Staff

Erika Halstead

Chief Executive Officer

Erika Halstead is the CEO of Minds Matter. Her career traverses the whole educational cycle, from bilingual elementary school teacher to university lecturer in literature, from curriculum development to delivery to evaluation. She has been part of the Minds Matter community since 2009, first as a volunteer, then a Board member, and later as Executive Director for the NYC chapter from 2015 to 2023. Previously, she served as the Senior Program Officer at Humanities New York where she directed youth and community engagement initiatives, including award-winning programming for Latine and American Muslim communities. Erika is also an expert facilitator and master trainer, with experience teaching hundreds of people to lead meaningful dialogue in their organizations and communities. Erika holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a EdM from Teachers College, Columbia University. A proud Colombian-American, she was named a “40 Under 40 Rising Star” by the Hispanic Coalition of New York in 2018 and an inaugural member of the Pinkerton Advanced Leadership Network for nonprofit leaders of color in 2020.

Correne Reyes

Assistant to the CEO

Correne Reyes is the Assistant to the CEO at Minds Matter National. As a former educator, her journey has been defined by a dedication to fostering positive change in the realm of education. Correne holds a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Loyola University Maryland and a Master of Arts in Politics and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Colin P. Delaney

Chief Development Officer

Colin P. Delaney has over fifteen years of experience in fundraising, communications, and program design. He began his career in arts education, working at High 5 Tickets to the Arts, a small nonprofit that worked with under-served youth. As Director of Marketing & Communications, Colin shepherded the merger between High 5 and ArtsConnection, New York City's largest in-school arts education program. Most recently, Colin served as the development officer for the international peace and security think tank, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where he secured more than 3 million dollars in funding. He has also acted as a development consultant for the New School, Gay Men's Health Crisis and Waterwell.

Abdulwahid Duso

Chief Program Officer

Abdulwahid Duso comes to Minds Matter with a career dedicated to social justice, including equitable access to educational and economic opportunities. Prior to joining Minds Matter, he served as Founding Executive Director at AssistHub, an impact-driven organization committed to ending basic-needs insecurity and ensuring equitable access to economic mobility opportunities for thousands of families across California.

Abdulwahid brings to Minds Matter over 15 years of experience in educational leadership and student success, having served as a college counselor, public high school teacher, program designer, and organizational leader. At College Track, a nationally-recognized college completion program, he led the Student Life department as National Program Director, leading the design and implementation of student-centered college access and completion programming.

As a child of Muslim, Cham immigrant-parents from Vietnam, Abdulwahid experienced firsthand the challenges of both poverty and navigating college as a first-generation student. His lived experiences have informed his values and deep belief in the transformative power of higher education. Based in Long Beach, CA, but born and raised in East San Jose, he is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and received his M.A. from Columbia University. He also serves on the board of directors of the Global Livingston Institute, which facilitates meaningful cultural exchanges between youth in the United States and Africa.

Stef Walker

Senior Program Manager

A Pennsylvania native, Stef relocated to Chicago in 2020 to become the Senior Program Manager of Ally Learning and Pathways at Public Allies Chicago. During her time there, she designed and implemented a leadership development curriculum for AmeriCorps members, while supervising and coaching them through their terms of service. Prior to working with Public Allies, Stef was the Summer Camp Director at a non-profit summer camp in Pennsylvania from 2011 until 2020. While there, she gained a breadth of experience: from hiring and onboarding to program development and operations, and everything in between. She has also worked as a freelance graphic designer, an email marketing manager, and a website designer and editor for various nonprofit organizations. Stef holds a degree in Art Education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Chicago with her wife, Erica, and a silly little dog named Pippin.

Casey Gotcher

Data & Operations Manager

Casey has worked with nonprofits for over a decade, both as a consultant and as a volunteer. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, she spent a couple years working in exhibit development and artifact preservation in museums before finding her passion by helping nonprofits work smarter with the aid of technology. She is an avid traveler and adventurer and recently spent 13 months at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, hanging out with penguins and staring at the Southern Lights. If you've got an extra ticket to Mars, she is interested. Until then, she calls Portland, Maine home.

Melisa Vallovera

Operations Associate

Melisa began her career working with nonprofits in 2019 after many years of providing administrative support in various industries. She holds a BFA in Illustration/Animation from Montclair State University and an MA in Arts Administration from Baruch College. Melisa is passionate about data, systems, and expressing gratitude to the volunteers and donors who drive meaningful change in our communities. In 2024, she graduated from PASE and CCNY's "Emerging Leaders in Nonprofit Management" program, a course for youth program professionals in New York City. She is based in New Jersey and enjoys going to estate sales, playing video games, and trying to keep up with her book clubs.