Meet the Team
Dana M. Wheeler
Program Director, Educator Career Pathways
Dana M. Wheeler formerly held the position of Pathways Fellowship Program Director at ExpandED Schools. In that role, she managed the program, providing support to aspiring teachers of color, leading a working group dedicated to diversifying NYC’s teacher pipeline and forging connections between ExpandED’s work-based learning initiatives and its partners. Prior to this, she was the Director of Education and Program Development for 25+ afterschool and summer day camp programs in NYC at the Police Athletic League, Inc. Furthermore, she serves as an advisory board member for AXS Lab, Inc. and holds the position of Representative-At-Large for Bank Street College of Education’s Alumni Association Board. Ms. Wheeler recently earned a Master of Education Policy and Leadership from American University, complementing her existing qualifications in Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education and Business Administration/Marketing from Drexel University.
Melanie Ojefua
Vice President of High-Impact Tutoring
Before working at ExpandED Schools, Melanie worked at Achievement First as the Director of 5-8 Math Innovation, where she spent the last three years developing, implementing, and scaling a culturally responsive middle school math program across a network of schools. Prior to Achievement First, Melanie spent ten years at the NYCDOE, where she worked as a special education teacher; a central office leader who helped lead citywide implementation of the common core standards and engaged schools in collaborative action research and learning; and as a middle school assistant principal. Melanie holds a Master of Social Work degree from Boston University, a Master of Special Education from Brooklyn College, and a Master in Educational Leadership from Baruch College.