ILI Board of Directors

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.

Reynolds Whalen, Treasurer
Director of Sales Operations, Webber & Grinnell Insurance

Reynolds joined the ILI board in September 2020. He is Director of Culture and Communication at Webber & Grinnell Insurance in Northampton. From 2011-2020, he was the director of Performing Arts Abroad, an organization he founded that offered study abroad, internships, training, and volunteer opportunities for music, dance, theater, and film. He is a volunteer for the Alumni and Parents Admission Program for Washington University in St. Louis, MO. In this role, he conducts admissions interviews with high school students in western Massachusetts who do not have the opportunity to travel to the University for in-person discussions.

Among Reynolds’ long history of involvement in arts and education organizations are: Stages Bloomington Summer Arts Camp (director of acting), Africa Face to Face (educator), South Bronx Classical Charter School (Teach for America; corps member and teacher), and Millennium Congregations in Rwanda (videographer and documentarian).

Reynolds earned his MA in African Studies from Indiana University in Bloomington, his MSED (Childhood Education) from Hunter College in New York City, and his BA in Drama and African and African American Studies from Washington University. Among his many scholastic achievements are: two-time Rhodes Scholarship finalist, Dred and Harriet Scott Award for the Advancement of Human Rights, Danforth Scholarship, and Robert C. Byrd Congressional Honors Scholarship.

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.

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.

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.