Board of Directors
Christopher Barclay
Montgomery County Board of Education
Chris is a veteran telecommunications industry executive, having worked with MCI and Verizon, and has also been, during the last four years, an elected member of the Montgomery County Board of Education. He is the husband of Sambia Shivers-Barclay, who is also a member of LearnServe’s Board of Directors. Their daughters, Zora and Sana, graduated from Einstein and Blair High Schools in Montgomery County and have participated in the Fellows program; Zora traveled with LearnServe to Zambia in 2009. Chris joined the LearnServe board because he is a strong advocate for leadership development in our youth. Board member since 2009.
Amy Cohen
Center for Civic Engagement, George Washington University
Amy has been, since 2010, the executive director of the George Washington University Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. She coordinates public service activities campus-wide, including conceiving and executing programs, and assisting with initiatives led by students, faculty, and staff. Amy was previously Associate Vice President for Child Development Programs at Save the Children. Before that, Amy served for nearly a decade as director of Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service, the parent agency for AmeriCorps and Senior Corps. Amy’s career in academic service and civic engagement began at the University of Pennsylvania, where she helped direct the Penn Program for Public Service. Amy grew up in Montclair, N.J., attended the New School for Social Research, and received her B.A. from Brandeis. She conducted her graduate work in U.S. history at the University of Pennsylvania. Board member since 2011.
Richard Hall – Chair of Program Committee
Retired – Washington International School
Dick retired as the head of the Washington International School in July 2007. When he was at WIS, Dick, Kathy Kemper, and Hugh Riddleberger formed the Center for International Education, the core activities of which grew into LearnServe International. Dick’s main interest centered on the collaboration of public and private schools and of teachers and students, all in the interest of social entrepreneurship. Dick is Chairman of the Board of Assist. Dick is married to Carol Hall, a classical musician and teacher. He joined the LearnServe board in order to continue to support its important work as LearnServe expands as an independent organization. Board member since 2008.
Sam Hastings-Black – Secretary of the Board
Retired – Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP
Sam is a retired attorney at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP. He was a long-time volunteer at Lowell School in D.C., where his and his wife Deb’s children started school, and Sam served as the board chair there. He later helped, with Hugh Riddleberger, to found the Latino Student Fund. In his law practice he has worked extensively with universities, school finance and with public charter schools. Sam joined the LearnServe board because he believes that students who gain experience in social entrepreneurship will become even better leaders in their college years and in their future communities. Board member since 2008.
Kathy Kemper
Institute for Education
Kathy is founder and CEO of the Institute for Education (“IFE”), a non-profit foundation that promotes leadership and civility locally, nationally and worldwide, and educates youth for global citizenship. A former professional tennis player, Kathy served as head Women’s Tennis Coach at Georgetown from 1978 to 1990. Kathy and her husband James Valentine have two daughters, Kelsey and Christina, both of whom participated in LearnServe summer trips, to China and Paraguay. Kathy helped create the Center for International Education, and based on that and on her professional work over many years, nothing could have been more natural than for her to become a founding member of the LearnServe board. Board member since 2008.
Don Kozusko – Treasurer of the Board; Chair of Finance Committee
Kozusko Harris Vetter Wareh LLP
Don is a founding partner of his law firm, Kozusko Harris Vetter Wareh LLP, which specializes in private client legal representation. He counsels international and domestic entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists and privately-held businesses on tax and legal issues relating to investments, business, estate planning and charitable endeavors. Don is a director of a non-profit production company that uses theater to inspire change in family wealth management and philanthropic endeavors, and serves as a director of several foundations involved in education, art, family planning. Don and his wife Adele live in Vienna, Virginia and have two sons, Chris and Drew. Chris participated in LearnServe’s Ethiopia trip in 2006. Don joined the LearnServe board because he was impressed with the quality of the programs and the impact they had on his son. Board member since 2009
Hugh Riddleberger – Founder; Chair of Development Committee
Retired – LearnServe International
Hugh is a career educator, first as a teacher and then in a number of senior administrative capacities, including at schools in Boston and New Orleans as well as Washington. He served as head of Sheridan School in D.C. and interim head of Langley School in Virginia. His father, his wife Louise McIlhenny, and one of his daughters were or are also career educators. He founded LearnServe because of his interest in international community service and in broader community service curriculum in American schools. Board member since 2008.
Sambia Shivers-Barclay
U.S. Department of Education
Sambia manages the International Visitors’ Program in the U.S. Department of Education. She coordinates foreign education officials’ visits with the State Department, identifies visitors’ requests for education-related briefings, and often conducts those briefings. She has spoken and presented on numerous topics on education issues in the international context. Sambia is married to Chris Barclay, who is also a member of LearnServe’s Board of Directors, and their daughters, Zora and Sana, have both been in the Fellows program; Zora traveled to Zambia with LearnServe in 2009. Sambia serves on the LearnServe board because she believes in our mission to empower young people to be local and global change agents. Board member since 2009.
Judy Stephenson
OFFICEPRO, Inc.
Judy has extensive business background in the Mid-Atlantic region and has been, since 2003, president of OFFICEPRO, Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md. OFFICEPRO specializes in end-user desktop application training on an array of software, for a wide variety of customers both in the U.S. and overseas. Judy and OFFICEPRO have a long resume with LearnServe. They are founding members of LearnServe’s Business Partnership Network. Judy has twice served as a panelist at the LearnServe Venture Fair, and she and a colleague led an Excel workshop on budgeting for Fellows. Judy is active with the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education. She taught for five years at Montgomery College, and has a B.S. from Maryland in journalism. Board member since 2011.
Cathy Tinsley – Chair of the Board
Assist, Board of Directors
Cathy is a Texan born and raised who was bitten by the international bug in high school on the Experiment in International Living, spending a summer in France. She and her husband Tom have lived and raised their family in Denmark, The Netherlands and the U.S. Here in Washington she has devoted time to teaching ESL and volunteering in many school and church activities. At Washington International School she was chair (twice) of the principal annual fundraising event, president of the Parent Association, and the chair of the 40th anniversary celebration. Cathy is on the Board of Assist. Cathy joined the LearnServe board because of the diversity of the participants and the depth of learning that happens in both the Fellows program and on the international trips. Board member since 2008.
Richard Weiner
Sidley Austin LLP
Richard is a partner in Sidley Austin LLP’s Brussels and Washington, D.C. offices and a member of the firm’s International Trade and Arbitration Group. He practices in the areas of EU and US regulatory law, international trade and international arbitration and litigation. He served as Chairman of International Dispute Resolution Associates, based in Washington, D.C., and was named an “Honorary Citizen of Mexico City” for devising a debt-for-environment swap for Mexico City, which was signed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Richard has written and lectured on international relations, international trade, and international environmental affairs. He is the father of Stephen (Fellows ’11) and Josh (Fellows ’08 and Zambia ’07).