OUR TEAM

Our team is comprised of smart and innovative change agents, many of whom have served in senior leadership roles in the educational, private and non-profit sectors. 

MONICA SANTANA ROSEN

CEO


Monica Santana Rosen is a Black Latina who has spent over two decades working to build strong diverse workplaces and enable leaders to do great work. Monica is best known for her work with large urban school systems working to solve their most pressing recruitment, hiring, development, and retention issues. Monica founded Alma to meet the needs of organizations working to amplify their success by supporting their staff, and giving them the space to do their best work.

KATHLEEN SHIVERDECKER

ORGANIZATION DESIGN & PERFORMANCE

Kathleen has spent the past 25 years in various educational and human resource leadership roles in both public and private contexts. She served as the Executive Director of School Performance in the Aurora Public School system in Colorado and spearheaded HR’s School Partner team in Denver Public Schools. She has supported significant improvements in on-time graduation rates and led the design of school leader recruitment interview selection and placement.

THEBE MORAKE

TALENT ACQUISITION/EXECUTIVE SEARCH

Thebe Morake is currently developing a Leadership Development program for the Vincent Tshabalala Education Trust. The program is earmarked for the youth in Alexandra Township. He is also a Director for Mindurst Workshop, an NGO dedicated to innovation and impact in education. Mindburst’s strength is in teacher training, whole school conversation, workshops with learners, curriculum design, and strategic planning. Thebe is a former Deputy Headmaster at Lebone II College of the Royal Bafokeng in Phokeng. He taught History and Theory of Knowledge at St Barnabas College and Sacred Heart College. Born and raised in Mapetla, Soweto, he studied Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is a passionate advocate for Youth Leadership Development.

 

VENUS VELEZ

TALENT EQUITY DEVELOPMENT

Venus brings over 20 years of experience in the field of education, with a focus on equity and excellence. Venus’ work has included district level reform efforts, community engagement, talent recruitment, selection and development, organizational development, non-profit management, program design and evaluation, and project management.

SYLVIA FLOWERS

TALENT MANAGEMENT/EXECUTIVE SEARCH

Sylvia spent seven years at the Tennessee Department of Education as the Executive Director of Educator Effectiveness and Talent. In this role, she focused on implementing the state's Educator Education Evaluation System. Sylvia utilized human capital data to drive statewide policy, strategy, and technical support for districts toward recruitment, retention, compensation, professional growth, and recognition of effective educators.

GINNAE HARLEY

TALENT ACQUISITION, SENIOR ASSOCIATE

Ginnae is a seasoned leader in public education with over ten years of experience in federal grant management and school improvement at the state and district level. She began her education career at Knox County Schools (TN) where she transformed a federal programs department from compliance oriented to result-driven accountability. Ginnae aligned staff and resources to meet the needs of all Title I schools, established a strategic budgeting process, and implemented a clear accountability framework. As Executive Director for the State of Tennessee, she created a service model for both Priority schools (lowest-performing schools) and Focus schools (schools with greatest achievement gaps) in Tennessee. She holds a B.A. in government from Cornell University, an M.B.A. in general management from Washington University in St Louis, and an M.E. in education leadership from the Broad Center.

 

KASSIE HOULIHAN

TALENT SEARCH COORDINATOR

Kassie has two decades of experience as a teacher, mentor, and coach. She is driven by a passion for leadership, teaching, and equity. Her work focuses on curriculum design and implementation, instructional excellence, teacher mentorship, and community engagement. In the private sector, Kassie is most known for project management and building efficient systems to optimize performance and growth.

SIDNEY KABOTIE

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Sidney Kabotie is a member of the Whistling Water Clan of the Apsaalooke peoples, a child of the Hopi Snow Clan, and a child of the Winter Clan of the Santa Clara Pueblo peoples. He received his Master’s degree in Diversity and Inclusion Leadership from Tufts University in May of 2021. He is a trained consensus builder focused on strategic planning with Tribal communities, leadership, and stakeholders, with the aim of formulating their responses to Native peoples locally, regionally, and nationally. His experience includes facilitating conference sessions with Native artists, community members, educators, political leaders, and non-Native allies working to effectively address the invisibility that Indigenous Peoples experience in the American consciousness.

 

NITA LOSOPONKUL

TALENT ANALYTICS CONSULTANT

Nita has spent the last two decades working domestically and internationally in both the public (K-12 education) and private (energy, hospitality, financial services, consulting) sectors. She has led projects to implement change initiatives and drive process improvements, including designing and delivering talent development curriculum to support the change.

DEBBIE TAYLOR

BUSINESS MANAGER

Deborah Taylor (Debbie) has experience managing all aspects of HR and operations. Her work in public education has ranged from Title IX and ADA compliance to supporting operational improvements in Employee Services, helping launch the Chicago Leadership Collaborative, and finally supporting principal supervision and school networks.