Carol S. Fixman, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Education Fund. Under her direction, the Ed Fund is actively engaged in issues of school reform, teacher quality, college access and community engagement in support of public education.

Prior to her appointment at the Ed Fund, Dr. Fixman was Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Philadelphia University, where she provided leadership for more than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs in business, design, architecture, engineering, science and health.

She has held positions directing international programs at Temple University and at the AACSB, the main professional and accrediting association for collegiate schools of business. She has also served as Director of the Philadelphia Education Fund's College Access Program and the Philadelphia Scholars, a citywide initiative to improve access to and success in postsecondary education for Philadelphia public school students.

Dr. Fixman received her Ph.D. and M.A. in German literature from Brown University, and her B.A. in Russian literature from Indiana University (Bloomington).



Andrea Brown is the Director of Operations for the Philadelphia Education Fund. Under Ms. Brown's leadership, the Ed Fund Central Office facility was redesigned and remodeled creating a more efficient and attractive space for both staff and visitors. She has produced cost savings and enhanced capacity in voice and data technology. Ms. Brown also has worked with government and nonprofit volunteer agencies to incorporate volunteers/mentoring into the Ed Fund office operations. She manages the day-to-day operations of the Philadelphia Education Fund and coordinates work across programs.  Additional duties include serving as Director for two scholarship programs that the Ed Fund administers, the CORE Philly Scholarship and the Educational Scholarship Program of the West Philadelphia Empowerment Zone.

Prior to joining the Ed Fund, Ms. Brown served for five years as Director of Community Relations for Health Partners of Philadelphia. She was Executive Director of the YWCA of Germantown for five years and the Director of CC#13 Multipurpose Learning Center, a community nonprofit organization, for eleven years.

Ms. Brown is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University (B.A.) and Temple University School of Social Administration (MSW).
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Allie Mulvihill is Senior Program Director at the Fund. Ms. Mulvihill has led the Fund's Instructional Resign strand of work since 1999 and has been staff to the Middle Grades Matter initiative since its inception in the fall of 2003. Ms. Mulvihill is working with several Ed Fund projects including Student Teacher Pipeline to the Future, Keeping Students on Track through Graduation, The Math/Science Coalition, the Greater Philadelphia Business Forum for Education, and the city's Out of School Youth initiative.

Prior to coming to the Fund Ms. Mulvihill was Senior Assistant to the Associate Superintendent of Schools in the School District of Philadelphia, supervising twenty-two Equity Support Coordinators, and administrating the Title I/Schoolwide Project and the Comprehensive Support Process programs. Ms Mulvihill has taught Social Studies and English in K-8, middle and high school settings. She served as Administrator at Tilden Middle School Alternative School and was an appointed assistant principal in the District. She holds a M.A. in secondary counseling as well as elementary/secondary principal certificates.

Ms. Mulvihill was a founding member of the Philadelphia Writing Project, a Supervisor in the District's Priority One and Communications Network Programs and co-authored Affective Strategies for Classroom Management. Ms. Mulvihill believes that, given the appropriate supports, all children can learn at proficient levels. She has committed her professional life to public school education in urban settings.



Thomasennia Amos is the Director of the College Access Program. She is the former Director of the GEAR UP Initiative (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) at the Philadelphia Education Fund. Since joining the Ed Fund in October 1999, Mrs. Amos increased the full time staff for GEAR UP from four direct service coordinators to four Managing Coordinators two Lead Coordinators and 19 direct services coordinators. Under her direction 12 retired teachers were hired to serve a cohort of 120 teachers in enhancing the instructional and classroom management capabilities of teachers with 2/3 years seniority.

Prior to joining the Ed Fund, Mrs. Amos served as an instructional supervisor in the Philadelphia School District. Over the several years of her career she has worked as a professional developer, supporting new teachers and introducing and coaching instructional best practices to school communities. She served under several superintendents in a central office capacity.

Mrs. Amos is a dedicated educator who has supported students and teachers in every region of the Philadelphia School District. Upon request she has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, Arcadia University, Drexel University and Chestnut Hill College. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and Arcadia University. Mrs. Amos and is also certified as a Principal, and has a strong personal commitment to improving education for Special Education students.





Paul Adorno is the Program Coordinator of the Reduced Class Size/Balanced Literacy Program at the Philadelphia Education Fund. Since joining the Ed Fund in November 1999, Mr. Adorno has coordinated the training of more than 1,600 Literacy Intern Teachers and their Partner Teachers.

Mr. Adorno is also credited with creating the PAIR [Principals Activity Involved in Renewal] Program, and working with the Principals Technology Exchange and IBM's CPI (Continuous Practice Improvement) and Learning Village Programs when he served as the Ed Fund's Coordinator of Educational Technology.

Prior to joining the Ed Fund, Mr. Adorno served as the Teaching Learning Network Coordinator for the Audenried Cluster of The School District of Philadelphia.

A 35-year veteran of the School District of Philadelphia, Mr. Adorno is a graduate of Georgetown University (A.B. American Literature and Chinese) and the University of Pennsylvania (M.S. in Education). From 1964-66 he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi where he taught at Mtendere Secondary School. Mr. Adorno has taught as an adjunct faculty member at the University of the Arts since 1974. He also serves on the Board of The Mid-Atlantic Coalition of Essential Schools.



Jenifer Trachtman is Director of Development and Marketing for the Philadelphia Education Fund where she oversees a development and marketing strategy aimed at increasing and diversifying the flow of supporting grants and gifts. Jenifer brings to the Ed Fund over 15 years of fundraising experience including campaign planning, major gift solicitations, alumni relations, annual appeals, special events and development communications.

Prior to joining the Ed Fund, Jenifer was the Director of Development for the Library Company of Philadelphia. She also held a 14-year tenure as Director of Development at Tyler School of Art of Temple University. While at Tyler, she used her management skills to guide the school through strategic and campaign planning processes while maintaining a portfolio of over one hundred donors and prospects. She helped Tyler to raise nearly $1 million in endowment income and increased annual giving by 800%.



Brian Armstead is the Director of Civic Engagement at the Philadelphia Education Fund where he promotes the strengthening and expansion of cross-constituency alliances in order to impact education policy in Philadelphia and the surrounding region.

Prior to joining the Ed Fund, Mr. Armstead was the Education Coordinator for Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) where he helped develop and coordinate advocacy efforts to improve public education in Philadelphia. He has extensive experience engaging various communities on a broad array of issues including, education, neighborhood (physical, economic and social) planning, and strategies to address or prevent intergroup conflict.

Mr. Armstead received his B.S. in Marketing from Penn State University, and dual Masters degrees in Social Work (MSW) and City Planning (MCP) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Liza Herzog is the Senior Research Associate at the Philadelphia Education Fund. Since joining the Ed Fund in July 2003, Dr. Herzog, in partnership with researchers at Johns Hopkins University, has co-directed research and authored reports on comprehensive school reform, the professional development of teachers, and dropout prevention.

She works with a regional team of researchers, practitioners, and social service agencies on the Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Study (PELS), which follows more than 2,000 8th graders in Philadelphia public schools through to three years past on-time graduation.

Before joining the Ed Fund, Dr. Herzog was a Research Associate at the University of Pennsylvania, where she conducted qualitative research in higher education. Prior to her work in education, she was a practicing attorney for four years.

Dr. Herzog holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Temple University, and a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

Nikele D. Jackson, CPA, is the Finance Director of the Philadelphia Education Fund. Ms. Jackson is responsible for all financial management and fiscal operations of the Ed Fund, including grant and contract management and compliance.

Prior to her appointment at the Ed Fund, Ms. Jackson was an Audit Manager for a regional certified public accounting firm in the Philadelphia Area. As an Audit Manager, Ms. Jackson supervised and managed audit engagements for various not-for-profit and governmental organizations within the Philadelphia and Tri-state areas.

Ms. Jackson is a certified public accountant licensed in the State of Pennsylvania and received her B.A. in Accounting from Temple University.

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