2021 has been a year of tremendous growth and transformation for LINC and we are proud to announce a number of new staff. As we embark on our 25th anniversary, we prepare ourselves to support even more families and we are grateful to have these new staff members join us in our efforts. They are excited to get to know the LINC community and for you to get to know them.
Gladys Gomez, Community Engagement Manager, Fordham/Kingsbridge
Gladys is a mother of two children, ages three and eight. She became a LINC VIP in 2019 and has attended LINC programs since 2013, enjoying every one as much as the first! Gladys is a volunteer in her children's schools and her broader community. She believes that literacy is a gift not to be taken for granted and some of the best inheritance we can leave our children. Her dad was illiterate while she was growing up, but he made sure that her family had every opportunity to access books. Gladys looks forward to providing these opportunities and more to her children and those of the LINC communities. She loves to read and keeps a bilingual home, believing strongly that children benefit from learning as many languages as possible and that books are a great way to do it.
Reishmi Brijmohan, Parent Engagement Coordinator, South Jamaica
Reishmi’s journey with LINC began over 5 years ago when her son Shane was part of the Reading Buddies Program (RBP) and she attended the LINC parent workshops at PS160Q. Through the encouragement of LINC staff and support from her child’s school, she landed a job at the Child Center of New York and became the PTA President at P.S. 160. She attended her first LINC training with her daughter Elsa and became a LINC VIP, leading Toddler, Tales, and Tunes programs at the South Jamaica Library. During the pandemic, Reishmi shared LINC’s virtual programs with her family and friends and they happily joined her online. She is proud that she has influenced them to train and become LINC VIPs as well. Reishmi looks forward to spreading the joy of LINC programs and encouraging new parents to participate as the Parent Engagement Coordinator of South Jamaica Queens.
Nanci Pavlisko, Manager of Corporate Philanthropy
Nanci grew up in a family of educators, studied Sociology and Early Childhood Education, and came to NYC in the 1990’s to pursue a career in teaching. But she took a massive detour when offered a job with the Walt Disney Company and spent the next 20+ years focused on advertising sales for a variety of their properties - including FamilyFun, Discover, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com and more. Working for Disney was a wonderful experience that helped her forge amazing relationships and build critical skills, but it was never fully satisfying. She’s spent the last two years devoted to caring for her son, Miles (6yrs old), and volunteering with a local nonprofit that is near and dear to her heart. This time helped clarify that she needed to join the nonprofit sector officially and she began searching for organizations who shared her values and had a mission she was passionate about. Finding LINC felt like Christmas morning. She is so grateful to be welcomed into your family and looks forward to doing great things with all of you.
Dani Stompor, Communications Specialist
Dani dedicated a year of service with NYC Civic Corps to LINC from 2020-2021 year and is thrilled to join the staff full time! Experiencing all that LINC families and staff have accomplished to create literacy-rich neighborhoods and wonderful virtual programs despite the continuing challenges of COVID-19 is humbling and his favorite part of LINC. As the new Communication Specialist, he works to amplify access to and awareness of the tremendous work of LINC programs staff all across the city. Prior to joining LINC, Dani worked as a freelance designer and general manager in the performing arts. He moved to Queens after graduating from Northwestern University, and is currently attending Queens College's Library Science and History dual masters program. When talking with his classmates, Dani likes to emphasize how special LINC’s approach really is— the generosity and commitment of staff and LINC families makes real, concrete change in the lives of New York’s earliest readers.
Meredith Jones, City’s First Readers Manager
Meredith manages the City’s First Readers initiative, collaborating with the initiative's partners to maximize its impact. She also works to build support for the initiative with the City Council and other stakeholders. Meredith first worked with LINC and CFR in her capacity as an FAO Schwarz Fellow at Jumpstart. She has a background in literacy education, having worked as a literacy tutor and a peer writing tutor during college. These experiences made her passionate about systemic change to advance educational equity. Meredith was born in Massachusetts, and she speaks conversational Spanish. She spends as much time as she can at Prospect Park, weather permitting, and enjoys running and taking dance classes. Her favorite children’s book is When You Reach Me, and she loves Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys’s response to it, Wide Sargasso Sea.
Welcome to the LINC team: Gladys, Reishmi, Nanci, Dani and Meredith! Thank you for sharing your diverse work experiences, skills, and passion for educational justice to serve the next generation of little readers. We look forward to partnering with you to advocate for the work that parents and their communities are doing to ensure that their children grow up in literacy rich environments.
For more information about LINC’s current online literacy activities, please visit www.lincnyc.org/onlineprograms