Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sally has lived and worked in Madrid, Spain, Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles, and Lodz, Poland.  After 10 years’ experience as an English language teacher and small stage actor in NYC, Sally moved to LA when, as a first-time writer, she co-won the Short-Play Jury Award at the HBO Aspen Comedy Arts Festival. In LA, she began volunteering for The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company (USTC), a cutting-edge arts education agency creating theater with incarcerated boys. 

Sally quickly found her stride in nonprofit management as a strategic thinker and fundraiser and was ultimately appointed executive director growing USTC’s budget and programs tenfold, developing multiple community, government and school partnerships to support disenfranchised youth and families, including many first-generation immigrants to the US. While there, she also co-founded the Arts for Healing and Justice Network, a collective impact model creating change in LA’s troubled juvenile justice system. 

Sally has also run the National Foster Youth Institute, a chapter-driven advocacy group bringing former foster youth and their families to the national, state and local policy table to make meaningful child-welfare change. She currently supports Customized Workplace ESL instruction with The Literacy Center of West Michigan, providing literacy and so much more to new Americans working in the manufacturing sector. Sally has a BA in Psychology and an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Michigan.

Fatima currently serves as Chief Development Officer for Freedom House in Boston; where she is responsible for the advancement efforts that support the organization’s mission of building economic, racial and social equity for Black, Brown, and Immigrant youth in Boston through education and leadership development. 

She is the co-founder and co-Executive Director of The SHAZH Foundation, a non-profit organization that invests in and supports students in Durban, South Africa in achieving academic excellence by removing socioeconomic obstacles and promoting leadership development opportunities. Before joining Freedom House, Fatima spent 15 years at General Electric, where she held roles in finance, strategy, marketing, and operations across Latin America, Europe; and Africa, where her work focused on advancing the economy inclusively through access to energy, healthcare, and skills development. Fatima's passion for youth advocacy and education began at a young age. As the daughter of an immigrant and a first generation college student, FELT Education’s mission and work hold deep personal meaning for Fatima. Early experiences as a youth mental and sexual health advocate with Planned Parenthood's, and her time as a volunteer teacher in Ghana shaped her view that knowledge resources and education are powerful tools for agency and empowerment. Fatima holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Austin College.

Anderline Celestin emigrated from Haiti in 2001. She is currently living with her family in Lancaster County, PA. She loves cooking, volunteering, traveling, and spending time with her family. She has over five years of experience and possesses remarkable qualities that make her an exceptional HR and accounting professional. Her strengths include the ability to prioritize work without much thought, strong managerial skills, and a focus on achieving concrete outcomes to expand the scope of an organization expeditiously. 

She earned an associate degree in paralegal studies from Berkeley College in 2009, a bachelor's in criminal justice of science from Berkeley College in 2011, and a master's degree in human resources management of science from Walden University in 2018. Upon graduating from Walden University, she received the Golden Key International Honour Society, the National Society of Leadership and Success (Sigma Alpha Pi), and the Walden University Nu Rho Chapter of the International Business Honor Society, Delta Mu Delta (DMD). She earned her Society for Human Resources Management-Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) in 2022. She is currently enrolled at Walden University for her doctorate in business administration with a focus on Leadership.

Her favorite quotes are, "In a gentle way, you can shake the world" by Mahatma Gandhi and, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader" by John Quincy Adams.

Rebecca Reed has worked at various levels in the nonprofit space, volunteered in grassroots political campaigns, and has been an outspoken advocate for state and federal adult education, ESOL, and legislative change in Albany and Washington, DC. 

As owner of The Lionheart Company, LLC, Rebecca is passionate about helping nonprofits to build capacity through infrastructure support and works to develop sustainable organizations that stand the test of time. She holds an M.A. in TESOL from The New School for Public Engagement, a Graduate Certificate in Sociology from Appalachian State University, and a Master's of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management from the College of Charleston. 

Rebecca has led outreach initiatives of 5 to 100 volunteers, launched community education programs, and worked on everyday nonprofit needs including development and fundraising, event planning, communications and website management, program coordination, project management, and most recently, operations. She has participated in the Advocacy Institute Educator Pipeline, She Should Run Political Pipeline, served as Vice President of Outreach for the New York State TESOL (NYS TESOL) Executive Board, and joined Felt's Board of Directors in 2022. She served as Board Chair for two consecutive terms (2022-2024) before stepping in as Interim Executive Director in 2024.

Pete is a strategic business developer, startup advisor and mentor.

As a first generation American, he has supported immigrants and refugees by developing emergency food delivery, telecommunications, financial and education solutions for underserved communities.  He led development of cross-border next day food delivery from the US, to West Africa during ebola and served as a founding trustee at Global Community Charter School in Harlem.  While at Columbia Business School he co-founded ODYSSEY, the MBA Games. He also led Cambridge University’s English assessment unit in North America.

Danielle grew up in NJ and completed her Bachelors in Psychology in Phoenixville PA. After moving to the Charleston area, she completed both a Masters in Psychology and Masters in Instructional Systems Performance Improvement.  For the past five years, she  has been working in the field of instructional design in Higher Education.

She loves to study languages and they might be one of her biggest hobbies. One of her favorite things has been to see a smile when someone hears their own language. It’s a unique kind of comfort, knowing you’ve been understood.

Tochi is a Global Business and Technology Transformation Executive with 15+ years’ experience at both Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies. He has Extensive experience in Transformation & Change Management, Global Application & Vendor Governance, Business Process Optimization, and Business Relationship Management across multiple industries.

He is currently the VP of Transformation and Change Management at Academic Partnerships, an ED Tech company in Dallas, Texas. He has previously worked in multiple industries at companies like IBM, Accenture and TXU.

Tochi emigrated from Nigeria in 1996 and this immigrant experience connects him to Felt’s mission of helping empower immigrants and refugees through English language and other practical skills. Giving back is really important to him and he has worked to volunteer and provide support to local charities in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
Tochi lives in the Dallas, Texas area with his wife, Inie and their 3 children.