Melissa Grober-Morrow is the Washington Center for Equitable Growth’s vice president of impact and special initiatives. Ms. Grober-Morrow has devoted most of her career to expanding economic opportunity, seeking to center the needs of those most historically excluded. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, she served as thought leadership director for financial resilience at AARP, where she launched a new site for policymakers and corporate leaders focused on the future of work for people ages 50+, exploring the implications of major workforce trends affecting older workers, as well as equity considerations. She co-led the Living, Learning & Earning Longer Collaborative—an initiative of AARP, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Economic Forum. Ms. Grober-Morrow previously served as director of savings and financial capability at Prosperity Now, a national nonprofit intermediary whose mission is to ensure everyone in our country has a clear path to financial stability, wealth, and prosperity. She also previously designed a national financial coaching program managed by AmeriCorps members in 10 communities and ran free tax preparation sites for low-income New Yorkers at a community development financial institution.
Ms. Grober-Morrow has published and presented on issues such as the future of work, financial capability, disparities in economic opportunities and outcomes, healthy longevity, and the women’s wealth divide. She earned an M.P.A. from New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a B.A. in psychology and brain sciences from Johns Hopkins University. She sings with SongRise DC and serves on the board of Girls Inc. of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area in her spare time.
Colleen Harwood is the senior manager of grant operations at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. She is responsible for the management and administration of the grant program and the Dissertation Scholars program. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, she was a program analyst for the Pro Bono Innovation Fund and Disaster Grants Program at the Legal Services Corporation. Before that, she administered the grant program for the American Psychological Foundation. She holds a B.A. in psychology from Catholic University and an M.P.A. from George Mason University.
Emilie Openchowski is the senior manager of editorial at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Previously, she worked at the Center for American Progress and the Clinton Foundation on the CGI University team. She has a Master of Science degree in political sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Sanjay Supan is a project manager of academic research at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, he served on Montgomery County, Maryland’s climate action planning team, worked in business-to-business advertising sales, and coached speech and debate in South Florida. Supan holds a B.A. in international relations from American University, as well as an M.S. in social policy and a certificate in law from the University of Pennsylvania.
Shanteal Lake is the senior manager of events and external engagement at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, she managed a variety of work streams and policy portfolios focused on eliminating inequities in education with clients such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Collaborative for Student Success, and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Previously, she served on the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and the Workforce, where she supported the committee’s messaging, media coverage, and digital presence across a diverse range of public policy issues. Shanteal holds an M.A. in political and strategic communication from American University and a B.A. in political science from Spelman College.
Elena Waskey is the senior director of communications and marketing at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, she served as an account director at Crosscut Strategies, a strategic communications firm, where she advised nonprofits and startups on how to grow their brand and increase their influence. Before that, Waskey led the communications team at the National Governors Association, the bipartisan organization of the nation’s governors. While there, she helped craft messages across a variety of public policy issues important to states, and grew the organization’s media coverage and digital presence exponentially, effectively managing its reputation inside and outside the Beltway.
Waskey was a founding editor of USA Today’s premium publications department, and she edited and researched for USA Weekend magazine, which had a circulation of 25 million. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park and a master’s degree in strategic communication from American University.
David S. Mitchell is a senior fellow for tax and regulatory policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. He previously served as Equitable Growth’s director of government and external relations. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, Mitchell was the associate director for policy and market solutions at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, where he led a growing team responsible for amplifying research and spurring action to address the short- and long-term financial challenges facing low- and moderate-income Americans, including income volatility, retirement insecurity, and consumer debt. He previously worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), handling healthcare and Social Security issues and working on the landmark health reform law that passed in 2010. He also has held positions with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the White House National Economic Council, the law firm Hogan Lovells, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Citizens for Tax Justice, and the National Association of Community Health Centers. Mitchell holds a B.A. in political science from Tufts University, an M.P.A. from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a Public Interest Law Scholar.
Maria Monroe is the associate director of digital strategy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, Maria was the editorial and operations coordinator at Orb Media, a non-profit journalism organization in Washington, D.C., and the multimedia editor at The Care Courses School, Inc., a distance-learning provider. Maria holds a master’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s degree in english from the University of Notre Dame.
Kaley Kawi is a development coordinator at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, Kawi served as development intern at The Homeless Children’s Playtime Project in Washington, D.C. In addition to her internship and administrative experience with law firms in both D.C. and her hometown of Buffalo, NY, she has volunteered for a variety of community organizations, including Buffalo’s Journey’s End Refugee Services and Higher Achievement in D.C. Kawi is a graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.
Farmata Fall is the associate director of finance at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Originally from Nouakchott, Mauritania, she came to the United States to learn English at Georgetown University. From there, she transferred to the University of the West in California, where she received her bachelor’s in business administration-accounting and graduated as the valedictorian of her class. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, Fall worked at the University of the West in collaboration with the IRS as the site coordinator of the IRS VITA program and interned at BAMIS Bank in Nouakchott. Fall served as the vice president of the Student Government and the vice president of the Entrepreneurship Club while she attended the University of the West.
