Greetings!

Special thanks to our guest, Harambee Readers, and the amazing parents who helped us make this summer's Camden Dream CDF Freedom School an outstanding success!!!

2026 is the twelfth year sponsoring the Children's Defense Fund's Freedom School program in Camden, New Jersey. The Camden Dream CDF Freedom School in Camden is where literacy is our focus each morning, and the afternoons are spent teaching STEM.

This year's STEM programming promoted sustainability awareness by directing our scholars to explore water conservation, hydroponic food production, photonics, and food insecurity.

Below are biographical profiles of just some of this summer's special guests, Harambee readers! We started with Averill Goldsmith, "ACE," who was among our first scholars 12 years ago!

Averill “Ace” Goldsmith is returning home to the Camden Dream CDF Freedom School as one of its original scholars 12 years ago! Ace was part of the first cohort. He knows firsthand about the program's power to change lives.

After completing high school, Ace joined the Marine Corps, where he continues to serve honorably in defense of our nation.

Clara Vaughn provides support to residential, commercial, small businesses, and non-profits. She offers property management services and builds wealth through investments in physical, intellectual & geographic property.

She is Broker/Owner of Lyonsview Realty, Lyonsview Academy, and Lyonsview Lifestyle.

Damien M. Ghee

SVP, Market Manager | Board Chair & Trustee | Governance, Risk & Capital Strategy | Inclusive Leadership & Community Impact | Building High-Performance Diverse Teams. With over two decades of leadership in commercial and public finance, His work bridges the gap between operational liquidity and long-term fiscal stewardship.

Princeton University partnership: Our special guests included Drs. Jamie Sziklay, Tara Carr-Lemke, and Jeffrey R. Smith from Princeton University, along with telecommunications specialist Mr. Joey Rivera and our Mastery High School host, Ms. Carmen Ubarry.

Dr. Marilyn Martinez, former Superintendent of Pleasantville Public Schools. Dr. Martinez loves finding new ways to help students learn, like adding cool STEM programs (science, technology, engineering, and math).

Dr. Cari August, Energetic Operations Manager with experience in various industries. PhD focused in Materials Science and Engineering from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick.

Lauren Green is not new to this. Lauren started out as a scholar 12 years ago then became a Junior Servant Leader Intern, then a Servant Leader Intern, and in 2025 SiteCoordinator.

Jennifer Demetrius, graduate of the esteemed Wharton School | Finance Consultant|Senior Finance Director | Division Controller | IT Portfolio Manager

Cornelio Ash, is an Equity Analyst at William O'Neil + Co. Inc. Los Angeles, California, United States

C. André Daniels is a nationally recognized community leader, veteran, patient advocate, educator, and public servant whose life’s work has been dedicated to lifting others through service, leadership, and hope.

A United States Air Force veteran and Mayor Emeritus of Westampton Township, New Jersey.

Ethel Davis is President and Founder of the Kevin Davis Foundation, the largest single donor to the Camden Freedom School project since its beginning 12 years ago. Kevin Davis, her husband, was raised in Camden, a graduate of the Camden High School, has never forgot his roots in Camden.

Tamara Martin, Co-founder of the Camden Dream CDF Freedom School in Camden. Born and raised in Camden. She too understands the power of literacy and a good education. She ran the Freedom School in camden for 10 years, then turned the helm over the next generation.

Arnold Ramsaran - holds a Master of Science degree in Cyber Security and Cyber Terrorism, he is a Systems Engineer for Cisco Systems, starting in 2013 he was a Network Engineer for the National September 11th Memorial & Museum at Ground Zero, in his time there he helped to open the Museum (May 2014) by completing their wired and wireless IT infrastructure.

Micah A. Khan, President & CEO of a busines development firm marketing for healthcare companies throughout the country. Mr. Khan previously served as a Managing Partner for a Philadelphia-based home healthcare agency with 1,000+ employees, with over 700 returned citizens employed.

Ryan Thompson is a Regional CRA Officer for Mid Penn Bank, serving the greater Philadelphia area. Ryan’s job is to ensure that the bank is lending to, investing in, and serving the communities where Mid Penn Bank operates. 

She has been in banking for a little over ten years. 

Ryan is what we not new to this, she is true to this! She's been an avid supporting over the years.

Just a few of our amazing parents !!!! Thank you so much!!!

Daria Walls, a Strategic Advisor • Leadership Educator • Governance Expert • and Board Director

The guiding philosophy of her nearly 30-year career is best reflected by a quote attributed to the ancient Greek polymath Archimedes. “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

Founder and president of the Walls Torres Group. This is a strategic management consulting firm that combines dedicated client service with world-class expertise to facilitate positive change in organizations that aspire to excellence.

Chris Collins is a native of Camden, NJ. He is a member of the clergy in Camden, a

Chaplain for New Jersey State Department of Corrections, Camden County Office of the

Sheriff and former Chaplain for the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots

Foundation. In 1995, he started what is known today as the nation’s premier faith-based and professional weekly newspaper for winners, Anointed News Journal (ANJ), which is distributed in 28 states and have been distributed in 10 countries.

Dr. Yolanda Mack, PH.D. ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, ROWAN UNIVERSITY. 

Responsible for developing and executing strategic industry partnerships focused on sponsored research, contracts, and workforce development.

PhD in Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, 2007

MS, in Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, 2004

BS, in Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, 2002

Dr. Julie Bunt, currently serves as the Chief of Staff at the New Jersey Department of State under the leadership of Lt. Governor Dr. Dale G. Caldwell. Prior to joining the department, Dr. Bunt served in various roles at the New Jersey Department of Education, including Senior Advisor, Chief of Staff, and Director of the Office of Charter and Renaissance Schools, Department of Education. Dr. Bunt received her Doctor’s Degree in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration from Saint Peter’s University.

Dr. Semaj Y. Vanzant, Sr. is a visionary leader, theologian, and organizational strategist uniquely equipped to serve as Executive Director of the New Jersey Faith Action Center. With over a decade of experience designing and leading initiatives that strengthen communities, Dr. Vanzant brings a rare blend of ministry leadership, nonprofit innovation, and systems-level thinking to this role. He currently serves as President of the General Baptist Convention of New Jersey, one of the largest faith networks in the state, representing nearly 250 churches across all 21 counties and more than 300,000 constituents.

Dr. Henrey Washington, ia at the helm of the Henry H Washington 3 Foundation, his leadership is defined by a steadfast commitment to strategic planning and team building. These pillars have been the cornerstone of his tenure, fostering a culture of excellence and driving impactful community initiatives.

Prior to his current role, his experience as a military commander and Deputy Marshal/Investigator honed his leadership skills. These competencies have proven invaluable in guiding the foundation's operations and ensuring the integrity of our mission.

Nikhill Rajaram, Senior Software Engineer, Developed a RAG-based product identification system using multimodal embeddings and VLM reranking over a web-crawled product catalog 



He designed and launched a B2B marketplace layer on the existing consumer platform, refactoring the data model and payment flows to support a new class of transactions 

Pioneered AI capabilities by implementing conversational AI agents for automated onboarding, establishing Team Engine's first AI-driven product features.

● Architected scalable data infrastructure using Airbyte on auto-scaling Kubernetes (EKS) to centralize data from multiple systems into Snowflake, enabling advanced analytics capabilities.

Sandy Khan, with a decade of experience in human resources and talent acquisition, I currently lead recruitment efforts as the Talent Acquisition Lead at Neko Health. My role focuses on global recruitment strategies, talent acquisition leadership, and fostering an inclusive workplace culture to align hiring practices with organizational goals. 

Skilled in global sourcing and recruitment, I collaborate with teams and stakeholders to develop innovative strategies that support Neko Health’s mission. My work emphasizes creating impactful employee value propositions and leveraging strategic solutions to attract and retain top-tier talent in the med-tech sector.

Dr. Lauren Gotay Khan is a physician. Completed her undergraduate degree at New York University and ultimately went on to receive a master's in healthcare administration from Walden University and her Doctor of Medicine degree from the All American Institute of Medical Sciences in Jamaica, West Indies, where she was named valedictorian of her class and now sits on the school’s advisory board. She did her residency training at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Philadelphia and received a second Master’s Degree in Healthcare Innovation from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lauren is currently employed as a Hospitalist at Virtua Hospital and is the owner of Kingdom Primary Care and Kingdom Caregivers. She is a devoted wife and mother of three.

Amir Khan, Regional Director, Northeast, at Stratus, the #1 service provider of EEG services in the country, partnering with some of the top epilepsy programs in the world. He oversees operations that provide everything from routine EEGs to in-home video EEGs to inpatient setups and long-term monitoring.

The Camden Dream Center mantra is "Teamwork Makes the Dream Work". Many thanks to our 2026 interns, including high school and college students, and one recent college graduate. Representing Rowan University, Howard University, Rider, and Notre Dame.

Bryan Adams is a dedicated fitness professional, sales leader, and community servant originally from Cherry Hill, Baltimore. A graduate of Hammond High School with studies at Bowie State University and Howard County Community College, Bryan holds a Certificate in Computer Electronics and has built a diverse career spanning sales and marketing, personal training, and athletic coaching.

Dr. Kia R. McCray is a Licensed Doctor of Social Work, researcher, entrepreneur, and collaborative leader with more than 20 years of experience across behavioral health, government, healthcare systems, and higher education. Throughout a diverse, purpose-driven career, Dr. McCray has been guided by a longstanding desire to be part of the bigger picture—working not only to address challenges as they arise, but to build sustainable, system-level solutions.

Camden Dream Center Technology Training School| kdavis@kflcamdendreamcenter.org | www.camdendreamcenter.org