Tifarah Allen, Partner, Hogan Lovells
Tifarah’s public company clients depend on her for their varied securities matters, including securities offerings, SEC disclosures, stockholder meetings, Section 16 matters, and ongoing corporate governance advice. With a particular focus on real estate investment trusts (REITs) and companies in the real estate industry, Tifarah’s flexible, but focused, approach has helped companies access the capital markets by navigating the initial public offering process, securities exchange listings and compliance, and meeting ongoing capital needs through follow-on equity offerings. Tifarah also has extensive experience advising public and private companies across industries and sovereigns on the issuance of debt in public and private offerings. She proactively identifies the needs of her clients to negotiate debt terms that the company can comply with not only today, but also through the maturity of the debt. In addition to her public company advisory practice, Tifarah leverages her securities law experience to advise fund sponsors in structuring and raising capital for real estate private equity funds. Prior to joining Hogan Lovells in 2011, Tifarah began her career at a national law firm as a junior associate working on securities, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters. While in law school, she was an articles editor for the Columbia Law School Journal of Gender and Law. Prior to law school, she worked for a major internet retailer and an international commercial bank on internet-based consumer products.
Richard D. Calder, Jr., Board Chair of Educare DC. Richard D. Calder, Jr. served as the Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of GTT Communications, a global internet and cloud networking company, from 2007 to 2020. Mr. Calder led the growth of GTT from $50 million to $1.7 billion in revenue and from 60 to over 3,000 employees based in 30 countries worldwide. Prior to GTT, Mr. Calder served as President & Chief Operating Officer of InPhonic Inc., an online seller of wireless services and products. Earlier in his career, Mr. Calder served in several executive roles for Broadwing Communications, he held senior management positions with Winstar Communications, and co-founded Go Communications, a wireless communications company. Mr. Calder also held a variety of marketing, business development, and engineering positions with MCI Communications and Tellabs. Mr. Calder received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Yale University. Mr. Calder serves on the Board of the American Red Cross National Capital Region. Rick resides in Bethesda, MD with his wife, and they have lived in the Washington Metro area for over 32 years with their 3 grown children. Rick was raised in the Middle East and Europe as the son of a senior CIA officer.
Dr. Brenda Jones Harden, Educare DC Vice Chair, Board of Directors and Professor at Columbia University. Harden is the Ruth Ottman Class of ’45 Professor of Child and Family Welfare at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Before joining CSSW, Brenda Jones Harden was the Alison Richman Professor for Children and Families at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and a Professor of Human Development at University of Maryland College Park. Her research focuses on the developmental and mental health needs of young children who have experienced adversity, particularly those who have been maltreated or have experienced other forms of trauma. She is currently a PI on a longitudinal study to examine the brain and behavioral development of children experiencing adversity from the prenatal period through middle childhood. A particular focus of her research is preventing maladaptive outcomes in young children and their families who experience adversity through early childhood programs. She conducts numerous evaluations of such programs, including parenting interventions, early care and education, home visiting services, and infant mental health programs. Dr. Jones Harden has consulted with and provided training to numerous organizations regarding effective home visiting, infant and early childhood mental health, reflective supervision, infant/toddler development and intervention, early care and education, and working with parents from impoverished backgrounds. She began her career as a child welfare social worker, working in foster care, special needs adoption, and prevention services, the latter of which became her long-term practice and research focus. She is a scientist-practitioner who uses research to improve the quality and effectiveness of child and family services and to inform child and family policy. She is the immediate past-President of the Board of Zero to Three, and serves on various federal, state, local, foundation, and research advisory boards. She received a PhD in developmental and clinical psychology from Yale University and a Master’s in Social Work from New York University.
Khosi Mathias, Senior Ad Communications & Brand Strategy Manager, Center of Marketing Excellence. Khosi (Nananmla) Mathias leads Advertising & Brand Strategy at Nestle, the largest multinational food and beverage company in the world. In this role, she oversees creative strategy and marketing communication development for the multibillion-dollar, North American portfolio of brands. Prior to Nestle, Khosi held leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Time Warner where she was responsible for the ideation and development of large-scale advertising campaigns. She is a passionate marketer, specializing in strategic thinking and brand building that strengthens consumer relationships and accelerates business growth. She has been active in a variety of civil service initiatives and was awarded a Governor’s Citation from the State of Maryland for her contributions towards women’s empowerment and ending youth violence. Mathias graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Temple University and holds Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. She is a Washington D.C. native and resides locally with her husband and son.
Lesley Poole, Chief Executive Officer, The SEED Foundation. Lesley Poole is the chief executive officer at The SEED Foundation. Poole was one of The SEED School of Washington, D.C.’s founding faculty members. For 11 years, she held positions ranging from director of admissions to director of parent and community relations to head of school for student life. Since transitioning from her leadership roles at SEED DC to The SEED Foundation, Poole served in several management positions at the foundation, including director of outreach, for six years before becoming CEO. She began her career in education as a mathematics instructor. She later served for two years as the service area director of the School Division of the San Francisco Educational Services (SFED), where she oversaw five programs working with inner-city children with special needs in San Francisco. Poole has two bachelor’s degrees: one from San Diego State University/San Francisco State University in chemistry and engineering and one from Patten College in organizational management.
Jessie Rasmussen, President, Buffett Early Childhood Fund. Jessie Rasmussen joined the Buffett Early Childhood Fund in 2007, and her entire professional career has focused on improving outcomes for children and families. For more than 20 years, Rasmussen was an early childhood education teacher and administrator, then spent the next 20 years in state government, first as a Nebraska state senator and then as the state human services director in both Nebraska and Iowa. She served as the early childhood policy director for the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, and played an instrumental role in the development and successful passage of early childhood legislation in 2006 that established a $60 million early childhood endowment, funded through a public and private partnership.
Rachel Schumacher, Consultant and Advisor, R. Schumacher Consulting. Rachel is an independent consultant specializing in early childhood policy, and the former Director of the Office of Child Care in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2014-2017. She is a highly regarded expert on child and family policy at the federal, state, and local levels. In the private sector, Rachel helped the JB and MK Pritzker Family Foundation launch an ambitious national effort to ensure children are on track for school readiness by age three. Prior to federal service, Rachel spent over a decade at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), where she led policy research and provided technical assistance to policymakers on a range of topics including: infant and toddler child care and Early Head Start policies, state early childhood systems and standards, state prekindergarten programs, and federal law and regulation for the Child Care and Development Fund and Head Start/Early Head Start. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two sons.
Leigh K. Sims, Principal, and Founder, EdCoSpace, Consultant, a Senior Consultant, Guidehouse
Leigh K. Sims is the principal and founder of EdCoSpace, an organization that coaches families with children ages birth through five. She also serves as a Senior Consultant at Guidehouse. Sims began her career as a general educator in Western Massachusetts and later joined the VSA Arts team at the The Kennedy Center. Following her stint at the Kennedy center, Sims retuned to the classroom where she spent 13 years as an early childhood general and special educator for DC Public and charter schools. Sims is a graduate of Smith College and The Catholic University.
Charles Song, Vice President, PNC’s Corporate & Institutional Bank Charles Song is a Vice President in PNC’s Corporate & Institutional Bank in the Greater Washington D.C. market. He is responsible for delivering banking products and services to small middle market & commercial companies. He advises his clients on appropriate capital structure, cash flow efficiency and PNC’s world class treasury management platform. He is a trusted advisor with experience in providing clients strategic and forward-thinking advice for their business and growth strategies. Charles began his career in the banking industry decades ago and has worked at PNC since 2013. He is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to improving processes and mitigating operational risks. Charles analyzes cash flow lending opportunities to determine risk profile of clients and prospects in coordination with PNC’s credit division. He enjoys solving the unique needs of his clients by working with a multitude of business partners to deliver the best products and solutions for their company. Charles manages a diverse portfolio of clients in various industries such as Government Contractors, Manufacturing, Wholesale, Distribution, Non-Profits and Professional Services. He is passionate in providing value and exceptional service to his current and prospective clients. Charles graduated from University of Colorado. He is active in the community and is involved in several outreach programs.
Steven Nelson, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles. After 20 years on the UCLA faculty, in 2020 Steven Nelson became a professor emeritus of African and African American art history. From 2020 to 2025 he served as Dean of the Center for the Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art (the Center). His award-winning scholarship, teaching, administration, and service have contributed to this international recognition as a leader in art history. At the Center, Nelson brought in new constituencies, embraced broader forms of research and scholarship, and opened programming to wider audiences. Nelson is the presenter of the inaugural Rochard D. Cohen Lectures on African and African American Art at Harvard University and has held visiting appointments at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá as well as the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He is a member of the Boards of Trustees of the Kress Foundation and the Bard Graduate Center. Nelson earned a BA in studio art from Yale University and an AM and a PhD in art history from Harvard University. Raised in the Boston area, he attended Head Start programs from 1966 to 1968. Nelson currently resides in Washington, DC with his husband.
Aspen McCoy, Educare DC Parent. Aspen is a third-generation Washington, DC native and a proud Educare parent to her 21-month-old daughter. She finds her greatest joy in motherhood and is committed to supporting early childhood education in her community. She graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Science and earned a Master’s in Public Health from George Washington University. Currently, she is pursuing her second bachelor’s degree in Midwifery Studies, reflecting her dedication to lifelong learning and advancing her knowledge to support families. Aspen began her professional journey in perinatal care in 2020 as a Perinatal Community Health Worker at Mamatoto Village, where she earned certifications as a Certified Perinatal Community Health Worker, Certified Community Birth Worker, and Certified Lactation Specialist. She now serves as the organization’s Perinatal Care Coordinator, advocating for families and ensuring equitable access to care. Passionate about serving families in her hometown and advancing reproductive justice, Aspen carries forward a legacy of service and sisterhood as a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Her goals include supporting children’s educational opportunities, improving outcomes for families, and ensuring that every child receives the care, guidance, and resources they need to thrive.