LaAmistad

Jon Naphin has been the Chairman of LaAmistad since the organization’s founding in 2006. This role is the highlight of a lifelong commitment to volunteerism. Previously, Naphin held leadership positions in local chapters of Literacy Volunteers of America, Junior Achievement, and Sigma Chi Fraternity. He and his wife, Angela, serve as Elders of the Peachtree Presbyterian Church and are active in their community.

Mr. Naphin is originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, and has lived in Atlanta for 25 years. Mr. & Mrs. Naphin have two children attending Atlanta Public Schools. He is a Vice President with TalentQuest, a national provider of human resources consulting and technology tools. Prior to joining TalentQuest in 2001, Jon held management positions in organizations such as General Motors, ADP, and Peachtree Software with responsibilities covering sales, marketing, product management, and customer care.

He earned his Bachelor of Industrial Administration degree from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute) in Flint, Michigan and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Cat McAfee was born and raised in Attleboro, MA. After completing high school, she moved to Atlanta and attended Kennesaw State University. After a year, she transferred to Dekalb College where she received an associate’s degree in business administration. She then transferred to Georgia State University to continue her undergraduate in finance. After college, she started her own corporation, 13 Stories, LLC and toured all over the US for over a decade as the lead guitarist for 13 Stories.

McAfee also worked for Fundraising and Management Counsel as a Program Director in charge of management and execution of capital campaigns for non-profit organizations for nearly ten years. In 2000, she began working at The Gym at Peachtree as the Director of Skating and Roller Hockey and created one of the most successful hockey programs in Atlanta. Until 2005, McAfee taught skating to the LaAmistad children and helped find scholarships for the most advanced participants to attend camps or play in competitive leagues. In 2005, she became the Director of Athletics for LaAmistad.

In August 2007, McAfee became the Director of LaAmistad. She continued to study Spanish and has completed more than 300 hours of study at an accredited Spanish School, Instituto Chac-Mool in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In July 2012, McAfee was promoted to Executive Director of LaAmistad, Inc. Her responsibilities now include future growth planning, program replication, team leadership, fundraising, and management of volunteers and classrooms. Using what she has learned from her certification in Developing Capable Young People, her studies of Teach for America applications, and her experiences in fundraising, McAfee continues to take LaAmistad to even higher levels.

Her passion for the students, the families, and service to the community fuel her continued study and research of effective avenues of communication and learning between different cultures. When Ms. McAfee is not at LaAmistad, she loves playing guitar, singing, salsa dancing, wakeboarding, snowboarding and hockey.

Wesley Dennard was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, having attended Peachtree Presbyterian Church, LaAmistad After School’s original location, since childhood. Dennard graduated an Alpha Omega from The Westminster Schools in 2002. After high school, he moved to Charlottesville, Virginia to attend the University of Virginia, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science after inclusion on the college’s Dean’s List.

After his schooling at the University of Virginia, Dennard moved to Asheville, North Carolina where he served as Education Liaison and After School Program Group Leader at The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County. He was responsible for the reconstruction of the organization’s website, analysis of student measurables, and the scholastic performance of elementary school students.

In 2009, Dennard volunteered at LaAmistad After School @ Peachtree Presbyterian Church for several months and fell in love with the program. After moving back to Atlanta from Asheville in March 2012, Wesley joined LaAmistad, Inc. to serve as Development Director.

Glynis Terrell became a member of the LaAmistad English for Successful Living program in September of 2011. Prior to joining the team at LaAmistad, she worked for many years as an educator in public college and adult education. Her experiences have prepared her well for role as Director of the Adult ESL program.

Terrell was raised in Atlanta, GA. She received her undergraduate degree from Clark College in Elementary and Middle Grades Education and her M.A. in Reading from Atlanta University. Further studies in English as a Second Language were completed at the University of West Georgia (formerly West Georgia College). After working as a teacher for a number of years, she returned to school to earn an Ed.S. in Administration and Supervision from Troy University (formerly Troy State University) in Phoenix City, Alabama.

Ms. Terrell enjoys traveling and has visited many places to study how languages are learned and to observe and record cultural similarities and differences. She hopes to one day write about her adventures and findings. When not traveling, she spends much of her time volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children (CASA).

You can find Mike Joiner at LaAmistad every afternoon. He has volunteered with LaAmistad for the last 5 years and his dedication to the program is unparalleled. Mr. Joiner brings to LaAmistad a critical management knowledge born of a long and rich history in business, including his recent role as owner of Performance Systems Inc., a dealer of custom-engineered robotic equipment.

Prior to founding Performance Systems in 1995, Mr. Joiner served as managing partner of JEBCO Packaging Systems Inc., which custom-designed packaging machinery, from 1990 to 1995.

Mr. Joiner has held sales and marketing positions in the packaging industry since 1972, when he completed six years of service as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, where he achieved the rank of Captain. His subsequent experience includes sales management for Gulf States Paper Corp, American Can Co., and five years as director of marketing for the automated packaging segment of American National Inc.

Mr. Joiner holds an MBA from the University of North Dakota, and a BBA in Marketing from Texas Christian University. Born in Texas, Mike is married to Joanne and they have two grown daughters.

Angharad Chester-Jones joined LaAmistad in the Fall of 2012 as The Program Director for LaAmistad Atlanta, Georgia. She has recently relocated to Atlanta from Charleston, SC. Prior to her position with LaAmistad, she worked in Marketing and PR for a Child Advocacy Center in Charleston and before that she spent the majority of her professional

career in Charleston working for the exclusive Sanctuary Hotel at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. In this capacity she managed the food and beverage marketing for the hotel, created and managed some of the hotel’s community outreach involvement, and assisted in overseeing all aspects of the Gourmet and Grapes yearly food and wine fundraising event for the Hollings Cancer Center.

Chester-Jones spent quite a bit of her free time volunteering for a variety of non-profit organizations in the Charleston, which also allowed her to maintain her public relations and communications skills, and interest in non-profits, arts, and culture. Prior to working at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Chester-Jones resided and worked in Greenwich, CT. She worked for the Historical Society of Greenwich and as an assistant to an interior designer, covering projects for Arabian, Egyptian, and French clients. Previous to this, Chester-Jones worked in marketing for several financial companies in Barcelona, Spain.

Angharad graduated from the College of Charleston in 2003 where she earned both a B.A. in Spanish and a B.S. in Media Communications, and minored in Latin- American Caribbean Studies. She spent 5 years living and working abroad in such locations as London, Barcelona, Santiago, Chile; and Deia, Majorca. During this time she immersed herself in learning about other cultures, taking in the arts, fashion, languages, and architecture that flourished in many of the cities she lived in.

Chester-Jones is a dual citizen of the United States and Great Britain. In her spare time she enjoys running, dancing, yoga, tennis, swimming, paddle boarding, and reading both serious and light fiction and non-fiction.

Miss Jeannene O’Connell is from Naples, Florida and has lived in Atlanta for four years. She graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a B.A. in Exceptional Student Education and an ESOL endorsement. She began her career in education at Golden Gate Intermediate Center (Naples, Florida) as a 5th grade ESOL teacher. After an inspirational first year, she transitioned to Oakridge Middle School where she was an 8th grade Co-Teacher and Case Manager (Naples, Florida). As a Co-Teacher, Miss O’Connell provided students with the accommodations, resources, academic and social/emotional support they required to be successful students. She created Individual Education Plans for students to appropriately support their individual learning needs in the general education classroom and monitored their progress throughout the school year. She communicated with parents daily to enable them to be their child’s strongest advocate.

School administrators and parents observed Miss O’Connell’s passion, dedication and motivation and encouraged her to further her education and advocate for students and families at a higher level. With the support of school administrators and the parents of students she earned a Master of Education with a focus on School Administration on June 28, 2008 from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Shortly after graduation, Miss O’Connell relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to begin a new chapter in her life as an educator and advocate.

Miss O’Connell relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in July, 2008 to follow her dream and become a more diverse educator and advocate. Miss O’Connell has experience teaching in Fulton County as an 8th and 6th grade Co-Teacher and case manager. After two years in Fulton County, she helped to open a Charter School in South Atlanta as the Education Coordinator. Miss O’Connell’s life was forever changed by the students and families at the Charter School and it ensured her that she is an educator of all children.

Miss O’Connell continues to be inspired by the dedication, motivation and generosity from all the people whom support LaAmistad. Her experience as an educator, case manager and administrator provide her with the knowledge and experience to be an affective advocate for all LaAmistad students. Miss O’Connell will continue to make a difference in the life of a child by advocating for the students at LaAmistad. She is proud to join LaAmistad as the Education Specialist and will share her knowledge to support LaAmistad’s extraordinary program.

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself"
John Dewey