Board of Directors

Director, Local Programs and Policy
Wider Opportunities for Women

Camille Cormier, is Director of Local Programs and Policy at Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW). She brings over 20 years of significant and varied experience in educational program development, fundraising and research in employment and education issues to the Local Director position.

In her prior position, Ms. Cormier worked on Mayor Anthony William's Adult and Lifelong Learning Initiative, where she developed and implemented adult literacy programs for the DC Department of Employment Services' One-Stop Career Centers. Previously, Ms. Cormier has worked with various adult education providers in and around DC to develop programs focused on the GED (high school equivalency), ESOL (English as a Second Language), technology-based instruction, and targeted job training, including non traditional jobs for women. In addition, she is Treasurer of the Board of Directors of DC LEARNs, the Washington area's membership literacy coalition. Ms. Cormier lived in Latin America in the mid-90's, is fluent in Spanish and quite familiar with immigrants' training and education needs in the US. She has also monitored state, local, and employer compliance with Federal labor laws in several divisions of the US Department of Labor.

Ms. Cormier holds a Master's Degree in International Training and Education from American University in Washington, DC.

Ms. Zimmer is the Executive Director and co-founder of Dumbarton Concerts. An activist in the Washington D.C. performing arts community for over 20 years, she is a strong advocate for the dynamic role that the arts can play in the inner city community. In 1994, she launched Inner City-Inner Child, the innovative, award-winning program that uses the arts to promote literacy as well as to improve the quality of inner-city early child care in the District of Columbia.

Ms. Zimmer serves on the boards of First Book, a national literacy initiative, the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Early Childhood Development and the Washington Conservatory.

Dorthea Curry is a long time resident of Washington. Her journey into the literacy arena began when she completed the External Diploma Program. She has also taken creative writing courses at UDC. Ms. Curry has been employed as a secretary at a government agency for the last three years. Ms. Curry is passionate about adult literacy and volunteers for Living Wages, an adult literacy program. She is excited to be able to make a contribution to adult literacy as a D.C. LEARNs board member.

Senior Director
Education and Outreach
WETA

Ferne Barrow is the senior director of outreach at WETA. There she directs community development activities designed to enhance WETA's visibility on the local and national levels. Ms. Barrow has a depth of experience in outreach and education. She came to WETA from the position of director of outreach and program development for Children's Express, an international news service reported by children ages 8-18. Her responsibilities included overall project management for the organization's diversity initiative and development of earned income products for educational workplace and consumer markets. Ms. Barrow previously held positions at the public relations firm, Govatos and Partners and The Learning Channel.

Ms. Barrow is a member of the Board of Governors of the National Association for Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and a board member of Hispanics Against Child Abuse & Neglect, DC Learns and the Arlington County Multicultural Advisory Commission.

Deputy Press Secretary, White House Office of Management and Budget

Jane Lee has ten years of experience advising leaders in both the private and public sectors in business development and legislative affairs for organizations such as JP Morgan, Deloitte and Touche, the US Department of State, and the US Senate Commerce Committee. She currently works in media relations and communications at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Ms. Lee also serves as a board member of the Washington DC Stanford University Alumni Association and as an executive board member of a women's professional networking group. She is a graduate of Stanford University (MA) and Columbia University (MPA. MS).

John Muller is a senior at George Washington University. He is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of DreamCity Theatre Group. He also sits on the DC Youth Advisory Council in the Executive Office of the Mayor representing Ward 2. John has volunteered with the Adult Literacy Resource Center for over three years. He has taught at the Ward 7 Higher Achievement Center for the past two years. Due to his commitment to volunteerism and social justice, John received a Presidential Lifetime Call to Service Award in 2005. John looks forward to continuing to learn from and contribute to the active community programming of D.C. LEARNs.

Latrena M. Owens is a native of Virginia Beach, VA. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and a Masters degree in Adult Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. Latrena arrived in the District in 2004 to work with the Mayor’s Literacy Initiative as a Lifelong Learning Coach. Currently she is in the District of Columbia’s Capital City Fellows program working in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

Latrena has worked with adults for ten (10) years in various capacities; as a volunteer reading tutor, volunteer transition teacher, mentor, and she is currently an ESL Placement Advisor for the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia. She loves learning and has a passion for working with adults.

Chief
Adult Literacy Resource Center
District of Columbia Public Library

Marcia Harrington has over 25 years experience in teaching, training, coordinating and managing educational programs for adult developing readers. Since 1975, she has worked with many adult literacy and basic education programs for native speakers of English and for speakers of other languages. For the past 12 years she has been Chief of the Adult Literacy Resource Center at the D.C. Public Library and is responsible for planning and coordinating the Library's services and outreach to adult developing readers and adult literacy practitioners. She holds a B.A. and M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Certificate of Advanced Studies from the Johns Hopkins University and has done graduate work in linguistics and reading at American University and the University of Maryland.

Sharon Suggs grew up in Washington, DC. She holds a BA in Sociology and Education and earned a Masters in Library Science from Catholic University. She worked for DC Public Library for 37 years, before retiring this past February. She is passionate about books and their power to enrich the lives of others, and it gives her great pleasure to see individuals using their new literacy skills to navigate their daily lives.