My career sits at a unique intersection of tax policy, nonprofit finance, and community fundraising and I am building an organization that brings all three together. As a Senior Tax Specialist and nonprofit financial aid administrator, I spend my days helping people find money they did not know was available to them. Open Books, Open Doors Foundation will do the same thing for children who need resources for early literacy programs across Pennsylvania. The foundation is focused on early childhood literacy, starting in Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania with the goal of eventually expanding across the entire Commonwealth. The model is built around Pennsylvania's Education Improvement Tax Credit program, which allows individuals and businesses to donate money to scholarship granting organizations and receive a state tax credit covering ninety percent of their donation. In simple terms, donors redirect money they would already owe in taxes to an organization whose mission they believe in. They do not lose money. They choose where it goes. I have been working with this program for years as the Student Accounts Specialist at Oakland Catholic High School, where I serve as the school's designated EITC expert. I have identified provisions in state statute that our partner organizations were previously unaware of, spoken directly with U.S. Senator David McCormick and State Senator Jay Costa about expanding the program's impact, and helped families access scholarship funding they did not know existed. I already have the knowledge, the contacts, and the experience to launch this organization. What I am building now is the platform to take it further. Open Books, Open Doors Foundation will partner with elementary schools, high schools, and libraries across Western Pennsylvania, including the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh, to direct scholarship funding toward programs that promote early childhood literacy. I have existing relationships with contacts in our local library system and county resources that make this more than a vision. It is a plan with real infrastructure behind it. I am currently enrolled in the Master of Public Management program at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College beginning August 2026. This degree is the next block in the foundation I am building. The policy knowledge, professional network, and management skills I gain at CMU will allow me to formalize this organization, grow its donor base, and expand its reach across Pennsylvania. Early literacy is a great equalizer and I have seen too many kids fall behind simply because the resources were never put in front of them. Open Books, Open Doors Foundation exists to change that, one donor, one school, and one child at a time.

I know my work in the nonprofit sector creates a positive impact because I have heard it firsthand. Parents of graduating seniors at Oakland Catholic High School have called me in tears, overwhelmed with joy because their daughter earned a full scholarship to her dream university. Those phone calls are why I do this work. I currently serve as Student Accounts Specialist at Oakland Catholic High School, where I manage nearly $2,000,000 in financial aid annually and serve as the primary point of contact for families on all financial matters. What draws me to this work is the mission. We are not trying to maximize profit for shareholders. We are trying to educate young women in our community and turn them into leaders and role models. That is a mission worth showing up for every single day. A significant part of my role involves Pennsylvania's Education Improvement Tax Credit program, known as the EITC, which allows businesses and individuals to redirect their state tax liability into scholarships for middle to lower income students across the Commonwealth. I became the school's designated EITC expert and have identified provisions in the state statute that our partner scholarship organizations were previously unaware of, allowing us to maximize scholarship opportunities for our students beyond what was previously thought possible. The deeper we go into this program the more funding we can secure for our students, which means our organization has more resources available for faculty and staff. Better funded teachers stay in the profession longer, the best educators remain in the classroom, and the cycle of impact continues. I have had the privilege of discussing this program's impact with U.S. Senator David McCormick and State Senator Jay Costa directly, and I serve as a liaison between our school, our families, and the scholarship granting organizations that make these opportunities possible. I take genuine pride in making these processes more accessible for families who may not otherwise know what is available to them. Looking ahead I am enrolled in the Master of Public Management program at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College beginning August 2026. This degree will give me the credentials and knowledge to expand my impact beyond Oakland Catholic and eventually launch Open Books, Open Doors Foundation, a scholarship granting organization focused on early childhood literacy in Pennsylvania. Early literacy is a great equalizer and I have seen too many kids fall behind simply because the resources were never put in front of them. The nonprofit sector is where I chose to build my career because the work is meaningful, the mission matters, and the impact is real. I have heard it in the voices of parents who never thought this day would come for their daughter. That is enough for me.