Staff

“Milken Educators point to their award as a pivotal professional milestone. They understand that encompassed in this recognition is the responsibility to grow as a leader at the school level and beyond. Encouraged and supported, these outstanding educators discover a renewed passion and purpose as they stretch their professional practices and policy influence to even higher levels.” 

—Dr. Jane Foley, Senior Vice President, Milken Educator Awards

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  Dr. Jane Foley

  As senior vice president, Milken Educator Awards, at the Milken Family Foundation, Dr. Jane Foley oversees the selection and notification of Milken Educators and works with state agencies on state events related to the Awards. In 1994, she received the Milken Educator Award for the state of Indiana.

  Dr. Foley is also director of the Milken Scholars, an initiative that helps outstanding young men and women achieve their academic and professional goals.

  She is senior advisor for the Lowell Milken Center, a Kansas-based initiative that supports projects across the country and world that feature unsung heroes that have changed the course of history.

  From 2006 to 2010, she was senior advisor to former U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. William Bennett and led a team of Milken Educators to develop an online curriculum and advance the use of his American History books, "America: The Last Best Hope," in schools across the country.

  Starting in 2002, Dr. Foley led a Foundation project to disseminate an interdisciplinary curriculum guide based on The Children of Willesden Lane, a World War II memoir by Grammy-nominated pianist Mona Golabek that serves as a rich learning resource for schools. Dr. Foley also serves as an Honorary Director Emeritus on Mona's foundation, Hold On To Your Music.

  Dr. Foley was a public school educator for 24 years, serving at the elementary and high school levels as both teacher and principal. Before coming to the Foundation in 1998, she was principal of Flint Lake Elementary School in Indiana, which, under her leadership, attained state and national recognition in the areas of school restructuring, professional development, technology integration and student achievement. Dr. Foley received her B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. from Purdue University, and her honors include the International Society of Educational Planning Outstanding Dissertation Award, Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honorary, and the 2011 Distinguished Education Alumni Award from Purdue University’s College of Education.

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  Stephanie Bishop

  A 2001 Milken Educator from Virginia, Stephanie Bishop now serves as vice president of the Milken Educator Awards at the Milken Family Foundation. In her role at the Foundation, Stephanie supports the national network of excellence to expand and strengthen strategies that Celebrate, Elevate, and Activate Milken Educators.

  She was co-chair of the inaugural I, Too, Am the Dream Contest for the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in 2020. Along with a select group of Milken Educators, the Contest provided a platform for empowering students to be ambassadors for reimagining an American Dream through thought-provoking essays, poetry, spoken word, and short stories.

  In 2007, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes enlisted her expertise for its production of “Life in a Jar,” the story of Irena Sendler. In 2012, she and her students were honored with The Discovery Award from the Center for their original one act play “Walk With Me,” featuring unsung hero and upstander, Ken Reinhardt, in his quest to defend and befriend the Little Rock 9 in 1957.

  Since 2004, Stephanie has been a co-program chair for the Teachers of Promise Institute. The Institute brings together the top aspiring educators from 30 of Virginia’s college and university Schools of Education and partners them with master educators for an event to celebrate their choice to teach while providing high quality workshops to activate them to the profession.

  Stephanie was a public school educator for 25 years, serving at the district and secondary levels as Director of Secondary Education, principal, and teacher. As principal of JEJ Moore Middle School in Prince George, she led a team of educators who transformed the learning culture to one that was process and project-based with meaningful and relevant student outcomes.

  At the time of the Milken Award, she was a theatre arts teacher and chair of the fine arts department at Prince George High School, where she created an award-winning theatre arts program.

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  Jennifer Fuller

  A 2017 Milken Educator from Texas, Jennifer Fuller now serves as vice president of the Milken Educator Awards at the Milken Family Foundation. In her role, Jennifer supports the selection and notification of Milken Educators and works with state agencies on state events related to the Awards. She also works to strengthen the connection between Milken Educators, building the ability of the network to serve as a national force in education.

  Before joining the Foundation, Jennifer was a public-school educator for 21 years in Arlington, Texas, serving as a junior high and high school English teacher for 18 years and coordinator of leadership development for three years. As a teacher leader, Jennifer helped Arlington ISD create the Leadership Definition which serves as a guiding pillar for developing leaders throughout the district. In addition, she co-led the creation of the Teacher Leadership Pathway which provided structured leadership opportunities and training for over 800 teachers who wanted to develop their leadership skills while continuing to serve students in the classroom.

  Once Jennifer moved into a role at the central office, she continued working with teacher leaders by leading the Teacher Leadership Pathway, and she also developed leaders in the School and Central Office Leadership Pathways, supporting leadership experiences for 1,000 leaders throughout the district.

  From 2014-2019, Jennifer served as a national staff developer for AVID Center. She carried these skills in facilitating adult learning to Arlington where she advanced district professional development goals by creating the ASPIRE Learning Facilitator program, training over 800 teacher leaders using the principles of adult learning.

  At the time of the Milken Award, Jennifer was an English teacher and the English Department Lead teacher at Arlington Collegiate High School, the first early-college high school in Arlington ISD, which Jennifer helped open in 2014. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Texas Christian University and her Master of Education in teaching from University of Texas at Arlington.

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  Greg Gallagher

  Having worked at the Milken Family Foundation in several capacities since 1994, Greg Gallagher now serves as a senior program director. He leads, supervises, and executes the logistical requirements of the Milken Educator Awards department throughout the various program cycles including selection, notifications, state and national events as well as throughout the program cycles of the Milken Scholars Program, especially regarding the numerous on-site and off-site events. As alumni director of the Milken Scholars Program from 2009-2014, Greg interacted, mentored, provided career counseling, led community service activities and professional development with many graduates of the most elite universities in the US. Greg has also been the administrator of the Milken Festival for Youth from 2005 until present. The Festival for Youth helps young people improve the lives of their community members through service including environmental, intergenerational and civic activities. He graduated from the State University of New York at New Paltz.

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  Wesley Wilson

  Wesley Wilson joined the Milken Family Foundation in June 2019 and is a program administrator working with both the Milken Educator Awards and the Milken Scholars Program. Previously, she worked as a site coordinator with a local food pantry, distributing groceries to impoverished residents of Los Angeles County. She also served as liaison between the main food bank and all of its satellite locations. Wesley earned her bachelor’s degree from North Central College with a major in broadcast communication and dual minors in biology and environmental studies. She earned her master’s degree in government with an emphasis in political communication as well as a post-baccalaureate certification in nonprofit management from Johns Hopkins University. Wesley has lived in Southern California nearly all of her life, and in her free time enjoys hiking, reading, and attending concerts.

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  Meranda Kim

  Meranda Kim is the program coordinator working with the Milken Educator Awards and the Milken Scholars Program. Meranda’s passion for education and its system is evident in her professional and personal life. Mrs. Kim earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Southwestern University and Master of Arts in educational psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Her education allows her to better understand how people learn and intake information. While earning her M.A., Meranda worked as a substitute teacher, providing her valuable in-class experience, making her appreciation for her family of educators even deeper. Over the past five years, Meranda has held several positions in higher education, such as a fellowship program coordinator and graduate research assistant at UTSA, and most recently the Pepperdine University Provost Office manager. Meranda made the move from Texas to California in 2021 and has been enjoying exploring Los Angeles.

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  Joyce Cheng

  Joyce Cheng is a senior associate working with the Milken Scholars Program and Milken Educator Awards. Previously, Joyce was a Teach For America corps member and a founding teacher at Alliance Alice M. Baxter College-Ready High School where she taught environmental science, biology, and served as dean of students. She has engaged in field experiences with Earthwatch Institute and Conservation International and was recognized by the Los Angeles Unified School District as a 2017 Hero in Education. Joyce earned her Bachelor of Science in biology from Boston College and a Master of Arts in urban education from Loyola Marymount University.

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  Jana Rausch

  Hailing from a family of teachers, Jana Rausch believes that a student’s path to success starts with effective educators. She puts her beliefs into practice as vice president of communications at the Milken Family Foundation, leading a talented, innovative team in media, marketing and public affairs that reaches diverse audiences of students, educators, and education leaders and stakeholders.

  Jana is honored to have been involved with the Milken Family Foundation’s groundbreaking initiatives for nearly two decades. Highlights of this work have been attending dozens of Milken Educator Award Notifications across the country; raising visibility of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching’s advancements in making effective educators the cornerstone of student achievement, and heightening public awareness of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes and the Milken Scholars.

  Jana fostered her passion for communications and public service as a graduate research assistant at the University of California at Santa Barbara, then as a deputy press secretary in the U.S. Senate—which took her to Washington, D.C., and to all 14 media markets in California. She graduated with dual bachelor’s degrees in English and French from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

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  Andressa Rogers

  Born and raised in Brazil, Andressa Rogers first moved to the United States in 1998 to realize her dream of becoming a global citizen and expanding her perspective on the world. Her hunger to learn, grow and help others learn and grow, took her to San Francisco. A casual encounter with a nonprofit professional resulted in a volunteer position as a Portuguese language translator and assured her that she was moving in the right direction. 

  Andressa has a B.A. in Communication with a Concentration in Public Relations from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, one of the most prestigious universities in Brazil. She has also attended the University of California Extension Program in Berkeley and Los Angeles where she successfully completed public relations, journalism and writing classes. Her diverse professional experience includes working as a public relations professional at different agencies and nonprofit organizations and teaching English as a second language at several English schools in Brazil.

  Andressa lives happily in Los Angeles. She wakes up every morning knowing that she is fortunate enough to have a job that allows her to use her professional skills to help lead advances in education, medical research and public health. 

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  Maggie Geiler

  Maggie Geiler joined the Milken Family Foundation as web and social media manager in 2024. Maggie previously served as an assistant producer and editor for NBC National News’ streaming platform NBC News NOW, and prior to that role, worked as a coordinator for The TODAY Show. Before joining the NBC family, Maggie lent her storytelling talents to diverse and exciting endeavors. These include driving publicity and social media for an international author and public speaker and reporting and producing for a partnership between NYU and PBS NewsHour, which took her to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Maggie has also coordinated, edited and produced for ABC7 Los Angeles and The Emmys. 

  A Houston native with a passion for people, storytelling, and social impact, Maggie earned a bachelor’s in communications and digital media from Baylor University and graduated summa cum laude from NYU with a master’s in journalism. She enjoys hosting dinner parties and spending time with friends and family at just about any beach Los Angeles has to offer.

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  Sydnee Flotron

  Sydnee Flotron joined the Milken Family Foundation in 2023 as media relations coordinator. She raises public awareness of the Milken Family Foundation’s groundbreaking education initiatives, building relationships with reporters and state partners in diverse media markets throughout the U.S.

  A Colorado native, Sydnee recently moved to Los Angeles from Denver. She began her career as a promotions producer at a broadcast news station, where she enjoyed expanding her love for storytelling and writing. Sydnee is a people person at heart and is thrilled to have a hand in recognizing the incredible work of educators across the country.

  Sydnee earned her Bachelor of Arts in mass communication and a minor in business administration from Colorado Mesa University (Go Mavs)! Her time at CMU flew by, but was nothing short of exciting. Sydnee held multiple positions as a student ambassador, a content producer for CMU-TV, a music manager for KMSA 91.3 FM, and a writer and reporter for Horizon Magazine.

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  John Manalang

  Joining the Milken Family Foundation in 2009, John started as a web producer for the Milken Archive of Jewish Music and expanded his role to join the Milken Educator Awards Communications team in 2022. Having a hybrid skillset of web production and media outreach, John assists the team in media pitching and research, as well as developing content and design for Milken Family Foundation websites. Born in the Philippines, John moved to the U.S. in 1997 to pursue his passion for writing and technology. John earned his Bachelor of Arts in journalism from California State University Northridge where he also worked as the online editor for its daily newspaper and the Editor-in-Chief for its student magazine.

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  Alana Van Slovis

  As communications project coordinator, Alana Van Slovis plays an integral role in all facets of Communications operations – from systems organization, writing and research to media relations, web, and social media outreach. Notably, Alana utilizes her passion for storytelling and creating engaging content to support the Milken Family Foundation’s social media team across its platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, LinkedIn and the award-winning @MilkenAward TikTok account. By posting short-form video content on these channels, she sheds light on the impact that Milken Educators have on their respective communities for the Foundation’s vast social media audiences.

  Born and raised in Los Angeles, Alana takes pride in being a digital native. She found her footing in social media content creation during her time as a social media ambassador for Maybelline New York and managing an array of social media clients at a real estate and architecture public relations agency. She believes that everyone has a unique story to tell and that social media is a powerful avenue to convey your perspective and values to a widescale audience.

  Alana earned a Bachelor of Arts in strategic communication and a minor in sociology from The Ohio State University. A proud Buckeye, she attributes much of her love for the world of communications and digital media strategy to the university and her incredible mentors during her time there.