Meet the Team

Leigh Tait, Director of The Impact Lab @ GDS

Leigh has been lucky enough to be a part of the GDS community since 2015, and in The Impact Lab @ GDS (formerly the Community Engagement & Experiential Learning Office) since 2018. She has worked with students throughout her career to cultivate opportunities for authentic collaboration and social awareness-building, and to harness their capacities as young change-makers. She has founded and/or developed various well-loved GDS programs which utilize the DMV area as a classroom: the Lower and Middle School Impact programs, High School Minimester, 11th Grade Internship Program, Summer Policy Institute, and the Cross-Divisional Buddy Program. Her philosophy on education centers around the importance of hands-on opportunities for student connection: with other young people, and with causes that matter (to the student and on a global scale). She says, "my favorite thing about GDS is the culture of authentic student activism." Leigh prides herself on her own identity as a lifelong learner, and loves that every day, she gets to teach and be taught by young people committed to growth and long-lasting social change. 

Michelle McKeever, Associate Director of The Impact Lab @ GDS

Michelle has been at GDS since 2018 and joined The Impact Lab in 2022. Outside of the Impact Lab, Michelle is a 10th-12th grade advisor and teaches mental health & wellness to 7th and 8th graders as part of the Middle School Health curriculum. In addition to her Master's in Education Policy and Leadership, Michelle uses her depth of training in mindfulness and wellness to ensure that students exploring difficult issues feel supported and are taking care of themselves as they dive into activism. She loves engaging with students and is consistently inspired by the way they see the world. Michelle joined the Policy Institute team in 2021 as a lead for a track called Addressing Sexual Assault and Consent track and is excited to now support each track through her role in The Impact Lab.

Winnie Kong, Coordinator of The Impact Lab @ GDS

Winnie joined GDS in 2024 as the Coordinator of the Impact Lab. Winnie received a BA in Politics and East Asian Studies from New York University and was a Moth storyteller through The Moth Community Program. She joined GDS because she is deeply committed to youth advocacy and is passionate about fostering a more inclusive and equitable society. Outside of school, Winnie enjoys exploring different cultures through traveling and trying new restaurants in DC.

Julia Fisher, AI in a Human World Track Lead

Julia is a high school English teacher and the leader of the Policy Institute's AI track, which she'll take for a third spin in 2026. She loves talking about big, unknowable, urgent things with smart and curious students, so she's keen to spend the summer studying a technology that scrambles just about every corner of human life. 

Fun Fact: Julia once auditioned to be George, the Washington Nationals' Racing President.

Kathryn Santivasci, Beyond Bars Track Lead

Kathryn joined GDS in 2024 as a Middle School Math Teacher and is in her second year of leading the Beyond Bars Policy Institute track. She runs this track because of her long-standing interest in the criminal justice system, shaped in part by her time teaching in public schools. She worked with many students who had incarcerated family members, witnessed violence, or were pushed into the juvenile justice system instead of being provided meaningful support. 

Kathryn loves that leading this track allows her to share her interest in and knowledge of the criminal justice system with high schoolers who are also passionate about creating change. 

Fun Fact: Kathryn will be starting law school part-time in the fall, with the goal of using her law degree to continue advocating for meaningful criminal justice reform.

Leslie Tejada, Body and Choice Track Lead

Leslie joined GDS in 2024 as the 5th/6th grade Math Teacher and this is her second year leading the Body and Choice Policy Institute track. She is leading the Body and Choice track because she deeply values bodily autonomy. She believes that when we educate ourselves about our own bodies and learn to understand others’, we help create safer, more affirming spaces where people can exist confidently in their own skin. 

Fun fact: In her spare time, Leslie enjoys painting and playing video games on her PC.

Shawn Miller, Degrees of Access Track Lead

Shawn joined GDS in 2023 as an Associate Director of College Counseling and this will be his first year leading the Degrees of Access Policy Institute Track. 

After helping support this track as a chaperone for the past few years, Shawn is excited to lead Degrees of Access: Equity in Education! As someone who has spent a decade working in secondary and higher education across the country, he especially values the opportunity to guide interested students and share more about the past, present, and future of education and college admissions in the United States while incorporating an essential understanding of the financial and social justice elements that have impacted education and society throughout our country's history. 

Fun Fact: Shawn used to do stand-up comedy in high school and college.

Mikayla McCall, The Health Gap Track Lead

Mikayla joined GDS in 2025 as a Middle School Science Teacher and this is her first time as a track lead. She leads this track fueled by a deep passion for health, wellness, and a fascination with the science of movement. She recognizes that disparities in nutrition and physical activity exist at every level and she believes it is imperative to educate others on these gaps and take conscious action to bridge them.

Her path to Pilates certification was a deliberate choice to challenge the status quo. Despite the legacy of Kathy Grant, a pioneering Black instructor who profoundly shaped the method, Pilates has remained inaccessible to the Black community and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. By honoring Grant’s work, she seeks to reclaim that space, dismantle exclusion, and ensure the practice becomes more inclusive and representative of all bodies. 

Fun Fact: Mikayla is the proud owner of a dog named Coco, loves sushi, and holds a graduate degree in Education Policy and Leadership.

Sarah Tiamyu, Life Resettled Track Lead

Sarah joined GDS in 2024 as an Instructional Coach and this will be her first year leading the Life Resettled: The Immigrant Experience Track. 

As an immigrant from Canada and a first-generation child of immigrant parents, Sarah’s interest in immigration is rooted in lived experience. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with students and families navigating language barriers, cultural transitions, and uneven access to resources. These experiences have shaped her belief that learning must honor students’ identities while also equipping them to examine and challenge the policies that impact their communities. Sarah loves leading this track because it invites students to explore immigration through fieldwork, storytelling, and policy engagement. Fellows connect with immigrant communities, local leaders, and advocacy organizations to examine how law, culture, and community shape the immigrant experience and to design projects that aim to create real-world impact. 

Fun Fact: Sarah is a bilingual dual citizen of Canada and the United States. She was recently naturalized in May 2024 after holding a Green Card for 12+ years. 

Caitlin Hutcheon, Under the Algorithm Track Lead

Caitlin is the All School Health Education Department Chair and Health & Wellness Teacher at GDS. This is the first year she is running the track Under the Algorithm about online safety & wellness. As a teacher, she sees first hand how social media and phone addiction affect kids. Laws like KOSA and state-level online safety policies are being debated and passed about teens, often without directly engaging them. It's important for students to understand these policies, question them, and recognize how public policy intersects with their daily lives. 

Fun Fact: Caitlin has moved more than 20 times, lived in five different states, and counts the Mojave Desert in California as her favorite place she’s lived.