It’s a new year and LINC is thrilled to welcome four new staff members! Each of them brings a unique background, skills, and set of experiences that will take our mission to new heights in 2023, and we could not be happier!
Please join us in welcoming:
Deon Daniels, Family Engagement Specialist
Deon Daniels, one of our most dedicated and enthusiastic Very Involved Parents (VIPs), recently joined the team as a Family Engagement Specialist in Staten Island. Deon has a background in teaching and has supported numerous LINC events before becoming a full time staff member. Using literacy strategies that she learned from LINC, Deon taught her youngest daughter how to read and helped her son develop an interest in reading new genres. Her love for LINC programs and children’s success led Deon to become a VIP in South Jamaica, Queens, where she increasingly enjoyed empowering other parents. When she is not working, Deon can be found exploring cultural institutions, hiking at state parks, and baking sweet treats with her husband and three children. Reach Deon at ddaniels@lincnyc.org.
Kiara Santos, Content and Delivery Specialist
Kiara is a passionate educator who’s spent the past 10 years working throughout the city as a History Instructional Leader for Uncommon Schools and a founding English Language Arts teaching Resident for East Harlem Tutorial Program. Kiara switched gears to the tech world, and while working for Apple she developed a deeper understanding of how their technology connects others. An East Harlem native, Kiara believes language is a foundational pillar for binding communities together, and is fluent in English and Spanish.
Growing up, Kiara’s family emphasized the importance of education in order to see and understand the world. Kiara is incredibly excited to join LINC. “I have a deep love for community and language. It is my mission to build a deeper love and understanding for our magical world through reading.” Reach Kiara at ksantos@lincnyc.org.
Allison Zambito, Content and Delivery Specialist
After graduating college, Allison joined Teach for America and worked as an elementary special education teacher in Brooklyn, NY for 3 years. Her favorite part of being an educator was supporting children who are learning to read. She feels there is no greater joy than teaching a child to read and seeing the pure happiness and excitement it brings as they are able to unlock so much new information in their world! She also really enjoys working with parents and families. While teaching, she developed close relationships with many parents and families and found that community involvement was a huge contributor to student success. As a Content and Delivery Specialist, Allison will support the creation and facilitation of parent workshops. She is excited to pursue her passion for supporting children and families with developing literacy skills at LINC. Reach Allie at azambito@lincnyc.org.
Claudia Zeldin, Interim Director of Development
Claudia Zeldin, partner and founder of Growth for Good, recently joined LINC as our Interim Director of Development. Over the course of her career, she has consulted for more than 150 nonprofit, philanthropic, and for-profit organizations. Most recently, Claudia was the Interim Executive Director at Youth Communication and the Interim Development Director at Win - Women in Need.
A student of and advocate for system-wide educational reform and youth engagement, Claudia served as a devoted board member of Harlem RBI (now Dream) after-school programs for over 25 years. She is a founding board member of the DREAM Charter School and served on DREAM’s Strategic Planning Committee. Reach Claudia at czeldin@lincnyc.org.
Join LINC in welcoming these four all stars to our team! We are thrilled to have their expertise and their passion as we continue to cultivate little readers across New York City.
Register for LINC’s latest programs now! Visit: www.lincnyc.org/onlineprograms.