Our Team

Tamar Lawrence-Samuel consults for organizations, providing expertise in strategic planning, DEI, change management, social justice and other issues.

Tamar has led strategic development of integrated advocacy, communications, and policy campaigns in the areas of food security, climate change, tobacco control and access to water. She has also led organizational strategic planning, including integrated DEI and strategy for the long- and short-term.

Previously, as International Policy Director at Corporate Accountability, Tamar lead the policy analysis and strategic campaign development that guided Corporate Accountability's climate, food, tobacco, and water campaigns to challenge the life-threatening abuses of transnational corporations. In that capacity, Tamar represented the organization around the world: in the media, with civil society, and with governments. Tamar also represented the organization at United Nations bodies, including at the World Health Organization, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Tamar is an international human rights lawyer who previously advocated for the rights of deported people as a visiting scholar at Boston College, and promoted legislative reform and access to justice as a Judicial Affairs Officer at the United Nations mission in Haiti.

Tamar is licensed to practice law in the state of New York, holds a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School, and received her bachelor's degree in political science from California State University, Chico.

Dr. Brittany Erickson has spent the past 15 years intensely focused on understanding how learning happens. She has a reputation for designing provocative and impactful learning experiences, helping teams work collaboratively and nimbly, and supporting leaders to realize greater authenticity and impact in all they do. Britt began her career in education as a sixth-grade teacher in San Francisco, CA. To this day, transforming school and school systems remains her passion and she has led dozens of school design projects in the United States and abroad with a common goal of advancing equitable and bold outcomes. Outside of education, Britt supports leading companies in design, technology, healthcare and energy to craft strategy and implement practices to be more innovative, inclusive and effective.

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.

Colin Angevine is an educator, researcher, and facilitator. His work focuses on themes of equity, design, and collaboration. Colin's perspective draws from previous work experiences as an educator (in middle and high schools), a technologist (in edtech and legal tech startups), and as a researcher (in researcher-practitioner partnerships). Most recently, Colin was the project director for Challenge Collaboratives at Digital Promise, where he developed and facilitated new models for equity-driven R&D in education. Colin holds a B.A. from Dickinson College in Classics and an M.S.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania in Learning Sciences and Technologies. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

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.