Our Team

Mariam Shahab is a Senior Vice President focusing on racial justice and health and human rights. She has more than 12 years of experience developing innovative and creative social and digital campaigns to help clients achieve their goals. Prior to joining BerlinRosen, Mariam was a leader on a consultancy that helps brands build cultural competency to inclusively connect with the profoundly diverse market and navigate today’s societal issues. Mariam is a champion for diversity and inclusion because #representationmatters. She lives in Austin, Texas, loves hula hooping and reading books by women of color.

Caitlin McCorkle is the Project Architect at Onward. After teaching middle school science and social studies with Teach For America in Memphis, Tennessee, Caitlin worked as the Assistant Director, Operations at the Lynch Leadership Academy in Boston, working closely with Onward’s CEO Thaly Germain. She left the Academy to spend a couple of years at the High Meadows Institute as the Communication and Operations Manager before her passion for equity and social justice led her to reunite with Thaly and begin working with Onward, where she manages partnerships, supports strategy work, and creates content and curriculum.

Originally from central New Jersey, Caitlin received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Policy Studies at Dickinson College. She earned a Masters in Business Administration from Boston College's Carroll School of Management in May 2017. Caitlin lives in coastal Maine with her husband and two young daughters.

Leonard Medlock is an expert at designing culturally responsive technologies and experiences that address the needs of black and brown students. His experiences range from co-leading the design of four NYC public high schools, which in their fifth year have graduated hundreds of students from New York City’s most under-served neighborhoods, to managing the first ever pilot of Google Chromebooks and Khan Academy in the world.

Leonard was a founding team member of EdSurge, the foremost authority on education technology and entrepreneurship, where his thought leadership reached tens of thousands of teachers, administrators, entrepreneurs and investors. During his tenure, he also co-created and managed a service for selecting the right education technology, which was used by hundreds of schools and districts across the U.S. Throughout his career, Leonard has coached or advised dozens of K-12 leaders and social impact entrepreneurs through organizations such as the Stanford d.school, Camelback Ventures, and Cambiar Education, where he currently serves as General Manager. He hustles 5-9 as CEO of Playback Worldwide, a technology firm focused on helping student-athletes build life skills while excelling at sports.

Leonard has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and a M.Ed in Learning, Design and Technology from the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Janine Chen is a consultant supporting organizations in the social impact sector. She helps launch new initiatives or reimagine existing organizational practices and systems with diversity, equity, and inclusion at the center. Using equity-focused design thinking, she partners with organizations to take steps toward the ultimate goal of an inclusive culture that leads to healing and liberation.

Prior to starting her consulting practice, Janine joined the edtech start-up Swing Education as their first employee. Swing Education is now a Series C, YC (Imagine K-12) revenue-generating startup tackling the substitute teacher shortage. Under her leadership as VP of Talent, in three years, Swing's substitute teacher pool grew to over 5,000 subs across six states serving 1,500 schools. She then transitioned to the role of VP of People Operations, building scalable HR systems and processes and developing a culture committed to diversity & inclusion as the company headquarters grew to over 65 employees.

Prior to Swing Education, Janine served as Education Pioneers' Western Region Associate Director, leading partnerships and talent development across California and Colorado. Previously, Janine worked at the national charter school network Rocketship Public Schools, Boston Public Schools' Chief Academic Office, and New Leaders in Washington, D.C., a national nonprofit recruiting, selecting, and training aspiring school leaders.

Janine is a Catalyst:ED Network Provider and 2011 Education Pioneers Alumna. She earned a B.A. in Urban Studies from Stanford University and a M.Ed in Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Thaly Germain founded Onward in November 2016. As chief executive officer, she oversees program strategy, development, and implementation. Most recently, Thaly served as executive director of the Lynch Leadership Academy. Prior to that she was the executive director of aligned staff at New Leaders, a national leadership development organization. In this capacity, she co-led New Leaders’ program redesign. Thaly also served as New Leaders’ national director of charter school strategy, where she developed a strategic plan for improving leadership and achieving dramatic student academic gains across the Washington, DC charter sector.

Thaly gained much of the firsthand experience and knowledge which has informed her career in leadership development while serving as a principal and assistant principal in Washington, DC, and in teaching in New York and Washington, DC. While a DC charter school leader, Thaly’s school received the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) “Silver Gain” award. In New York City, Thaly worked as an educator at Harry S. Truman High School, where she helped to establish the Peace and Diversity Academy.

Thaly received a master’s degree in education from Trinity University and a master’s degree in administration from Fordham University. She earned her bachelor of arts in cultural anthropology at Bryn Mawr College.

Dr. Veronica Benavides is an experienced educator, researcher, facilitator, change management strategist, and leadership development specialist. Veronica is driven by a commitment to her community and is an advocate for education as the practice of freedom. She works across international settings to improve outcomes for children, clients and communities through strengths-based strategies.

As the founder of Benavides Consulting, Veronica supports clients with systems change projects and capacity building initiatives. Her clients include Harvard University, The Gates Foundation, and Familias de Esperanza. Previously, Veronica served as the Executive Director of the Center on Culture, Race & Equity at Bank Street College where she partnered with educators, community members, and leaders to collaboratively shift beliefs, behaviors, and practices so that children of all backgrounds can thrive and realize their full potential. Veronica was also the Director of Leadership Development at the NYC Leadership Academy and a middle and high school teacher in New York City and Mexico City.

Veronica earned her doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University, and holds an M.S. in Teaching from Fordham University. She currently lives in Copenhagen with her curious son and supportive partner.