Katherine has been a part of ACE since 2015, serving as a board member and education consultant in the early stages of our organization. You may know her as Kat if you've been to Anytown—she's been a staff member at camp since 2015 and served as Co-Director in 2022. Most recently, she volunteered with our life-skills program in Fairfield City for the 22-23 school year.
Anamaria Santiago Director of Social Justice
Anamaria began her journey with ACE as one of its first board members when it was founded in 2016. After serving on the BOD for several years, including as its secretary, she decided to devote more of her time on cultivating the social justice programs that she helped ACE to acquire in 2020. These programs hold a special place in her heart, as she has worked with them consistently in some capacity for over 17 years after having been a Heritage Panelist, Anybuddy, and Make a Change participant while in high school. She has staffed Anytown since 2006 and has served as one of the camp's co-directors for a decade. She has experience teaching all age groups, from preschool to college, including as a therapeutic class teacher for children on the autism spectrum. She currently holds a full-time faculty appointment at a local university where she served as chair of her department’s DEIB committee from 2020-2022. In her free time she works on her novel, crochets amigurumi, gardens, studies honey bee husbandry, and hikes with her husband and toddler son.
Kierra Burks ACE Program Coordinator
Kierra fully understands the value of the programs ACE has to offer as she began her journey with ACE participating in Heritage Panel at her high school. She then participated in Anytown Alabama as a delegate in 2019 then came back to serve on staff in 2022 and as co-director in 2023. Kierra is highly involved in her community as she works with The Transformative Justice Coalition to encourage young people to use their vote, has been a fellow for the Jefferson County Memorial Project, and an active member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated. She aims to empower young people to use their voice and make a change in their communities. In her free time Kierra enjoys to read, write poetry, and study for the LSAT as she has dreams of becoming a lawyer.
Sedrick Smith II Life Skills Program Coordinator
Mr. Smith is a 12-year career mathematics educator, beginning in undergraduate courses at UTC, high school math courses at Howard High School, Chattanooga; Northridge High School, Tuscaloosa; and overseas to Gaoxin, No. 1 High School in China. Spending the most recent four years abroad, he gives God the glory for continued opportunities to serve his home community in the Bessemer and Greater Birmingham areas as Life Skills Education Coordinator with ACE Alabama and Director of Education at The MoveMent Fellowship Church and The MoveMent, Incorporated. Mr. Smith is a fellow Anybuddy and has participated in Peace Birmingham as well. His additional interests include choral music, writing, and spending quality time with family and close friends.
Tonjala Eaton Culture Coach Coordinator
Tonjala Eaton is an educational consultant with over 15 years of experience educating adult learners in both formal and informal settings as a community organizer, diversity trainer, facilitator and educator. She is committed to working with individuals and teams who are focused on creating deeply meaningful learning experiences within their organizations. Tonjala believes that learning is in doing and encourages organizations to embrace active learning concepts. As a former college faculty member, Tonjala has a proven track record of conducting needs assessment, creating curriculum and program design. She now leverages her previous experience to support clients in improving training initiatives through using dialogue education and diverse facilitation techniques. Her background involves working with clients in various sectors such as animal welfare, financial literacy, non-governmental organizations and non-profits. She is passionate about improving conditions related to racial injustice, reducing the wealth gap and family restoration with a special focus on fatherhood.