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M
URIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
February 2, 2025
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
In accordance with section
2 of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-
142; D.C. Official Code § 1- 523.01), and pursuant to section 102 of the Commission on Poverty
Establishment Amendment Act of 2020, effective March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-184; D.C. Official
Code § 3-641.02), I am pleased to nominate the following individual:
Dr. Marla Dean
O Street, SE
Washington, DC 20020
(Ward 7)
for reappointment as an at -large representative member of t he Commission on Poverty for a term to
end November 18, 2028.
Enclosed, you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-m entioned
nominee, together with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation process.
I would appreciate the Council’s earliest consideration of this nomination for confirmation. Please
do not hesitate to contact me, or Steven Walker, Director, Mayor’s Office of Talent and
Appointments, should the Council require additional information.
Sincerely,
Muriel B owser
Mayor
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at the request of the Mayor
A PROPOS ED RESOLUTION
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To confirm the reappointment of Dr. Marla Dean to the Commission on Poverty.
RESOLVED , BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA , That this
resolution may be cited as the "Commission on Poverty Dr. Marla Dean Confirmation
Resolution of 2026".
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia confirms the reappointment of:
Dr. Marla Dean
0 Street, SE
Washington, DC 20020
(Ward 7)
as an at-large representative member of the Commission on Poverty, established by section 102
of the Commission on Poverty Establishment Amendment Act of 2020, effective March 16, 2021
(D.C. Law 23-184; D .C . Official Code§ 3-641.02), for a term to end No vember 18, 2028.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Office of the Mayor.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
MARLA M. DEAN
VISIONARY INNOVATIVE DELIBERATIVE STRATEGIC
Marla is a servant, advocate, innovator, and leader. She leverages over 30 years of education, nonprofit, and
philanthropic mastery in her consulting firm dedicated to ensuring all children are healthy, safe, engaged,
supported, and challenged. She is committed to ensuring that all families and communities thrive. She fiercely
advocates for communities and individuals who are farthest from opportunity.
Marla presented a TEDx titled 2Gen Policies: A Pathway Out of Poverty (October 2021) – TEDx Oronoco Bay
Park
Marla received the Washington Business Journal 2024 Nonprofit Health (Equity) Leader – Inaugural Class of
Innovators in Health Care Awards
EXPERTISE
o Community, Donor & Funder Relations
o Curriculum Design
o Facilitation
o Health Equity & Economic Justice
o High-Expertise Teaching &
Instructional Leadership
o Leadership Development
o Nonprofit Management, Oversight &
Compliance
o Organizational Development
o Project Management
o Strategic Advising
o Whole-Child & Two-Generation Policy
and Approaches
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
2016-present
Founder and Chief Learning & Innovation Officer at Dean’s List Consulting, a firm committed to education,
non-profit, and philanthropic transformation.
Dean’s List Consulting current and most recent clients include:
Greater Washington Community Foundation
o Strategic Advisor. Counselor to the CEO on Washington DC matters – democracy, home rule, government
relations, nonprofit landscape, community engagement, and resilience.
o Health Equity Fund. Project lead for a $95 million fund addressing health inequities in Washington, D.C.
• Worked with members of the Health Equity Committee to develop the strategy, theory of change,
goals, and outcomes of the Health Equity Fund.
• In a three-year period, distributed over $63 million to 115 D.C. nonprofits committed to working on
the issues of health equity, economic justice, and wellbeing.
• Designed a policy, advocacy, and systems cohort that provided the Greater Washington Community
Foundation’s largest ever investment of $12.5 million in policy and advocacy to 12 organizations.
• Designed a $55 million demonstration project grant round that has currently funded $29.7 million for
6 health-equity, economic-mobility, and individual or community wealth-building projects.
• Created an $11.5 million Meet the Moment emergency response to address a changing national
landscape and its direct impact on Washington, D.C.
• Designed and produced The Community Foundation’s first Health Equity and Economic Justice Summit.
A recap of the event can be found here: https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/news/with-equity-
amp-economic-justice-for-all-the-community-foundation-hosts-the-2024-health-equity-summit
• The Health Equity & Economic Justice Summit program booklet can be found here:
https://online.fliphtml5.com/yizsg/qsvi/#p=3
o Developing Families Maternal Health Fund. Strategic consultant and advisor for a multimillion-dollar
fund supporting two-generation practices to address infant and maternal health, mortality, and
morbidities.
o Sharing DC. Strategic consultant and facilitator for a fund educating donors about the community and
investing in nonprofits working on the region’s most pressing needs.
AsylumWorks. Lead consultant providing compliance support for federal grants.
Aspen Institute, Ascend Network. Lead facilitator and project manager collaborating with the American Public
Human Services Association and Ascend to promote two-generation practices.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Lead consultant providing whole-child
services for K-12 school systems across the country.
https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/hectic-schedule-threatens-teachers-quality-of-life
Bellwether Education Partners. Consultant providing technical assistance on the Catherine Hershey Schools for
Early Learning program model design.
Campagna Center. Lead consultant providing research and strategy for redesign of programming for young
adult English-language learners.
Child Care for Every Family Network. Lead consultant working to connect the Network and its work to national
Black women’s organizations.
District of Columbia Association for the Education of the Young Child. Lead consultant providing program
accreditation services for early childhood centers.
GOODProjects, Black Justice Institute. Lead facilitator and curriculum designer for the Black Justice Fellowship.
Invision LLC, Executive Sanctuary. Co-facilitator and executive coach to a small group of seasoned nonprofit
CEOs to help them overcome obstacles, build new strategies, and scale impact.
Kids’ First Years. Strategic advisor and lead consultant in building a collaborative ecosystem involving the city
government, school district, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit stakeholders to strengthen Alexandria’s early
childhood education system as well as developing a Common Agenda strategic framework.
New Hope Housing. Lead consultant in developing a strategic plan and providing the board of directors and
staff with trainings on change management.
National Association for Education of the Young Child. Lead facilitator of a national childcare provider
consistency group in collaboration with the Child Care for Every Family Network.
EXPERIENCE
December 2016-November 2021
Executive Director & CEO, Bright Beginnings, Inc. (BBI), Washington, D.C. Served as the chief executive officer
of a Washington, D.C. non-profit dedicated to serving children and families experiencing homelessness with a
two-generation approach.
• Developed and maintained donor, board, and community relations.
• Managed the building and opening of a state-of-the-art, $19+ million, 20,000 sq. ft, early childhood
education and family learning center in the Ward 8 community of Washington, D.C., including the use and
management of new market tax credits (NMTC).
• Expanded the operations from a single-site to a multi-site organization.
• Expanded the organizational reach, outcomes, and impact from a $5 million-dollar to a $9 million-dollar
organization.
• Developed the BBI economic mobility matrix to successfully measure the outcomes and impact of a two-
generation approach to ending child and family homelessness and disrupting intergenerational poverty.
• Led and transformed the organization to meet the moment during the COVID pandemic.
April 2015-November 2016
Executive Director of Schools/Senior Director of Accountability, Cesar Chavez Schools for Public Policy,
Washington, D.C. Monitored, coached, evaluated, and supervised all principals. Oversight included student
achievement, staff evaluations, parent involvement, school safety, personnel decisions, staff attendance, school
climate, data analysis as it drives instruction, professional development, leadership training, and community
partnerships. Designed, implemented, and monitored a Leadership Development Program for the organization.
July 2014-April 2015
Principal, Randallstown School, Baltimore County Public Schools (MD).
July 2010-June 2014
Turnaround Principal, Drew-Freeman Middle School, Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD).
July 2008-June 2010
Executive Associate Principal, T.C. Williams High School, Alexandra City Public Schools (VA).
July 2007-June 2008
Assistant Principal, Northwest High School, Montgomery County Public Schools (MD).
July 2003-June 2007
Port Huron Northern/Port Huron High Schools, Port Huron Area School District (MI).
September 1992–June 2003
English and Social Studies Teacher, Detroit Public Schools (MI).
NONPROFIT, PHILANTHROPIC, OR COMMUNITY WORK
o Chair, Ward 7 Education Council, Washington, D.C., the education advocacy organization for Ward 7.
o Mayoral Appointee, Chair, Commission on Poverty, Office of The Mayor, Washington, D.C.
o Mayoral Appointee, School Boundaries and Student Assignment Committee, Office of Deputy Mayor
of Education, Washington, D.C.
o D.C. Council Appointee, Early Childhood Educator Equitable Compensation Task Forces I and II,
District of Columbia City Council.
o Member, Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) Policy Council, a national body of policy experts on a
range of education and education-adjacent issues.
o Former Eastern Region Program Manager, Delta Teacher Efficacy Campaign, Delta Research &
Education Foundation, Washington, D.C.
o Former Mayoral Appointee, Inaugural Member, Thrive by Five Coordinating Council, Office of The
Mayor, Washington, D.C.
o Former D.C. Council Appointee, 2022 Ward 7 ANC Redistricting Taskforce, Washington D.C.
o Former Member, 2022 Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia – Elect Transition
Team, Youth Support Subcommittee, Washington, D.C.
o Former Member, District of Columbia Public Schools, Strategic Planning Committee, Washington, D.C.
o Former Advisory Council Member, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), Washington, D.C.
BOARD SERVICE
o Chair, Board of Directors, Philanthropy DMV (formerly WRAG), membership association composed of
over 100 of the Greater Washington region’s leading foundations and corporate giving programs.
• Led a successful CEO transition after P-DMV had a series of high-profile CEO transitions.
o Chair, Board of Directors, birdSEED Foundation, an organization dedicated to erasing the racial wealth
gap and ensuring black homeownership in Washington, D.C. and throughout the nation.
• Served as the first national board chair of birdSEED which awarded $900,000 in provisional grants,
assisted over 40 BIPOC home buyers in purchasing their first homes, and expanded birdSEED
grantmaking to Philadelphia, PA.
o Member, Board of Directors, DC Early Learning Collaborative (DCELC), an organization dedicated to
working with a wide range of stakeholders to improve the quality, quantity, and affordability of high-
quality early care and education services in the District of Columbia.
• Served on the Early Childhood Educator Equitable Compensation Task Force which established the
Pay Equity Fund that secured over $83 million in funding and created pay parity between early
childhood educators and their K12 peers.
o Member, Board of Directors, Community Educational Research Group, an early childhood education
nonprofit located exclusively in Wards 7 and 8.
• Led the organization’s growth strategy that will result in the opening of the organization’s 4th site, a
state-of-the-art early childhood facility at Skyland Towne Center in 2025.
o Member, Board of Directors, R Street Institute, a center-right think tank built to tackle today’s most
complex problems using libertarian principles.
• Served on this board in an earnest attempt to bridge differences and create understanding in a
deeply divided United States of America.
PRESENTATIONS
o TEDx Talk Speaker, Topic: 2 Gen Policies: A Pathway Out of Poverty – TEDx Oronoco Bay Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uiIwKoK_oc
o Presenter, Topic: Innovator Talk: Connecting Education to a Health Equity & Economic Justice Agenda –
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Annual Conference
o Presenter, Topic: Turnaround – National Association of Black School Educators Annual Conference
o Presenter, Topic: Whole Child – Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Annual
Conference
o Presenter, Topic: Using the Whole Child Philosophy to Turn Around a School – Maryland ASCD Super
Saturday Conference
o Presenter, Topic: The Journey of Two Turnaround Principals – Common Ground Conference
o Presenter, Topic: High Expertise Teaching – Learning Forward Annual Conference
o Speaker, Topic: A Strong Start for All Children – The Atlantic Education Summit
o Presenter, Topic: Can Restorative Practices Succeed Without Community Support? – Congressional Black Caucus
Annual Legislative Conference
AWARDS AND MILESTONES
o National Coalition of 100 Black Women Metropolitan Washington DC – 2025 She’s 100 Equity Award
o Washington Business Journal 2024 Nonprofit Health (Equity) Leader – Inaugural Class of Innovators in
Health Care Awards https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2024/09/25/marla-dean-health-
equity-fund.html
o Seeding Disruption Fellowship, 2024 Cohort, Equity Lab
o Ward 7 Democrats 2024 Changemaker Award
o 2023 Empowered Women Award Recipient, East of the River Family Strengthening Collaborative
o Leadership Greater Washington, Class of 2020
o Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) Boulder Fund Recipient
o CityBridge Foundation Education Innovation Entrepreneur Fellowship
o Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award
o Washington Post Helping Hands
o District of Columbia Federation of Civic Associations - Grassroots Award
o Prince George’s County Board of Education Community Service Award
o Detroit Public Schools Outstanding Educator Award
Executive Office of the Mayor – Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments
John A. Wilson Building | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004
Dr. Marla Dean
Dr. Marla Dean is the Founder and Chief Learning and Innovation Officer
at Dean’s List Consulting, a firm dedicated to providing strategic
advisement, project management, and coaching to nonprofits,
philanthropic organizations, school systems, and social enterprises across
the country.
Dr. Dean has over 30 years of teaching, coaching, leadership, nonprofit,
and executive experience. She is a former English and government
teacher, assistant principal, middle and high school principal, turnaround
principal, chief of schools and a non-profit CEO in District of Columbia,
Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia.
Dr. Dean is also the strategic advisor for the Health Equity Fund at the Greater Washington
Community Foundation. Moreover, she serves as the current chair for Ward 7 Education Council
and the board chair for the birdSeed Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensuring Black and
Brown homeownership in cities with rapid displacement.
A Ward 7 resident, Dr. Dean earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and her Master of
Arts in Teaching and Learning from the University of Michigan. She also conducted her doctorate
studies in Educational Leadership and Organizational Theory at the University of Pennsylvania.
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser
Office of the General Counsel to the Mayor
______________________________________________________________________________
The John A. Wilson Building • 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 300 • Washington, D.C. 20004 • Office (202) 724-7681
To: Tomas Talamante, Steve Walker
From: Betsy Cavendish
Date: January 13, 2026
Subject: Legal sufficiency review of Resolution s nominating David Schultz, Isaac Harris,
YaVonne Boyd, Lamar Richards, Cesar Toledo , Elijah Moses, Khadijah
Williams, Marla Dean, Debra Kilpatrick Byrd, Patricia Stamper, and Nechama
Masliansky as members of the Commission on Poverty
This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above -referenced resolution s and
found them to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not
hesitate to call Erika Satterlee, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Mayor, at 202-
724-1303, or me at 202-724-7681.
______________________________
Elizabeth A. (Betsy) Cavendish