Our Mission
Minds Matter connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future and change the world.
The Program
Minds Matter DC is a chapter of the national Minds Matter organization. Since its founding in New York City in 1991, Minds Matter has grown into a national organization with 14 chapters across the United States in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, the Twin Cities, Washington D.C., and Houston. For over 30 years, Minds Matter has been making competitive college admission a reality for underserved students nationwide. Minds Matter transforms the lives of highly-motivated, low-resource students by providing the individualized mentoring, standardized test preparation, and writing and critical thinking instruction that has been proven necessary to achieve college success.
Across the country, Minds Matter serves over 1,000 motivated students in 14 cities nationwide by connecting them with volunteers committed to helping them achieve their academic and personal goals.
The program provides:
- Mentoring
- SAT prep
- Academic Support
- Access to competitive summer enrichment programs
- Guidance through the college application and financial aid processes
As a result of those efforts, on a nationwide basis, 100% of our graduates have been accepted into a four-year college or university, and more than 95% of our tracked alumni have graduated from or are currently enrolled in college. 89% of Minds Matter students accepted to college are first-generation college students.
Why Does Minds Matter Matter?
Low-resource, high-achieving students are grossly underrepresented at competitive colleges.
- Only 3% of students at the nation's top 146 colleges are from low-resource backgrounds.
- College graduates earn a staggering 84% more than high-school graduates.
- The cycle of poverty is fundamentally hard to break, even for students whose motivation has been demonstrated by high academic achievement.
College graduates earn a staggering 84% more than high-school graduates.
Only 3% of students at the nation's top 146 colleges are from low-resource backgrounds. The cycle of poverty is fundamentally hard to break, even for students whose motivation has been demonstrated by high academic achievement.
Minds Matter Helps Students Succeed
In collaboration with our volunteers, Minds Matter's impact is proven:
- 100% of Minds Matter students attend a 4-year college or university
- 70% of students have attended top-tier institutions
- Participants average a 200 point increase in SAT scores
We Could Not Exist Without Our Volunteers
Minds Matter could not exist without the dedication and commitment of over 1,900 volunteers nationwide. Many of our mentors are working professionals who devote their free time to enriching the lives of our deserving students. Our volunteers are a motivational powerhouse, always available to provide a listening ear and an encouraging word to the students they mentor.
Program Leadership
Our staff and board members, along with all our remarkable volunteers make Minds Matter possible.
Executive Director:
L'Toya Jones
L'Toya joined Minds Matter DC in 2025. As a first-generation college student, she has dedicated her career to supporting young people and connecting them to educational opportunities. L'Toya most recently served as the Director of Programs with Minds Matter NYC, where she played a pivotal role in shaping and expanding programs that empower students to achieve their academic and personal goals. Prior to joining MMNYC, she served as Director of Middle School programming with the Harlem Educational Activities Fund. L'Toya graduated from New York University.
Program Directors:
Derek O'leary,
Rachel Smilan-Goldstein
Azhar Pirani
Katie McElroy
Diana Pournaras
Volunteer Recruitment Director:
Page Forrest
SAT Instructors:
Haseeb Ali,
Emilee Mcdonald
Matthew Browne
Chris Deluca
Sarah Wall
Duru Oksuz
Kevin Swanson
Thomas Escande
Alumni Director:
Janet Lee
Additional Support:
Steve Garfinkel
Liam Mccarty
Executive Assistant + Session Coordinator:
Lakeshia Williams
Board of Directors
Rachel Weissman: Board Chairman
Rachel grew up outside of Philadelphia, PA. She graduated from Brandeis University with a double major in Biology and Health: Science, Society and Policy and double minored in Chemistry and Sculpture. Upon graduation she completed an MBA in Healthcare Administration at Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business. She is currently a Director in the Research and Policy Department at PhRMA (a trade group that represents leading biopharmaceutical research companies). Rachel has spent countless hours dedicated to Minds Matter and is passionate about helping students be more than they thought possible.
David R. Ford: Chair Emeritus
David Ford is an advisor to and investor in the healthcare and seniors-housing industries, commercial real-estate ventures and start-up enterprises. Until 2015, he was the Vice Chairman of Aegis Senior Communities LLC, a leading developer and operator of seniors-housing communities, and remains a principal in the company. David previously served as the COO and General Counsel of a government contracting firm that provided IT consulting services to defense and other federal agencies. For the first two decades of his professional life, he was an attorney in private practice in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare, technology and government-contracting industries. David is a member of the D.C. regional board of Teach for America, and was a founder of Kalorama Village, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to helping seniors "age in place."
Rachelle Bernstecker: Secretary
Rachelle Bernstecker worked in the seniors housing industry for more than 35 years. She served as Vice President of Government Affairs for the American Seniors Housing Association and Vice President of Corporate Compliance for the senior living division of Marriott International. She is currently an active volunteer and docent at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and a passionate supporter of Minds Matter and various youth education programs in the DC and Baltimore metro area.
Kris van Riper: Treasurer
Kris van Riper is the Practice Leader of the Infrastructure Leadership Council and Roadmap Builder at Gartner. She has previously worked at the World Bank, AOL/Netscape and the Joint Economic Committee. She is excited about Minds Matter's mission as a native Washingtonian and an alumni of DC Public Schools.
Thayer Surette Roberts: Board Member (Fundraising)
Thayer Roberts is a senior vice president at Thorn Run Partners where she focuses on health policy. Previously she held roles at several national nonprofits including Research America, the National 4H Council and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She is a graduate of Boston College. She believes strongly in Minds Matter's mission and served as a mentor and in leadership positions with Minds Matter Boston prior to moving to the Mid-Atlantic and joining Minds Matter DC.
Bill Mutryn: Board Member
Bill Mutryn brings over 40 years of experience as a practicing attorney, most of which has been representing clients in merger and acquisition transactions in the aerospace, defense, government services, healthcare, consumer products, and staffing space. Prior to joining Bluestone Investment Partners, Bill was a co-leader of Holland & Knight's Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group, and served as a member of Holland & Knight's Directors Committee for 6 years. Bill is thrilled to be working with Minds Matter DC and looks forward to seeing the progress students make in their pursuit for higher education.
Mei Acuña: Board Member
Mei Acuña is the Senior Director of HR Programs and Employee Experience at PhRMA. In this role, Mei is responsible for PhRMA’s internship and mentorship programs, supporting the growth and development of PhRMA’s employee resource groups, managing PhRMA’s annual Virtual STEM Career Expo, and overseeing other programs that drive employee engagement. Before joining PhRMA, Mei was a college and corporate recruiter in variety of industries to include hospitality, higher education, and management consulting. She graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Hospitality Management. During her time at JMU, Mei served as the first Asian American National Chairperson for the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH). It was through her work with NSMH that she developed a passion for nurturing young talent and creating pathways for their success.
Thomas Kramer: Board Member
Thomas Kramer is responsible for financial management, and administrative stewardship at energy efficiency software company Opower (NYSE: OPWR). Previously, he cofounded and served at CFO at Cvent (NYSE: CVT), the largest event-management technology company in the US, where he helped grow the organization from its wee beginnings to profitability and 850 employees. Thomas was recently named CFO of the year in Washington, DC, by Washington Business Journal. A child of public school education, Thomas would like to see everybody have equal opportunities. He earned a Master's at the Norwegian School of Economics, and an MBA at Harvard Business School. In his spare time he tries desperately to match his 5 and 7 year old boys' public school math knowledge, but keeps coming up short.