Taela George-East serves as the Project Coordinator for the 2017-2022 Magnet Schools Assistance Program Grant (MSAP) for the Wake County Public School System in North Carolina. She supervises the MSAP project planning, budget and implementation and works directly with school personnel to build their capacity to implement new and revised magnet themes. Mrs. George-East has a Master of Arts in Literature and prior to her current role, she served several years as a high school English teacher and then as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent in WCPSS, leading schools through the School Improvement Plan process. Taela, along with her colleague Tasha Haynes Cardenas, is passionate about supporting and promoting school integration through magnet programs.
Tasha Haynes Cardenas has worked with magnet schools in different capacities for 22 years. She currently serves the Wake County Public School System Magnet Schools as the Senior Administrator for Magnet School Recruitment and Grants Development. She organizes magnet school recruitment events, assists magnet schools in developing recruitment plans, and promotes magnet schools throughout the Wake County community. In addition, she assists magnet schools with grant writing to support program implementation.