Who We Are
The Center for Educational Outreach has a breadth and depth of backgrounds that made us the team we are today – passionate about STEM education.
Full-Time Staff
Alisha Sparks is the Executive Director working to ensure and further the excellence, quality, and impact of the Baltimore PK-12 STEM Educational Outreach programs. Alisha has a B.S. in Mathematics from Voorhees College and a M.A. in Instructional Systems Development from UMBC. She has her Maryland State Department of Education Advanced Professional Certificate in Mathematics for Grades 7 – 12 with an Administrator I Supervisor and Assistant Principal Endorsement. She previously worked at Baltimore City Public Schools in the Office of Enrollment, Choice, and Transfers and taught math at Digital Harbor High School. She also coordinated the summer program for Baltimore Freedom Schools and was the Director of the K-12 Programs at the Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT) managing several NSF grants there.
Margaret Hart is the STEM Outreach Advisor working closely with student groups and faculty engaged in community outreach and she leads our robotics efforts. Margaret has a bachelor’s degree in Astronomy from Boston University and a Masters in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard. Prior to joining Hopkins in 2012, she has worked as a software test engineer, run a high school outreach program at MIT Kavli Institute, and taught physics, astronomy and engineering in Cambridge, MA as well as locally in Baltimore City Public Schools. While a teacher, she coached a science team to compete in the Science Olympiad, supported her students in a robotics competition and advised student-driven projects for an assistive technology design fair. One of her passions is photography which she has taught to middle and high school students.
Adrienne Bantum is the Budget Specialist. Adrienne joined JHU in August 2016 to provide financial and budgetary support for the team. Prior to joining CEO, she worked for CurePSP, a non-profit organization, as the Accounting Manager where she was responsible for the day-to-day financial activities.
Artelia Davis is the Compliance and Operations Program Administrator. Artelia holds a M.A. in Non-Profit Management from Notre Dame of Maryland University and a B.A. in International Studies from Towson University in Maryland. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, she worked as the Assistant Director of Human Resources at Maryland Legal Aid, managing HR functions and supporting overall strategic plans and change management, and functional director of HR at U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, directing HR and operations services, risk management, and compliance.
John Van Beckum is the Barclay Program Manager. John’s interest in phenomenon-based science education began doing graduate work at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, following a B.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. After earning various teaching credentials, John took a class through Grades 1-8 in a Waldorf School in Princeton N.J. There he worked for a time with “backwards-design” educator Grant Wiggins to help teachers write more effective unit plans. Eventually, he took a position teaching 7th and 8th graders and developed the school’s STEM curriculum at an integrated arts-based, charter public school in Western Massachusetts. After a long run in the classroom, he searched for a new project promoting equity and hands-on STEM education which led him to our center.
Amanda Valledor is the STEM Outreach Program Manager overseeing the Charm City STEM League (CCSL) program. Amanda has a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and is a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator. She previously completed two years of AmeriCorps service in a 4th grade classroom with City Year New Hampshire and worked as a curriculum coordinator at the Museum of Science in Boston where she developed hands-on STEM activities, taught engineering and computer science summer courses, and supported the Overnight Program for students and scouts in grades 1-8. Amanda has also coached students participating in FIRST Robotics and Science Olympiad and serves as an advisor for student groups on campus.
Alexis Daniels is the Baltimore OST Program Manager overseeing BOAST and WISE. Alexis has a B.A. in Anthropology and Community Health and a M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University. She is currently an doctoral candidate at Johns Hopkins’ School of Education. Passionate about food justice and cooking, Alexis has developed and taught bilingual urban farming, culinary science, and community-based design thinking programs at the East Boston YMCA, Eastie Farm, and across Boston Public Schools. More recently, she managed enrichment programs, external partnerships, research studies, and curriculum development at Acera: The MA School of Science, Creativity, and Leadership and served as Academic Dean at the Center for Talented Youth in Baltimore.
Katie James is the Math Acceleration Tutoring with Hopkins (MATH) Program Administrator. She has a B.S. in Education, a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Frostburg State University as well as her Administration and Supervision endorsement from Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). Katie started her career as a Science Teacher, went on to become a district-level Science Instructional Coach and then a K-12 STEM Director for Allegany County Public Schools. She delivered STEM professional development and instructional strategies with MSDE for the Educator Effectiveness Academies statewide to administrators and educators. She worked remotely for international Global Personalized Academics as a Professional Development Specialist. In Baltimore, MD she worked for Baltimore County Public Schools as a Middle School Science teacher and then a Staff Development Teacher, a STEM Specialist at iFly Indoor Skydiving, and a Professor of Undergraduate and Graduate STEM courses and Supervisor of pre-service teaching candidates at Loyola University Maryland. Katie has worked in previous partnerships with Baltimore City Public Schools to support STEM teaching and learning, small group tutoring, and equity outreach.
Kahea Chai is the MATH Program City Coordinator. She recently graduated Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Natural Sciences with a focus in Biology. As a student, she was an active member of Charm City STEM League (CCSL), a STEM mentoring program serving Baltimore City students in grades 3-12. Through CCSL, she has held leadership positions such as head mentor and Co-President, and completed an internship in 2023-2024 as the CCSL Training and Evaluation Coordinator. As a student office assistant for the Center, she supported the MATH Program (formerly called Henderson Hopkins Math Tutorial Program), Barclay STEM partnership, Hopkins Robotics Cup, Engineering FUNdamentals and WISE Internship program.
Nicole Pulliam is the Senior Administrative Coordinator. Nicole has a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Before joining the CEO, Nicole worked at the Towson University Health Center and served as the Compliance Coordinator where she was responsible for immunization compliance and many administrative tasks.
Part-Time Staff
Alli Reigel is the BOAST Content Developer and Instructional Coach, and previously served as a SABES Instructional Coach. Alli has a B.A. in English Communications from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a M.S. in Education from the Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the CEO in 2019, Alli worked at Baltimore City Public Schools and served as a Biology teacher and New-teacher Mentor at Carver Vocational-Technical High School. She also has experience as Operations Lead for Mentor Academy with Central Office, and as a Facilitator for Systemic Professional Development.
Priscilla DeRosa is a Project X: Algebra Engineering Lab (formerly BOAST) Instructor at Forest Park Senior High School.
Jaracus Copes is the SABES Instructional Coach. Dr. Copes holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration, K-12 from Delaware State University, an M.A. in Educational Entrepreneurship from University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Education from Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University, and a B.S. in Chemistry from University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Along his role at SABES, Dr. Copes is the President/CEO of The Applied Learning Academy, Inc. Previously, he was a STEM Instructional Designer with JHU Applied Physics Laboratory.
Student Workers at CEO Center 2024-2025
Ciaran (CJ) Cole (Barclay)
Manish Maurya (CCSL)
Mason Holmes (CCSL)
Oluwaseyi Abigail Pena (CCSL)
Rowan O’Flanagan (MATH)
Seyon Lim (CCSL)
Stephanie Anyanwu (BOAST/Project X)
Taffy Ekwe (General)
Tarini Basireddy (CCSL)
Xiaofan (Yaya) Ma (BOAST/Project X)