September 14, 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, announces the appointment of Dr. Heather Clawson to the role of Vice President of Research and Evaluation and Annette Gantt as Vice President of Field Operations and Knowledge Management. 

“Heather and Annette are both accomplished leaders in the education and youth service field, and we’re so pleased they’ve joined our team. With their background and skills, we will be able to continue to grow our network with quality, and increase our impact in schools across the country,” said Gary Chapman, Executive Vice President, National Network Team.

Dr. Clawson has extensive experience as a program evaluator for school and community-based prevention, intervention and enrichment programs for at-risk children and youth. Previously, Dr. Clawson oversaw a portfolio of projects focused on integrated student support and assistance for at-risk students at ICF International, including serving as Principal Investigator and Project Director for Communities In Schools’ recently completed national evaluation. Dr. Clawson’s expertise is in student support services, including dropout prevention, mentoring and vulnerable populations.  Dr. Clawson has a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Nevada and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from James Madison University.

Annette Gantt brings with her 17 years of experience in organizational development and management, creating and maintaining collaborative relationships, and implementing and scaling programs. Ms. Gantt has extensive experience managing boards, executing fund development, fundraising and strategic planning.  Prior to joining Communities In Schools, she managed organizational growth in New York and Washington, D.C. for youth serving organizations including Hillside Family of Agencies and Earth Conservation Corps. As Executive Director at Hillside, Ms. Gantt increased the numbers of students served through scholarships and youth employment, and expanded the organization from New York to the D.C. metro area. Ms. Gantt holds a Master of Science in management from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y. and a Bachelor’s degree in social work from Rochester Institute of Technology.