February 2024 Newsletter

Karen Ali

Karen Ali is active in the community, serving as president of the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey State Museum Foundation and on the boards of Our Kids Read, the Executive Board to The Auxiliary to the Isabella McCosh Infirmary (Princeton University), Association of Black Princeton Alumni (ABPA), Princeton AlumniCorps, the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Passion of Hope International-US.

Karen is also active in several Princeton University alumni activities. In 2018, Karen received ABPA's Alumni Service Award. In 2013, she volunteered through Princeton AlumniCorps’ ARC Innovators program for Good Grief, Inc. and edited an anthology of children’s essays. For more than 20 years, she has served as an administrator for the Fred Fox Class of 1939 Fund.

Karen retired from the New Jersey Hospital Association, where she served as senior vice president for community partnerships and prior to that role, general counsel. Karen received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, magna cum laude from Princeton University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She is a member of the New York and Virginia State bars.

Karen lives in Princeton Junction, NJ with her spouse, Deighton Weekes. She is the proud mother of Justin and grandmother of Nahla, Sufyan and Maya. In honor of her son and parents, Karen established the Ali-Weekes Endowed Scholarship at Adelphi in 2019 for students pursuing Communications degrees.

Lauren MacDonell

Lauren MacDonell is a researcher, instructional design consultant, and teacher educator specializing in inclusive language and literacy learning. She holds a Master of Education in Instructional Design and a B.A. in Linguistics, and she is currently pursuing a PhD in literacy studies at Middle Tennessee State University. She teaches pre-service teachers about language science and the science of reading at CollegeUnbound.edu.

Lauren’s work also centers language equity and inclusion. By integrating evidence-based literacy learning methods with inclusive, linguistics-based materials and methods for teaching about language, Lauren seeks to shift the paradigm in K-12 ELA instruction to fully serve students of all language backgrounds and abilities. You can read more about her work at LanguageScienceCentral.com

Lauren has been involved with OurKidsRead since 2021 and has served as a Reading Buddies volunteer, an advisory board member and, most recently, as the Literacy, Language and Equity Lead for the organization. As a researcher, she sees the power of OurKidsRead to expand the literacy franchise by providing access to texts and positive reading role models to kids of all backgrounds and abilities.

Kevin C. Hudson

We’d like to welcome our newest advisory board member, Kevin C Hudson, Princeton Class of 1997. Kevin’s deep background in education is a tremendous boost to the OKR Advisory Board. Mr. Hudson is the Associate Director for Diversity and College Opportunity in the Office of Provost at Princeton University. In this role, Kevin manages strategic partnerships and a portfolio of activities aligned with Princeton’s commitment to combat inequities in education.

Kevin coordinates projects and partnerships with nonprofit organizations (e.g., Council for Opportunity in Education, LEDA, Matriculate), peer institutions, and researchers to support selective college access for traditionally underrepresented students. He additionally supports institutional collaborations with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).

As a first-generation, lower-income college student, Kevin earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and his Master’s degree in Higher Education Management from University of Pennsylvania. He is currently pursuing an Ed.D at Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. Kevin serves on various boards including Delbarton School, New Jersey Scholars Program, and Princeton Blairstown Center.

Antonia Baker

Antonia Baker is an multi-faceted brand marketer, culture creator and business advisor with over 20 yrs experience in both B2C and B2B marketing space working at the intersection of culture, community and creativity. Focused on driving transformational brand growth and revenue, Antonia's superpower is creating passionate global communities by marrying content and culture-forward strategies that cultivate brand love.

Currently, Antonia consults with brands and creators to craft their best stories to connect with consumers. Prior to this role, Antonia was the Global Head of Consumer Marketing at Twitter where she oversaw global consumer marketing strategy to drive engagement and culture that came alive on Twitter in 280 characters and beyond.

A first-generation Jamaican-American, Antonia is driven by impacting lives through mentorship and empowering the next generation of leaders to be fearless in changing the world. Antonia holds a B.S. in Marketing from Manhattan College and currently resides in her beloved hometown of NYC.

Jace Brett (Reading Buddy Spotlight)

Jace Brett, an 8th grader at Kingswood Oxford School in Hartford, CT, brought both his writing talents and social media skills to Our Kids Read for 6 months in 2023. He created evergreen content for the Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn platforms and create a social media schedule for the organization. Once a week Jace also served as a Reading Buddy to a student in one of Our Kids Read's Reading Buddy pilots in the Bronx, New York.

"In 2023, I served as a Reading Buddy for a fantastic fourth grader named Lyric, who lives in the Bronx. Together, we select a Kindle book and work on everything from learning how to pronounce the words to the meaning behind them. I chose to work with Our Kids Read as it is a powerful platform to provide students with the resources they need to learn to read. Together, we can continue working towards a better tomorrow."