Dr. Warren Simmons is Chair of the Board of Directors at the Foundation. In his former role as Executive Director for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR), Warren worked to improve outcomes and practices in urban schools, especially for those serving economically disadvantaged students. Prior to joining the Institute in 1998, Warren was the founding director of the Philadelphia Education Fund, a reform support organization that helped Philadelphia Public Schools fund, develop and implement new academic standards, content-based professional development, standards-based curriculum resources, and comprehensive school reform. Previously, at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, he developed and funded initiatives on community development and urban school reform. Warren also served as director of equity initiatives for the New Standards Project and as special assistant to the superintendent of schools in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where he implemented district-wide initiatives on improving the achievement of traditionally underserved students. Warren received a B.A. in psychology from Macalester College and a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell University. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Citizens Award from the National Governors Association and has served on the advisory groups and boards of several prominent national organizations including the National Center on Education and the Economy, Public Education Network, the Merck Institute, the National Equity Project, PLATO Learning, Inc., and the Campaign for Educational Equity.

Dr. Melissa Gómez Hernández is a program officer in the foundation’s Andean Region office in Bogotá, where she leads grantmaking related to peace and mitigating polarization. Melissa joined the foundation in 2024. Prior to this, she coordinated and directed the Afrodiasporic Studies Center (CEAF), a multidisciplinary and diverse community committed to ethnic and racial justice with an intersectional perspective that is part of the Faculty of Human Sciences at Icesi University in Cali, Colombia. As CEAF’s project coordinator and director, she supervised and co-designed projects that educated the public on the contributions of the African diaspora and other excluded and discriminated communities. In the past, Melissa co-created “Bogotrans” at the Economic Development Secretary of the City of Bogotá, an initiative for transgender women’s economic rights. These roles have allowed her a strong interaction with representatives of the social justice and human rights movement, including communities, donors, institutional structures, and political authorities at the local and national levels. Melissa trained as a political scientist, specializing in public affairs with a master’s degree and a Ph.D. at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Florida International University, respectively. She was also nominated to the Fulbright Excellence Award 2022.

Born in Port-au Prince, Haiti of Cuban, and Haitian parents, Her Royal Majesty Sêmévo 1st, is the Queen Mother of the African Diaspora, Bénin Republic. In 2022, she was enthroned at the Royal Palace of Agonlin, and adhered to the Haut Conseil des Rois du Bénin/HCRB (High Council of Kings of Benin). Her Majesty serves as HCRB’s Ambassador-at-Large. The Queen Mother is also a member of the Forum of Sovereigns and Traditional Leaders of Africa (Forum des Souverains et Leaders Traditionnelle d”Afrique). Largely recognized as HRM Queen Mother Dr. Dòwòti Désir, she is the Founder of the, Imperial Corps Agoodjié of the African Diaspora, an educational and leadership program which connects women of the African Diaspora to their sisters in Africa via online classes and a pilgrimage to Bénin Republic. Her Majesty is the National Secretary in charge of the Diaspora, of the Organisation des Intellectuels Traditionnels du Bénin/ORITRAB). Based in West Africa, in the City of Cotonou, she is also in residence in the State of New York, where she is a faculty member of Dutchess Community College. Currently, Her Majesty instructs underserved youth in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York State. The Queen Mother has been a consultant to, Purchase College, State University of New York Global Strategies and International Programs, Office for Global Education for their, Fulbright-Hays Fellowship. She instructed and advised incoming fellows engaged in the curriculum development project planned for Bénin Republic for summer 2023. She recently received a 2024 Black Divas Award for her advocacy of Black maternal healthcare.

Experienced international education leader with a demonstrated history of impact in the higher education and NGO sectors. Dedicated tri-lingual professional, skilled in fundraising, program development, implementation and management and committed to preparing all students, but especially students of color, for global leadership across sectors.