Raquel Catalano

Founder and Executive Director 

A passionate advocate for special needs education, I understand first hand that intelligence and genius can take many forms. My passion for advocacy of others has manifested in many forms. I have turned this passion into professional growth which has led me to achieve notable status as a top-tier entrepreneur in multiple fields. Throughout my career I have found significant success in real estate, start-ups, and philanthropic pursuits. 

Currently, I focus my passion and resources on building a new world and education system so that my son and daughter and other children are awarded opportunities to reach their full potential. I co-founded Power Plus Learning LLC to be a support system for parents navigating the education system. It has become a valuable resource during the unprecedented virtual learning needs of 2020.

Jill Perez

Founder and Director of Education

Jill Perez is an Education Coach and Consultant with over 22 years of experience in education. Jill currently works as an inclusion coach and consultant and it is her passion to support schools and districts in their mission to become more inclusive for students with disabilities. 

Jill holds a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and holds both general education and special education (Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe) teaching credentials.

Suzanna Valdez Wolfe

Board Member

Suzanna Valdez Wolfe has over two decades of career experience in the public, non-profit and private sectors. She most recently served as Chief Impact Oficer of Taproot Foundation. Prior to that role, she was the Vice President of Advancement for the Adrienne Arsht Center for over 10 years. Suzanna began her career in Miami as Chief of Staff to Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and served as Miami Program Director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Suzanna began her career in public service career in Washington, D.C. First serving in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Staff Assistant followed by serving in the U.S. Senate as Special Assistant to then-Senator Al Gore. After serving on the Presidential Transition Team for Vice-President elect Al Gore, President Clinton appointed her as Special Assistant to the President in the White House Ofice of Public Liaison. Suzanna served as the principal liaison to the Hispanic community developing engagement and communication strategies to foster community support for domestic and foreign policy initiatives. During her tenure in this role, she developed successful coalitions with international, national and community leaders.

In President Clinton’s second term, Suzanna was appointed to a leadership role as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Labor and served for three years until her move to New York. There, she pursued a graduate degree at Columbia University while serving as Associate Director of the Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School.

Nielsen Media Research recruited Suzanna to serve as Executive Director of the Task Force on Television Management, created to review and analyze Nielsen Media Research’s recruitment and sampling methodologies, with a focus on minority viewing audiences.

Suzanna currently serves on the boards of First Focus, a national children’s advocacy organization and the Parent Education Stabilization Course Corp, an organization dedicated to educating parents of special needs children and providing resources and access to community services during divorce or family crisis. She previously served on the boards of Breakthrough Miami, Miami Science Museum, Miami Foundation’s Fellows Selection Committee, New Leaders Council, Nielsen Media Research Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council and a founding leader of TEDxMIAMI.

Ruti Kupferman

Board Member

Ruti Kupferman’s passionate activism for Children with Learning Disabilities stems from very personal experiences with her three children. Ruti describes her childrens’ learning variations as unique and different “recipes” that do not fit into the ”cookie mold” of today’s education systems. 

Ruti creatively navigated through Public Schools’ departments for Special Education lobbying in school districts across multiple States developing Individual Education Programs . She attributes her unique perspectives and observations over the last 15 years to the different inefficiencies and lack of creativity built into a failing system for children with Special needs. Throughout the processes, Ruti gained first-hand knowledge about different learning styles and remediations that particularly targeted Speech and Language based disabilities. 

Ruti’s background includes teaching and curriculum development for Early Childhood Education as well as introduction to Holocuat studies in Middle Schools. 

Ruti served as a military medic in the Israel Defense Forces and completed her undergraduate studies with a BA from Columbia University in Middle East Languages and Cultures. Ruti’s non-for-profit experiences include her invaluable work at the Markle Foundation as well as the Glick Foundation. 

Ruti recently moved with her husband and their three children to Miami, where she enjoys cooking and exploring the shoreline in her running shoes.

Amelia Karenina Balonek

Board Member

As an International Private Wealth Advisor and Family Wealth Director with Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, Ms. Balonek manages the investment portfolios of high net worth individuals, families, endowments, and foundations. With twenty years of investment acumen and a diverse work experience, Ms. Balonek utilizes a myriad of strategies in order to meet the needs of clients.

For six years, Ms. Balonek was a private wealth advisor with Goldman Sachs. Before Goldman Sachs, Ms. Balonek was the founder of Locust Walk Partners which provided investment counsel and strategic advice to ultra-high net worth Latin American families, hedge funds, and investment banks. Ms. Balonek was a senior equities analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann & Company and was responsible for evaluation of investments within the firm’s health care division, Ladenburg Punk Ziegel Healthcare. Previously, she was the healthcare analyst at Longwood Investment Advisors, a Boston-based long/short hedge fund. Her sector responsibilities included biotechnology, specialty pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services. She also worked as the small-cap healthcare and technology equities analyst at Pioneer Investments and as an international small-cap and domestic banks analyst at Putnam Investments.

Ms. Balonek is a graduate of the Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with a Minor in Psychology. She received an MBA in Finance from the London Business School.

Amelia is Adjunct Faculty at The Cushman School teaching financial literacy. Ms. Balonek is on the Board of Trustees, the Finance Committee, the Endowment Committee, and the Head’s Leadership Council of the Cushman School. She is a Group Facilitator for the Children’s Bereavement Center.

Ms. Balonek’s research and articles have been featured on Bloomberg, CNBC, Miami Today, and the Miami Herald. She has taught seminars at Florida International University and the University of Miami about investing and the stock market.

MacKenzie Greenlee

Consultant

MacKenzie Greenlee is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who grew up in a military household. Her personal journey and own experience in therapy led her to want to help others live a more fulfilling and gratifying life. 

MacKenzie received her Masters of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from Point Loma Nazarene University. She has advanced training in evidenced based therapies such as, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing.

Gigi Sliger

Co Author, Educator, Writer, and Integrative Health & Nutrition Coach

With over 17 years of experience in the realm of education, Gigi Sliger is a passionate Educator, Writer, and Consultant. She lends her expertise to small businesses and focuses heavily on family education, empowering families and children to lead healthy and creative lives.

In addition to her rich educational background, Gigi is also certified as an Integrative Health and Nutrition Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. She holds a B.A. in Music and is a licensed yoga teacher. Notably, Gigi has curated a children's yoga program tailored for preschools and has also successfully managed her own piano studio for a number of years.

Through her multifaceted career—spanning music, yoga, writing, and health coaching—Gigi's underlying mission has always been to nurture and inspire the individuals she works with, ensuring they reach their fullest potential.

Andrée Marie Beckham

Team Member - Fractional CMO

Andrée Beckham is a passionate marketing leader with over 30 years of experience transforming brands and growing companies for large global consulting organizations: Accenture and Aon (Hewitt); financial services companies Nuveen and Morgan Stanley; and technology companies Cision, Wolters Kluwer, DocuSign (SpringCM), Exigent, and MDaudit. She has a proven track record of achieving measurable impact through marketing strategies leveraging integrated marketing initiatives. Her marketing approach is aimed at driving revenue through demand generation, building brand awareness, and creating thought leadership that drives conversions. She has led companies to right-size their marketing organizations to become growth drivers. Notable Marketing Experience: Chief Marketing Officer for MDaudit a healthcare technology company that provides technology solutions that support Revenue Cycle Management.. As the CMO Officer for MDaudit, Andrée was responsible for the overall marketing strategy and was a member of the Executive Team. Global Vice President of Marketing for Exigent a UK legal technology company. Andrée managed a remote global team of marketing SMEs in the US, Cape Town, South Africa, Bangalore, India, London, and Barcelona focused on brand amplification, lead generation, and content marketing strategy.VP of Marketing for DocuSign (SpringCM, a SaaS) CLM tech organization within the Salesforce ecosystem. Andrée drove direct customer acquisition via inbound marketing channels, digital marketing, events, partner and customer marketing, industry analysts, and PR. Member of the Global Marketing team at Accenture. Andrée was responsible for the global rebranding of Andersen Consulting to Accenture transferring the established equity of the Andersen Consulting brand into an unknown entity; she was also the architect of the rebranding of Cision, a PR technology company.Throughout all these experiences, one thing has remained the same – a passion for leveraging insights to market smarter, drive revenue growth, build brands, and foster teams. Andrée resides in the Chicago area with her husband and two daughters. 

Scott M. Manson, CPA, JD

Team Member

Scott M. Manson is a seasoned financial expert and leader, known for making a big impact in various types of businesses, from startups to those needing a fresh start. His skills cover planning for the future, bringing companies together, and helping businesses find the funds they need to grow.

Having studied at Hofstra University, Scott earned a degree in law and another in business, graduating with top honors. Professionally, he's recognized as a top accountant and is also a member of the New York legal community. Over the years, he's held significant roles in organizations like St. Johns Country Day School and American Energy Distribution LP, to name a few.

Beyond business, Scott has a big heart for community service. He's played key roles in non-profits, like helping the Jessica Green Foundation support those with autism and being a part of the Carco Theater, a center for the arts. Scott M. Manson is truly a dedicated and skilled volunteer, making him a prized member of the PESC team.

Nangi Matangira

Team Member (Fundraising Consultant) 

With a passion for helping those in need, Nangi is a fundraising dynamo who empowers nonprofits around the globe to change lives. Nangi holds a master’s degree in Sociology from the City University of New York. She has partnered with organizations across sectors - from public health to circular economy and beyond - to develop sustainable funding models. Nangi's superpower is identifying untapped revenue streams so her clients can focus on their mission.

Her inquisitive nature and dedication to the cause has made her an invaluable asset in the world of philanthropy and development.