Meet the Prelude team

Our Team

  • Donnell Butler

    Donnell Butler, Ph.D.

    President & Founder

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  • Sarah Barrett

    Sarah Barrett

    Managing Director, Strategy & Operations

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  • Beej Shah

    Beej Shah

    Managing Director, Programs

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  • Nehariika Kakkar

    Nehariika Kakkar

    Strategy & Operations Fellow

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  • Charisma Lambert

    Charisma Lambert

    Lead Instructor, Internship Programs

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  • Brionni Nwosu

    Brionni Nwosu

    Instructor

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Future of Work Advisory Council

  • Michelle Baltrusitis Headshot

    Michelle Baltrusitis

    Head of Community & Social Impact, Fiverr

  • JoJo Cosman Headshot

    JoJo Cosman

    Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition Operations Strategy & Support and Early Careers Programs, The Campbell's Company

  • Sharnell Delmohammed

    Sharnell Delmohammed

    Vice President, Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion Lead, JPMorganChase

  • Liz Liu

    Liz Liu

    Head of Opportunity & Inclusion for Global Corporate Investment Banking, Global Markets, Global Research & Institute and Wealth Management, Bank of America

  • Khadijah Ojo

    Dr. Khadijah Ojo

    Director of Pre-Health Advising, Pepperdine University

  • Molly Pearl

    Molly Pearl

    Vice President, Career Pathways, Blackstone

  • Seema Shah

    Seema Shah

    Founder & Principal, Urban Strategies & Solutions LLC

Education Leadership Advisory Council

  • A man with glasses, graying hair, and a beard, smiling in an office setting with bookshelves in the background.

    Norman Atkins

    Managing Partner, Array Education

  • A man with dark hair and a beard wearing a red academic gown speaking into a microphone at a podium, with a green backdrop that says "Colleen S. Turnbull" and "Honors".

    Adam Bush

    President, College Unbound

  • Portrait of a smiling man with dark hair, wearing a suit jacket and tie, standing outdoors with greenery in the background.

    Rick Cruz

    Independent Consultant;
    Chair of the Board for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and Instruction Partners

  • Portrait of a smiling woman with glasses, wearing a blue patterned shirt and a yellow beaded necklace.

    Stephanie Daniels

    Associate Director of Principal and Leadership Gifts, ACLU

  • Headshot of a smiling woman with dark hair wearing a black lace top and a cross necklace against a plain light background.

    Aimée Eubanks Davis

    Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Braven

  • Dan Lugo

    Dan Lugo

    President, Trinity College

  • A smiling man with light skin and short blonde hair, wearing a white dress shirt and a striped tie, in an office setting.

    Jeff Nelson

    Senior Advisor, New Profit;
    Co-Founder, One Goal

Life at Prelude

Our values

Prelude is a growing nonprofit organization reimagining the high school experience. We have a personal stake in the success of every intern who participates in a Prelude program, and we’re committed to constant learning to improve their experiences. As a team, we embrace collaboration, kindness, and creativity.

  • Our students are the reason we do this work and our most important stakeholders. We strive to improve educational and career opportunities for our students through culturally responsive instructional practices and advising.

  • Every team member is an educator. We are each individually and collectively responsible for student success. Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno.

  • Our students and our education and career partners are critical allies in our work. We treat them with respect, fairness, and integrity. Prelude only wins when our students win and our partners win.

  • We demonstrate strong critical thinking, curiosity, problem-solving, and facility to draw upon outside resources as necessary. Until we have eliminated the equity gap in college and career outcomes, our job is not done. Through integrity, personal accountability, and a high bar for excellence, we strive to continuously improve strong relationships, outstanding products, and unsurpassed service to deliver best-in-class educational experiences that lead to upwardly mobile student outcomes.

  • While it will at times be challenging and frustrating, we love our students because they are the future, we love our work because it brings us joy and meaning, and we love each other because it takes a village, and we can’t do this important work alone.