October 11, 2011
Contact: Mike Bento
bentom@cisnet.org

Arlington, Va. – Communities In Schools, the leading organization dedicated to empowering students to stay in school and achieve in life, is pleased to announce that three leaders in education have been named 2011-2012 Robert H.B. Baldwin Fellows. The Baldwin Fellows Program was established to address the predicted loss of experience and skills in the nonprofit sector due to projected leadership turnover. Named after Communities In Schools’ founding board chairman, the Robert H.B. Baldwin Fellows Program brings together current and emerging leaders to conduct research that will assist the network with their work of serving at-risk youth. 

Members of the 2011-2012 Baldwin Fellows class:

Jackie Pittman Curtis began her Communities In Schools career in 1999 as the program director for Communities In Schools of Laurens County. In July 2002, she became the executive director for the organization, a position she still holds. Through her Communities In Schools fellowship she will research successful practices for working with school districts. She received her bachelor’s in social science from Mercer University, a master’s in business administration from Wesleyan College and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from Capella University. Her research will focus on successful practices for working with school districts.
 

Amy Hagen is the former co-director of elementary school services at Communities In Schools of Central Texas in Austin, Texas. In her nine years with the network, she has had the honor of holding several positions: site coordinator, site coordinator supervisor, as well as manager of funding contracts. Prior to Hagen’s Communities In Schools involvement, she worked for the Department of Social Services and the Head Start program. She received her master’s in social work from the University of Texas at Austin and has more than 17 years of social work experience. Hagen’s fellowship will focus on effective site coordinator development and retention. 
 

Malissa Martin is the president of Communities In Schools of Kansas. During her 13 years in the network, she has worked with local, state, urban, suburban and rural affiliates in nearly every facet of operations. A graduate of Sam Houston State University in Texas, Martin has worked as both a volunteer and staff member with arts, community, faith-based, social service and political organizations in several states prior to and during her career with Communities In Schools. She has also worked with university-level programs that share the mission of meeting the needs of challenged and underserved young people. Martin’s fellowship will focus on creating a model for developing and maintaining effective regional affiliates in the Communities In Schools network.

“As we continue to serve more than 1.3 million young people, it is also essential that we strive to build tomorrow’s leadership,” said Dan Cardinali, President of Communities In Schools.“This fellowship program is one way we can strategically prepare our organization for future generations of service.”