Single Parent Conference Workshop Presenters 2021

Meet the diverse panel of expert presenters who will be facilitating workshops at the 2021 Single Parent Conference online seminar.  

Lisette Engel, MPA - Senior Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Youth Engagement, National Crittenton; Vice Chair, The Montgomery County Community Action Board; Secretary, The Dwelling Place; Blogger, SingleMamaChronicle
Lisette Orellana Engel is an advocate for young mothers and young families. At 17, she found herself a single parent of two and relied heavily on the support of organizations that encouraged her to pursue a college degree. Experiencing single parenthood, stigmatization that comes along with young parenthood, and the hardships of navigating the social services system, Mrs. Engel knows firsthand the programs that made a difference to succeed in life. She is actively involved in anti-poverty campaigns in her community, co-founded the #NoTeenShame campaign, a virtual movement that seeks to improve messaging around teen parenthood and reproductive justice, and supports organizations that help empower single parents. Mrs. Engel has spoken and presented to Congress on various issues, including Title IX protections for pregnant and parenting students, the effects of trauma on girls, and policies that directly impact young mothers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies and master’s degree in public administration from the University of Baltimore. Mrs. Engel is senior director of policy, advocacy, and youth engagement at National Crittenton, serves as vice chair on the Community Action Board advocating for issues impacting low-income residents, especially Latinx families, and support families with children with special needs. She lives in Germantown, Maryland, with her two children and her husband. 

Nicole Lynn Lewis - Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Generation Hope
A former teen mother who put herself through the College of William & Mary with her three-month old daughter in tow, Ms. Lewis now works every day to change the statistic that less than 2% of teen others will earn their degrees before age 30. Generation Hope rallies around teen parents to help them earn college degrees and forge a path to economic opportunity and is now expanding its work nationally to help colleges and universities and policymakers across the country better meet the needs of the nearly four million parenting students who are working toward their degrees. 

Ms. Lewis is a member of the board of trustees of Trinity Washington University and a National Advisory Board member of The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice. Most recently, she was honored with the inaugural Black Voices for Black Justice Award, with “recognizes incredible leaders who have been on the frontlines working to dismantle the deep-rooted, racist systems that have plagued our country for centuries,” and the Boulder Fund award through Education Leaders of Color, which “supports the innovations of leaders of color in education.” She has received various awards, including being honored as a CNN Hero and the national grand prize winner of the Roslyn S. Jaffe Award, and has been featured on major news outlets including “Good Morning America,” “CNN,” “NBC Nightly News,” and The Washington Post. She is also a nationally known author and speaker with her book, Pregnant Girl, released by Beacon Press in the spring of 2021. 

Ms. Lewis holds a master’s degree in social policy and communication from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William & Mary. She and her husband, Donté Lewis, live in Maryland with their five children. 

Kimani Anku - Gardening Coach
Mr. Anku is a DMV native who found a love of gardening and producing his own food over ten years ago through unconventional means. He’s definitely been through some seasons and has come out better and stronger. So much better, in fact, he’s turned his passion into a successful garden coach service. In his free time, Mr. Anku engages in youth programming and lending his services to fight food insecurity in Prince George’s County. 

Tonda Bean - Chief Education and Parenting Strategist
Tonda Taylor Bean, MBA, MSOD, is passionate about giving youth the support they need to find, prepare for, and enter a career that will give them fulfillment and financial independence as young adults. She is the mother of two college grads who started positions in their chosen fields the week after graduation. She has reached over a thousand students and parents, having spoken at two previous Montgomery College Single Parent Conferences, among other events. 

Tracy Broadhurst - Instructor, Equus Workforce Solutions
As a trainer with Equus Workforce Solutions, Ms. Broadhurst’s presentations are often described as entertaining, empowering, and inspiring. At a recent conference, she spoke on the impact stories have on the human brain. Given the science, she believes stories and technologies we love deserve a thorough examination. Ms. Broadhurst has a degree in economics from the University of Maryland College Park. 

Michelle Escobar - Investigator, Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection
Michelle Escobar has a long history in assisting consumers with complaints. After eight years as an investigator with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, Ms. Escobar came to the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection to continue her work and focus on Montgomery County residents. She has been an investigator with the OCP for seven years. 

Roberto Flores - Parent and Family Engagement Specialist, Montgomery County Public School System
Roberto Flores is a Parent and Family Engagement Specialist with a long career across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. He works with young parents, adults, and families using an eclectic approach tailored to the unique needs of each new family. His goal is to encourage an integral life practice which includes an emotional and mental health balance. Mr. Flores has over 15 years of experience in a variety of settings and with diverse clients, including both long-term and brief interventions. He is facilitating workshops to all the MCPS Head Start and PreK Parents to cultivate an emotional balance designed to reduce destructive, negative emotional experiences toward oneself and others and to promote skills for experiencing and expressing emotions constructively. 

Francesca Jean-Baptiste - Director of Tax Partnerships, CASH Campaign of Maryland
Francesca Jean-Baptiste is the Director of Tax Partnerships of CASH Campaign of Maryland where she provides training and support to Maryland free tax preparation partners and leads capacity building programs including the Maryland Community Fellows and the Schedule C Step Up, a program that teaches small business owners how to become tax compliant. Ms. Jean-Baptiste earned her BS in legal studies from CUNY—NYC College of Technology and JD from Washington & Lee School of Law. 

Ronald M. Jennings, Sr., LUTCF - Financial Services Professional
Ronald M. Jennings, Sr., LUTCF, is a financial services professional who entered the financial services industry in 1992 with John Hancock Financial Services in New York, where he was number one in the County for managed investments in 1997 and 1998. Most recently, Mr. Jennings received the 2019 Financial Education and Capability Community Champion Award for exemplifying excellence in financial education. This resolution was bestowed upon him by the Maryland State Senate and the Maryland House of Delegates. 

William Karst - Consumer Lending Officer, United Bank
Mr. Karst is a banking professional with 14 years of experience. Beginning as a retail bank manager, he led a team of branch employees and developed his coaching, sales, and relationship-management skills. Currently as a consumer lending officer, Mr. Karst focuses on growing United Bank’s auto loan portfolio by managing relationships with many local auto dealerships. He received a bachelor’s of science degree in finance from University of Maryland Global Campus (formerly UMUC), and he is also a graduate of the Virginia Bankers Association School of Bank Management—a three-year program designed to expand and develop the various skills needed throughout a banker’s career. Prior to banking, Mr. Karst served in the US Air Force as a Spanish linguist. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two young children.

Tiffany Jones - BASICS Coordinator, Precious Moments Family Childcare
Ms. Jones is the Basics Coordinator, sought after early childhood educator/advocate and program director at Precious Moments Family Childcare as well as the Chair of the Montgomery County Community Action Board. Leading, teaching, and facilitating are her passions, and she strives to incorporate it into each one of her endeavors. Most recently, Ms. Jones facilitated presentations to the Head Start Parents Policy Council and the MSDE approved trainings for Montgomery County licensed childcare providers. 

Suzanne Kelly - Maryland 529 Ambassador
Ms. Suzanne Kelly is one of Maryland 529’s ambassadors. She’s been with the agency for a little over seven years, supporting the community outreach efforts for the plans in the Western and Capital regions of the state. A graduate of Mount Saint Mary’s University, Ms. Kelly is also a full time accountant for CPAs, nonprofits, and manufacturing companies in Frederick County. She’s married with four children, all of whom attended colleges in Maryland, and is a contributor to her grandchildrens' 529 plan accounts. In her spare time, Ms. Kelly enjoys cooking, traveling, and is a diehard Washington Football fan!

Susan Koslov - Financial Aid Counselor, Montgomery College
Susan Kozlov has worked at Montgomery College as a financial aid counselor for 34 years. She has a bachelors in psychology and a master’s degree in human development. Her passion for assisting others in their pursuance of education and career goals has been the main focus in her communication with students. She has presented at the Single Parent Conference for three years. Assisting students in finding financial resources to pursue their education is the goal of community college counselors. 

Yurani Sandoval - CEO, SingleParentPower.com; Founder and Director, Womenpalante
Yurani Sandoval is a social entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of SingleParentPower and Womenpalante, which support and empower LatinX women and children through entrepreneurship, wellness, community and resources. Yurani is a native of Colombia, living in the DC metro area, and a graduate of Johns Hopkins University. She is passionate about helping single parents to excel. Before founding SingleParentPower and Womenpalante, Yurani worked in several roles with the Pan American Health Organization, the Regional Office of the World Health Organization in the Americas. She also completed training in the Founder Institute and MET Community Program.

Sharon Strauss - Director, Community Action Agency
Sharon Strauss is executive director of the Community Action Agency/DHHS, including free tax preparation, the Takoma East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center, federal CSBG and Head Start grants, monitoring contracts to nonprofits, and Community Action Board. Ms. Strauss also worked with DHHS’ Linkages to Learning, school-based health centers and early childhood services. Previously, she was an early-learning teacher and director. Ms. Strauss holds an MSEd from Bank Street College and a BA from Mary Washington College. 

Michael Yehl - Founder, SingleDadsOnline.org
Mike Yehl has been an advocate for single dads for over 10 years and has been an expert on grief and loss from emotional trauma for over 30 years. A teacher for 16 years, he grew up as a child of divorce and raised his own son as a single dad. Mike has years of first-hand experience as well as observations in his classroom of single dads struggling to be a proactive single dad. He currently sits on the Advisory Board of Rainbows for All Children.