Rocketship Washington DC Board of Trustees

Dr. Maggie Marcus is an education equity leader dedicated to expanding opportunities for multilingual learners. Her commitment began in the classroom, where she saw talented students struggle without the support they needed—a moment that inspired her career-long focus on transforming educational systems.

Maggie serves as Executive Director of the Sullivan Family Charitable Foundation, where she leads initiatives that strengthen educational equity, empower bilingual teachers, and build partnerships that expand opportunity for underserved students. Maggie teaches as an adjunct professor in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. She also is a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she writes about English learners.

Driven by the belief that every student deserves to thrive in an equitable and inclusive environment, Maggie works to remove systemic barriers, uplift communities, and spark innovation across the education landscape. Maggie holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and Language Education from the University of Maryland and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Spanish from Skidmore College. She began her career as a 9th-grade Spanish teacher in Puerto Rico, where she earned her teaching certification in secondary Spanish from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. She also taught as an elementary dual-language teacher in DCPS and was an instructional coach at a DC dual-language charter school.

She lives in Chevy Chase with her husband, her three bilingual daughters, and a menagerie of pets.

Ron Sokolov is a seasoned business operations and strategy leader with two decades of experience helping mission-driven and commercial organizations achieve growth, innovation, and operational excellence. As Founder and President of Falcon Strategies, he partners with nonprofit and public-sector executives to identify strategic growth opportunities, strengthen operations, and expand mission impact using private-sector competitive frameworks. Previously, Ron served as Vice President at Kaiser Associates, where he led the Nonprofit and Government Practice, providing competitive research, market analysis, and process-improvement support to help organizations evaluate new revenue streams and navigate change.

Earlier in his career, Ron advised senior government leaders, the White House, and Fortune 500 executives on complex operations challenges across multiple industries. One of the most formative chapters of his career was helping to build and lead the Transportation Security Administration after 9/11, part of the largest peacetime mobilization in U.S. government history. Entrepreneurial and mission-driven, Ron also founded a social-purpose startup that donated profits to charity. He is energized by solving complex problems, challenging conventional thinking, and leading teams that balance operational excellence with a strong commitment to purpose and people.

Ron holds a Masters in Public Policy, Quantitative Analysis from Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Kamuzu Saunders is an Executive Director at JPMorgan Private Bank and served 16 years as the U.S Equity Client Portfolio Manager. In his role as Executive Director, he takes a holistic approach to providing individuals and their families guidance across their full financial picture – including wealth planning, investments, banking and credit. Kamuzu is a native Washingtonian with a strong interest in supporting the advancement of educational opportunities in underserved communities. He earned a BS in Finance and an MBA from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

Rena is the former principal of DC Scholars Stanton Elementary, Washington’s first elementary school turnaround charter and district partnership school. She joined the school’s leadership team in 2011 as the Chief of Staff, managing the school family engagement strategy, school culture team, and operations. Ms. Johnson left a legacy of successfully working with families of students and rallying teams around aligned initiatives. Through her leadership and training, teachers conducted more than 450 visits to homes of students and their families in one school year. In 2015, after working closely with her staff, Ms. Johnson wrote a grant to create The Boys Institute at Stanton to foster the talent and genius of her black and brown boys. The Boys Institute received one of the highest financial awards and continues to receive praise across the DC region. DC Scholars Stanton experienced steady academic growth on the DC CAS and PARCC Assessments during her tenure, including 10% point gains in math in the second year of PARCC—outpacing most charters and district elementary schools in the city’s ‘forgotten’ ward, Ward 8. Ms. Johnson is currently the Senior Director for School Launch and Incubation at CityBridge Education, committed to incubating, launching, and transforming schools to deliver on talent and the potential inherent in our children, specifically the most disinherited by poverty and race. Ms. Johnson began her education career as an elementary school teacher in Atlanta, GA as a Teacher For America (TFA) corps member before joining the TFA DC Regional Team, where she managed placement strategy and new corps member transition. From TFA, Ms. Johnson became a resident principal with New Leaders for New Schools where she led the implementation of the Achievement Network data driven instructional model and founded a New Teacher program for all 1st year teachers. Ms. Johnson holds a BA from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in Education, Policy, and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Jolene brings a wealth of experience in policy and philanthropic leadership to the Rocketship board. After receiving her MBA, she worked for Corning Glass Works in strategic planning and later transitioned to the Federal Government where she gained valuable policy experience working for an independent commission charged with making recommendations to Congress about Medicare.

Jolene and her husband established the Stanley and Jolene Sloter Family Foundation to focus their philanthropy on education, specifically the need for better education opportunities in underserved communities. She is applying her policy experience to analyzing this issue and identifying concepts and organizations that improve the quality of education in low-income communities in DC so they can invest their philanthropic contributions in organizations that produce measurable results.

Jolene served on the Teach For America DC Board for ten years and was honored for her work in education at the annual gala in May of 2024. She is also a member of the Trustee Council for Communities in Schools of Northern Virginia, as well as the Investment Committee for Education Forward DC. A longtime supporter of Rocketship Public Schools, she coordinated the groundbreaking for Rocketship’s first school in DC, which opened in August 2016, and has been instrumental in building the RocketshipDC board of directors and finding new sources of support.

Jolene supports Rocketship’s work because she believes traditional public schools have not adequately served low-income students of color for generations. Rocketship's three pillars--Personalized Learning, Talent Development, and Parent Power--provide the foundation for building schools that will provide a quality education for these communities.

She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Biology/Medical Technology from Lycoming College and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

Ashanti is an experienced education finance and operations leader with a strong background in school management, strategic planning, financial oversight, and data-driven decision-making. She served as Chief Financial and Operations Officer at Ingenuity Prep for four years, beginning in June 2020, and currently works in consulting.
Prior to Ingenuity Prep, Ashanti spent ten years at Uncommon Schools in New York, serving seven years as Director of Operations and three years as Director of Finance. Her experience also includes two years as an Internal Audit Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she developed expertise in auditing, financial accountability, and internal controls.
Throughout her career, Ashanti has focused on building effective systems, strengthening operational processes, and using data to support strategic decisions that advance school effectiveness. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Howard University and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Ashanti brings a combination of financial expertise, operational leadership, and firsthand experience in education to her school board service, with a professional background well suited to supporting sound financial stewardship, effective school operations, and strategic planning.

Camilla C. Sturm Jensen is a strategic CFO and business leader. She brings 20+ years of cross-functional finance expertise , including 16 years at Marriott International and as Global CFO and EVP of Development at CIC (Cambridge Innovation Center).

At CIC, she guided strategic growth and modernized financial systems and processes. Her experience at Marriott encompassed long-range planning, complex hotel repositioning, and post-merger synergy efforts. She is currently the Founder and Principal of Strøm Consulting.

Currently, Ms. Jensen serves as a Board Member, Treasurer, and Chair of the Business Committee for Rocketship Public Schools, Washington DC, while also advising the National Board. She applies her strategic financial acumen and innovative thinking to maximize mission impact in these roles.

Additionally, she serves as an active Member of the Business Finance Committee for Pathways to Housing DC, a vital organization working to end homelessness and support recovery.

Camilla holds an MBA in Finance from American University and a Master of International Business and Languages from Odense University, Denmark. She is a multilingual executive, native in Danish and fluent in English and German.

Rachel has been serving students, families, and educators in New York City, Washington, DC, and beyond over the past two decades as a teacher, coach, administrator, and consultant. In Rachel's current role as Director of Program at SchoolKit, she supports state, district, and school leaders throughout the country with strategic planning related to the implementation of high-quality instructional materials. Prior to this role, Rachel was the principal of the Center City PCS Brightwood campus in Washington, DC. During her tenure, the school was consistently rated as a Tier 1 school by the DC Public Charter School Board, maintained the highest in-person DC public charter school attendance rates in the city, and received various accolades, including the National Title 1 Distinguished School Award, “All Star School” designation from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and was most recently highlighted by TNTP in their "The Opportunity Makers" national report as a "trajectory-changing school." Rachel, a nationally recognized educator and leader who was awarded the 2018 Milken Educator award, began her career in education as a New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary and middle school students in the Bronx, NY. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University, a master's degree in Elementary Education from Mercy College, and a doctorate degree in Education Policy and Leadership from American University.

Nana Apenem Hanson-Hall is an applied researcher with more than a decade of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating development and public health interventions around the world. She is a Senior Specialist for Research on Violence Against Women and Children at International Justice Mission and is passionate about health equity, holistic well-being, and amplifying the voices and actions of the most vulnerable.

She also volunteers with the Sasha Bruce Youth Network and serves during various events with Grace Meridian Hill Church. She's previously volunteered in youth tutoring and mentoring programs in DC, New York, Maryland, and Louisiana.

As a firm believer in equity as a key ingredient for well-being, she seeks to support the partnerships between educational institutions and families that edify children of all backgrounds. She has seen the positive impacts of the Rocketship model on her children over the last five years and chose to serve on the board to help strengthen both Rocketship's impact and the broader educational system in DC.

Nana holds a Bachelors's in Psychology from Georgetown University, a Master's in Public Health and International Development from Tulane University, and a Doctorate in Public Health Education from Loma Linda University.

Melissa currently works at DC International School (DCI), a tuition-free public charter that offers a traditionally selective curriculum accessible to every student with strong support, including continuous language learning for students in Chinese, French, and Spanish starting as early as PK3. At DCI, Ms. Martin serves as the Director of Data Strategy and EdTEch. Melissa previously worked at School Leader Lab (SLL), an organization that supports schools and their networks in sustaining and growing high-quality schools through one of their most important assets: leaders.  At SLL, Ms. Martin led the coaching model and provided support on program design. Ms. Martin came to SLL from Lynch Leadership Academy at Boston College where she coached aspiring principals and current principals from the district, charter and independent school sectors.  Prior to Lynch, Ms. Martin served as the Director of School Partnerships at Flamboyan Foundation in DC. She is an experienced principal, having led both Scott Montgomery Elementary and Walker Jones Education Campus in DCPS as a New Leader for New Schools. She is a DC native and graduate of DCPS’s Wilson High School, Bowdoin College, Harvard’s Graduate School of Education (EdM), and Trinity College, where she earned an MSA in Educational Administration.

Matt is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and founder of Aaron Financial in partnership with Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. Matt provides comprehensive financial planning to a diverse set of clients including a number of services not limited to cash flow and debt management and insurance, investment, and tax planning. Matt began his financial practice during his junior year of college and was quickly identified as a leader within the Northwestern Mutual network. He now serves as the Growth and Development Director for the Washington, DC office. In this capacity, his role is to identify, develop, and nurture the next generation of financial planners. In addition to balancing his practice and his leadership role at Northwestern Mutual, Matt commits a great deal of time to delivering motivational talks to inner city youth. Hailing from a similar background in Irvington, New Jersey, Matt has a vested interest in helping children with limited resources understand how to create opportunities for themselves through entrepreneurship.

Matt holds a BBA from Howard University and has earned both a certificate in financial planning from Georgetown University and the prestigious CFP ® designation.