Devron Armstrong

Manager, Early Matters Dallas, Commit

Allison Braley

Manager, Early Matters Dallas, Commit

Allison is a Texas native and has spent a good chunk of her life driving I-35 between her hometown of San Antonio and childhood stomping ground of DFW. During her time at UTSA, she found her passion for civic engagement and data-driven solutions while acting as a policy advisor for the Mayor’s Youth Council to address the school-to-prison pipeline in San Antonio school districts and across the state. From teaching Pre-K and kindergarten, to working with special populations, to supporting research and advocacy efforts across the state, Allison comes to Commit with several years of experience working in and with communities to identify problems, communicate data, and design and implement creative and effective solutions. Immediately before starting at Commit, Allison spent a year volunteering with the AmeriCorps VISTA program at Children at Risk, where she supported programmatic and legislative efforts to improve education, health, and quality of life for children across Texas. Outside of work, Allison has passions for her wife and family, their adorably scrappy dog Einstein, classical piano, reading, cooking, glitter, and Manchester United.

Kate Greer

Managing Director, Policy & State Coalition, Commit

Kate grew up in Flower Mound, TX and is a proud product of the Lewisville Independent School District. After graduating from Flower Mound High School, Kate moved to Oklahoma to pursue her undergraduate degree. Prior to joining Commit, Kate reported on criminal justice and incarceration in Oklahoma for the local NPR affiliate, where her stories aired nationally on a regular basis. She also has extensive experience working in communications for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. During her time at the state Capitol, Kate was frequently challenged to deeply understand any given policy’s implications at a grassroots’ level. After reporting on important legislative decisions as a journalist and working with lawmakers and stakeholders at the state level, Kate was empowered to move back home and do more to affect positive change for Texas children. She is guided by a strong conviction that access to quality education is key to successful and productive lives. She further believes excellent education is a right for all children, not a privilege for the lucky few. Kate received her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma.

Kate Hoffman

Manager, Policy & State Coalition, Commit

A Dallas native, Kate Hoffman is committed to developing policies and practices that support the creation of safe, resilience-promoting, and equitable spaces in education for children, families, and educators. This dedication stems from a variety of lived experiences in the education space during high school and college: working with children in emergency settings in Thailand, developing human rights curricula in rural Myanmar, running an after school program in Boston, and conducting original research on the perspectives of early childhood educators in California. As Kate reflects on all of her different international and domestic experiences, what unites them is her belief that education is the most fundamental human right. She deeply recognizes how education can be empowering, and, when carried out in a compassionate, caring, and responsible way, can positively change the trajectory of individuals' and families’ lives forever. Prior to Commit, Kate earned her teaching license through the Capital Teacher Residency program and taught in a Pre-Kindergarten classroom at a charter elementary school in Washington, D.C. Kate has also completed several internships and consulting projects in the education policy field and has volunteered as a policy team member for both a congressional (2018) and presidential (2020) campaign. Currently, she serves as Co-Chair for the Associate Board of UPchieve, an education-tech nonprofit seeking to democratize academic support. Kate graduated from Harvard University, earning her BA in Social Studies with a focus in International Development and Human Rights in Southeast Asia. She received her MA in International Education Policy Analysis from the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Chelsea Jeffery

Chief Regional Impact Officer, EC-12, Commit

Chelsea is a native to Dallas County, growing up in Coppell, TX and graduating from Coppell High School. Chelsea chose to stay in Dallas and attend Southern Methodist University after being named a President’s Scholar and receiving a full-tuition merit-based scholarship. At SMU, Chelsea became passionate about education while completing research on Texas education policies her sophomore year. In 2012 she joined Teach for America as part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Corps where she taught Algebra, Geometry, and Math Models for two years at Dallas Can Academy, an alternative high school. Since leaving the classroom, Chelsea has been with Commit, where she’s working on a variety of initiatives including data analysis, college access and success, 4th grade math and 3rd grade literacy learning networks. Now she currently works to increase access to high-quality Pre-K and child care across the DFW metroplex. Chelsea focuses on bringing together the birth to age 5 community around common strategies, leading the DFW Regional Pre-K Campaign, and supporting the child care community with innovative business models. Chelsea strongly believes that if we can set a strong academic, social, and emotional foundation in a child’s early years, many of the learning gaps that she saw as a high school teacher would be closed. Chelsea graduated from Southern Methodist University Magna Cum Laude with a B.B.A in Accounting. She is also a board member of The Community School of Park Cities, a non-profit child care center.

Amber Shields

Managing Director, Early Matters Dallas, Commit

Amber is a Dallas native and a proud product of Dallas ISD. After graduating from Skyline High School, Amber attended the University of Texas at Austin. During her freshman year, she wrote a research paper on No Child Left Behind and learned of the systemic issues in education impacting communities of color. Amber was motivated to be a part of the solution and became an early literacy tutor at an East Austin Elementary school. This experience motivated Amber to pursue a career in Education. Upon graduation, she returned to Dallas-Fort Worth as a founding Kindergarten teacher for Uplift Education. Amber worked as a Kindergarten and 3rd Grade teacher igniting in her a passion for early literacy. Prior to joining Commit, Amber served as an instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal. Amber had the privilege to lead as campus principal at her childhood elementary school, N.W. Harllee Early Childhood Center. Amber has a deep commitment to ensuring that early literacy practices are equitable across campuses and produce strong outcomes for all students. Amber graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Communication Studies and from Southern Methodist University with a M.Ed in Educational Leadership.

Devron Armstrong

Commit; Early Literacy Systems Work Group

Lisa Bracken

KERA; Family Engagement Work Group

Heather Bryant

Dallas College; Quality Teachers Work Group

Abigail Sharp

United Way Greater Dallas; Social Services and Benefits Utilization Work Group

Jeff Sullivan

CPAL; Social Services and Benefits Utilization Work Group

Olga Hickman

Bachman Lake Together; Family Engagement Work Group

Melanie Rubin

Early Childcare Deserts Work Group

Amber Shields

Commit; Quality Coaching Work Group