Afira DeVries most recently served as the United States Director of Spring Impact, a global nonprofit focused on scaling social impact solutions. Previous to that, she served as President & CEO for the United Way of the Roanoke Valley in Southwestern Virginia and Chief Development and Innovations Officer of United Way of Tampa, Florida. Afira has enjoyed a two-decade career as a health and human services executive, successfully leading innovation and growth for six thriving nonprofit organizations. Having generated more than a quarter billion dollars in support of social innovation over the course of her career, her extensive development, leadership and programmatic design experience will contribute to the vision and strategic direction of the Monarch School Project.
Marisol Alvarado has worked in education for 20 years in San Diego and New York City. She has a background in School Counseling and Family Engagement, and has worked with families impacted by homelessness at Monarch since 2007. During her time at Monarch she has worked in all levels of programming, including serving as a Parent Liaison, Director of Parent Engagement, Director of Student Support and Senior Director of Student Services. Marisol believes young people do best when they experience strong, positive relationships in all parts of their lives, have a safe place to learn and have a say in their own learning. Marisol helped to build the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Team and programming on campus, using researched based practices such Trauma Informed Care, a Strength Based Framework and Restorative Practices. Additionally, Marisol and the SEL team have designed programming and practices at Monarch using the Developmental Relationships Framework which focuses on expressing care, fostering growth, providing support, sharing power and expanding possibilities to ensure that students and families thrive.
KishaLynn Elliott joined the Monarch School in September 2013 as Director of College and Career Development. In this role, she created the first student internship program at Monarch, partnering with workforce development partners and local businesses to provide students with career-readiness instruction and real-world work experience through on-the-job training and mentorship. In 2016, she transitioned to a new leadership role as Director of Program Evaluation, focused on measuring and demonstrating the impact of Monarch’s social-emotional learning (SEL) programming. In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused Monarch to close, KishaLynn developed systems for case managing families to ensure a continuity of support services and distributing resources to families to help meet their basic needs during the school closure. KishaLynn earned a BA in English from Spelman College in 2002. KishaLynn has been working in education nonprofit management since 2004. She is a certified coach, a licensed restorative practices trainer, and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) credential.
Michael Paredes has been an educator for more than 19 years. His student-first approach and philosophy in his working in education is best captured through a quote from Coach Tony Dungy that reads, "Do what we do. Whatever it takes. No excuses, no explanations." Throughout his career, Mr. Paredes has been dedicated to working in schools throughout San Diego and improving outcomes for all students. He has served in many capacities beginning as an ambassador for the Teacher Diversity Project at Sonoma State University. He went on to serve a special education teacher, history teacher, coach, ASB advisor, Dean of Students, and Vice Principal. He has participated in the Educational Leadership Development Academy at the University of San Diego and the Aspiring Principals Academy through San Diego Unified School District. Mr. Paredes holds an undergraduate degree in history from Sonoma State University, a Master’s Degree in education from Ashford University, and earned an Administrative Credential at Point Loma Nazarene University.
