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Katie is the Founder of Forthright Advising, a national PR and communications firm that works exclusively with organizations that love kids. Katie created Forthright to work alongside leaders from nonprofits, public school districts, foundations and government agencies, partnering to create real systemic change for children and families.

Having worked in-house at three different public school districts, four different family-focused nonprofits including ASCD and Children’s Law Center, and a PR agency, Katie has done and seen it all. Her superpowers include anticipating roadblocks around the bend, making complex topics accessible and relatable, and communicating tough subjects with kindness and empathy.

As the daughter of two special education college professors, Katie grew up with conversations about equity around the dinner table. This, combined with her love of authentic community engagement and getting people the information they need, laid the foundation for her career in child-focused public relations. Today, Katie oversees operations for the entire firm, managing senior leaders and account leads and ensuring Forthright’s current and future clients have everything they need to make the world a better place for kids.

Katie’s thought leadership has appeared in Education Week, SmartBrief and she is frequently a guest on podcasts talking about how to build trust with our communities.

Katie is a member of the 2021 class of the Forbes Next 1000. This first-of-its-kind initiative celebrates bold and inspiring entrepreneurs who are redefining what it means to run a business today.

In her free time, Katie serves on the Board of Directors for The Hope Center at Pullen, helping youth in foster care successfully transition to adulthood. On Friday mornings, you can find her reading to first graders through WakeEd’s Partners Read program.

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Niki is a passionate communicator focused on making a real, positive impact with her work. Her background includes nonprofit, education, healthcare, government and policy initiatives.

The Hungarian native began her career teaching—and fostering her love of data as a research assistant—in Auburn University’s communications program after graduating with degrees in public relations and Spanish. After earning her Master’s Degree in communications with a focus on public relations and campaigns, she moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue a career in advocacy.

There, she started by focusing on women’s health initiatives with Hager Sharp, before moving to Verasolve and managing a diverse range of clients. She led accounts with $100 million in combined revenue and was responsible for client relationships valued at more than a quarter million in annual Verasolve revenue. She oversaw all aspects of client accounts ranging from PR trainings to content creation for her clients.

Most recently, Niki served as Children’s Law Center’s senior external relations manager, where she handled every piece of CLC messaging, from proactive media placements to the nonprofit’s website, policy campaigns, (shoutout to her favorite victory, designing a campaign resulting in the unanimous passage of the Student Fair Access to School Act!) social media, client stories and more.

Now, Niki partners with Forthright Advising clients, simply put, to help children and families thrive. From teaching capacity-building trainings to crafting smart communications strategies, she’s happiest when she helps Forthright clients feel confident and excited about their communications initiatives. Since joining Forthright, she’s helped place a question about child poverty into the presidential debates, led (blue ribbon!) award-winning school district campaigns and partnered with close to 20 Forthright clients.

In her free time, you can find Niki hiking, on trail runs, traveling and settling in with a good book.

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A native New Yorker now based in the DC area, Monique's career trajectory began by serving DC residents through computer training, career services and access to technology.

She then ventured into entrepreneurship, operating a successful window coverings franchise and securing commercial and federal contracts through her adept navigation of the bidding process. Later, she transitioned to the nonprofit sector, where she managed projects and data operations at a children's literacy and mentoring organization, before leading an adult education program.

Monique earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Systems from Howard University and is pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of the People.

Her commitment to fostering transparent and inclusive work environments, instilled through her upbringing and reinforced by her experiences, is evident in her roles as a conflict mediator in her community. Utilizing her blend of skills, experiences and values, Monique is dedicated to making a positive impact and helping Forthright Advising, our clients and the kids we serve thrive.

Outside of work and school, you'll find Monique daydreaming, playing The New York Times puzzle, or thinking of going to the gym.

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A proud native of Washington, D.C. and a graduate of the University of Michigan, Zoe got her start in politics, on and off Capitol Hill. She has worked on both the press and policy side in the Senate and managed research, communications and public affairs initiatives for leading national foundations, nonprofits and government agencies. All of Zoe's work has been grounded in a commitment to equity - working to leverage policy and communications to drive systems change, especially in public education and early childhood.

Zoe is a great listener who is often full of thoughtful questions and never shy about pushing where needed. Zoe is a generous and engaged partner to clients and colleagues, and she often leads with humor. She loves legislative language, deep research dives, distilling the hard stuff into the good stuff and editing out Oxford commas.

Zoe is currently based in Denver, where she traded her suit for the mountains and the sun (and a husband and dog).

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With nearly two decades of experience working with and for mission-based organizations—including nonprofits and private and public funders—Emily understands community work from the inside out. She is an expert storyteller, a top-notch strategist and an award-winning marketer who helps clients elevate and effectively communicate their work.

In 2018, Emily transitioned from senior program manager of community relations at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to EBS Strategies. At Blue Cross NC, Emily successfully built and managed large-scale community investments for the largest health insurer in North Carolina. She has also served as head of marketing and communications for three nonprofit organizations: the Duke University Talent Identification Program, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and Thurber House. She has a master’s degree in business administration from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s in journalism from Ohio University.   

Emily is a proud Durham, North Carolina resident, an avid runner, a mostly successful baker and a mother of two children.

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As a Senior Account Executive at Spitfire Strategies, he used his skills to advance racial, economic and social justice, protect the environment and expand opportunity for all. During this time, he worked with clients like the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the Louisiana Bar Foundation.

Before joining Spitfire, he worked on PreK-12 education policy and advocacy at Widmeyer Communications, focusing on racial equity, income inequality and family and economic security. During the 2016 election cycle he worked as a Media Associate at Three Point Media, an award-winning Democratic media consulting firm, where he played an instrumental role in helping to elect progressive candidates across the country. Upon first moving to Washington, D.C., he served as press intern for U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, becoming a trusted member of the Senator’s communications team, acting as office photographer and occasionally riding the elevator with Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

You can catch him on any given day longing for a hot tray of crawfish and a sno-ball and rooting for his hometown team the New Orleans Saints - WHO DAT!

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In your first conversation with her, Ashley will quickly zero in on what you need and is already crafting a plan in her head. She’s a skilled problem solver and strategist who isn’t fazed by the size of the challenge. She has experience delivering results on complex, international campaigns.

Ashley began her career managing client accounts at PR and advertising agencies before transitioning into various roles in the education industry. She’s been a writer, project manager, community manager and director of communications, reaching all ages and stages of learners and their families. Most recently she ran the thought leadership strategy at a global education company.

Although her professional career has been as a communicator, Ashley is a researcher at heart. She blends her training and experience together by specializing in transforming research jargon into stories that connect with people. She loves nothing more than a deep brainstorming session with a PhD to get the heart of their research.

Ashley holds a Masters in Journalism from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor’s in Journalism from Drake University. Based in the Midwest, when she isn't working she’s probably in the kitchen baking, at the gym trying to hit a new Crossfit PR, exploring the outdoors with her husband or at home curled up with a good book and her two cats.

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Lauren is a results-oriented communications professional. She takes a comprehensive, client-based approach to her work, developing marketing campaigns, communications strategies, and creative approaches, simultaneously weaving each client’s mission, values, and brand position together with the current landscape.

Most recently, Lauren worked as the Director of Communications at the New Teacher Center (NTC). In this role, she led strategic internal and external communications to promote the organization’s brand. Under her leadership, NTC saw increased brand awareness (through secured media placements, increased social activity, thought-provoking reports and resources, and strategic paid promotions). By coupling marketing and communications efforts, this brand building seamlessly transitioned into increased leads and sales.

Prior to working at NTC, Lauren worked in two of DC’s top communications agencies. As an assistant vice president at Widmeyer Communications, she held a portfolio of nonprofit, philanthropic, advocacy, and government-based clients. Whether launching the Invest in Us campaign to announce a White House-backed early childhood education initiative or pitching new findings for the Heckman Equation, Lauren has always been committed to driving results both for her clients and the teachers and students they serve.

In her time at Hager Sharp, she worked directly with the National Center for Education Statistics and oversaw the development and dissemination of The Nation’s Report Card. This included identifying stakeholders and creating various materials to effectively and accurately communicate how America’s students are doing.

As the external relations manager on the American Enterprise Institute’s education policy team, she worked to position AEI as a thought leader among educators, researchers, policymakers, and the media through digital and traditional outreach.

Lauren graduated magna cum laude with an M.A. in education policy from The George Washington University. She also holds a bachelor of arts from GWU in political science.

When Lauren isn’t crafting a good story from DC’s local coffee joints, she can be found at a park with her children pushing swings, sliding down slides, or taking way too many photos of them for Instagram.

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Safiya Jafari Simmons has 20 years of experience in communications, PR and media relations strategy and management. A former adjunct professor in PR and public affairs at Howard University, she’s had the honor of being the spokeswoman, strategist, and providing PR counsel to a number of high-profile clients, including the late U.S. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, former Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee; and former President Obama advisor Joshua DuBois, to name a few.

Previously, Safiya secured the contract to have SJS Consultants lead media operations for former First Lady Michelle Obama’s inaugural United State of Women Summit. Safiya was also National Media and Communications Consultant for Save The Children’s Campaign for Healthy Kids, and media and communications strategist to several local and federal government officials and nonprofits, among them Family Values @ Work, District of Columbia government agencies, the Center for Policing Equity, the Urban Alliance, the Richmond NAACP, Cummings for Congress, the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice, and the Center for Global Policy Solutions. She also provided communications counsel to Congressman Elijah Cummings during his 2017 Democratic Party Drafting Committee Chair appointment.

An author, a connector, strategist and public speaker, Safiya has a heart for working with people and organizations who are mission-focused and purpose-passionate. Her favorite clients and projects are those that impact social change: amplifying the voices of those unheard, advancing the work of those unseen, or advocating for causes that improve the quality of life for others.

Safiya graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelors of Arts in Journalism. She earned a Master of Arts in Writing Studies from St. Joseph’s University.