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Twin Cities

Our Team

  • Brooke Rivers

    Executive director, Twin Cities

    Brooke has dedicated her professional career to the belief that education is the lever by which we will change the world and the future for low-income individuals. As a member of the College Possible leadership team, she developed strengths in program management, curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation. Through multiple promotions as the organization grew from one region to a national organization, she effectively led the creation of the college program from inception to implementation across multiple sites. In 2011, Brooke received the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Catalytic Leader Award. Recognizing that reading is the foundation for educational success, Brooke took the opportunity to join Reading Partners as program director for the Twin Cities during its inaugural year in the region. She effectively led all programming and volunteer recruitment efforts, ensuring strong programmatic results for students, and helped Reading Partners Twin Cities more than double in size by year three. Brooke holds bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and Spanish, with a minor in english literature from Bethel University. A lover of laughter, Brooke gets plenty of it as a mom to one year old Josie (named after Jo March in Little Women).
  • Hannah Baker

    Program manager

    Hannah believes all students deserve equitable access to education. She has a bachelor's degree in Global Studies focused on Arabic Language and human rights in the Islamic world. After graduating she moved to China and taught English as a second language. She then served two years as an AmeriCorps member at Reading Partners before beginning her current position. Hannah is excited to continue empowering students and building their confidence through one-on-one literacy tutoring.
  • Asha Farah

    Deputy program director

    Asha Farah is a former language arts teacher and Peace Corps volunteer. She received her master’s degree in language, reading and culture from the University of Arizona where her focus was on literacy and second language acquisition. She's very excited about the mission of Reading Partners because she knows that individualized instruction is the key to unlocking children’s potential and that volunteers help students build confidence and develop a love of reading.
  • Caitlin Ignasiak

    External relations manager

    Caitlin is a nonprofit professional with nearly 10 years of experience in education, youth development, and volunteer management. She is thrilled to be returning to Reading Partners after previously serving as an AmeriCorps member in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. She is most excited about working with individuals and partner organizations in the Twin Cities area to advance educational equity for all students.
  • Tommy Lindquist

    Development associate

    Tommy is a dedicated advocate for educational equity. Following his time at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, Tommy went on to serve as a college access and success coach with College Possible. As a former Americorps member, he firmly believes in the service model. Tommy is excited to support the mission of Reading Partners and continue to strengthen the bridge between our communities and volunteers with our students, as they develop the habits to become lifelong learners.
  • Ellie Patterson

    Program manager

    Ellie has loved reading for as long as she can remember. Some of her earliest memories include pretending to read her dad's old law books upside down in the basement and listening to scary stories about ghosts. This spurred her on to learn different languages for more reading possibilities and to join Reading Partners as a program coordinator. While serving with AmeriCorps for two years she came to love teaching and decided to become an elementary school teacher. She came back to Reading Partners as a program manager after teaching English in Spain, getting her Masters in elementary education, and teaching for three years as a Kindergarten Spanish Immersion teacher.
  • Graham Sutherland

    External relations director

    Graham Sutherland is a development professional with a strong commitment to social justice and education equity in the Twin Cities. He believes that a love of reading can unlock the potential to become powerful self-advocates and lifelong learners. Prior to joining Reading Partners, Graham worked in development in the realm of college access and success with College Possible. Originally from Seattle, Graham earned his bachelor’s degree from Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN.

AmeriCorps team

Community Engagement Team

Kalju Maegi
Kayme Vang

Program Team

Alexis Studniski
Avery Schlagel
Ben Wespetal
Niyi Adegbenro
Qamari Kamose
Rebecca Smart
Sarah Murphy
Ty Kozic

Americorps
  • Logo for Accelerate
  • Logo for Five Below
  • Logo for Hellman Foundation
  • Logo for Bezos Family Foundation
  • Logo for George Kaiser Family Foundation
  • Logo for Panda Cares
  • Logo for The Duke Endowment
  • Logo for Deerbrook Charitable Trust

Thanks to our partners

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