Meet NTEN's Staff
Holly Ross, Executive Director, holly (at) nten (dot) org
Holly has spent more than five years at NTEN, combing through all the technology fads and listening to the NTEN community to line up the webinars, conferences, and research that will help members use technology to make the world a better place. From ubiquitous access to technology leadership to social media trends, Holly brings the wisdom of the NTEN crowd to the nonprofit sector.
Holly is also editor of "Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders," available from Jossey-Bass.
Holly came to nonprofit technology after working for social change at CALPIRG and during her college days at UC Berkeley. In between meetings and emailing, Holly tries to raise her 3 year old daughter and occasionally pays attention to her fabulous husband.
Annaliese Hoehling, Membership and Outreach Manager, annaliese (at) nten (dot) org
Annaliese comes to NTEN from a literary background, with an MFA in Literary Translation (go ahead and ask her what that is, everyone else does) and an MA in English.
Though she's spent plenty of time in libraries and in front of classrooms, she also found the time to co-direct a small arts-in-education program associated with the University of Arkansas in order to bring poetry and creative writing workshops to students throughout the state and co-found and edit an online journal of international literature in English translation. Both of these experiences have fostered in Annaliese an appreciation for the role of technology in social change, cultural enrichment, and free information endeavors.
Besides reading and checking out how her Fantasy Baseball teams are doing, Annaliese digs the occasional Ultimate Frisbee game or watching her dog try to eat the foam from the waves at the beach.
Brett Meyer, Communications and Web Manager, brett (at) nten (dot) org
Brett recently returned to the United States after two years with the Peace Corps in the West African nation of Mali, where he served as an ICT volunteer at a community radio station, teaching computer maintenance and literacy. Rumors that he recorded and produced a rap about beans are, sadly, all too true.
Prior to the Peace Corps, Brett worked as a freelance writer, programmer, and graphic designer after a series of jobs with technology start-up companies. Since his original plan out of college had been for somebody to pay him to read Thomas Pynchon novels, he was fortunate to have been a techie at heart (who has only recently donated his Commodore Amiga to a computing museum). He graduated in 1996 with degrees in Literature, History, and Creative writing after splitting his studies at Swarthmore College and Pacific University.
Brett has lived on 3 continents and traveled in more than 20 countries. He spends much of his free time playing soccer, but also escapes into the wilderness on frequent backpacking trips, where he and his wife Melissa continue to work on their photography portfolio.
Karl Hedstrom, Data and Systems Manager, karl (at) nten (dot) org
After serving as an AmeriCorps CTC VISTA Volunteer at NTEN since October 2006, Karl recently relocated to Portland, OR after accepting a position to stay on as NTEN's Data and Systems Manager.
Before joining the NTEN team, Karl served for 27 months in Niger, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His focus there was on community development, but he also delved into several other fields including AIDS awareness, environmental education and small income generation. This experience allowed him to see first hand the huge impact technology can have in the nonprofit and development fields.
Karl graduated from Pomona College in 2002 with a BA in Physics, and while these technical skills didn't directly transfer to his work in Niger, they do nicely complement his development experience in his role at NTEN.
Outside of work Karl's a big outdoors enthusiast and often follows the "spur-of-the-moment weekend trip" model to fulfill that need.
Anna Richter, Program Manager, anna (at) nten (dot) org
NTEN adds yet another Peace Corps Volunteer to their ranks with Anna. She served 3 years in Honduras (03-06), working as a water and sanitation technician and later as the director of a local non profit, Guaruma, that focuses on environmental education through computer and photography training. Through working with technology in the developing world, Anna gained a true appreciation for the wonders it can have when used well.
She recently relocated to Portland from Detroit, Michigan, where she spent the past months reaquainting with her family and surviving on random jobs. Anna graduated from Michigan State University in 2002 with a BS in Applied Engineering Science.
Anna enjoys just about anything active and outside, and fills her spare time running, hiking, biking, and swimming. The view of Mount Hood from her new desk is particularly exciting!
Sarah Janczak, Special Projects Coordinator, sarah (at) nten (dot) org
Sarah very happily joins the NTEN team from a background in education.
In her previous position, she worked as an enrollment coach with InsideTrack, helping adult continuing education students from Northeastern University
find an academic program that fit their needs. Working from Portland
OR with students located in Boston MA, Sarah was pushed into using
technology to create bonds with her students when face to face contact
was just not possible. From this position, she gained an appreciation
for the role technology can play in creating and sustaining community.
Sarah has also worked with undergraduate students as Interim Assistant Director of Campus Life at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY and with middle school students as a visiting artist for the Poetry Center of Chicago's Hands on Stanzas program. Her most rewarding adventure in education involved coaching a group of 6 high school students to participate in the 2006 Brave New Voices international youth poetry slam.
Sarah works part time for NTEN and spends the other part of her time writing, reading, and entertaining the thought of an MFA. She graduated form Sarah Lawrenece College in 2004 with a focus in poetry. When not working or writing, Sarah enjoys throwing dinner parties, swimming, and taking advantage of Portland's many parks with her husband Rodrigo and their two dogs.
