Staff and Consultants

ROMAL J. TUNE | Founder & Exec Director

For Rev. Tune’s bio please click here.

JOI R. ORR | Chief Program Officer

Joi is a graduate of the University of Maryland College Park and Howard University School of Divinity where she served as the Student Government Association President and Co-Chair/Founder of Seminarians for Justice.  For Joi, education means “access” and provides the foundation for social justice and spiritual liberation.

PATRICIA LESESNE | Strategy

Patricia is a Broward County Public Schools social sciences instructor, Broward County, FL. She earned a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Harvard University, as well as a Masters of Art in Teaching from Tufts  University. Patricia currently manages a five-year United States Department of Education High School Graduation Initiative Grant. This grant was awarded to Broward County Public Schools in October 2011 and funds the Mentoring Tomorrow’s Leaders (MTL) dropout prevention, student leadership, and educational re-engagement program. Having been a teenage mother, Patricia knows first-hand that supportive communities are a crucial component of academic achievement and personal success for “at-risk” students.

JOSHUA DOWD | Web/Graphic Designer

Joshua moved to the mountains of North Carolina when he was five. He started drawing comic book characters and winning local awards while still in elementary school. He attended The Atlanta College of Art, then East Carolina University where he graduated with a B.A. in Illustration. Joshua has since pursued a graphics career from textiles to web design for mom and pop companies to multi-million dollar corporations. He is currently developing projects for Bazookaman Design, which he founded more than 15 years ago.

ASHLEY DESTER | Program Coordinator, Blueprint for Success

For me, being an educator is a way of life rather than a profession. I decided that I was to become a teacher at about age 7, and have spent many years studying, practicing, and growing to become the best teacher I can be. Being a teacher is more than simply professing one’s knowledge to passive learners. I believe that a great teacher, one that I aspire to be, is one that cares for their students’ progress both inside and outside the classroom, and provides lessons that are valuable and practical for the real-world. I chose this profession to make a difference in the lives of my wonderful students in any way possible, and intend on doing so for the rest of my career. Teaching is a passion that is impossible to express, because the rewards that a teacher receives are ones that not everyone gets to experience. I enjoy seeing my students not only improve academically, but enjoy seeing how they apply their academic growth to better their lives and their communities. Being an educator is so much greater than simply teaching a particular subject; it is about finding the special qualities in each student and encouraging them to be great.