Meet The UA Team.
The Success Squad
.jpg)
Amber Cannady
External Partnership Coordinator
DeAnna Bartold is an enthusiastic and passionate educator with over 10 years of experience in the field. She has served in a variety of educational roles including teaching, instructional coaching, curriculum development, team leadership, and consulting. She earned her master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan and her bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University. In her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, traveling, and yoga.
Antonia Estrada
College Readiness Program Coordinator
Ymani Belcher is a deeply committed educator with a passion to bring healing to Black and Brown communities through education, communication, and content creation. By being the most authentic version of herself, she hopes to be a part of the radical change that empowers young people to honor and discover themselves within and beyond their academics. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and corporate communications from Bentley University, and Master of Arts in teaching secondary mathematics from Relay Graduate School of Education.
Samantha Ledgister
Business Development Associate
JaLisa Elise is half Queen Bee, half Unicorn. Born and raised in Connecticut. She has always had an eye for design and organization and has used different mediums to express her creativity. In her own life, she tried the traditional route of college right after high school but quickly found that she needed more guidance. Her own transition from high school and college motivates her work by ensuring students know that they have many options and not having a degree doesn’t mean failure or doom. In 2014, JaLisa started her career as a train conductor with Amtrak and continues to ride the rails on the Northeast Corridor. In her free time JaLisa loves reading and catching up with friends and the beach is her happy place.
Daisy Mata
Administrative and Marketing Associate
Monika Caraballo is from Bridgeport, Connecticut. She believes that the best way to create real impact in this world is to empower communities through providing job development opportunities, resources, and educational access, which is why after earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Southern Connecticut State University she decided to pursue her Master’s Degree at the Marshall School of Business, specializing in Social Entrepreneurship, from the University of Southern California.