About Us

Dr. Anna Brink holds degrees from Wofford College (B.A.), the University of South Carolina (M.Ed.), and Clemson University (Ph.D.). Anna began her career teaching and leading at Dutch Fork Middle School in Lexington/Richland School District 5. After returning to her hometown of Laurens, SC, she spent 13 years in Laurens County School District 55, serving as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and Director of Federal Programs, Accountability, and Professional Development.

Currently, Anna is the Director of Federal Programs for Greenville County Schools. She also chairs the South Carolina Association of School Administrators Grants and Federal Programs Roundtable and is a past conference chair for the SCASA i3 Conference Committee. Additionally, Anna enjoys mentoring future educational leaders as a Visiting Professor in the College of Education at Clemson University.

On a personal note, Anna cherishes her role as a mother to Dylan (15) and Will (12) and as a wife to Jeff, a middle school Montessori teacher in Laurens School District 55. She is honored to serve on the South Carolina Association of Title I Administrators Executive Board to advocates for all students to reach their full potential and provide networking opportunities for educational leaders in SC.

Johni McElveen has been an educator for 14 years. During her professional career she has been a classroom teacher teaching grades 4 and 6. She was an Enterprise Learning Coach with the Race to the Top grant for 3 years. Johni has also served in the role as a STEM Instructional Coach and Elementary Curriculum Coordinator where she led teachers at the elementary level with creating dynamic and engaging lessons linking the core content with STEM standards.

Johni served the Berkeley County School District as a Coordinator of Federal and State Programs. In her role as a district coordinator, she assists in the management and implementation of ESEA grants as well as school improvement grants. Most recently, Johni has joined the Williamsburg County School District as their Coordinator of Testing and Accountability. Johni has shared her expertise by presenting at conferences at the national, state, and local level.

Johni is a graduate of Charleston Southern University where she received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and her Master’s Degree in Elementary Administration and Supervision.

Karen Cook currently serves as the Special Revenue Coordinator for Lexington School District One and has an extensive background in federal programs. She started her education career as a middle school math teacher but it transformed 12 years ago when she joined the Office of Federal and State Accountability at the SCDE.

Over her 10 years at the SCDE, Karen served in multiple roles to include State Title II Coordinator, Consolidated Finance and Applications Team Program Manager, and Team Leader for the Consolidated Oversight and Monitoring Team. Karen also worked two years as the Executive Director of Federal Programs at the Charter Institute at Erskine.

She is a 12 year member of SCATA and NAFEPA, a former member of NAESPA, and current LEA Affiliate Member of NAESPA. Karen was honored to receive the NAFEPA State Leadership Award in 2017 for her contributions to federal programs in South Carolina.

Kristy Cansler is the Chief of Federal Programs for the Charter Institute at Erskine. Kristy holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Special Education from the University of South Carolina Aiken and a Master’s Degree in Education from Southern Wesleyan University. She oversees all federal education grants under ESSA, ensuring fiscal and programmatic compliance.

Kristy has over 18 years of experience in education. Her previous job experience includes serving as a special education teacher at the elementary and middle school levels, a district-level coordinator in both Special Programs and Federal Programs, and Director of Federal Programs overseeing Title I, Title II, Title III, and Title IV programs, ESSER programs, the McKinney-Vento Act, Gifted & Talented programs, EEDA, and 21st Century programs, as well as state requirements for Read to Succeed legislation and MTSS.

Kristy is an advocate for professional growth and networking with colleagues across the state and country. She currently serves as President of the South Carolina Association of Title I Administrators (SCATA) and is an active member of the National Association of Federal Programs Administrators (NAFEPA), Federal Programs Division of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA), SCDE Federal Programs Committee of Practitioners, and the Beta Delta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma – International Society for Key Women Educators.

Jewell Stanley is the Director of the Office of Federal and State Accountability at the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE). As the Director, she oversees all federal education grants under ESSA, ensuring fiscal and programmatic compliance. Before becoming the Director, her roles included serving as the Assistant Director for the office and as state coordinator of Titles I, II, and IV.

Throughout her 31 years in education, she has worked with and advocated for Title I students. She was a teacher and principal of a Title I school for 16 years before beginning her work with the South Carolina Department of Education.

Jewell is the SCDE Liaison to the South Carolina Association of Title I Administrators. In addition, she is a member of the National Association of ESEA State Administrators, where she serves as the Treasurer and member of the Conference Planning Committee.