Number of Children at Highland: Two (One graduate)

Year Joined Highland Family: 2012

Year Board Term Began: August 2019

Professional Background: Brian is the Manager of Operations/Assistant Director for the Milwaukee Public Schools Department of Recreation and Community Services. Brian holds a B.S. in Parks and Recreation Administration, M.S. in Physical Education, and a M.B.A. Over the past 20 years, Brian has served in various positions within the Department of Recreation. As Manager of Operations, his chief responsibilities are oversight of the Department’s Finances, Facilities, Technology, After-School Operations, and Human Resources. Brian has helped foster countless collaborations with many of Milwaukee’s community-based organizations, leading to greater financial and human capital resources in many under-served neighborhoods. Brian is a committed advocate for equal access to high-quality enrichment and educational opportunities for all Milwaukee residents.

Number of Children at Highland: Two

Year Joined Highland Family: Fall 2014

Year Board Term Began: August 2019

Professional Background: Amy is a nationally certified and licensed school psychologist in the state of Wisconsin.  She is currently a professor in the school psychology program at Loyola University Chicago where she works with the next generation of school psychologists on how to practice from a social justice lens.  She also serves as the Chair of the University’s Anti-Racism Initiative to implement strategic institutional change towards racial justice.  Prior to teaching, Amy worked for Milwaukee Public Schools as a school psychologist and researcher, supporting district-wide efforts in trauma sensitive school practices, equity, and improving school culture and climate.  As a result of her efforts to establish trauma sensitive practices across the district, Amy was awarded School Psychologist of the Year in the state of Wisconsin in 2015.  Amy also currently consults with schools and community non-profit organizations across the city of Milwaukee on equitable systems change and program evaluation focused on improving the lives and educational trajectories of children in the city.

Number of Children at Highland: Two

Year Joined Highland Family: 2019

Year Board Term Began: August 2022

Brenda has two children at Highland, Lola and Lenny. Since joining Highland, Brenda has watched Lola blossom into a kind, curious and confident person, and she knows that Highland has helped shape those qualities. Brenda can’t wait to be more involved in the Highland Community. Brenda lives in Washington Heights, and she is in love with her neighborhood. She will never move! She volunteers on the Washington Park Wednesdays committee because live music in the park is one of her favorite events of the year. Brenda has worked for the Marcus Corporation in the hotel business for 15 years. She is currently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Pfister Hotel, and she absolutely loves her job and enjoys going to work every day and taking care of people. Brenda enjoys being a member of Professional Dimensions, a women’s professional association in Milwaukee, where she has the privilege of being surrounded by amazing mentors.

Number of Children at Highland: Two

Year Joined Highland Family: 2015

Year Board Term Began: 2020

Professional Background: Melissa is a researcher of educational justice and equity, a teacher educator, and a former classroom teacher. Currently, she works in Marquette University’s College of Education as an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Policy & Leadership. She has a B.A. in Women’s Studies from Harvard University, an M.A. in Teaching from Dominican University, and Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction and Educational Policy from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She is a licensed teacher in Wisconsin and Illinois.  She joined the HCS parent Board of Directors to use her professional expertise in the service of a community that her family loves. She is committed to ensuring Highland continues to live out its mission of racial, environmental, and educational justice at both the macro level and in the day‐to‐day life of students and teachers. She currently has two thriving children enrolled in the school.

Number of Children at Highland: Four

Year Joined Highland Family: 2012

Year Board Term Began: August 2021

Professional Background: Jason Evans is a strategic marketing advisor to executive teams – helping leaders make more effective decisions in digital transformation, brand modernization, customer experience strategy, integrated marketing communications, and more. In his current role as Principal of Evans&Co., Jason serves as fractional Chief Marketing Officer for a number of growing industrial firms. With a career spanning more than 20 years in leadership roles at creative agencies, digital marketing firms, and management consulting firms, Jason brings a passion for clear and compelling communications, collaborative problem solving, and building strong and healthy teams. Furthermore, he has served on a number of professional advisory boards, including as a member of a Vistage Executive Roundtable, as well as industry advisor for both the Eisner Museum of Advertising and MATC Visual Communications program. He was also an adjunct instructor at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in the digital design program.

Number of Children at Highland: Two

Year Joined Highland Family: 2020

Year Board Term Began: August 2022

Professional Background: Latisha is a Training and Education Consultant at Northwestern Mutual and a former nonprofit executive. She holds a B.S. in Community Education & Engagement from UW-Milwaukee and an M.S. in Organizational Change Leadership from UW-Platteville. Latisha has leveraged her education and decades of community experience to advance the operations and programming within multiple youth-serving nonprofits located in Milwaukee, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, MD. Outside of work, she serves as a Board Vice President for Inspire Your Environment,  board member of Fit Club MKE, and board advisory member of Project Goodmen located in Washington, D.C. Her most rewarding role is being the mom of her HCS daughters!

Number of Children at Highland: One

Year Joined Highland Family: 2019

Year Board Term Began: August 2022

derria byrd is a parent, partner, and college professor. She grew up in Buffalo, NY where most of her family still resides. Part of derria’s fondness for Milwaukee is the echoes of Buffalo she sees in the city’s landscape, history and social interactions. After living in Boston and Oakland, graduate school drought derria to Wisconsin– first to Madison and now Milwaukee. While in Madison, derria earned a master’s degree in Public Affairs and a Ph.D in Educational Policy Studies, which led her to a faculty position in Marquette University’s College of Education. When not at work, derria enjoys suggling, reading and chatting with her little (who will be a first grader this fall), walking Milwaukee’s many green spaces, and just sitting down somewhere. derria’s partner is a writer and an urban arborist with the City of Miwuakee.

Number of Children at Highland: One

Year Joined Highland Family: 2019

Year Board Term Began: August 2023

Dolores is a school librarian and a proud parent of a first grader at Highland. She brings a wealth of experience from her previous two-year term on the parent board of the UWM and her current role as a representative of the School District of Brown Deer on the Brown Deer Library Board. Additionally, Dolores is involved in a workgroup for the American Library Association, focusing on Library Services for the Incarcerated. Dolores is eager to serve on the board to have a voice in her daughter’s education and contribute her creative thinking skills. Her goals for the school include ensuring a safe learning environment and actively participating in shaping the educational experience at Highland.

Number of Children at Highland: Two

Year Joined Highland Family: 2013

Year Board Term Began: August 2023

Ali Kopyt is a dedicated mother of two Highland students and a Managing Architect at Korb + Associates, with expertise in adaptive reuse, historic preservation, and affordable housing projects. She was the architect in charge of the new addition to Highland Community School. A co-founder of Women in Design Milwaukee, Ali advocates for women’s opportunities and success in the field. With her background in architecture, urban planning, and community collaboration, Ali aims to contribute her experience in finding successful solutions to the board. Her goals for the school include expanding offerings through healthy spaces, supporting teachers and staff, and providing a high-quality Montessori education.

Number of Children at Highland: One

Year Joined Highland Family: 2020

Year Board Term Began: August 2023

Dr. Kantara Souffrant is an artist-scholar, museum educator, curator, and proud parent of a K5 at Highland. With a strong background in global perspectives and cultural arts, she is committed to global Blackness and pedagogy for liberation. Serving as the Curator of Community Dialogue at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Dr. Souffrant is passionate about community engagement and dialogue. Her strengths include building connections, mobilizing, and tackling challenges that lead to positive transformation. Her goals for the school involve enhancing anti-racist curriculum, assessing high school readiness, reconnecting parents, understanding community aspirations, and using the arts to foster cultural competency and global understanding.