Leadership

Kim Churches joined The Washington Center’s as the organization’s fourth President in October 2021. In 2022, the Board unanimously approved TWC’s new strategic plan, vision and mission, for which Kim is charged with executing to ensure our relevance and impact.  

Passionate about workforce development and career-connected skills, Kim brings more than three decades of leadership experience in nonprofit and higher education administration, joining TWC after serving most recently as the chief executive officer for the American Association of University Women (AAUW). 

Prior to her work with AAUW, Kim served as the managing director for the Brookings Institution, an internationally recognized policy think tank. In that capacity, she strategically guided Brookings, providing vision and problem-solving skills while focusing on expansive partnerships, external relations and advancement.  Her accomplishments at Brookings built on prior successful efforts as associate vice chancellor at the University of Denver and director of development at the University of North Florida. Kim has extensive experience working collaboratively in education as well as on capacity building for national and international nonprofits. 

Outside of her official roles, Kim has devoted her leadership skills in board roles on behalf of several professional and charitable organizations, including the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, 1455 Literary Arts, Association of Fundraising Professionals, DC Girls Baseball and BUILD Metro DC. She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum of Washington DC. A dynamic and sought-after speaker, Kim has addressed several national conferences and conventions, and contributed to national media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. Her thought leadership has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, The Hill and Fortune, among others. 

Kim resides in Washington, D.C. with her daughter and husband, and is always up for a game of Scrabble. 

Carmenchu Mendiola is TWC’s Chief Growth and Strategy Officer and leads the organization's U.S. and international institutional partnerships, admissions, alumni engagement, marketing and communications. She has over 18 years of experience in corporate identity, brand management, strategic marketing and digital strategy. She also leads The Washington Center's institutional brand and oversees the development and execution of integrated marketing campaigns for The Washington Center. She manages TWC's PR/media relations and crisis communications.

Carmenchu led a full rebranding strategy for TWC that included research, positioning and a complete overhaul of TWC's visual identity. 

Her work has been featured in two books: Building Better Brands: A Comprehensive Guide to Brand Strategy and Identity Development by Scott Lerman and SPIKE your Brand ROI: How to Maximize Reputation and Get Results by Adele Cehrs.

Carmenchu is also a pro bono consultant for the Taproot Foundation, helping other nonprofits achieve their marketing and communications goals.

She is an alumna of TWC's Internship Program and received an Executive Master's in Strategic Marketing, as well as a B.A. in Communications. Carmenchu is originally from Mexico and lives in Washington, D.C.

Shannon is TWC's Chief Operations Officer, overseeing organizational processes and making iterative improvements to the benefit of all stakeholders.

Previously, Shannon served as Managing Director and Chief of Staff for American Association of University Women (AAUW). Prior to joining AAUW in 2017, Shannon spent 11 years at the Brookings Institution in a variety of operational and fundraising roles, including most recently as the Senior Director of Advancement Services.

Over the course of a 25-year career in nonprofit organizations, Shannon has served as the assistant director of special projects and research at the Georgetown University Law Center and has held positions at Harvard Medical School and the American Red Cross.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Colby College and a master’s degree in government from the University of Virginia.

In her spare time, Shannon loves cooking, hiking and any activity near the water.

Brandy serves as the Senior Vice President of Programs & Innovation at TWC. She leads research, program development and design, assessments and evaluations of internship programs and seminars. Through her direction of the Innovation Institute at TWC over the last two years, she has created seven out of nine new short-term programs addressing career-connected skills and critical industry and sector needs. 

Prior to joining TWC, Brandy served as a Student Success Technology Consultant at Educational Advisory Board (EAB). In this capacity, she worked with college and university partners to align institutional and student success goals. Her work focused on serving as a thought partner in leadership development, change management and student success strategies using data analysis to identify areas of actionable insight. Brandy’s career began in student services at Lone Star College and the University of Houston–Sugar Land, where she focused on strengthening student experiences and building impactful programs. 

Passionate about bridging the gap between education and employment, Brandy is dedicated to advancing equitable access to career-connected learning and creating scalable, innovative workforce readiness solutions. She has completed Ph.D. course work in Business Administration, holds a Strategic MBA from the University of Houston–Victoria and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. 

Outside of work, Brandy loves to travel and has explored 14 countries, finding inspiration in diverse cultures and perspectives. She also enjoys caring for her growing plant collection, bowling and following football season with enthusiasm. 

Dinetta Parrott serves as the Vice President of Advancement & Alumni Relations at TWC. With over two decades of experience in fundraising, Dinetta is an accomplished leader committed to enhancing organizations that drive meaningful change and act as catalysts for positive societal impact.

As a trusted advisor to influential leaders and mission-oriented institutions, Dinetta previously served as the Senior Director of Development at the Brookings Institution, a globally recognized policy think tank. In that role, she was responsible for directing fundraising strategies for the Brookings Metro program, where she built partnerships that not only increased impact but also diversified revenue streams and strengthened engagement with foundations, corporations and major donors.

Prior to her tenure at the Brookings Institution, Dinetta held the position of inaugural Development Director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. In this role, she oversaw all facets of fundraising and partnership development.

A servant leader, Dinetta has held board positions for the Maryland Arthritis Foundation and Dress for Success Baltimore. An avid gardener and self-proclaimed urban farmer, Dinetta resides in Maryland with her husband and two children.

Sheryl Sobiesiak is TWC’s Vice President of Education Partnerships and Enrollment where she cultivates strategic partnerships with higher education institutions and other education organizations, overseeing all aspects of recruitment, admission and financial aid for TWC’s Academic Internship Program, seminars and short-term programs. She also manages TWC’s extensive network of relationships with hundreds of higher education institutions across the U.S. and internationally.   

Prior to joining the TWC team, Sheryl was at Wiley University Services where she partnered with colleges and universities across the country in roles focused on the full student life cycle for online learners. At the College Board, she led strategy, partnership and relationship development teams, placing an emphasis on strategic enrollment planning, college access and student success at institutions across the country.  

Sheryl is passionate about educational access for learners at all stages of their educational journeys and ensuring that success is not measured only by what happens while they are enrolled in college, but also by the opportunities they have once they have graduated. 

She co-chairs the HMMS Committee at Muhlenberg College, supporting the advancement team’s work to ensure other students had the same opportunities she has been afforded.  

Sheryl earned her bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg and her MBA from Villanova University. She enjoys traveling and baseball and is close to completing her tour of all the professional ballparks.  

David Anderson, Ph.D., leads The Washington Center’s Government Relations Department. Over the past fourteen years, David and his team have raised over $30 million from twenty three U.S. states and territories interested in supporting their students’ education and their state’s workforce development. Current partners include: Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Delaware.

David works with the Advanced Leadership and International Programs Department creating new initiatives, especially with Canadian provinces. He also works with the Federal Relations Department creating new initiatives with U.S. federal agencies. David also played a key role creating The Washington Center’s Public Policy Dialogues on Capitol Hill Program, which enabled students to participate in small group meetings with their U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, or staff.

David was Executive Director of Youth04, an election 2004 young voter mobilization effort, when he joined The Washington Center in August 2004. Youth04 was a joint project of The Center for Democracy and Technology, The Johns Hopkins University, and The Washington Center. He was previously the Task Force Director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at The George Washington University, which was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. David was a candidate for U.S. Congress in the 2016 Democratic Primary in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District.

David is the Editor of Leveraging: A Political, Economic, and Societal Framework (Springer 2014). He is also the author of Youth04: Young Voters, the Internet, and Political Power (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004) and Co-editor (with Michael Cornfield) of The Civic Web: Online Politics and Democratic Values (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003). He has written numerous articles and book chapters and more than 60 op-eds for The Baltimore Sun, Roll Call, The Hill, The Frederick News-Post and many other newspapers. David taught “Ethics for Political Management” at The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management for 12 years. He was a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati, Trident Technical College, and the College of Charleston. David has also served as an adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Advanced Governmental Studies in Washington. He received his B.A. in philosophy from The George Washington University and his Ph.D. in philosophy from The University of Michigan.