Who We Are

Jordan joined IEL in September 2018. As a program coordinator, Jordan is responsible for financial and human resource support for the IEL staff.

Before joining IEL, Jordan held a variety of internships in the Greater Boston and D.C. metro areas. Her first intern position was with the Washington D.C. branch of the Securities and Exchange Commission in their Office of Financial Management and Filing Fees. The following summer, Jordan was a program intern with uAspire, a Boston-based nonprofit that focuses on assisting young people find and use financial resources available to them when pursuing a college degree.

Jordan graduated from Howard University in May 2018 with a B.B.A. in Finance. During Jordan’s time at Howard she was also a member if Howard University’s women’s varsity soccer team.

Dr. Donnie Hale is a proud father, husband, son, and friend that loves to create possibilities with others.  Dr. Donnie Hale serves as the Regional Deputy Director, Southern Regional TAC. He is responsible for engaging leaders and networks, coaching and supporting, and building capacity for community schools to positively impact youth and families.  Dr. Hale brings 20+ years of experience in higher education, teaching, research, coaching, community building, and relationship cultivation. He previously has served as Executive Director for Community Engagement and Strategic Partnership at Florida Memorial University, Assistant Director for the University of Central Florida – Center for Community Schools, and Director of The Education Effect (University-Assisted Community School Partnership) at Florida International University, and Assistant Professor of Education at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI.   His body of work is focused on race, equity, educational opportunity, college access and human development. His teaching experience has been in areas of sociology, education, African American history, and cultural diversity.

Hale is originally from Stockton, CA.  He attended undergraduate at Willamette University and graduate school at Boise State University.  He is a father to Taylor, Chloe, and Donnie III. Husband to Heather Hale. Proud son to Donnie and Debra Hale and brother to Michael, Michelle, Glen, and Terrence.

Pele Le is a proud second-generation Vietnamese American and a first-generation college graduate of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a B.A.S. in health services management and a minor in psychology, public health, leadership, and Korean.

Prior to joining IEL, Pele bridged communities and developed advocates in his work at universities, state and federal-level civil rights organizations, and nonprofits. At the Southeast Asian Resource Action Center, he advocated for the largest refugee population to ever resettle in the United States, leading equitable outreach research and national community engagement efforts. At the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, he coordinated local grassroots and national campaigns to mobilize the AAPI community for the elections.

Michelle Lessly Blackburn joins IEL as a Policy Coordinator. She brings 15 years of experience in higher education administration and policy research. Her policy work focuses on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Clery Act, and accreditation innovation. Prior to joining IEL, Michelle was the Head of Student Success at an EdTech nonprofit based in San Francisco and worked at MIT in the Division of Student Life. She currently serves as the Executive Director for the Blackburn Foundation, a non-profit focused on college readiness for K-12 students in North Texas. She holds a Doctorate in Law and Public Policy from Northeastern University and a Master’s of Education from Abilene Christian University.

A Texas native, Michelle now lives in Oakland, CA with her husband and son. She spends her free time knitting, reading, and taking on cooking challenges issued by her friends and family.

José Muñoz became the Coalition for Community Schools director in 2017, bringing over 30 years of cross-sector partnership experience in youth, family, and community development. Before joining IEL, he was the executive director of the ABC Community School Partnership in New Mexico. In this role, José scaled up Community Schools from four to 26 in five years, won the first Community Schools Initiative Leadership Award, and hosted the largest Community Schools National Forum to date.

José earned a national legacy award for his work leading gang prevention, intervention, and re-entry programs for the Boys & Girls Clubs. He was also the Coordinator of a national model site for the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and is a founding member of the Southern Nevada Community Gang Task Force.

José and his wife have a blended family of two sons and three daughters. The Muñoz’s serve their community through their church and community groups in their free time.

Sign of getting old.

Mia joined IEL in October 2019. She is responsible for leading IEL’s online communications work and helping to elevate its online presence through our email program, social media platforms, websites and partnerships programs.

Mia brings with her seven-and-a-half years of experience as a digital communications specialist, including leading social media and online campaign efforts for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Her work focused on servicing hardworking union members by creating a platform for their stories and amplifying their voices to help them build better lives and gain agency, as well as educating the masses about the union difference and Labor’s impact on social justice issues.

During that time Mia also earned her MFA at George Mason University where she concentrated on creative nonfiction writing and utilized courses in professional writing and web design to enhance her skills in writing for web to engage a wide variety stakeholders.

Mia currently serves as the D.C. and Northern Virginia chapter co-leader for a Type One Diabetes advocacy group called Type One Run, that connects area diabetics and their friends and family through running and community. She also is a brand ambassador for Old Bust Head Brewing Company.

Mary Kingston Roche leads policy and advocacy efforts to promote the Community Schools approach on the federal and state levels.

Prior to this role, Mary served as manager of government relations for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). In that role, she represented NASSP members as an active voice on Capitol Hill for the best possible federal policies  for the nation’s secondary school leaders and school districts.  At NASSP, Mary also led the lobbying efforts of the nation’s largest education coalition, the Committee for Education Funding, in the role of Hill Teams Co-Chair. Mary is a proud alumna of IEL’s Education Policy Fellowship Program, class of 2011.

Mary received her Master of Public Policy from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Boston University. She began her career teaching middle and high school English in Oakland, Calif.

Christa Rowland believes in the power of uniting communities to create a brighter future for all children. Before joining the IEL team, Christa was the Director of Community Impact at the United Way of Treasure Valley in Boise, Idaho. She helped grow the system of Community Schools in Idaho, founded the Idaho Community School Learning Network, and co-founded the Idaho Coalition for Community Schools.

Christa began her career as a Music Educator, teaching hundreds of students the joy of creating music. She has  a Masters Degree in Public Administration, a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Administration, and Bachelors Degrees in Music Education and Violin Performance.