Our Team

Board of Directors | Advisory Board | Education Advisory Council

Board of Directors
Elaine Chu Secretary Ms. Chu has over 15 years of experience in the public sector assisting families and children in need. She has held positions in the areas of program management, budget analysis, and asset management; while building a strong background in community development, affordable housing and children’s issues, and relationship building. Prior to her relocation to Virginia from Seattle, Washington, Elaine worked for Casey Family Programs; the nation’s largest operating foundation focusing on foster care issues. At Casey, she developed and managed a $25M budget for Senior Executives and worked with non-profit agencies to establish collaborative projects in the community. Elaine has also served on various boards, including Board of Trustees membership for the University of Washington, an Alliance for School Equality task force member for the Kent School District, Board Secretary for International District Housing Alliance, and served as co-chair for Women of Color Empowered, a program that offers scholarships to high school females. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Business Administration and Political Science from the University of Washington, as well as a Masters in Public Administration from the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.
Gary Crum Site Selection Chair Mr. Crum is Founder and President of LHT Ventures, LLC, where he provides strategic direction, business development, and operational guidance for the company which develops restaurant concepts and franchises. Before entering the food service industry, Gary was a results-driven leader in the telecom/IT industry, with 15 years experience in sales, marketing, business development, and operations management at a global level in both start-up environments and Fortune 50 multinational corporations including MCI and Nortel. Gary’s volunteer efforts include serving as founding co-chair for the Five Guys Franchisee Committee, and, at a community level, Gary has been involved with a number of local schools working with business students and FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) groups. As a guest speaker, Gary enjoys sharing his entrepreneurial knowledge and experience with students. He also volunteers his time to the local Vienna athletic programs and has served in a number of coaching positions over the years.
James L. Dunn Development Co-Chair Mr. Dunn is an executive-level federal contracting professional and entrepreneur. James has served in senior leadership capacities for technology companies with business units including information technology, data and voice communications, satellite systems and architecture and engineering service. James served as a Vice President for GTSI Corp., a technology provider to Government with revenues approaching $1 billion in 2002 when James left after more than 15 years of service. James then helped launch the diversified technology contractor Eyak Technology, LLC. where he served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer until 2006. Then, James was a founding employee of the Reston, Virginia-based Red Team Consulting, LLC, which provides a wide array of professional consulting services to federal contractors nationwide and abroad. James is a member of a wide variety of industry organizations including The American Council for Technology/Industry Advisory Council (ACT/IAC), the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) and the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP). James supplements his professional career with his passion for giving back to the community, having led fundraising events, book drives and other activities in support of scholarship fund development, health research and other causes. James previously served on the Board for the NVTC’s Equal Footing Foundation. Currently James actively supports the non-profit organization, Freedom in Creation, and regularly contributes volunteer time to Reston Montessori School.
Heather Flanagan Treasurer Ms. Flanagan is an audit partner in KPMG’s Federal Audit Practice in the Washington, DC office. She has more than 18 years of experience providing financial statement audits primarily in the government sector. She also has experience in providing performance audit, attestation, and auditability services to Federal agencies and local governments. In addition to her audit and attestation work, Heather has been a National Instructor for KPMG’s firm-wide training programs, including Federal-specific accounting and auditing, new manager, new hire, and senior training courses, since 2000. She has also served as a reviewer for KPMG’s Quality Performance and Compliance Program since 2003. Heather graduated summa cum laude from James Madison University with a B.B.A. in Accounting and a minor in Sociology. In addition to her work with the Children’s Science Center, Ms. Flanagan is an active member of the Education Ministry at her church.
Brenda Hyde Ms. Hyde has found promoting and supporting families to be both personally and professionally rewarding. In 1991, after Brenda became frustrated in her search for a good shoe store for her young daughter, she realized that the Washington metropolitan area lacked a good resource for busy stay-at-home mothers as well as busy professional women with children. Thus, in 1992, she founded Washington FAMILY Magazine out of her basement. Today, with a monthly circulation of 90,000, Washington FAMILY Magazine is the largest parenting publication in the DC metro area - and in the entire Mid-Atlantic region. Washington FAMILY Magazine has won many design awards and has proven to be a showcase of resources, articles and information to help parents raise their children in the hectic and sometimes chaotic Washington region. Brenda has been involved with many programs throughout the metro area involving parents and children including the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the International Children's Festival, Special Olympics Virginia, Verizon Children's Health Festival, Kent's Foundation for Child Life, the Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run, the American Heart Association American Heart Walk, the Environmental Film Festival, Smithsonian Kite Festival, the DC Design House, Architecture Family Day and the Festival of the Building Arts. Brenda also conducts regular speaking engagements, is active in six local chambers of commerce, and is the mother of four children.
Susan Joyce Ms. Joyce is a human resources consultant and trainer, has been on management teams supporting employee groups of up to 1500 employees, and has delivered workshops and training programs to audiences as large as 200 people. Susan is a graduate of the University of Virginia and is a certified Human Resources professional. She is active in many community organizations. She is a member of the Junior League of Northern Virginia and formerly the Junior League of Richmond where she served on the League’s committee to support outreach programming for the Children’s Museum of Richmond. Susan also served for two years on the Children’s Museum of Richmond Education Advisory Board. She currently serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of Lake Anne Nursery Kindergarten School in Reston, Virginia, charged with overall policy-making and oversight of operations of the School.
Tanya La Force Development Co-Chair Ms. La Force served as Board Member and Fund Development Director for the Junior League of Northern Virginia from 2008-2010 and Corporate Contributions Chair for two years prior to that. As Fund Development Director, Tanya incorporated her professional training to manage and improve results from special events by 68%. Tanya was also responsible for launching an Annual Fund Campaign and growing it 48% in the second year. While living in China, Tanya was Contributor and Fundraising Chair to Passport Shanghai, a travel book that was published and sold for profit to benefit local charities. Tanya’s past professional experience as a financial executive at Trilogy Software and AlliedSignal Inc. allows her to bring focus and process to the art of fundraising. Tanya earned a CPA while working at Deliotte & Touche and a BA in Economics and Business from Lafayette College. Tanya is an associate member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In addition to her Board duties, Tanya is a dedicated volunteer at Brooksfield School in McLean, Virginia chairing and serving on several committees.
Jill McNabb Marketing Chair Ms. McNabb is an accomplished marketing executive with progressive success in global marketing, channel marketing and strategic planning. Currently, Jill brings her expertise to companies as a marketing and strategy consultant. Previously, Jill served as vice president of marketing at VeriSign, Inc., where she oversaw all aspects of global marketing for VeriSign’s largest business unit that offered domain names (.com, .net, .tv), value added services, and Internet threat mitigation services. She brings experience in product and channel marketing, market research, go-to-market strategy, public relations, events and communications for technology companies. Previously, Jill worked in product management and product marketing for Bank One within the wingspanbank.com group, the first online-only bank. She also managed fundraising and membership programs for the University of Virginia Alumni Association and was a secondary school teacher in Western Japan. Jill is a Board member for the Children's Science Center, past president of Junior League of Northern Virginia and a graduate of Leadership Loudoun. She holds an MBA and BA from the University of Virginia.
Adalene "Nene" Spivy Board Chair Ms. Spivy is an experienced community leader. She served as the 2009-2010 President of the Junior League of Northern Virginia, managing 70+ leaders and several hundred members. Prior to this League role, she served as Fund Development Director, Leadership Development Chair, Shelter Project Chair, and Chair of the League’s largest fundraiser. Nene is a former board member of Discovery Creek Children’s Museum, where she led the Strategic Planning and Marketing Committees. She also served as Chair and Vice-Chair of Fairfax County’s Community Action Advisory Board that advocates for low income citizens and oversees local distribution of Community Services Block Grants. Nene’s professional experience is in telecommunications and technology, specifically product development, market entry, process improvement, and systems engineering. Nene holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech, as well as a MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Nene is a graduate of Leadership Fairfax and serves as a mentor for their emerging leaders program. She also volunteers as a Sunday School teacher and within her children’s schools.
Heather Tedesco Ms. Tedesco is a social psychologist whose specialties include human-computer interaction, interface design, survey design, contextual inquiry, and motivated social cognition. Most recently, Heather managed a group of usability engineers for GE Global exchange Services, where she ran the only full-scale usability lab in the General Electric Corporation. This group of psychologists and human factors engineers was charged with championing the user experience in web-based application design and development. Heather is an expert in usability engineering methodologies, including contextual inquiry, user-centered design, cognitive walkthroughs, and formal laboratory testing of user interfaces. Prior to joining GE Global exchange Services, Heather was a survey researcher at the Census Bureau’s Center for Survey Methods Research, where she was a founding member of the usability program and specialized in computer-based surveys. Heather received her M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park, where she specialized in social cognition, motivation, persuasion, and group behavior. Her dissertation research examined the effects of computerizing self-administered surveys on data quality. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in psychology from James Madison University, where she currently serves on the Honors Advisory Council. Heather has presented original research on usability and survey design at national and international conferences and has won awards such as the Census Bureau’s Director’s Award.
Lori Ann Terjesen Museum Without Walls Chair Ms. Terjesen is an art historian specializing in modern art (1900-1945) and prints. She is an active member of the Junior League of Northern Virginia where she serves as Chair of the Children’s Science Center Partnership Committee. The committee functions as a liaison between the Junior League and the Children’s Science Center’s boards of directors, and is responsible for organizing the “Museum without Walls” events. Her professional experience is in the art museum field and includes curatorial fellowships at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. Prior to these experiences, Lori Ann worked in the Registrar Department of the Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey, and was a member of the Department of Membership and Development at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA). At MoMA, she supported the most recent capital campaign through prospecting, researching, and profiling current and potential high net worth donors, as well as alternate funding sources for the museum in order to achieve a financial goal of $858m. Lori Ann completed her doctorate work in art history and museum studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She received her MA in museum studies from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, as well as a post-baccalaureate certificate in nonprofit organization management. She completed her BA in art history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lori Ann is currently a member of the American Association of Museums (AAM), the Curators’ Standing Professional Committee of AAM, the College Arts Association, and the Modernist Studies Association.
Rene' Wilkinson Advisory Board Chair Ms. Wilkinson is a Sustaining Member and past Board Member of the Junior League of Northern Virginia. She held the Membership Council Director position managing over 50 leaders within the JLNV organization. She also held the Planning Council Director position with responsibility for all areas of strategic planning and community development for JLNV. Prior to her role as a Board Member, she served in numerous leadership positions, including Nominating, Provisional Chair, Community Advisory Board Chair, and Finance Council member-at-large. Rene’ is a Steering Committee member of “In the Bag-Purses for Preparedness”, an annual American Red Cross fundraiser. She is also a committed volunteer at Green Hedges School in Vienna where she serves as PTO Library Chair, Book Fair Chair, and on the Auction Committee. Rene’ is Co-Founder and Co-Manager of W3 Group providing investment and consulting services for federal contractors in the mid-size markets. Rene’s past professional experience is in the telecommunications industry, leading strategic marketing, sales and business operations with Alltel, MCI, and Verizon respectively. Rene’ holds a BS in Marketing Management from Virginia Tech, as well as a MBA from Campbell University.
Advisory Board
Julie Van Blarcom, CEO, Delaware Children's Museum Carolyn Brandon, Principal, Whitworth Analytics LLC Allison Druin, Associate Dean, College of Information Studies, and Director, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland Virginia Edwards, President and Editor in Chief, Education Week J.P. Foley, Managing Principal, Dominion Business Solutions S. Gulu Gambhir, Chief Technology Officer, SAIC Intelligence, Security and Technology Group Scott Hamberger, CEO, Fortessa Inc. Heidi Kallett, CEO, The Dandelion Patch Sharon Klotz, Independent Museum Consultant, Children’s Science Museum Exhibit Specialist Patricia Nicoson, President of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association Larry O'Reilly, President, O'Reilly and Associates; Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History (Retired); National Board Member: Wildscreen USA – ARKive; Science & Math Informal Learning Experiences (SMILE) Kenneth R. Plum, Member, Virginia House of Delegates, 36th District Joe Ritchey, Principal, Prospective Inc., Commercial Real Estate Specialist
Education Advisory Council
Michelle Bond, PhD Chemistry, Postdoctoral IRTA fellow, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health Ramona Bowen, Teacher, Virginia K-8 Math certified Kelley Dever, Montessori Teacher, Grades 1-3 Maryrose Franko, PhD, Senior Program Officer, Department of Science Education, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Nancy Gustafson, Junior Kindergarten Teacher and Science Specialist Village Green Day School Rachel Negri, Science Resource Teacher, Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences Susanne O’Neill, Retired Elementary School Teacher, Gifted and Talented Program Claudia Ranniger, MD, PhD, Faculty George Washington University Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine; Medical Director of the GWUMC Simulation Center Catherine Swanwick, PhD Neuroscience, Postdoctoral Fellow, MindSpec, Inc. Peggy Yee, PhD Civil Engineering, GSA