. in Corporate Communication from Queens University of Charlotte. She is passionate about volunteering, with active involvement in organizations such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Carolina Breast Friends. She also enjoys reading, playing golf with her husband Jeremy and two daughters, Olivia and Lillian, and taking walks with her rescue Labrador, Mills.

Renae Pawlowski

Curriculum Designer

Email: rpawlowski@alpcharlotte.org

A Pennsylvania native, Renae came to Charlotte for college and never left! She attended UNC Charlotte where she graduated with a B.S in Elementary Education and a M.ed. in Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching English as a Second Language. She taught for almost 10 years in both public and charter Title I elementary schools. She also worked for Caterpillar Ministries along the way as an ESL Teacher, Program Coordinator, and Tutoring Director. After piloting ALP’s first curriculum with Caterpillar students, she was honored to join the ALP staff on their newest endeavor. She is so grateful to be able to combine her educational background and her passion for helping others who are overcoming challenges. She lives in Huntersville with her husband and young daughter.

LaShonna Smith

Director of Strategic Expansion

Email: lsmith@alpcharlotte.org

LaShonna Smith joined ALP in November 2022. She comes with over 16 years experience in education. With teaching experience at the elementary, middle and high school levels, she set out on a mission to impact more children educationally by joining the ALP team. She is excited to use her knowledge, passion, leadership skills to help meet the needs of aspiring readers in the Charlotte community and beyond. LaShonna has a Masters degree from North Carolina Central University and a Bachelors degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She resides in the Charlotte Metro area with her husband and three boys.

Caroline Walsh

Director of Programs

Email: cwalsh@alpcharlotte.org

Caroline Walsh, comes to ALP with over eleven years of elementary education experience. Most recently, Caroline taught at Trinity Episcopal School in Charlotte as well as in other schools in Pennsylvania, New York, Arizona and North Carolina. She holds her Masters in Teaching and is Orton-Gillingham certified. Caroline attended both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University but is a loyal Tar Heel fan. Caroline is a native Charlottean and enjoys traveling, working out, and and spending time with her husband, John, her daughter, Liza, and her Golden Retriever, Archie.

ALP Board of Directors

Richard Bates

Board Member

Michael E. Blair

Immediate Past Chair

Rebecca Drendel

Board Chair

Lauren Hood

VP & Governance Chair

Rick Hudson

Secretary

Dorothy McGavran

Board Member

Steve Larson

Finance Chair

Annette Dreyer

Development Chair

Faith Hamilton

Board Member

Kristen Howard

Board Member

Shannon McKinney

Board Member

Krista Scavone

Board Member

John Spencer

Board Member

Julie Warner

Board Member

Ted Wolfe

Board Member

ALP Advisory Council

Tim Belk – Retired Chairman & CEO, Belk, Inc.

Charles Bowman – Executive in Residence University of North Carolina Charlotte, Retired President North Carolina, Bank of America

Chris Jackson – President & CEO Goodwill Industries of The Southern Piedmont

Margaret Marshall – Civic Leader, Retired Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education Member

Dee O’Dell – Executive Vice President, Head of Business Banking Sales, U.S. Bank

Don Olmstead – Co-Founder & Managing Director, Novare Capital Management

Tom Temple – Managing Director, Charlotte Office, Fidus Partners

ALP Team

Tutor Support

Shannon Blair

Lauren Brown

Anissa Burwell

Lauren Dorsey-Sisk

Kari Heyink

Charlotte McGhee

Philisha Orr

Leslie Rivver

Sara Smith

Mission Support

Grey Brownlow

Shamecia Collins

Judy Degernes

Kate Degernes

Carolyn Drake

Shauntel Foulks

Kathy Graham

Juanita Green

Abby Gruber

Steve Hall

Jess Heath

Shellie Hubbard

Amy Martin

Brock Morrell

Martha Overaker

Renae Pawlowski

LaShonna Smith

Caroline Walsh

ALP Board of Directors

Richard Bates

Michael E. Blair

Rebecca Drendel

Lauren Hood

Rick Hudson

Dorothy McGavran

Steve Larson

Annette Dreyer

Faith Hamilton

Kristen Howard

Shannon McKinney

Krista Scavone

John Spencer

Julie Warner

Ted Wolfe

ALP Advisory Council