Meet the J3 Team

Roger H Howard is Partner at Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro, LLP specializing in real estate, corporate, mergers, and acquisitions. Roger chairs the Corporate department​ and specializes in finding strategic solutions to complex business issues. His transactional real estate practice is focused on acquisitions, residential and commercial development, sales, restructuring, workouts, title issues, and leasing. His corporate and business work is in the area of mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate restructuring and tax. Roger is on several corporate Boards, and works with numerous worldwide, national and local companies, providing legal advice.

Sherry McKuin has been on the J3 Advisory Board since 2017. She has over 20 years of experience working as a designer and architect in Los Angeles and is the Founding Principal at McKuin Design. Sherry and her husband, Joel, have been proud supporters of several non-profit organizations with a focus on early childhood education, support and services. In addition to being on the Advisory Board at J3 Foundation, she is also on the Board of the Kids Art Museum Program at the Hammer Museum which raises funds to provide free arts education to children in Los Angeles. She is a proud parent of two children ages 10 and 12.

Lauren Wiens joined the J3 Board of Directors in 2025. She has over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, and is the Founder and Principal Grant Consultant at Ink & Impact Grant Consulting, specializing in helping mission-driven organizations secure sustainable funding through strategic grant development. Lauren’s nonprofit background includes nine years of growing successful grant programs and over five years in nonprofit leadership, focused on donor engagement and private revenue growth. She began her career working directly with single moms in a transitional housing program and later stepped into leadership where she discovered a passion for grant seeking, foundation relations, and donor engagement. Since then, she’s led teams, built systems, and helped raise millions to support communities locally and across the U.S. Lauren lives in Santa Clarita with her husband, Corry, and three lively children. Fun fact: all three are redheads—even though neither of them are! Reading has been a lifelong passion of Lauren’s, and she discovered first-hand the challenges that many children experience with learning to read when her oldest child was diagnosed with ADHD during the height of the pandemic. Lauren is passionate about creating access to literacy opportunities for under-resourced communities.

Rebecca Gotlieb, Ph.D. is a human developmental psychologist and educational neuroscientist. She is an Assistant Researcher in the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice in the School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Her work examines the coordinated development of literacy and social-emotional functioning from early childhood to young adulthood.

Shyamala Reddy is a writer based in Los Angeles, where she also works as a docent at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). At LACMA she has led hundreds of students through the museum’s collections, as well as developed in-person and virtual curricula and DEI methods used for students of all ages. As a technology journalist she has also worked for publications by Ziff-Davis, Newsweek and CNET, and also has over a decade of experience working as a strategy consultant in Silicon Valley. She holds a B.A. in English from Barnard College and a MS in Education from Carnegie Mellon University.

Alondra Fabian joined the J3 team in 2021 as a site coordinator and later became a SIPPS reading coach. She is now the Reading Intervention Supervisor and Regional Program Manager working with site coordinators and reading coaches. Before joining J3, she was a 6th grade bilingual, math and science teacher and has worked with students with diverse backgrounds. In addition to her Master’s in Urban Education: Policy and Administration, Alondra has a degree in Sociology and Labor & Workplace Studies. Since college, Alondra has been an educator working with undocumented students and advocating for social justice. When she’s not at Cozy Reading Club, Alondra likes spending quality time with her family, especially, her little sister, who sometimes volunteers at J3!

Courtney Gilmore has been part of the J3 team since 2021. As the Director of Operations, she combines her Master’s in Restorative Practices with a deep commitment to people-first leadership. Courtney works behind the scenes to keep systems running smoothly and cultivate a positive, inclusive workplace that reflects J3’s mission of uplifting young readers.

Dr. Gabriel Ramirez has been an educator for over 26 years. He began his career as an English teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District in East Los Angeles before becoming a National Board-Certified Teacher and later serving as an administrator in roles including Assistant Principal, Principal, and Executive Director. Dr. Ramirez has worked in both public and private schools with a deep commitment to the belief that every child can learn. Throughout his career, he has helped students and school communities achieve their potential through a focus on equity, excellence, and student success.

Arthur Scott joined J3 Foundation as a teacher at Watts Learning Center in 2018 before becoming a Site Coordinator in 2019. He currently works as J3’s Program Coordinator. Arthur has a B.A. in Radio/TV/Film Production and Geography/Geology. He began substitute teaching in the Inglewood School District to fill in work during off months of production and he is so thankful that the non-profit world found him! In addition to his work as J3’s Program Coordinator, he is a leader with One LA-IAF, a non-partisan political group, and the Black Faith Coalition Against Human Trafficking. When he isn’t busy with all of his work and volunteer endeavors, he enjoys surfing and playing volleyball.

Halimat Sulayman grew up in New York, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Public Relations from SUNY New Paltz. She later moved to San Francisco to pursue a master’s in Strategic Communications. She was drawn to J3’s mission to support children in education and wanted to be part of work that makes a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Outside of work, she enjoys writing poetry, going to the gym, playing sports, and getting boba. A lifelong learner, she’s always exploring new skills and perspectives to broaden her knowledge and continue growing alongside the students and communities J3 serves.

Andrew Waters recently moved to Los Angeles from New York City to be closer to family and feels grateful to have found J3. Prior to relocating, Andrew graduated from Fordham University in the Bronx and began teaching third grade in Bushwick, Brooklyn. He later transitioned from the classroom to join Harlem RBI (now DREAM Charter Schools), where for many years he led after-school and summer programming for students in grades Pre-K through 8 across East Harlem, the South Bronx, and Newark, NJ.

Andrew has a deep passion for sports-based youth development and elementary literacy programming; two interests that naturally drew him to J3’s mission. Outside of work, he enjoys playing in organized baseball leagues in Los Angeles and spending time with his family, especially his 13-year-old niece.