Kate Mattos serves as Communications Counsel for the National Education Association (NEA) and as Adjunct Professor at American University's School of Communications.

As NEA's Director of Communications from 1998 to April 2003, Mattos was responsible for designing and implementing the Association's communications programs. Prior to NEA, Mattos worked on public policy communications and reputation management programs at Osgood O'Donnell & Walsh, Hill and Knowlton, the American Federation of Teachers and her own practice.

Joseph Getch serves as Chief Financial Officer for PRS, Inc. Established in 1963, PRS provides community-based psychiatric rehabilitation, including day support, residential and employment services to consumers in recovery from mental illness. He previously spent six-years with First Nations Development Institute – three years as the organization’s Chief Development Officer and three years as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to that, he served as Chief Financial Officer for the Benton Foundation, and spent nearly six years with The Hitachi Foundation, where he also served as Chief Financial Officer.

Chuck Melley is the Director of Public Affairs at ETS (Educational Testing Service), the world's largest non-profit assessment and research organization, where he oversees outreach, Federal relations and issue management. Before he joined ETS in September 2001, Melley was a consultant in communications, government and public relations for corporations, associations and non-profits.

Ms. Osborn currently serves as Director of Grants for the Conn Memorial Foundation and President of O2 designs, Inc., which provides project management, strategic planning, development and training for individuals and organizations in the not-for-profit sector.

Arvind Rajan serves as President and CEO for Grassroots Enterprise. Prior to joining Grassroots Enterprise, Arvind was director of business development for WarpSpeed Communications, which developed breakthrough signaling and broadband connection-management technology enabling carrier networks to deliver premium quality services over a variety of switching infrastructures. At WarpSpeed, he oversaw the company’s business development efforts, repositioned the company and launched its core product offering.

While growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana, Martha Pitts dreamed of becoming many things: a doctor, a teacher, an archaeologist, and a writer. In 1999, after another failed experiment in the organic chemistry lab at Princeton University, Martha walked out, and the next day, she entered the brick building that housed the offices of the Daily Princetonian and wrote her first story.

Susan Phillips brings a strong background in journalism to Connect For Kids, along with a mother's-eye-view of many issues affecting children and families. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, and has worked as a newspaper reporter and columnist; television news editor, writer and producer; and as a freelance writer and editor.

A writer, editor and journalist, Caitlin Greenleaf Johnson specializes in children's issues and the impact of welfare reform and public policy on families and communities. As a DC WritersCorps instructor, she taught middle school creative writing and organized a nationally competitive youth poetry slam team. She has also worked as a technical writer and editor in the areas of social policy, the environment, and sustainable development.

Jeremy Isett brings a technical edge to the Connect for Kids team with experience building multi-layered Web solutions employing features like Flash, relational databases, dynamic code, and optimized graphics. He works to create an increasingly informative and engaging experience for users of the Connect for Kids Web site. His background includes work in both the non-profit and private sectors.