Community Action Partnership Staff Members
Chief Executive Officer
She was appointed the Partnership’s CEO in 2014 after serving as Senior Director of Training and Technical Assistance and Interim Chief Operating Officer. Working with Community Action Network partners, Denise was instrumental in the design and deployment of network-wide Organizational Standards and was a leader in the recent update to the Community Action performance management framework.
Contact Denise
Email: dharlow@communityactionpartnership.com
Please click here to read Denise's extended bio
To reach Denise, please email dharlow@communityactionpartnership.com.
Phone: (202) 265-7546
Johnny Eudaly
Communications & Branding Assistant
Phone: (202) 860-1032
Email Johnny
Senior Associate for Public Policy & Advocacy
(202) 860-1027
Johnny's bio
Johnny Eudaly is the Communications & Branding Assistant at the Partnership. In this role, Johnny is responsible for developing and implementing social media strategy, managing email newsletter production, graphic design, photography and video production. Johnny holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature, Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Cincinnati.
Ryan's bio
Ryan Gelman serves as the Senior Associate for Public Policy and Advocacy for the National Community Action Partnership. He recently completed a legislative fellowship in the U.S. Senate focusing on pretrial justice and previously served as Legislative Director for a Massachusetts State Senator. He has a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law where he concentrated on constitutional law and public policy.
Alexa's bio
Alexa Hayes has a Master’s degree in Art History and is currently pursuing her Master’s in PR and Communications at Georgetown University. While she recently moved to Washington, DC, from Alabama, she has lived in many states, which has informed much of her interest in and passion for nonprofit work. Alexa’s focus at the Partnership is on events but she dabbles in graphic design for the other teams and also works on the website.
Kevin's bio
Prior to joining the Partnership in June of 2016, Kevin Kelly served as managing director of a local microenterprise lender in Arlington, Virginia, the Enterprise Development Group. His previous experience at the national level includes policy director for the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, a variety of program related positions at the National Congress for Community Economic Development, and as program officer for a grant maker, the Campaign for Human Development.
Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from California State University at Fullerton and a master’s degree in Political Science from the American University in Washington, DC.
Courtney's
Courtney Kohler serves as a Senior Associate for T/TA with the National Community Action Partnership, working under the Human Capacity and Community Transformation Center of Excellence and Learning Communities Resource Center. Previously, she worked as Program Director for the Missouri Community Action Network (CAN) where she did curriculum design, trainings, grant management, and program development. As a Nationally Certified ROMA Trainer, CCAP, and FDC Instructor, areas of training expertise include community needs assessment, strategic planning, family development, board roles and responsibilities, organizational standards, customer satisfaction, ROMA, and leadership development. Courtney also leads efforts for Community Action Academy, the Partnership’s online learning management system. She holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Louisville and Master’s in Public Affairs from the University of Missouri. Prior to Community Action, she worked in the mental health field, hospice research, and coached gymnastics and dance. Courtney lives in mid-Missouri with her husband, Matthew, and 3 children, Emma, Addilyn, and Clarke.
Kathryn's bio
Kathryn Maddux is the Project Director for Energy Partnerships, Community Action Partnership. Kathryn is an anti-poverty advocate whose social policy lens is informed by work in the federal government and at the local level in rural, urban and suburban settings. Recent positions include strategizing and implementing a two-generation approach with Head Start families at a Community Action Agency in Maryland, and serving as the special assistant to the Director of the Office of Community Services, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kathryn started her career as an AmeriCorps volunteer in New Hampshire and then served as a child welfare case worker in Boston, Massachusetts and in her hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University.
Lindsay Marsh
Senior Associate, Special Projects – Census Engagement
(202) 860-1031
Email Lindsay
Tiffney's bio
Tiffney Marley is the Vice President for Practice Transformation at the National Community Action Partnership, where she leads training and technical assistance strategies to maximize impact and transform anti-poverty practices of the Community Action Network. This work has many dimensions including leadership of the National Learning Communities Resource Center (LCRC)—the national Community Action innovations hub for addressing the causes and conditions of poverty, working with CAAs to redesign their programmatic strategies, and collaborating with governmental and private stakeholders on special initiatives to transform organizations and systems. A Whole Family Approach and Institutional Equity leader, Tiffney has successfully led multiple intensive technical assistance cohorts aimed to transform organizational and anti-poverty practice. She also serves as a thought-partner to the CEO on national racial equity implementation and other strategic initiatives.
Tiffney is a Head Start Alumni and touts her personal transformation from being Community Action customer to becoming a national Community Action leader. She has close to 9 years of Community Action professional experience, having served as the Training Coordinator for the North Carolina Community Action Association prior to joining the Partnership team.
Tiffney is the former Director of Black Church Studies at Duke University Divinity School and has over 17 years of senior-level experience in the academic, faith-based, and nonprofit sectors. She is a Certified Community Action Professional, Nationally Certified ROMA Master Trainer, and a Rx Racial Healing Practitioner. She also holds a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate from Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Mathematics Education from North Carolina State University. Her biggest accomplishment is that she is the mother of twins, Randi and Jesse, whom she is grooming to become future leaders.
Lindsay's bio
Lindsay Marsh comes to the Partnership from the Office of Community Service at the US Department of Health and Human Services. Her previous work has taken her across the country working issue and political campaigns, organizing, doing data research, and fundraising. Lindsay is a former small business owner; she co-founded a social media company specializing in online fundraising and social justice work and a liquor distribution company. Long an advocate of civic and social engagement, she is thrilled to work on a project that combines her extensive organizing skills with the real world effects that the census brings to the population the Network serves most. Lindsay holds a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and a master’s degree in Political Management, both from the George Washington University. In her spare time, Lindsay is an avid cyclist, runner, and triathlete. She is based out of Denver, Colorado.
Program Associate, Training & Technical Assistance
Xandy's bio
Hyacinth McKinley is the Senior Associate for Learning & Dissemination at the Partnership. In this role she is responsible for resource development, content dissemination, and peer-to-peer engagement on the Learning Communities Resource Center, with a special focus on financial empowerment, trauma-informed care, and racial equity. She also facilitates technical assistance and communication efforts on the Community Action Economic Mobility Initiative, which focuses on a whole family approach (two-generation) work. She brings to this role her extensive experience with non-profit training coordination, research, and data analysis from projects that partnered some of the nation’s largest non-profit organizations. She holds a Master of Arts from the George Washington University, is a Nationally Certified ROMA Trainer, and a certified Racial Healing Facilitator.
Aimee's bio
Aimee Roberge is an experienced social services professional, most recently having managed operations and development for an advocacy nonprofit in Washington D.C. and served as an advisor for young pregnant and parenting mothers in a New York City homeless shelter. She has research and data analysis skills and has studied the intersection between policy, practice, and organizational systems supporting low-income youth and families. As the LCRC Program Associate, Aimee is responsible for resource curation, development and dissemination as well as communications and grants management support. She holds a Human Development and Family Studies/Human Rights degree from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Public Administration degree from Baruch College with a focus in nonprofit management and social policy. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, concerts, reading, meeting new people, and exploring.
Jovita's bio
With a passion for increasing the economic mobility of America’s most vulnerable citizens, Jovita A. Tolbert joined the Community Action Network, working with the National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP), shortly after graduating college. During her ten year tenure at NASCSP, Ms. Tolbert gained a wealth of experience providing management support and technical assistance to all levels of the Community Action Network. More specifically, she provided policy guidance and advocated for the preservation and advancement of the Community Services Block Grant. Ms. Tolbert coordinated and provided local, state, and national trainings with the goal of increasing the Network’s capacity and effectiveness. She also worked with Community Action to document and disseminate best practices from within Network and the anti-poverty field as a whole.
During her four year tenure as Deputy Director with the national Community Action Partnership, Ms. Tolbert has assisted in managing agency operations and human resources. She also oversees member services, benefits, recruitment and retention. Another key responsibility is the coordination of annual conferences and other training events. Ms. Tolbert also oversees agency and member communications.
Ms. Tolbert holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Public Policy, Management, and Planning from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, CA.
Coordinator, Member Services & Administration
Phone: (202) 860-1029
Vice President, Organizational Capacity Building
Aaron's bio
Aaron Wicks began his career in Community Action working at Action for a Better Community, in Rochester NY. He credits his passion for Community Action to his mentor, James H. Norman. In his 15 years at this local CAA, Aaron helped support the agency’s strategic plan, community assessment, outcomes reporting, compliance, customer satisfaction, grantwriting, advocacy and other programmatic and organizational needs. Aaron is a Certified Community Action Professional (CCAP) and a Nationally Certified ROMA Trainer. Aaron holds a PhD in political science from the University of Rochester and has worked as an adjunct professor teaching courses in American politics and public administration. Aaron lives in Rochester, NY with his partner, Kelly, and children Dylan and Sydney.
Grants Compliance Coordinator
Cashin's bio
Cashin Yiu comes most recently from a non-profit, Global Integrity, that supports learning centered approaches to complex governance challenges around the world. She served as Operations Associate covering everything from finance to human resources to performance management to communications.
Prior to that, Cashin was with Community Action Partnership for 6 years from 2011 – 2016. She held a variety of roles including Special Assistant to the CEO, Program Associate focused on the Organizational Standards, Program and Events Coordinator for the training and technical assistance (T/TA) team, and Program Support Specialist for the National Training Center. She is excited to return to the Partnership and combine her knowledge of the Community Action Network and T/TA issues with her experience in nonprofit operations to support the grants and contracts teams as they successfully carry out their work.
She is originally from Georgia where she attended the University of Georgia and earned a degree in International Affairs. She worked in the DC area for 8.5 years before moving to Charlotte, NC in 2019 where she continues to work remotely.