SIT STAY READ STAFF
Jamie Crockett,
Program Director
Jamie (she/ella) is a seasoned public school English teacher who spent summers helping youth in disadvantaged environments develop stronger reading skills. Working at SitStayRead fuels her passion for storytelling, teaching, student agency, and dogs, and vice versa!
Deirdre Harrison CFRE,
Interim Executive Director
Deirdre (she/ella) brings over 25 years of diversified philanthropic and nonprofit leadership experience. She leads and supports staff, collaborates with the board on the organization’s strategic goals, drives fundraising initiatives, and cultivates SSR’s commitment to equity, inclusion, access, belonging, and justice. She has a rescue cat named Oona, who is not yet a dog-lover, but will share a warm lap with a good book. She is the storyteller in children’s literacy band The Lucky Trikes in her free time.
Cynthia Marroquin,
Program Manager
Cynthia (she/ella) is A Chicago native with a passion for helping the city’s youth develop their leadership skills. She is integral to the design and evolution of SSR’s curricula. She co-created our initial bilingual curriculum, and supports the Program Director in the reviewing and revising curricula across all developmental levels, K- 3rd Grade, and gives input on the ongoing development of bilingual curricula and volunteer training, evaluation and feedback.
Lexsie Hernández,
Volunteer Program Manager
Lexsie (she/ella) is a first-generation college graduate from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in Psychology combined with Pre-Veterinary track studies. She has a passion for human and animal well-being and activism for both. Lexsie leads recruitment, orientation, training and certification of volunteer Book Buddies and Certified Reading Assistance Dog Teams. She wants to hear from you!
Briana McLean,
Community Liaison
Briana (she/ella) holds an M.S. in Early Childhood Education and has over 13 years of experience working within the world of early learning as a classroom educator, coach of new teachers, children’s author, curriculum developer, and program developer. Her current work is rooted in expanding access to joyful literacy programs that center and celebrate the lived experience of students and families. Briana believes community learning spaces hold the power to be transformative and is thrilled to be a part of the SSR team. Check out Bri’s first book, Too Fly Not to Fly.
Selena Clark,
Operations Coordinator
Selena (she/ella) joins SitStayRead as an experienced Gallerist, Bookseller, Events Organizer, and Artist. With an M.A. in Art History and Curation, she has a strong background in supporting the arts. Here she supports our operational and fundraising capacity, helping optimize the flow of information across systems and between people, and fostering a culture of transparency, belonging and recognition. She is a passionate advocate for literacy and the arts and is thrilled to be a part of the SitStayRead team.
Ian Belknap,
Grants Manager
SitStayRead's development function is bolstered by writer, educator and long time national literary scene fixture, Ian Belknap, (he/him) also known as founder of Write Club. Ian brings years of grant writing and review expertise to SitStayRead, as well as a deep knowledge of Chicago's educational landscape and enrichment programming for youth.
Crystal Phillips-Pierce,
Event Planner
Crystal (she/ella) is Sit Stay Read’s consultant for its two signature events: Walkapalooza and Bark ‘N Ball. These annual events are important sources of revenue for the organization. CEO of CP Event Design + Production, Crystal is an award-winning, event producer and marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience. Bark 'N Ball is one of her favorite events to produce.
Lexi Bujak,
Intern
Lexi is a senior at Northeastern Illinois University, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Human Resource Management and will be graduating this Winter. She loves traveling, spending time with friends, and learning more about her field of study. In the future, she plans to go to graduate school for a Master's degree through a dual licensure program that allows her to work as a counselor in both school and independent practice settings. Lexi is passionate about helping individuals with their mental health and offering tools that can allow them to understand more about themselves.
Dalila Chacon,
Intern
Dalila (she/ella) is an undergraduate student pursuing her bachelors in Psychology. She is passionate about mental health, has experience working with kids and groups and hopes to be a licensed counselor in the future. Her interests include hiking, swimming, and riding roller coasters. What motivated her to volunteer at SitStayRead was of course seeing the certified dogs. She wanted to have the chance to work with the dogs and see how the children interact with them. Dalila was also drawn to the aspect of social emotional learning (SEL) integrated within the curriculum.
SIT STAY READ BOARD 2023-24
Luciano DeNisco CPA, President
Associate Director - Business Performance Improvement, Protiviti
Joshua Nelson, Vice President
Global Program Manager, DEI & Special Projects, Motorola Solutions
Kevin Kinnamon, Treasurer
Audit Senior Manager, KPMG
Dina Nelson-Gonzalez
Vice President, Omni Sales, NielsenIQ
Christina Ho PMP, Development Chair
Senior Project Manager, Comed ~ An Exelon Company
Sarah Inciong, Strategic Planning Chair
VP Strategy, Innovation & Transformation, Allstate
Qiana McNary, HR Chair
Senior Talent Acquisition Partner, Bezos Academy
Ann Scholhamer, Past President
Director of Operations, Chicago Reader
Priyam Shah
Cyber, Risk & Regulatory, PricewaterhouseCoopers