Pollyanna Founder

Casper Caldarola founded the New York based, non-profit, Pollyanna in 2015. Casper has worn many hats in independent schools: alum, parent, administrator, and trustee, and saw different levels of commitment to DEI work. She felt and still feels the most important aspect of this work is to keep the academic, social, and emotional needs of the student at the center. Casper founded Pollyanna to support the schools that have made a commitment to building a more inclusive school community through multi-constituent conference models, workshops, community  assessments and racial literacy curriculum.

Casper’s experience includes serving as president of the Dalton School Parents Association. During her tenure, she created a more inclusive community, developed a new budgeting structure making it possible for parents of different socioeconomics to volunteer, hosted more events at school to take the pressure off of in-home hosting, and introduced monthly topic-driven parent discussions to find additional ways to bring the community together. In addition, Casper was the Communications Director at the Allen-Stevenson School and was tasked with helping to develop and implement equity initiatives, such as, developing a more inclusive hiring process and creating Parent Chats with topics that focused on DEI. Before joining the independent school world, she was a marketing and advertising executive.

Casper now serves on the Board of Seeds of Peace. She was a trustee at the Dalton School for 10 years and served as a member of the Executive Committee, chaired the Committee on New Trustees and Community Life & Diversity Committee, and was on the strategic plan steering committee, and has also served on the boards of Parents-in-Action and Generation Citizen.

Pollyanna Chief of Staff

Dayna Campbell is a systems-minded operations leader who partners closely with Pollyanna’s Founder to align strategy, internal operations, and cross-functional initiatives. She brings over a decade of experience in higher education, nonprofit management, and dialogue facilitation, with expertise in strategic planning, program design, and equity-centered team development.

A former volunteer and (current) Advisor to the Pollyanna Teen Council, Dayna’s work is grounded in intergenerational leadership and the belief that operational excellence and inclusive practices are essential to sustainable change. She is pursuing a master’s in Organizational Development and Leadership and holds a B.A. with honors in Educational Studies from Colgate University.

Pollyanna Program Designer & Facilitator

Jay Golon is an educator with 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools. He currently works with Pollyanna’s clients to design and facilitate workshops that advance the work of equity and justice. 

Jay believes that all students flourish in just, equitable, and identity-safe learning environments. Ensuring that every child and family can be the fullest, most authentic version of themselves in all of their communities is at the heart of his work as an educator.

He spent the first part of his career in the classroom as a Middle School Social Studies teacher at the Trevor Day School in New York City, the Epiphany School in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and The Dalton School in New York City. He also served as Dalton’s Middle School Assistant Director for Curriculum and Dean of Students for five years followed by three years as Middle School Principal at the Friends School of Baltimore. 

Jay earned a B.A. from Wesleyan University in American Studies and Theater and a Masters in School Leadership from Harvard University. 

Pollyanna Director of Operations

Claire Hannan-Radomisli joined Pollyanna in 2018 as a Project Manager and eventually took on the role of Director of Operations. Much of her work involves partnering with schools to plan and develop Pollyanna conferences for their communities.

She served as President of the Parents Association at The Dalton School from 2013-2015. During her tenure, Claire promoted community building and inclusion, and supported the many diversity/affinity groups at the school. She was instrumental in establishing the New Parent Welcome Committee, the Gay and Lesbian Parent Group, and the Hispanic/Latino Parent Group. In addition, Claire served as a Trustee and was a member of the following Board committees: Community Life & Diversity and New Trustees. She has volunteered at the Dalton Diversity Conference for many years and attended the Glenn Singleton training, “Beyond Diversity.”

Claire graduated Summa Cum Laude from N.Y.U. with a BS in Cultural Anthropology. Much of her coursework focused on the study of gender, identity, race, religion, sexual orientation from a global perspective.

Claire lives in New York with her husband and their three boys.

Rena Andoh is a litigation partner with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in New York. Her broad practice ranges from complex commercial and trade secret/restrictive covenant enforcement cases to False Claims Act cases to intellectual property cases arising out of government contracts. Rena acts as first chair trial counsel in jury trials and arbitrations, and argues in appellate courts, including the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals and the First Department of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division.

Rena is an active supporter of Sheppard Mullin’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. She serves as vice-chair of the Attorneys of Color Success Initiative Committee (“ACSIC”), convened by the chair of Sheppard Mullin to advance the firm’s practices and programs to recruit, retain and promote attorneys of color and LGBTQ attorneys. She also vice-chairs Sheppard Mullin’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Rena is a 2015 Leadership Counsel for Legal Diversity (“LCLD”) Fellow, and is an active alumni and mentor in the LCLD organization.

Mia Burton is an experienced facilitator, consultant and counselor with expertise in developing and leading equity and justice initiatives. In her role as Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusion at Flint Hill School, she leads the development and implementation of policies and programs that sustain an inclusive, equitable, and just school community. Her desire to be a change agent led her to establish MSB Advising to advise organizations and support individuals committed to visionary and transformational equity goals. Ms. Burton earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia with a double major in English and African & African-American Studies. She received her master’s degree in School Counseling from Marymount University.

Pollyanna Founder

Casper Caldarola founded the New York based, non-profit, Pollyanna in 2015. Casper has worn many hats in independent schools: alum, parent, administrator, and trustee, and saw different levels of commitment to DEI work. She felt and still feels the most important aspect of this work is to keep the academic, social, and emotional needs of the student at the center. Casper founded Pollyanna to support the schools that have made a commitment to building a more inclusive school community through multi-constituent conference models, workshops, community  assessments and racial literacy curriculum.

Casper’s experience includes serving as president of the Dalton School Parents Association. During her tenure, she created a more inclusive community, developed a new budgeting structure making it possible for parents of different socioeconomics to volunteer, hosted more events at school to take the pressure off of in-home hosting, and introduced monthly topic-driven parent discussions to find additional ways to bring the community together. In addition, Casper was the Communications Director at the Allen-Stevenson School and was tasked with helping to develop and implement equity initiatives, such as, developing a more inclusive hiring process and creating Parent Chats with topics that focused on DEI. Before joining the independent school world, she was a marketing and advertising executive.

Casper now serves on the Board of Seeds of Peace. She was a trustee at the Dalton School for 10 years and served as a member of the Executive Committee, chaired the Committee on New Trustees and Community Life & Diversity Committee, and was on the strategic plan steering committee, and has also served on the boards of Parents-in-Action and Generation Citizen.

Currently a college student and a former Pollyanna Teen Council leader.

A s Director of Investor Relations at Blue Meridian Partners, Veneka helps cultivate strong relationships with Blue Meridian’s General and Impact Partners, builds an engaging learning environment for the Partner group, and supports efforts to engage prospective investors in advancing the organization’s mission. She provides strategic and operational leadership in close collaboration with the Chief Strategic Development and Governance Officer, CEO, and other senior leaders to design and implement high-impact fundraising strategies that deepen Blue Meridian’s reach and amplify its impact.

Before joining Blue Meridian, Veneka served as Managing Director of Development at KIPP NYC, where she led the organization’s capital campaign, drove fundraising strategy, built and stewarded major donor relationships, and worked closely with board members to secure critical resources for organizational growth. Prior to that, she played a key role at Princeton University, managing high-value donor portfolios and leading both international and domestic fundraising initiatives. She collaborated with trustees and senior institutional leaders to secure philanthropic investments that advanced the university’s strategic priorities. Veneka has also worked with philanthropic organizations including The Rockefeller Foundation and served as a consultant to The Ford Foundation, advising on initiatives aimed at driving systemic, long-term change.

Veneka brings deep expertise in philanthropy, fundraising, and relationship management, leveraging her cross-sector experience to advance Blue Meridian’s mission. She holds a BA in Public Affairs and International Relations, with a minor in East Asian Studies, from Princeton University, and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Paquita Y. Davis-Friday is the Dean of the Massry School of Business at the University at Albany. She earned her Ph.D. and Master in accounting, M.A. in Applied Economics and B.B.A from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Rebecca Danziger Gamzon is an experienced educator who has worked and volunteered in public, private and charter schools. She recently served on the Board of Trustees at her alma mater, the Spence School, where she helped lead the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee and served as Vice President of its Parents’ Association. Rebecca was a founding member of the Framers Board of Civics Unplugged, a national leadership and civic engagement program for high school students. She earned her Master of Science in Early Adolescence from Bank Street College of Education and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in American Studies.

Alessandra Gouldner is on the Boards of School of America Ballet, Catskill Arts Society and Dance Gallery Festival Board. 

Celeste Herrera is Head of School at The Calhoun School on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a progressive institution known for social justice and experiential learning. Previously at The Dalton School, she led equity-focused initiatives and held leadership roles including Assistant Head of School. A UNC Chapel Hill and University of Pennsylvania graduate, Celeste also worked in admissions at Penn. She and her husband, Ken, live in NYC with their three children and are committed to educational equity.