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Staff Bios

Leadership
Beth C. Porter, National Executive Director
Beth Porter has worked for Breakthrough for 13 years in the development and program departments. Beth brings 19 years of fundraising experience to her position and has worked in education, arts and political action organizations. Beth has her B.A. in Sociology and Japanese from Middlebury College and her M.A. in Asia Pacific Studies from the University of San Francisco. When she is not at Breakthrough, she is kept busy by her two- and four-footed children.

Development
Madeleine Clarke, Director of Development
Madeleine Clarke, Breakthrough’s Director of Development as of July 2009, is an experienced educator and development professional dedicated to improving access to excellent educational opportunities for all. In the last decade, she has raised over $50 million for innovating public education in the Bay Area through school-family partnerships, the creation of small high quality public schools, and the redesign of school district central offices. As a mentor and a teacher, she has had the honor of helping many young people to discover their talents and achieve their dreams. She has taught middle school math, high school and college English in Austin, TX, Washington DC, New York City, and Berkeley, California. She holds a Master’s degree in English from the University of Texas, Austin and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland. Madeleine enjoys camping, hiking, and exploring the Bay Area by bicycle.

Erica Fortescue, Major Gifts Officer
Erica Fortescue has been involved with Breakthrough for more than fifteen years, beginning as a summer and school year teacher. Since 2003, she has worked at the national office, first as Site Support and Development Director then as Director of Development. In her current role as Major Gifts Officer, she oversees individual and event fundraising. Prior to joining Breakthrough, Erica was the National Coordinator for Project ASTRO, a program of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific that partners volunteer scientists with 4th – 9th grade students. She has also taught French and Spanish in the classroom. Erica holds a Master’s degree in Education Policy Analysis from Stanford University and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Brown University.

Laura Zahn, Grants & Improving Teacher Training Initiative (ITTI) Manager
Laura Zahn taught at Breakthrough Manchester for three summers before teaching middle and high school for three years, working as a Breakthrough mentor teacher during the intervening summers. She directed Breakthrough Sacramento from 1998-2002, serving for two years as the Chair of the Directors' Council and as a member of the Breakthrough Board of Trustees. Beginning in 2002, Laura worked as Vice Principal, then Interim Principal, at Rosa Parks Middle School in Sacramento, CA. Since her return to New Hampshire in 2005, Laura has supported K-12 teachers as an instructional consultant, supervising teachers seeking preliminary and professional licensure, in addition to training and coaching teachers in under-resourced schools. She has written grant proposals for a variety of organizations, including Breakthrough Manchester, Concord Community Music School, and the Concord School District. Laura holds experienced educator credentials in teaching and administration, as well as a B.A. from Messiah College, an M.A. from Dartmouth College, and an M.S. in Educational Administration from National University.

Ieesha McKinzie, Development and Communications Associate
Ieesha McKinzie serves two teams as Breakthrough’s Development and Communications Associate. She joined the Breakthrough family in 2003 when she taught 8th-grade science at Breakthrough Atlanta. There, she grew a love for education, and she joined Teach for America after graduating from Hampton University in 2006. From 2006-2008, she taught elementary school on the west side of Atlanta. A journalist by trade and a teacher at heart, she combines her loves for journalism and communications with her passion for education to help support Breakthrough’s efforts to increase educational opportunities for students. In her free time, Ieesha enjoys kite flying, trivia, and board games.

Program Team
Ben Martinez, National Program Director
Ben Martinez started his career in education as a teacher at Summerbridge San Francisco in 1995 and is enjoying his return to the program. In the interim, Ben served as a teacher and counselor for similar programs such as Upward Bound in Los Angeles and Prep-for-Prep in New York City. In addition, as a researcher and evaluator for the American Institutes for Research in both Washington, D.C. and California offices, Ben worked on statewide and national education evaluations for the California Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, most recently evaluating the development and effectiveness of the high-school small schools movement. Ben received a B.A. in Politics from Pomona College and an M.A. in Education & Politics from Teachers College, Columbia University. Outside of the office, Ben is an avid sports fan, playing tennis & volleyball regularly and watching just about any sport.

Carlos Alvarado, Research and Evaluation Specialist
Carlos Alvarado serves under Ben Martinez as the Research and Evaluation Specialist, continuing to strengthen the Social Solutions database and to ensure that data analysis and reporting are timely, useful, and effective for the national office, as well as for all individual programs. Lured by the promise of free pizza, Carlos was sold on the Breakthrough program and taught at Breakthrough Fort Worth in 1996. He signed on for three more summers after that, serving at the Lehigh Valley site in 1997 and in Fort Worth in 1998 and 1999. He returned to Breakthrough Fort Worth in 2002 to serve as Dean of Students for almost three years. While pursuing his master’s degree, Carlos worked as an evaluator for a National Science Foundation program and assisted in various research projects for his professors at Texas Christian University. Before moving to the Breakthrough national office, Carlos worked as a Prevention Specialist for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth, implementing leadership programs for older teens who wished to help younger club members learn the skills needed to live a substance-free life. Carlos earned a B.A. in English and Geology from Texas Christian University and an M.S. in Educational Foundations and Administration from TCU in 2007. It is highly probable that Carlos can be seen at local comedy venues making people laugh, and getting lost in San Francisco after leaving his beloved lifelong home, Texas.

Elisabeth Cutler, Research and Policy Specialist
Elisabeth Cutler brings over 10 years of experience in K-16 education, as a university admissions coordinator, researcher, and policy analyst, to her work as the Research & Policy Specialist. Prior to joining Breakthrough Collaborative, she was most recently a Research & Evaluation Associate at the Education Alliance in Providence, RI and the Data & Policy Analyst at the Education Trust-West. Her past research has focused primarily on systemic education reform and improving educational opportunities for under-served students. Elisabeth has a B.A. in American Studies from Barnard College and a Masters in Public Affairs from Brown University. When not working, Elisabeth enjoys wandering around San Francisco’s neighborhoods and watching movies.

Lois Loofbourrow, Founder and Advisor to Growth Initiatives and Program Excellence
Lois helped launch Summerbridge San Francisco in 1977 and remained its founding director until she left to become the Founding Executive Director of the Breakthrough Collaborative (formerly known as Summerbridge National) in 1991. After she left Breakthrough, she worked with YouthBuild USA and with The Beaumont Foundation of America. She recently returned to California and has joined the staff of the Breakthrough Collaborative supporting our goals working with middle-school students.

Jennifer Mayer-Sandoval, Academic Excellence Specialist
Jennifer Mayer-Sandoval brings four years of experience as the Executive Director of local Breakthrough programs in Colorado and New York. Additionally, she served as a Breakthrough National Program Officer from 2000-2002, providing technical support and consultation to 27 local Breakthrough sites, before she became the Breakthrough National Program Director from 2002-2003. In addition to her work with Breakthrough, Jennifer has extensive non-profit experience, as the former Service Director of Metro Volunteers! of Denver, Colorado and as a Program Officer and Assistant Director for the Fellowship in Community Service at El Pomar Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Jennifer has a B.S. from the University of Colorado, Boulder and completed a post-graduate fellowship in nonprofit leadership at El Pomar Foundation.

Mike Turner, National Sustainability Specialist
Mike Turner served as the Executive Director of Breakthrough at Kent Denver from 2005-2008. His previous experience with Breakthrough Kent Denver includes serving as a teacher in 2000 and 2001, School Year Program Director in 2002, and Program Director in 2004. Mike also spent two years helping to open and teaching at KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy, a charter school in Denver. Mike is based in Denver, CO and supports sites in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Cincinnati, and Denver. He recently completed a Master’s in Public Policy in the spring of 2007 from the University of Denver. Mike and his wife have a 2-year old son, Jackson, and are expecting a second child.

Dave Bryson, Teacher Network Specialist
Dave Bryson supports the National Program Team in recruiting, training, and building an alumni network of Breakthrough Teachers. Dave brings several years of experience in innovative out-of-school time education organizations, such as Upward Bound and Citizen Schools. Most recently, as a Citizen Schools National Teaching Fellow, Dave worked on a team of young educators leading programming as part of the “Expanded Learning Time Initiative” at the Edwards Middle School in Boston. After graduating from Wesleyan University with a degree in African American Studies, Dave completed a Master's degree in Education in Curriculum Instruction: Out-of-School Time at Lesley University. Dave is excited about his relocation to the hilly fogginess of San Francisco, and when not at work, he can be found in any of the public parks in the Bay Area, cooking dinner with friends, or exploring his new city.

Mission Support
Eric Fischer, Director of Finance
Eric Fischer brings over 15 years of experience in working with community-based, non-profit organizations in the areas of strategic financial & accounting management, organizational and fund development, and technological and human resource management. After graduating from Santa Clara University with bachelor’s degrees in accounting and decision & information sciences, Eric worked with a local CPA firm specializing in audit, accounting, and computer consulting services for professional services and not-for-profit organizations. He later spent 10 years with the Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County as their Director of Finance & Administration, helping to facilitate the growth in their annual budget from $4 million to over $20 million during that time period. After moving to Marin County, Eric became the Chief Financial Officer for the Hospice of Marin (now Hospice By the Bay), assisting in the design and deployment of new financial, accounting, and budgeting systems that facilitated their strategic expansion into four Bay Area counties and the purchase of a new, modern headquarters facility in Larkspur, California. He also worked with other Marin-based community organizations including the Bernard Osher Marin Jewish Community Center and Dominican University of California. An advocate for excellent educational opportunities for all, Eric is the father of three children, an avid photographer, and an aspiring Latin jazz percussionist.


Daphne Gardner-Napoe, Finance Specialist
Daphne Gardner-Napoe brings to Breakthrough Collaborative more than 20 years of experience in the accounting and finance sector. In addition to her work as a Staff Accountant for Alcatraz Cruises and as the Interim Accounting Manager for KIPP Bay Area Schools, Daphne has significant experience in the corporate environment, working as an account manager for many well-known entertainers, including Tina Turner, Carole King, and Jack Black, among others. Daphne has extensive training in finance, accounting principles, tax law, and computers. She is a lifelong learner who volunteers an average of 70 hours each month, teaching native French speakers from Africa, Europe and Haiti. Daphne shares this community commitment with her family, husband Joseph and daughters DeAnna (and son-in-law Dru) and Danielle.