Baltimore, Maryland, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
The National Summer Learning Association’s (NSLA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Philip Dworkin, formerly of the After-School All-Stars, as its new Chief Executive Officer effective June 3, 2019. Dworkin succeeds founder and interim CEO, Matthew Boulay Ph.D., and will lead the Baltimore-based nonprofit whose work for more than 25 years has focused on expanding high-quality summer learning opportunities across the United States.
“Aaron is the right leader at the right time. His passion and proven leadership in the out of school time field will inspire communities everywhere to prioritize summer learning as essential to shaping young learners and future leaders in this country,” said Jim Quinn, NSLA Board of Directors.
“For the last 25 years, NSLA has advocated for access to quality summer programs and services for our country’s most vulnerable students because we know that what our children do during their summers has a long-term and significant impact on their academic achievement and life chances,” said Boulay. “Aaron brings great energy and extraordinary expertise as a coalition builder, fundraiser, and visionary behind many successful afterschool and summer programs. He will serve NSLA well as the organization launches National Summer Learning Week, July 8-13, 2019 and works year-round to ensure every kid thrives every summer.”
Dworkin joins NSLA having most recently served as President of the After-School All-Stars National Network – a non-profit organization providing free afterschool and summer programs to 90,000 low income students in more than 450 Title I schools in 20 major cities across the United States. Over the last 12 years, Dworkin led the organization through tremendous growth, significantly increasing the number of students served, doubling the After-School All-Stars national footprint and annual revenue, while opening a national office in Washington, D.C. to expand its advocacy efforts.
Dworkin also oversaw the creation and implementation of the After-School All-Stars’ four signature national initiatives, each with their own summer learning program, designed to combat childhood obesity (Sports as a Hook), promote high school and college graduation (We Are Ready), prepare students for careers (CEO: Career Exploration Opportunities) and inspire youth leadership and community service (Life Service Action).
“I am honored and thrilled to join NSLA’s staff, board and partners. Summer provides a high return on investment to communities who harness its power for educational innovation and cross sector collaboration around youth, workforce and professional development,” said Aaron Dworkin. “NSLA has demonstrated the impact summer programs have on the lives of youth and families is both significant and long lasting. I look forward to helping NSLA grow its reach and impact even more.”
Prior to After-School All-Stars, Dworkin founded and directed Hoops & Leaders, an acclaimed summer youth leadership and mentoring program in New York City. He also helped support the creation of Up2Us Sports, a national coalition of sports based youth development programs. Aaron is a frequent presenter at national education conferences, a graduate of Tufts University, a former Coro Fellow in Public Affairs and holds master’s degrees from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He is a member of the 2019 Class of Leadership Greater Washington and serves on the National Board of Directors of the American Camp Association.
“Having led the development of NSLA’s new strategic, I am confident in Aaron’s extraordinary abilities to build on NSLA’s successes and continue the momentum to create smarter summers, brighter futures for children and families everywhere,” said Margaret McKenna, NSLA Board of Directors. “Aaron brings the right blend of experience, both grassroots and national, vision, and deep concern for the kids our programs serve.”
About National Summer Learning Association
The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) is the only national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the achievement gap by increasing access to high-quality summer learning opportunities. NSLA recognizes and disseminates what works in summer learning, develops and delivers capacity-building offerings and convenes and empowers key actors to embrace summer learning as a solution for equity and excellence in education. For more information, visit www.summerlearning.org.
Background
Decades of research, tracked and curated by NSLA, reveal that summer learning loss constitutes a most significant, if largely unrecognized, threat to academic achievement in America. It is primarily during the summer months that tens of millions of American children miss out on quality learning experiences and go backwards academically causing the achievement and opportunity gaps between rich and poor to grow. A deep body of research, however, shows that high-quality summer learning programs maintain and advance students' academic and social growth, keep children safe and healthy, and send students back to school ready to learn. See Summer By the Numbers Infographic.
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