ILI’s all volunteer, highly committed Board of Directors, working closely with staff leadership, provides guidance in institutional development; establishes policies, procedures and regulations to govern ILI’s operations; and monitors the organization’s finances, strategic plan, programs and performance. Board members have deep experience and knowledge from leadership, the education field, marketing and finance to organizational governance, local and global engagement, and more—as well as a demonstrated devotion to equity in education.
Deanne Kloepfer, President
Communications Consultant (retired)
Deanne joined the ILI board in 2014. She is a former high school teacher (B.A.–History and English; M.A.–History and English) turned communications professional, who held research, communications, and management positions with local non-profit groups and the state public utilities commission in Idaho, a national environmental organization in Washington, DC, and a public water district in California.
She launched her own business in Washington, DC and, later, Vermont, as a communications consultant for several national environmental non-profit groups and government entities, including Smithsonian Institution’s Biological Diversity Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Eric Wirth, Treasurer
Manager of Global Partnerships, UMass, Amherst
After serving on the ILI board from 2009 to 2018, Eric rejoined in July 2023 to continue his commitment to serving the community he loves.
Eric spent 15 years with World Learning and the School for International Training before joining the team in the International Programs Office at UMass Amherst in January 2023. He has years of experience in higher education administration, enrollment systems, marketing/communication, fundraising and network building. He holds a certificate from the Management Development Program from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, an M.A. from UMASS Amherst in Hispanic Language, Literature and Linguistics and a B.A. from UMASS Amherst in Spanish Language and Literature.
Sonya Rumpf, Clerk
Language Instructor and Specialist in Financial Inclusion Policies
Sonya joined the ILI board in 2022. She has been a proud friend and supporter of the school since receiving her ILI TESOL certification in 2009. She has taught intensive Spanish as well as free English classes for immigrants and refugees at ILI and is thrilled to be supporting the school’s mission as Board Member.
Having grown up in a bilingual, multicultural home, Sonya discovered early on the joy and depth of connection that comes from being able to relate to people across cultures through shared language. She holds a BA in International and Intercultural Studies from Pitzer College and a MA in Political Studies from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellin, Colombia.
Sonya has spent her career driving financial inclusion policies within the corporate, technology, and social impact sectors, most recently leading Partnership Development at Grameen America, the largest nonprofit micro-finance institution in the U.S.
Michael Cohen
Founder and CEO of Lightlife (retired)
Michael came to the iLI board in February 2019. With a strong commitment to healthy living, he founded Lightlife Foods, Inc. in 1979. He served as Lightlife’s CEO until 2000, when he and his wife sold the company. He retired in 2003.
In addition to his work on the ILI board, Michael has served local communities as a member of the board of directors for the Food bank of Western Massachusetts and as finance chair and treasurer of the Northampton Survival Center’s board of directors.
Jennifer Greenhouse
Senior Manager, Operations for Customer Support at Pratt & Whitney
Jenni joined the board in January 2024. She moved from her home country of Colombia to Northampton in 2013. In accordance with her belief that language has the power to connect people and open doors to succeed in communities, she enrolled in ILI’s intensive English classes and studied at Greenfield Community College. She went on to earn a BS in Industrial Engineering from Western New England University and an MBA in Business Administration from Boston University.
Jenni envisions membership on the ILI board as a great opportunity to put her leadership skills to use in making an impactful contribution to ILI’s growth and future. Her education and professional work in engineering and business administration, as well as her experience in learning English as a second language, provides many pathways for Jenni to give back to ILI and the language learners we serve.
Markus Jones
Senior Director of Development and Strategic Operations, Riverside
Markus joined the ILI board in February 2017. His career as a fundraiser began in the midst of disaster recovery efforts in South Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. His work in the nonprofit sector now spans more than 16 years and extends across the entire country. He has experience as a front-line fundraiser and relationship-manager in support of a variety of philanthropic missions, including public higher education, public healthcare, private secondary education, and community-based health and human services.
Markus holds a BA in Advertising from the University of Southern Mississippi and currently serves as Senior Director of Development and Strategic Operations for Riverside Industries located in Easthampton, Massachusetts.
La Wanza Lett-Brewington
Title IX Coordinator and Affirmative Action Officer, Greenfield and Berkshire Community Colleges
La Wanza joined the ILI board in November 2023, after returning to western Massachusetts from Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) where she led the university’s Women and Gender Equity Center for nearly a decade. Before Old Dominion recruited her, La Wanza served as executive director for Safe Passage in Northampton, director of the Five College Consortium Violence Prevention Project-Everywoman’s Center (UMASS Amherst) and held leadership positions with other violence prevention programs. She was also the president, CEO and executive consultant for Plain Talk Consultants from 1990 to 2013.
La Wanza graduated from Greenfield Community College in 1992 (A.A., Business Administration), UMASS Amherst University Without Walls in 2003 (B.A., Diversity Education in Organizations) and UMASS Amherst Graduate School of Education in 2005 (M.Ed., Social Justice Education).
Recognized for her innovative work in leadership development, diversity, equity, inclusion, conflict resolution, human services administration and crisis management, La Wanza is also a prolific presenter, essayist and poet.
Alyssa Li
Co-founder of BEE Global
Alyssa joined the board in October of 2023. She has more than a decade of experience in the international education field, including work with entities such as Where There Be Dragons, Princeton University’s Bridge Year Program Abroad, Phillips Exeter and Deerfield Academy, where she focused on cross-cultural and educational travel programs throughout China for U.S. students. She is also a co-founder of BEE (Beyond Experiential Education) Global, a social enterprise centered on building community and fostering freedom of mind through deeply impactful cultural immersion programs.
Alyssa holds an MA in Service, Leadership and Management from SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, VT, and was awarded a fully funded fellowship program to work on an MBA at the Isenberg School of Business (UMass Amherst). She earned a Certificate in Conflict Transformation Across Cultures from UMass Amherst and a certificate in Way of Council from the New England Council Collective.
As an English student in Northampton, Alyssa had a meaningful home-stay experience with one of ILI’s host families and is excited to be using her native Chinese fluency and social media skills to advance ILI’s mission through international branding, marketing and events management.
Rebecca Lorimer Leonard
Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Rebecca Lorimer Leonard joined the board in 2021. As an Associate Professor in the English Department and Director of the Writing Program at UMass Amherst, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on language diversity, literacy studies, and research methods. Rebecca has published broadly on these topics, including in her book Writing on the Move: Migrant Women and the Value of Literacy, which won the 2019 Outstanding Book Award from the Conference on College Composition and Communication. In 2017, she received an Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts at UMass Amherst.
Rebecca holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MA from San Francisco State University, and a BA from the University of Southern California. You can read more about her work at her website.
Amelia Mosley
Business Account Executive, Comcast Business; Owner of Mii.Inc
Amelia has served on the Board since May 2014. She handles business accounts for Comcast Business. She is also the owner and Senior Consultant for Mii.Inc, a personal branding agency she started in 2009 to help students and young professionals develop their personal brand by gaining knowledge of multicultural competency, business etiquette and marketing strategies. In 2019, Business West honored Amelia as one of their “40 under 40” outstanding business leaders in western Massachusetts.
Amelia holds a degree from Smith College, where she began exploring the use of international business etiquette practices along with key concepts of marketing and branding for diverse groups of professionals. She has traveled to western Africa, Europe, Canada, and all over the United States to gain and help offer a broader perspective on ways to achieve leverage in the global economy.
Bob Pura
Former President of Greenfield Community College (retired)
Bob joined the ILI board in October 2018 after 40 years as a teacher and administrator in the MA community college system, including 17½ years as president of Greenfield Community College (GCC). Highlights of his time at GCC include creation of the testing, wellness, advising, and veteran’s centers as well as the GCC Food Pantry and Senior Symposia. He worked with former Congressman John Olver and community leaders to develop the GCC sustainable energy, creative economy, health care, and manufacturing initiatives and oversaw extensive building renovations to the campus.
Under Bob’s leadership, the GCC endowment rose to more than $5 million, while the GCC Foundation raised $14 million and has awarded hundreds of scholarships over several years.
The son of an immigrant and the first in his family to attend college, Bob earned his A.A. at Miami Dade Community College, B.A. at the University of South Florida, M.S. from St. Thomas University (Miami), and Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Texas in Austin.
Dora Tseng
Access Coordinator, Disability Services at UMass Amherst
Dora (she/her/hers) came to the board in January 2024. In 2023, she celebrated her tenth year in the U.S., having arrived from Taiwan in 2013, and is now a permanent resident. Those ten years have been productive: she has earned an AA in liberal arts from Greenfield Community College and a BA in sociology and M.Ed in higher education from UMass Amherst.
Dora wants to contribute to her second home right here in western Massachusetts through membership on the ILI board. As an immigrant, she is eager to share her experiences with newcomers. She has also gained insights into how people learn through her work with disability services. And Dora has a passionate commitment to social justice. She organized the 2021 “Hear Us All Rally” in Amherst in response to the rise of hate crime against Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and she participated as a panelist during the 2020 UMass “Perspectives on COVID-19 and Anti-Asian Bias and Xenophobia” discussion.
Brittany Weiss
Director of Philanthropy, Stoneleigh-Burnham School
Brittany joined the Board in August 2020. She is the Director of Philanthropy at Stoneleigh-Burnham School (SBS), a boarding and day school for girls in Grades 7-12 and Postgraduate (PG), located in Greenfield, MA. Previously, Brittany served as the Marketing & Communications Manager as well as the Director of International Admissions at SBS. Brittany has considerable experience in higher education, independent secondary education, and educational summer programs both stateside (in Massachusetts, New York and Washington, DC) and abroad (in England, Hungary, Italy and Spain).
Throughout her career, Brittany has nurtured a keen enthusiasm for education, a passion for teamwork and a penchant for creative problem-solving. She holds a BA in Spanish from Siena College and an MS in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from the University at Albany. Brittany is also pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
2024 ILI Board of Directors Meeting Schedule:
- Monday, January 22, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- Monday, February 26, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- Monday, March 25, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- No meeting in April
- Monday, May 27, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- Monday, June 24, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- Monday, July 22, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- No meeting in August
- Monday, September 23, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- Monday, October 28, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- Monday, November 25, 2024 6:00-7:00 pm
- No meeting in December