KIPP STRIVE Primary Staff
Ashley Allen, Music Teacher
Bio coming soon.
Yada Beener, Partner Teacher
Yada is a Partner Teacher. She has been working in education for more than five years in private schools located in New York, North Carolina, and Atlanta. Yada’s teaching journey has given her the opportunity to work as a lead teacher for children of various ages, ranging from infants to Pre-Kindergarten. She has also had the pleasure of being the Spanish Curriculum Specialist for the Chapel Hill Cooperative Preschool and worked as a Spanish speaking guide at Discovery Montessori Academy. Yada attended Spelman College where she studied history, education, and Spanish.
Kimberly Bradley, Campus Director of Academic Support
Kimberly serves as the Director of Academic Support. She began her career as a Teach For America corps member in New Orleans as a 4th and 5th grade learning coach. She also worked with Teach For America as a learning team leader, an admissions selector, and was honored to be selected as a regional finalist for the Sue Lehmann Teaching Award in her second year. Kimberly Bradley graduated from The University of Georgia with a degree in Psychology.
Micheal Bray, Partner Teacher
Mike is a Partner Teacher. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a major in Business Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology.
Rebecca Bunnell, Lead Teacher
Rebecca is a Lead Teacher. Prior to joining KIPP STRIVE Primary, she taught first grade at KIPP Philadelphia Elementary in PA. She has also taught at Atlanta Youth Academy, a private school for inner-city children. She was voted Teacher of the Year in 2008 and selected for the Klingenstein Summer Fellowship through Columbia University. Rebecca is a graduate of Texas Christian University where she earned a degree in Early Childhood/Special Education.
Adam Bursh, Enrichment Teacher
Adam serves as the Enrichment Teacher and brings his ability to perform and teach voice, piano, low-brass instruments, drums and music theory to KIPP STRIVE Primary. Prior to joining KIPP STRIVE Primary, he taught with Fulton County Schools. He also founded Chozen Talent Development Agency. Adam received a BA in music from Morehouse College.
La’Jadi Dickson, Enrichment Teacher
La’Jada serves as the enrichment teacher. She has a background in music, dance, stage plays and movies. She has also served as a mentor to children ages five through twelve.
Amy Lowman, Coaching Teacher
Amy is a Coaching Teacher. She previously taught first grade at Deerwood Academy in the Atlanta Public School system as a Teach For America corps member. Amy graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied political science and Spanish, then completed her teacher certification courses at Georgia State University.
McKenzie Currie, Coaching Teacher
McKenzie is a Coaching Teacher. Prior to joining KIPP Atlanta, McKenzie worked with Uncommon Schools as a founding teacher at Rochester Preparatory Elementary School in Rochester, NY where she taught Kindergarten and first grade. McKenzie earned her B.A. in English from Spelman College.
Teresa Hall, Front Office Manager
Teresa is the Front Office Manager. Prior to joining KIPP STRIVE, Teresa most recently worked for the Georgia Counseling and Rehabilitation Services, an agency for, Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFACS). Previously, Teresa retired from the Georgia Power Company, Atlanta, GA after eighteen years of service. Teresa attended Ball State University and Indiana University East.
Kim Hyler, Coaching Teacher
Kim is a Coaching Teacher. She has over five years of early childhood teaching experience. She has also worked at the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta where she served as the Early Reading First Literacy Coach. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Educational Studies with an emphasis in Day Care from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and she obtained her Master’s degree in Elementary Reading and Literacy from Walden University.
Tawni Johnson, School Operations Manager
Tawni serves as the School Operations Manager. Previously, she served as the administrative assistant for the KIPP Metro Atlanta Shared Service Team. Prior to joining KIPP Metro Atlanta, she served as the Administrative Assistant for the City of Atlanta's Office of Procurement. She has a BA in Psychology from Georgia State University.
Omy Mair, Learning Specialist
Omy is the Learning Specialist. She has five years of elementary teaching experience in the state of Georgia. She has been recognized for her teaching through the Teacher of the Year Award and has served four years as Grade Chair in Gwinnett County. Omy earned her B.A. in psychology from Hampton University in Hampton, VA, and her M.Ed. in elementary teaching from Boston College in Boston, MA.
Katrina Morrison, Parent Support Coordinator
Katrina serves as the Parent Support Coordinator. She has years of expertise in customer relations and is an active member of the Atlanta community. While serving as fundraising chair for the Mocha Moms South Fulton chapter, she also initiated and currently manages an active social group of over 300 local families. Katrina founded the A Hug For Haiti' program that collected and distributed over 100,000 toys for the young survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. She is also a parent of a KIPP WAYS Academy graduate. She is currently in pursuit of a sociology degree from Georgia State University.
Crystal Nasir, Director of Campus Operations
Crystal is the Director of Campus Operations. Prior to joining KIPP, Crystal served as an Administrative Lead with both the Marin City Children's Program of Marin City and The Making Waves Education Program of Richmond, California. She also worked as a marketing executive within the health care industry. Crystal graduated from Dominican University in San Rafael, California with a degree in International Management with an emphasis on Global Marketing.
Awilda Perry, Educational Assistant
Awilda is the Educational Assistant. Previously, she served as a bus driver and volunteer for KIPP STRIVE Academy. Awilda is also a founding KSP parent. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut.
Lakeesha Ramdhanie, Lower School Dean
Lakeesha serves as the Lower School Dean. Previously, she served as a Kindergarten Teacher at SPARK Academy of TEAM Schools, a KIPP region in Newark, NJ. She held a variety of roles including Saturday School Coordinator, chair of the Sunshine Committee, and cheerleading coach. Lakeesha attended Spelman College where she received a BA in Psychology.
Marvin Richards, Partner Teacher
Marvin is a Parner Teacher. He graduated from the University of Virginia. He majored in Political and Social Thought, a distinguished interdisciplinary major at the University.
Mini’imah Shaheed, Founding Principal
Mini'imah is the Founding Principal. She is a Teach for America alumna who taught at Ed S. Cook Elementary and Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta. She then served as an assistant principal at J.E. Richards Middle School in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Prior to founding KIPP STRIVE Primary School, Mini’imah helped KIPP STRIVE Academy’s principal, Mr. Chang, to foster community support and recruit prospective families. Mini’imah earned her BA in English Literature at the University of Pennsylvania and a MAT in English Literature from Agnes Scott College.
Elease Slaughter, School Counselor
Bio coming soon.
Tatiana Smith, Partner Teacher
Tatiana is a Partner Teacher. Prior to teaching, she worked in manufacturing management. She ultimately decided to transition into the field of elementary education and began as a volunteer teacher’s aide. Eventually she became a lead teacher at a private pre-K program in Marietta. She has also taught in Beijing, China while studying Mandarin Chinese. Tatiana graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Business from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Jennifer White, Coaching Teacher
Jennifer is a Coaching Teacher. She began her teaching career as a Teach For America corps member in Charlotte, NC where she taught kindergarten and facilitated a professional learning community. She has a BA in Political Science from DePaul University.