Since 2018, our board has traveled approximately 60,000 miles and worked with nearly 1000 teachers, administrators, students, and community members.
Leadership
Anna Laughlin
Executive Director | Founder
Anna is one of the founding members of Mission Equip and currently serves as its Executive Director. She holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Secondary English Education and a Master of Education in Trauma and Resilience in Educational Settings. Anna has worked extensively teaching and supporting students and educators in low-income communities, both in the U.S. and abroad for over twenty-three years, during which time she has served as a classroom teacher, program facilitator, national curriculum specialist, teacher trainer and board member. Anna is a published textbook and curriculum writer, which has rounded out her career in education. Anna’s passion for underserved populations began as a child while living in Belize and has expanded as she has volunteered her time, expertise and resources promoting education around the world in Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Kenya, and the Middle East. She is a visionary and believes in the far-reaching impact that education can have in changing the world. For fun, Anna enjoys all of the unexpected adventures that occur while traveling abroad with her husband, 3 school-aged children and extended family.
Will Reynolds | Chairman
Will Reynold’s dedication to assisting in the development of communities around the world began nearly two decades ago through a partnership with Seeds of Hope Ministry in Brazil, where he served as Chairman of the Board. Will is an international award-winning leader in medical sales for Medworks, where he leads a team of sales representatives in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. The combination of Will’s education in Business Administration, passion for the world, connection to healthcare, and leadership style make him uniquely qualified to lead Mission Equip’s Board of Directors towards the development of future partnerships and opportunities. When Will is not traveling to Belize with Mission Equip, you can find him woodworking, reading, or spending time with his wife and three kids in Richmond, Virginia.
Tessa Hershman | Treasurer
As the board treasurer, Tessa works to balance the long-term financial success of the organization and provides oversight on everyday financial business. Tessa holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Portland State University with a focus in epidemiology and advanced analytics. Her career as a consultant is committed to using data analysis and creative narrative writing to communicate complex stories of an organization and the community it serves. She holds over ten years in leadership roles in data-related positions in the public and private sectors and is currently a data consultant at Impact Makers located in Richmond, Virginia. Outside of data crunching, Tessa has extensive experience working in rural Latin American communities as a Spanish medical interpreter where she was bridging the gap in health systems. Tessa enjoys the fun of extraordinary adventures and extreme game nights with her family.
Jaime Woltz | Secretary
Jaime is a volunteer director who serves as our secretary. She received her Master of Education and Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from James Madison University. Although she has not worked professionally in this field, she has devoted much of her free time to working with adults and children who are experiencing issues that face lower income communities. This includes working with the homeless, helping with after school programs and supporting children in foster care. Jaime has worked at CGI, a global IT company for 10+ years. She currently works as a project manager within the company’s public sector unit, focusing on IT, and security projects, within State agencies. CGI also puts a large focus on community responsibility and has provided Jaime the opportunity to partner with community organizations and implement STEM camps for children in foster care. She is an original member of the team that first went to Belize in 2018 and she has continued to be a huge supporter and contributor of Mission Equip’s work. Leveraging her professional skills to execute on her passion of bringing quality education to everyone is Jaime’s dream.
Joni Garrison | Board Member
Joni is a volunteer director. She holds a Master of Teaching from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor’s in Communications from Lee University. Joni has a 20+ year career in educating teenagers. She has been a classroom teacher, winning awards as a rookie teacher, but her most extensive experience has been in leading youth in religious settings. She has taken teams of youth all over the world to do humanitarian, religious, and service work. In her time as a church youth minister, she taught, counseled, and mentored hundreds of youth, and managed large projects and trips to serve youth in Richmond, Virginia. Joni is currently rounding out her career as an administrator. She holds the position of Upper School Coordinator at Veritas School in Richmond, a classical Christian school where she assists with daily school life for 250 upper school students, and especially loves her role of faculty care. For fun, Joni loves to cook, bake bread and cakes, travel and spend time with her husband and two teenage children.
Hannah Adera Rooney | Board Member
As the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, Hannah Adera Rooney has experienced first-hand the power that education has to unlock opportunities and alter a person’s path in life. Since mathematics is a universal language, Hannah wanted to specialize in the creation and implementation of mathematics content and curriculum. After graduating from James Madison University with a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, Hannah taught in urban elementary schools in the Richmond, Virginia area for 8 years. Most recently, she worked as a school-based mathematics specialist in a K-5 school. Her passion for mathematics education led her to complete her Master of Interdisciplinary Studies degree with a focus on Mathematics and Science K-8 Curriculum from Virginia Commonwealth University, and Hannah now works for Goalbook as a Math Project Analyst. When she’s not working, Hannah enjoys spending time with her husband and their son, traveling, mission work and walking by the James River.
Advisory Council | Teacher to Teacher
Pictured: Karen George, Melissa Woltz, Jaime Woltz, Lindsey Reynolds, Helen Hershman, Leslie Swenson, Anna Laughlin
& Hannah Rooney
Not Pictured: Lauren Lawson, Jen Rhoden, Kara Smith,
& Sarah Walston