Our Team

Alyssa Arens

Portfolio Associates

Alyssa Arens is a Portfolio Associate at the One8 Foundation. She recently completed a dual Masters degree at Brandeis University, in the areas of Public Policy and Jewish Professional Leadership. Prior to completing her degree, Alyssa served as a Goldman Bridge Fellow in the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Washington Regional Office and has worked for Israel Outdoors and the Union for Reform Judaism. In the summer of 2010, she was an AJC Goldman Fellow in Warsaw, Poland, where she worked with Forum for Dialogue Among Nations, a non-profit that fosters Polish-Jewish dialogue and reduces anti-Semitism in Poland.

Alyssa received a BA with honors in anthropology and religious studies from Wesleyan University in 2011 and a Master of Public Policy and Masters of Jewish Professional Leadership from Brandeis University in 2016.

Karyn Cohen Leviton

Director, Jewish Life and Israel

Karyn joined the One8 Foundation in March 2013. She leads the foundation’s work in Jewish Continuity, Israel, and special projects in the US in the non-Jewish related issues areas. She’s responsible for identifying great organizations and leaders, developing grants and providing strategic and tactical support to help organizations increase their impact in significant and sustainable ways.

Karyn has significant experience in both the private and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining One8, Karyn was Associate Vice President of Strategy Implementation at Combined Jewish Philanthropies, where she managed strategy and grant making for engaging key populations in Jewish life and led measurement efforts and other strategic projects. Prior to this Karyn spent nine years as a management consultant in Chicago and Boston with Capgemini focused on growth and customer strategy. She started her career working for the New England Holocaust Memorial and in the direct marketing industry.

Karyn received a BA in Art History from The George Washington University and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Crisandra Gray

Operations & Grants Management Associate

Crisandra Gray joined One8 Foundation in June 2016 to provide overall general administrative support. Crisandra’s background includes several years of administrative and customer service experience across various business environments. In the past, Crisandra has provided office support at Boston University, as well as MetLife.

Crisandra is a class one Year Up graduate and earned her Bachelor of Science from Johnson & Wales University with a major in Computer Network Engineering.

Fallon Howard

Office Coordinator

Fallon joined the One8 Foundation in September 2018 as the Office Coordinator. Before joining One8, Fallon was Housing Assistant for the Malden homeless shelter, Housing Families Inc., helping families find permanent housing.

Fallon graduated from the Year Up program in July 2013.

Joanna Jacobson

President

Joanna Jacobson is the President of the One8 Foundation. She is also the co-founder and Managing Partner of Strategic Grant Partners, a venture philanthropy organization that is both a foundation and pro-bono consulting firm. Previous to this, Joanna career was in private industry where she held senior management and marketing positions in turnaround businesses including the President of the Keds Corporation and SVP Marketing and Product Development at Converse Corporation. Earlier in her career, she worked at Colgate-Palmolive in product management and worldwide new product development. She has also taught at the Harvard Business School and was a partner in Core Strategy Group, a marketing strategy consultancy.

Joanna earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University. She is the board chair of Youth Villages MA, and also serves on the boards HBS Social Enterprise Initiative and Unlocking Potential Education Network.

Tova Katz

Portfolio Manager, Jewish Life and Israel

Tova Katz joined the One8 Foundation in May 2012 to work on the Foundation’s Israel and Jewish life portfolio. In her role as Portfolio Manager, Tova is responsible for sourcing, supporting and managing the Foundation’s Israel engagement and education portfolio, comprised primarily of North American-based grantees. Tova works closely with the leadership teams of her grantees, providing strategic planning and ongoing advisory support. Tova received her MBA from Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management in 2012. Prior to that, she spent four years at the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

Tova earned a BA in history from Columbia University and is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and Davidson Scholar.

Andrea Kisiel

Marketing Manager

Andrea joined the One8 Foundation in April 2019 as the Marketing Manager. In this role, Andrea is responsible for marketing the education initiatives of the foundation, including those of Mass STEM Hub. Prior to joining One8, Andrea held marketing positions at LogMeIn and Vistaprint, responsible for customer acquisition marketing through digital and traditional media channels, while being heavily involved in corporate responsibility efforts of both companies. In college, Andrea volunteered and worked with students in several capacities, including her role as Leadership Program Coordinator with the Red Auerbach Future Stars Sports and Leadership Program during the summer of 2011.

Andrea studied at Boston College, receiving her BS in Management with a concentration in Marketing from the Carroll School of Management, and a minor in Studio Art.

Vanessa Lipschitz

Director, Education

Vanessa joined the One8 Foundation in September 2014 as a Portfolio Manager for the foundation’s education work. In this role, she is responsible for identifying potential grantees as well as providing strategic planning and advisory support to current grantees. Prior to joining One8, Vanessa was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group where she worked with both for-profit and nonprofit clients on projects primarily focused on strategy development. Vanessa also spent three years at TDC, a management consulting firm, working with nonprofit organizations on strategic planning, new business planning, and organization redesign. Vanessa began her career at Rhode Island Kids Count, where she assisted with research and data analysis as well as state-level advocacy efforts on public policy issues affecting children and families.

Vanessa received a BA in Economics and Public Policy from Brown University. She also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Stephanie Loder

Executive Assistant

Stephanie Loder is the Executive Assistant to Joanna Jacobson. She is responsible for calendar management, scheduling, travel arrangements, and for providing overall general administrative support. Stephanie’s background includes over 10 years of administrative experience across several different business environments. She has a strong background in real estate business management and transactions. Prior to a year spent teaching pre-school, Stephanie worked for one of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s top real estate brokers.

Stephanie earned her BA from Sonoma State University with a major in Music.

Faith McDuffie

Program Analyst, Mass STEM Hub

Faith joined the One8 Foundation in December 2016 as a Program Analyst for the foundation’s PLTW Scaling Initiative, Mass STEM Hub. In this role, Faith is assisting in the implementation of a statewide strategic plan to expand high-quality Project Lead the Way programming, the nation’s premier K-12 STEM initiative, in schools across the Commonwealth. Before joining the Mass STEM Hub team, Faith was a lead classroom teacher at Match Community Day Public Charter School in Boston.

Faith earned a BA in Sociology from Kenyon College.

Mike McQuillan

Portfolio Analyst

Mike is a Portfolio Analyst for Education at the One8 Foundation. Prior to joining One8, Mike was a senior associate at Investor Group Services, a Boston-based strategy consulting firm, where he worked on strategic projects for private equity and corporate clients across a variety of industries.

Mike received a BA in Economics from Bowdoin College.

Kate Mosle

Portfolio Analyst

Kate is a Portfolio Analyst for Education at the One8 Foundation. Before joining One8, Kate was a consultant in the Dallas office of the Boston Consulting Group and worked on projects with local education organizations as well as Fortune 500 companies.

Kate received a BA in History from Stanford University.

Andreina Parisi-Amon

Director of Partnerships, Mass STEM Hub

Andreina joined the One8 Foundation in July 2018 as the Director of Partnerships for Mass STEM Hub. In this role, Andreina is spearheading partnerships with industry and higher education institutions across Massachusetts to expand students’ STEM coursework and experiences beyond the four walls of the classroom. Prior to joining One8, Andreina served first as a Partnership Manager and then the Head of Teaching and Learning at Coursera, an education technology company partnering with top universities and organizations to provide everyone, everywhere with access to high-quality education online. She also helped to build Miss CEO, an organization offering leadership education, mentorship, and career exploration opportunities to empower and inspire young women to become great leaders, where she serves as VP of Programs.

Andreina earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Stanford University.

Ashwin Rajendra

Portfolio Manager, Education

Ashwin joined the One8 Foundation in March 2017 as a Portfolio Manager focusing on the foundation’s education work. Prior to joining One8, Ashwin was a consultant in McKinsey & Company’s San Francisco office, where he served primarily financial services and nonprofit clients. Prior to McKinsey, Ashwin spent 6 years as a crude oil options trader for Deutsche Bank in both London and New York.

Ashwin received an AB in Economics and a certificate in Finance from Princeton University. He also received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Palmer Scholar.

Cara Raskin

Executive Assistant

Cara joined the One8 Foundation in September 2018. Cara is originally from New York, but after living in Boston for 12 years, has fully converted to a fan of the Patriots & Red Sox.

Cara holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Spanish from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in International Higher Education from Lesley University.

Anna Sikorsky

Director of Operations & Administration

Anna joined the One8 Foundation in the fall of 2008 through her work with Joanna Jacobson and Strategic Grant Partners. Anna provides daily operational support to the organization. Before joining One8, she worked for the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority providing administrative support to the Director of Engineering. Earlier in her career, she worked at Boston College in the Dean’s Office for the School of Education.

Anna earned her Bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a Master of Education degree from Boston College in the area of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation.

Katherine Skrivan

Director, Mass STEM Hub

Katherine joined the One8 Foundation in September 2016 as the Director of the foundation’s PLTW Scaling Initiative. In this role, Katherine is leading the implementation of a statewide strategic plan to expand high-quality Project Lead the Way programming, the nation’s premier K-12 STEM initiative, in schools across the Commonwealth. Prior to joining One8, Katherine worked as a teacher and management consultant. She taught high school math and coached varsity basketball at Boston Prep Charter School in Hyde Park. On the consulting side, Katherine worked both with Bain & Company and a local firm here in Massachusetts focused exclusively on K-12 education.

Katherine received a BA in American Studies from Amherst College and she also earned a Master of Education from Boston University.

Emily Snider

Portfolio Analyst

Emily is a Portfolio Analyst for Education at Strategic Grant Partners/One8 Foundation. Previously, Emily worked as a Strategy & Operations consultant at Deloitte, a management consulting firm, where she worked on projects for a variety of nonprofit and higher education clients.

She received a BA in Sociology from Bowdoin College. 

Michal Steinman

Israel Manager

Michal joined the One8 Foundation in 2018 as the Foundation’s Israel Manager. In this role, Michal is responsible for sourcing, supporting and managing the Foundation’s work in Israel, including working closely with Israeli grantees, providing strategic planning and ongoing advisory support.

Prior to joining One8, Michal served as the Executive Director of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues for close to seven years. Prior, Michal directed a joint project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Israel Farmers Federation in the Bedouin society, and served on Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Michal began her career as a lawyer, working as a parliamentary director and legislative advisor for Member of Knesset Avshalom Vilan, and then as a senior Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Israel.

Michal holds an M.A. in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and an LL.B in Law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 

Laura Sullivan

Event Coordinator, Mass STEM Hub

Laura joined the One8 Foundation in March 2018 as the Event Coordinator for Mass STEM Hub. In this role, Laura is responsible for event planning, design, and production to deliver memorable experiences for students, teachers, and industry professionals. Each event will focus on PLTW coursework with the goal of elevating schools’ programming. Laura previously worked at the UMass Club as the Membership Director.

Laura received her BA in Hospitality and Tourism Management from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.