Our Community
At Sparks Within Reach, our team is family. We understand the importance of dedication and collaboration, and our commitment is to always be there for our students.
Rukaiya Sharmi
Co-Founder & CEO
George Li
Co-Founder & COO
Anna Pacheco
Co-Founder & Programs
Nicola Manfredi
Co-Founder & Research
Ziqi Guo
Co-Founder & Curriculum
Mark Shafran
Co-Founder & Finance
Executive Team
In 2021, these high school friends from NYC reunited to bring equitable education to students experiencing homelessness.
Programs Division
Tutor Recruitment Team
The tutoring team teaches students ...
Vinkie Huang
Coordinator
Jeffrey Tao
Ambassador
Maya Radwan
BUILD Coordinator
Nusheen Ghaemi
BUILD Support
Ava Levine
Advocacy
Angela Chan
Ambassador
Maya Radwan
BUILD Coordinator
Nusheen Ghaemi
BUILD Support
Programs Division
Research Division
The Research Division is dedicated to investigating effective educational interventions and qualitative designs to elevate the students’ learning experience. The division explores executive functioning, expanding trauma-informed teaching and analyzing research data to solve problems, explore issues and predict trends.
Alexis Kim
Intern
Jingyi Xie
Intern
Benjamin Lo
Manager
Lina Eomn
Intern
Ishmat Hoque
Intern
Justin Zhang
Matthew Kessler
Rajon Das
Intern
Intern
Intern
Programs Division
Marketing Team
The tutoring team teaches students ...
Alexis Kim
Intern
Jingyi Xie
Intern
Benjamin Lo
Manager
Lina Eomn
Intern
Ishmat Hoque
Intern
Justin Zhang
Matthew Kessler
Rajon Das
Intern
Intern
Intern
Programs Division
Tutoring Team
The tutoring team teaches students ...
Alexis Kim
Intern
Jingyi Xie
Intern
Benjamin Lo
Manager
Lina Eomn
Intern
Ishmat Hoque
Intern