Staff of the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation

Mario Ahmad, CPA, J.D., Eisenhower’s Director for Financial Planning and Management, works closely with its department heads and the Chief Financial Officer to help plan the foundation’s future. Ahmad brings with him an impressive resume: a master’s degree in business as well as a juris doctorate from Columbia University, among others. He has extensive experience in accounting, finance, and business law, and while with the American Institute of CPAs, edited its Accounting Resource Center Manual, used by CPAs nationally to establish and maintain pro bono accounting services. Back to Top

Aida Balsano, Ph.D., is Director for Policy Analysis and Evaluation. She received her doctorate in child and adolescent development at Tufts University, MA.  Prior to joining the Eisenhower Foundation, Dr. Balsano worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University.  Her work at the Institute focused on identifying and exploring individual and contextual characteristics that combine to promote healthy development, adaptation, and thriving in children and youth. Her research also includes work on positive youth development (PYD) and youth civic engagement in high-risk/low assets communities. Back to Top

Eddie W. Banks is Director for Problem-Oriented Community Policing Replications. A hands-on professional, he provides encouragement and opportunities for inner-city youth and is widely recognized as a "doer". After twenty years with the D.C. Police Department, Eddie retired as a Sergeant; however, his commitment to improving the lives of youth continued to surge. He then advanced to become the Director of Field Operation of the Metropolitan Boys' and Girls' Club and later joined the Eisenhower Foundation in 1995. Back to Top

Susan Campbell is the Director for Public Policy Outreach. Susan has over 20 years of management and leadership experience in marketing and communications. She offers a high level of expertise in strategic planning, problem solving and creative collaborative solutions. Her expertise focuses on business and industrial analysis, image and branding, business development and contracting. Susan has worked extensively in the private sector and workforce development. She was selected to serve as the private sector manager of Wisconsin's 'beta' Welfare-to-Work initiative. Serving as an expert in the creation of Welfare-to-Work models, she consulted with the states of Michigan, California and Texas, and Canada and the United Kingdom. In the areas of marketing and communications, Susan worked on accounts such as Hewlett-Packard, National Football League, Pfizer, Abbott Labs, Koehler, Nortel, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and IBM. A native Californian, Susan received her undergraduate degree from United States International University, Cal Western in San Diego. Back to Top

Alan Curtis, Ph.D., is the President and CEO of the Foundation. Dr. Curtis was the Executive Director of President Carter's Interagency Urban and Regional Policy Group, served as Urban Policy Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and later administered the $43 million employment and crime prevention demonstration program in public housing that was part of National Urban Policy. Earlier, he was co-director of the Crimes of Violence Task Force of President Johnson's National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. He is author, co-author, or editor of 11 books and member of the Executive Committee of Partners for Democratic Change, which teaches democratic decision-making world-wide. He is a former trustee of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. He has an A.B. in economics from Harvard, an M.Sc. in economics from the University of London and a Ph.D. in urban studies and criminology from the University of Pennsylvania. Back to Top

Martha de Acosta, Ph.D., is Director for Education and Training Programs. Prior to her designation with the Foundation, Dr. de Acosta was the Assistant Director of the Urban Child Research Center at Cleveland State University. Widely published with a focus on families, children and education, Dr. de Acosta has had a career-long interest in identifying and building resources in urban neighborhoods. Back to Top

D.J. Ervin, a Ph.D. from the University of Texas, brings his skills as an urban ecologist and statistician to the Eisenhower Foundation as its Director for Field Operations and Evaluation. In this capacity, Ervin brings 35 years of applied research experience – in such fields as education, substance abuse treatment, mental health, delinquency, and youth development – to help Eisenhower manage, maintain and evaluate its many social-service programs. He is married to Sharron Ervin and has one daughter, Dijais. Back to Top

Christopher Fay, M.A., is the Director for Delancy Street Replication Program. Prior to his appointment with Eisenhower, Mr. Fay was the Executive Director of Broadway Community, Inc (BCI) a community based program for the homeless in New York City. He also is an award winning documentaty filmmaker and an illustrator of children's books. His one-hour documentary, "On A Mission", about drug addiction among the homeless in NYC, now is a standard film used in drug treatment programs. Back to Top

Tracey L. Felder is an Executive Assistant to the President. Due to her initiative, dedication and outstanding learning ability she was specially selected for permanent employment by senior Eisenhower staff from the United Planning Organization Training Program. A longstanding honors student, she graduated from Spingarn Senior High School in 1992. Her background experiences include Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Department of Justice. With a history of volunteerism, she has contributed her skills to the community in a number of organizations, which include Charles Young Elementary School, Head Start, and the Browne Junior High School Girls' Basketball Team. Back to Top

Richard C. Foote, C.P.A., has been the Chief Financial Officer of the Foundation since 1989. A graduate, with distinction, from American University, Mr. Foote also has attended the Graduate Business Schools of American and George Mason Universities and the Law School of American University. He holds life memberships (40 + years) in the American and Greater Washington Institutes of C.P.A.s and also is a member of the Virginia Society of C.P.A.s. Mr. Foote is an ardent amateur musician as well as the Treasurer and Member of the Board of Directors of the Vienna Choral Society. Back to Top

Johnnie Gage is Chief Operating Officer and Director for Youth & Community Programs for the Eisenhower Foundation. He also oversees the Foundation's replication of the Quantum Opportunities Program.  Mr. Gage brings extensive experience in program development, nonprofit management, and building community partnerships.  Mr. Gage hails from Portland, Ore., where he served as Executive Director of the Portland House of Umoja and Director of the Youth Employment Empowerment Coalition.  He formerly served as assistant to Portland City Commissioner Jim Francesconi, where he oversaw and coordinated youth, diversity, and public-safety projects.  As a member of the City of Portland Crisis Response team, Mr. Gage was responsible for responding to the violent homicides of adolescents.  Mr. Gage is a graduate of the Concordia School of Nonprofit Management, and has won numerous national and local awards. Back to Top

Reginald Grant is Deputy Director for Youth Programs at the Eisenhower Foundation, and Director of the Carver Terrace Youth Safe Haven - Police Ministation Program, in Washington, DC. Back to Top

Leila McDowell, Director for Communications and Capacity-Building Replications, has a multi-faceted relationship with the Eisenhower Foundation, having served as its communications director from 2000-2002 and its media consultant, most recently helping the foundation plan media strategies for its new book, Patriotism, Democracy, and Common Sense – now available at Amazon.com. McDowell holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in radio and television production from New York University and was a founding member of the Washington, D.C.-based McKinney & McDowell Associates. Back to Top

Owen Perry is an assistant for Capacity-Building Replications and the Education and Training Programs, working closely with Leila McDowell and Charlene Sinclair.  Owen was a communications intern at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC and at the New Politics Network in London, England.  He graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in print journalism.  While in Ithaca, Owen served as editor of the campus alternative magazine, Buzzsaw Haircut. Back to Top  

Melissa Silvey, Director for Youth Development and Employment Training Replications, also heads two of the foundation’s many out-of-town projects: the Youth Safe Haven and the Quantum Opportunities program in Dover, NH.  She works closely with Johnnie Gage and D.J. Ervin to help bring safety, education, job training and counseling to young people in her region. Originally from Boston, Silvey enjoys her three-year-old daughter, reading, and hiking – “because it is New Hampshire – and home to the White Mountains,” she says. Back to Top

Deborah Simmons Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer manages Eisenhower’s Youth Safe Havens and Quantum Opportunities program. “It’s about what Eisenhower does,” she says of her involvement. “I believe in helping the disadvantaged, caring for the youth, and doing our part to help families.” Before joining us, Simmons was a full-time mom and “a strong advocate of good, strong parent-child relationships,” which she pursued through home schooling for three of her four children. Back to Top

Charlene Sinclair works closely with Leila McDowell as Deputy Director for Capacity Building Replications in Richmond, Va.  As an accomplished media professional and meeting planner, Sinclair most recently helped the foundation stage several successful forums, media events and discussions in Washington, D.C., Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio in support of its most recent book, Patriotism, Democracy, and Common Sense. Back to Top