Mural, Kyiv, Ukraine, by Sasha Korban
Globally-minded. Community-focused.
We connect our expertise across languages, cultures, and expectations to
provide humanitarian support for communities in crisis, disaster, and rebuilding.
FOUNDER
Laura Vanderberg, Ed.M., Ph.D.
Founder, President
Dr. Laura Vanderberg is the Founder and President of Global Community Corps. She is an interdisciplinary cognitive scientist and applied child development specialist. Dr. Vanderberg implements research, theory, and practice from the cognitive neurosciences, psychology, and education. She takes a culturally-responsive, trauma-informed, and developmentally-appropriate approach to problem-solving in diverse environments and designing for inclusion and equity. She loves challenges and thrives when seeing others learn and grow. She believes in the power of self-efficacy, and designs programming to support independence and sustainable development. She has developed primary and secondary curricula in Ukraine and received an award from the Ukrainian Ministry of Education for her work in training educators at the national level. She speaks multiple languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, and Sourjic. She was selected in the global class of Apple Distinguished Educators in 2019, based on her development and implementation of a universally-designed mobile learning curriculum for post-secondary students with learning differences. She worked with an international team to develop the LD Workshop International, implemented in 2018 and 2019, in Mumbai, India. She has deep experience in developing international, cross-cultural, and culturally-responsive professional development exchanges and opportunities (conference and workshop development) on site and with colleagues in Poland, Ukraine, Brazil, India, Japan, China, South Korea, and Canada, among others. She is a full professor and previous academic department chair at the university level. Please see Dr. Vanderberg’s CV here.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Leah Toeniskoetter
Director
Whether working in the private or non-profit sector locally or internationally, Leah Toeniskoetter has passion for taking great visions to scale. The visions must aim to improve people’s lives and require the collaboration of brilliant, engaged leaders.
Her career path has spanned driving the approval of a $500 million resort village to reenergize a local economy to reshaping the nation’s 10th largest city’s approach to urban living to serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, teaching Bolivian women business management. Her professional and volunteer work has included guiding a board of directors through a political campaign to fund a public hospital and volunteering with under-served middle school students about their far-reaching potential. She is leading Deloitte’s Corporate Citizenship strategy in the U.S. West Region with a focus in Silicon Valley. Her role includes aligning Deloitte’s national social impact focus with local leadership, workplace giving, volunteer programs and talent expertise in the local community, with a focus on local needs of under-resourced communities. She is a senior fellow of American Leadership Forum (ALF) Silicon Valley, member of International Women’s Forum (IWF) Northern California their Champions of Racial Equality initiative, member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Working Council and co-lead of their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittee, participant of Northern California Grantmaker’s Racial Equity Diversity Institute’s 2020-21 cohort, and a NationSwell councilmember. Leah holds a B.S. in Science-Business from the University of Notre Dame and speaks Spanish and Portuguese whenever possible.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann, Ed.D.
Director
Dr. Gabrielle Schlichtmann is an applied educational scientist by training and she believes the best way to transform education is to do it in partnership with vulnerable youth and their teachers, with evidence and by design. She is the Founder, Director, and Chief Scientist of EdTogether. Over her career, Dr. Schlichtmann has developed a strong program of research and development that reimagines the design of education technology to support and empower youth with disabilities in learning. Her work is anchored by a commitment to bringing evidence-based solutions from the learning sciences to practical implementation at scale. Dr. Schlichtmann’s work has been supported through funding from the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, the Oak Foundation, and others. Her research has been published in many refereed journals, and she is a co-editor of A Research Reader in Universal Design for Learning (Harvard Education Press, 2012). As a leader, Dr. Schlichtmann invites curious, diverse people to the table, creates the conditions for creativity, and inspires learning that echoes for the self, the group, and others. She is often invited to speak nationally and internationally and currently lectures at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
STAFF
Aviva Hollander
Accessibility & Inclusion Specialist
Aviva Hollander has recently graduated, completing her bachelor’s degree in three years. She earned membership in the International Sociology Honor Society and graduated Magna Cum Laude. During her undergraduate career, she conducted empirical research on The Benefits and Drawbacks of Online Learning with a Disability during the Covid-19 Pandemic. She is committed to helping others access the resources needed to prosper and thrive. As a Sociologist, she has worked at the program, institutional, and field levels to educate people on the barriers experienced by individuals with various forms of diversity and their intersections. She was nominated and served on Curry College’s Advisory Board for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She thrives when presenting about higher education access for students with learning disabilities and continues her work in this area. She has given multiple peer-reviewed presentations about access, ability, and metacognition for learners with variability. She has studied American Sign Language and Hebrew and is a committed lifelong learner. She believes in the power of education and in empowering students through their learning. During her career, she has devoted her efforts to instructional design and user experiences that foster students’ self-efficacy and confidence. She has been working with at-risk groups for over 8 years. Ms. Hollander has known from a very young age that she will spend her life helping others and is thrilled to be a part of the Global Community Corps.
GLOBAL COMMUNITY CORPS
Global Community Corps, Inc is a corporation registered in the State of Massachusetts. We are working with an attorney to receive tax exempt status from the IRS. We are hoping that the tax exempt status will be approved and retroactive to 21 June 2022.
We are
COLLABORATING ACROSS
