Blue Ridge Foundation New York

Caroline Kim Oh, Executive Director	Caroline joined the iMentor team in 2000 as its first Director of Programs, and was named Executive Director in April 2002. Under Caroline's leadership, iMentor grew to serve 400 mentor and mentee pairs annually. Prior to iMentor, Caroline was with the Small Business Congress of New York City, a federation of over 60 small business associations advocating the rights of small enterprises. Caroline also managed student-computing facilities for New York University and was a consultant to the Documentary Heritage Program for the NYS Department of Education and Korean American Small Business Center. Caroline currently serves on the Board of Directors of Row New York, an after–school rowing, academic, and self-esteem building program. Caroline also serves on the New York advisory boards of Taproot Foundation and Youth, I.N.C. (Improving Nonprofits for Children) Caroline received her M.P.A. from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and her B.A. from Cornell University.



Mike O'Brien, Director of Development & Operations	Mike joined iMentor this fall after three years of working with New York City’s at-risk youth in academic, athletic, and community-based settings. After graduating from Bucknell University with B.A.s in both English and psychology, Mike began teaching at William H. Maxwell Career and Technology High School in East New York, Brooklyn. In addition to teaching English and coaching the boy’s basketball team, Mike launched after-school programs that included poetry workshops, literary magazines, tutoring programs, and borough-wide basketball tournaments. He has also worked with underserved communities and schools in Cape Town, South Africa.


César Vargas, Development & Operations Coordinator	César began with iMentor in the Spring of 2002 as a program coordinator and transitioned into the newly created development coordinator position in the Fall of 2003. He is responsible for the timely submission of proposals to foundations and corporations as well as assisting with the coordination of special events and annual appeals. César came to iMentor with an extensive community service background after successfully completing two years of volunteer service with the AmeriCorps*VISTA program in San Juan, Puerto Rico. César received his B.A. in Spanish in the Spring of 1998 from Illinois State University.

Scott Ross, Curriculum Manager	cott joined the iMentor team in August 2005 with an extensive background in the fields of education and psychology. He holds an Ed.M. degree in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, as well as a B.A. in Psychology from Reed College. Before joining the iMentor team, Scott spent several years as a Senior Research Assistant for the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future, and then worked for over two years managing Executive Education programs at Columbia Business School. He also has considerable experience as an educator of youth in a variety of contexts, including special education, experiential education, alternative school settings, service-learning programs, and community college.
Kimberly Ednie, Senior Program Coordinator	With more than six years of experience teaching writing in diverse environments, Kimberley believes in the power of language expression to instill personal and academic confidence. Before coming to iMentor, Kimberley worked as an adjunct writing instructor at Hunter College while earning her Master’s degree in British and American literature. Additionally, she served as a high school reading and writing instructor at an enrichment school in Flushing, Queens. She has also worked as a writing tutor at Hunter, SUNY Geneseo, and Boston University with students of varying English fluency and comprehension skills and as the program assistant at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. While an undergraduate at SUNY Geneseo, Kimberley participated as a mentor in Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Livingston County and is thrilled to be facilitating mentor-mentee relationships in her current position.
Ariana Flores, Program Coordinator	Ariana recently earned a B.A. in Puerto Rican and Hispanic Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University. During her years at Rutgers, Ariana cultivated her leadership skills in a variety of positions. A firm believer in the importance of education, she served as a Peer Academic Leader for the Douglass College Office of Residence Life, and as an Organic Chemistry tutor and MCAT instructor for Rutgers’ Office of Diversity and Academic Success in the Sciences. Most recently, Ariana was engaged in a research project at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey investigating the mechanism of resistance to a particular chemotherapeutic drug in cancer cells. Ariana’s future career plans are to become a medical physician and advocate for medically underserved communities.
Michelle Young Choi, Program Assistant	Michelle Choi comes to iMentor with a great deal of experience in education and youth development, both at the federal and local levels. Originally from Southern California, her interest in youth and education was sparked by her involvement with the Orange County chapter of America’s Promise--where for two years she served as a mentor for Melissa V., a middle school student. She spent the next four years in Washington, DC. There, Michelle interned for the U.S. Department of Education, Senators Kennedy (MA), Feinstein (CA), and Schumer (NY). Working with education legislative staffers, she closely followed federal education legislation. Additionally, Michelle was a volunteer for DC Reads. After receiving her B.A. in Political Science with a focus of Public Policy from George Washington University, she moved to Brooklyn and worked as an Educational Workshop Leader for the Center for Family Life, a local youth development agency. Capitalizing on years of experience, Michelle joins iMentor in a continued effort to match deserving youth with innovative programs.