About Teach FL

As Teach NJ’s executive director, Katie Katz oversees Teach NJ’s annual campaign, community engagement and mobilization efforts across the state. She joined Teach NJ from the Englewood Health Foundation where, as a major gifts officer, she managed a portfolio of major donors and cultivated philanthropic partnerships between donors, physicians, and Englewood Health. Prior to her time at Englewood Health, Katie worked at The New Jewish Home in Manhattan as associate director of capital campaigns. A third-generation New Jersey resident and Jewish day school alumna, Katie holds an MBA from Brandeis University in nonprofit management as well as a master’s degree in Jewish professional leadership. She lives in Teaneck with her husband, Ezra, and their three children.

Prior to joining Teach FL, Melissa created a shampoo company and worked as in house lawyer for Total Relief Skincare. She is actively involved in the Hollywood Jewish community and has worked for the past three summers in Camp Kfir Katan's day camp, running programming and communications. Melissa has a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women and received her J.D.  from Touro Law Center. Melissa is a native Floridian who returned to Florida after law school with her husband Josh. They have three children and live in Hollywood, Florida. Melissa brings passion, a strong work ethic and a deep belief that every child deserves a Jewish education.  Melissa will be working to grow our advocacy program by strengthening old relationships and building new ones.

Danny Aqua is an impassioned advocate for educational opportunities for children, parents and schools. As Field Director at Teach Florida, Danny built a grassroots initiative that engaged parents in the legislative process. In addition to trips to Tallahassee, petition signings and traditional advocacy, Danny has been an integral part in Teach Florida’s get-out-the-vote program that has resulted in doubling and sometimes tripling voter turnout in the Jewish day school community over multiple elections. Danny’s work at Teach Florida enables him to use skills from his two prior careers – law and teaching. Prior to working at Teach Florida, Danny practiced real estate law as an Associate at Blank Rome, LLP and then taught both in elementary and middle schools. Danny received his Bachelor Degree in Political Science from Baruch College magna cum laude, his Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School Order of the Coif and his Masters Degree in Education from Azrieli Graduate School of Education.

Over the last ten years, Adina has played a valuable role in various non-profit institutions, with a specialty in management, operations and administrative leadership. Originally from New Jersey, she earned a B.B.A. in Economics from Baruch College (CUNY) and later an M.A. in Events & Conference Management from the University of Westminster in London, England. For the last six years, Adina served as the Director of Business and Donor Development at Hadar High School for Girls in Boca Raton. Adina is passionate about using her skills to help manage institutional processes to ensure progress and success. As a Scholarship Funding Specialist, she is dedicated to providing support to schools and parents as part of the Teach FL GovMax team.

Malka Kownat-Rhodes is a long-time professional in the field of special education, with over 10 years of experience working in a large school district in Ohio. Malka graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College with a BA in Psychology, and then earned a master's degree in Education from Notre Dame College in Ohio. Most recently, Malka worked as the Director of Student Support for The Torah Academy of Boca Raton in South Florida.  Malka has a history of successfully partnering with government agencies and school districts, and with non-profit organizations like The Jewish Federation and Jewish Family Services, to procure funding for educational initiatives. Malka’s years of experience working with families struggling with the cost of private school tuition combined with the cost of services for children with special needs, has led to her joining Teach Coalition. In her new capacity as a funding specialist, she helps families access funding for both specialized services and private school tuition.

Kelly Walker is the Services for All / Child Find School Liaison. With over 24 years of school-related experience, she has worked as a teacher, special education director, and college faculty member training hundreds of pre-service special education teachers with an emphasis on law and compliance. As a mother of a child with a language-based learning disability, Kelly learned to navigate the public and private school systems while advocating for her own daughter. She enjoys assisting other parents by helping them work through the systemic barriers they often face when seeking educational services for their children. Additionally, Kelly serves as a subject matter expert for the Florida teacher licensure exam, an expert witness in due process and other special education-related court cases, and is an active member of the Broward ESE Advisory Council.