Our Team
Our team brings a diversity of lived and professional experiences and a shared commitment to supporting kids through life’s toughest challenges. We are mission-driven experts in youth development, education, health care, mental health, and social impact.
Staff
Cameryn (Cam) Dews(she/her), Program Director
Cameryn is a nonprofit professional with a background in youth education. Her work is centered on the growth and success of young people and the individuals that support them. Cameryn is committed to building community through shared experiences.
After attending George Washington University, Cameryn began her career in public service at City Year Philadelphia, an AmeriCorps program. She spent 2 years in Philadelphia working with children from K-8 schools in literacy, math and social emotional learning. In addition, she guided 6 team members through their own service year. She co-ran an affinity group space where members connected around shared identity and promoted diversity, equity and inclusion.
Most recently, Cameryn was a Learning Coordinator at Saga Education, a high impact, in-school tutoring nonprofit. She managed a caseload of over 140 public high schoolers and helped coach a team of 6 Fellows. She prioritized collaboration with parents, guardians, teachers and the administration to create more equitable learning for students.
Outside of work, Cameryn enjoys cooking and baking, antiquing, and exploring the state of California she now calls home.
Cassy Horton (she/her), Executive Director
Cassy is a nonprofit leader who has devoted her career to improving outcomes for kids. For a decade, she championed the needs of 130,000 students from all walks of life attending over 250 Los Angeles-area nonprofit charter public schools. As Vice President of Local Advocacy for the California Charter Schools Association, Cassy and her team worked closely with public officials, educators, parents and community organizations to advocate for policies ensuring that students received the academic, socio-emotional and financial support they need. Previously, she managed program and fundraising work at Los Angeles Team Mentoring, an afterschool program for middle-school kids from under-resourced communities.
Cassy received her bachelor’s degree in political science and public affairs from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her MBA in Entrepreneurship, Strategic Management, and Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. At Booth she was a member of the selective Neubauer Civic Scholars Program for nonprofit and government professionals and received the Rustandy Center's 2022 Social Impact Leadership Award. She has served on the boards of the youth-focused nonprofits DYI Girls and 9Dots. Cassy is currently part of the Downtown Women’s Center Los Angeles Leadership Circle and the volunteer co-founder of the DTLA Residents Association. Outside of work, Cassy spends her time eating her way through Los Angeles and any new city she visits via foot, public transit, or e-bike.
Kelsey Mora (she/her), Chief Clinical Officer
Kelsey is a Certified Child Life Specialist and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who specializes in supporting children and families impacted by medical illness, injury, and grief. She has extensive experience providing individual and group services to children who have a parent with cancer. Kelsey both guides parents and caregivers on how to best support their children and teens as well as creates unique opportunities to help youth make connections, and increase coping and communication throughout a cancer experience.
Kelsey has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in child and adolescence from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Minnesota in Child Psychology and Spanish Studies. Kelsey worked for nearly a decade at Advocate Aurora Health, where she provided hospital-based care to patients and co-led bereavement program implementation for an entire healthcare system. Kelsey is a Registered Wonders and Worries Provider and provides professional and consultative services in private practice. Kelsey is the author of The Dot Method: an interactive tool to teach kids about cancer. When she is not working, Kelsey enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and two young children.
Mike Pope, Interim Development Director
Mike Pope brings a wealth of expertise to the nonprofit world as a seasoned development professional, accomplished leadership coach, and educator. With more than a decade of experience, he has dedicated his career to empowering nonprofits across a wide spectrum of fields to reach their fullest potential through relationship-based, data-informed fundraising.
Mike holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University. As a Chicago native born and raised in the city, his philanthropic career has led him to fundraise for some of Chicagoland’s most prominent nonprofits including the League of Chicago Theatres, University of Chicago, Evanston Community Foundation, Merit School of Music, and the Shriver Center, formerly recognized as the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. Mike is experienced in nonprofit development, communications, and program development with a proven track record of raising millions in support for education, social services, and arts organizations.
He has served volunteer leadership roles for Lawrence University, Merit School of Music, Forte Community Music Project, and Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly Chicago Children’s Choir).When he’s not championing philanthropic change, you might spot him sharing his lyrical baritone voice on stages across Chicagoland, engaging in intense bouts of nerdy board games with friends, or refining his skills on the cello.
Iliana Vazuka, (she/her) Associate Chief of Staff
Iliana is a seasoned social impact professional with over a decade of experience in leadership and operations. She has designed and executed new education equity and youth service initiatives for university institutions, public school education systems, and nonprofits. Iliana’s product optimization and behavioral design expertise have helped her drive meaningful new venture growth and innovation in past roles. As the Director of Operations at of a STEM education startup, she developed expansion and quality control protocols that led to a 1400% increase in STEM programming within her first 3 years. She is a former collegiate-level educator and career coach and is skilled in technology and the arts.
Iliana holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in General Management, Operations, Behavioral Science, Entrepreneurship, and Strategy. Iliana also has a proven track record of centering diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a Forté Fellow, member of the Dean’s Diversity Advisory Committee, and community co-chair for the LGBTQ+ student resource group, she actively contributed to fostering an inclusive, collaborative, community-driven learning environment on campus.
In her free time, Iliana dedicates herself to serving as the Justice Equity Diversity & Inclusion Lead at Volunteering Untapped, and weaves plastic sleeping mats and pillows for the unhoused with Bags and Mats for Those in Need.