Many hands make the load lighter

Sarah Klett, Sponsor A Child Coordinator, received her B.S.S. in Communications Disorders from Central Michigan University in 1996, her M.S. in Audiology from the University of Rhode Island in 1998, and her Au.D. from the Arizona School of Health Sciences in June 2004. Sarah began with GN Resound, a major hearing instrument manufacturer, in September 2005 as a Regional Audiologist. In February of 2011, she was promoted to Manager of the Consumer Outreach Audiology Department. As an audiologist, Sarah has treated many children with hearing loss. She has seen first-hand how poverty can impede access to basic healthcare and how undetected hearing loss has a permanent impact on a child’s ability to learn and thrive. Sarah is invested in ameliorating the educational conditions for children in under-served regions so that they all may realize their potential.

Anna Jenkins Burnley, Hope After High School Coordinator, received her Associates Degree in Applied Science in 2004 from Università Polimoda in Florence, Italy. After graduating, she worked for design houses in Rome and Pisa before she accepted a position as head designer for Global Wise, a knitwear company based in NYC. One year later, Anna moved to southern California and became a veterinary assistant at the local animal shelter. In 2009 she took seven months off to travel through China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Italy, where she witnessed the inaccessibility of education in parts of the world. Anna is now settled in her hometown of Newport, Rhode Island, where she is part-owner with family members of Mission, an establishment featuring gourmet burgers, hot dogs, and falafel, and Winner Winner, a chicken dinner counter. The lessons learned during her travels in 2009, however, have stayed with her, and her appointment as the Hope After High School Coordinator allow her to take action regarding the imbalance of academic opportunities worldwide.

Victoria Leonard, Communicators Coordinator, is a 2015 graduate of Brown University, where she studied Politics and Religion, organized and lobbied for health as a human right, and studied and performed African dance. She has conducted research on food security and import reliance in Senegal, worked with Ghanaian women to establish a sustainable water business, and traveled with Universal Promise to South Africa in 2014 as the Leadership and Empowerment Liaison. While there, she contributed to the Women's Empowerment Initiative, taught math at Vusumzi Primary School, and conducted local home renovations. She returned in 2016 as a member of the Health Education team, assisting with home-visit physicals and leading health education sessions.