2013 staff
our history
Elissa Vanaver
CEO
Summerbridge Miami
was launched at Ransom
Everglades School in 1991
to help talented middleschool students from
economically disadvantaged
backgrounds overcome the
racial, cultural and
economic barriers to
academic achievement.
Its first summer program
enrolled 40 students.
In 2007, the program,
re-branded as Breakthrough
Miami for it’s year-round
programs for middle- and
high-school students, received
a five-year expansion grant of
$3.25 million from the
Wayne Neunie
Director of Education
Jeneen Garcia
Senior Site Director
CARROLLTON SCHOOL OF
THE SACRED HEART
Jamael Stewart
Senior Site Director
Helbert Asprilla
Associate Site Director
MIAMI COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
Ebony Rhodes
Senior Site Director
PALMER TRINITY SCHOOL
Lauren Kellner
Senior Site Director
Webber Charles,
Dwanita Fields
Associate Site Director
RANSOM EVERGLADES SCHOOL
Ariel Edwards
College Bound Director
PAO LA
A L E J A N D RA
KY L E R
R E N I YA
PETERSON
IMMANUEL
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Breakthrough Miami is the largest
and most dynamic affiliate of the San Francisco-based Breakthrough
Collaborative, which was established in 1978.
scholar spotlight
Sophonie Dargin
William H. Turner Technical Arts High School | Senior | Class of 2014
Sophonie, both a Breakthrough Scholar and Teaching Fellow, maintains a GPA of 3.5, and created Haitian
Diaspora, an organization that promotes literacy in her community. She’s active in her church and will be
the first in her family to attend college.
FABIANA
J A E LA
HELEN