Staff

MLI Director - Mrs. Nikisha G. Ware is the former Bureau Director of the Office of Innovative Support with the Mississippi Department of Education.  This office oversees the implementation of federal regulations and the processes for disbursement and utilization of approximately $300 million federal funds, under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to local educational agencies. Prior to working with the Office of Innovative Support, Ms. Ware served as Parent Relations and Legislative Support Director in the Office of Information and Safety.  She was the first line of communication between parents or guardians of students and the Department of Education, and also served as a liaison between the State Board and Department of Education and the Mississippi Legislature.  Ms. Ware was also the State Title II – Eisenhower Program Coordinator, Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) Program Specialist, and Title I Specialist.  She has taught elementary, middle, and high schools in the Leon County School District, Tallahassee, Florida; the Natchez-Adams School District, Natchez, Mississippi; and the Jackson Public School District, Jackson, Mississippi. Ms. Ware’s educational background includes a Master of Music Education degree from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tougaloo College.  She is currently a doctoral candidate at Mississippi State University.

Ms. Ware is a former Fellow with both the MidSouth Community College Fellowship Program (Mississippi State University) and the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) Educational Policy Fellowship Program (Washington, DC).  Additionally, Ms. Ware was recently named the 2005 Administrator of the Year by the Hinds County Association of Educational Professionals.

Budget Officer – Ms. Peggy Austin Green has worked for Jackson State for the past seven years. She is a former budget director in the Office of Sponsored Programs where she worked for five years before joining the MLI. She is also a former claims adjuster for All-State Insurance, Co.

Administrative Assistant/Project Coordinator – Ms. Kenya Dotson is the former grants manager for the Office of Sponsored Programs at Jackson State. In this role, she gained valuable experience in coordinating federal programs for the University. In her work with the MLI, Mrs. Dotson serves as the primary liaison between the Institute and the schools we serve. She assists in the implementation of the MLI’s numerous projects and activities.

ARM Regional Coordinator – Ms. Della Archie came to the MLI in 2005 bringing with her more than 20 years of experience with service programs and volunteer management. She formerly worked as the director of a JobCorps program which falls under the same federal mandate as the America Reads Mississippi AmeriCorps initiative.

Literacy Coordinator – Ms. Kymyona C. Burk is the former Literacy Coach at Jim Hill High School.  Prior to becoming Literacy Coach in 2005, Mrs. Burk taught English for six years in the Jackson Public School District on the middle and high school levels. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Master’s of Arts in Teaching English, and a Specialist’s Degree in Secondary Education/English from Jackson State University. She is currently seeking a certification in reading and will be entering a doctoral program in the fall of 2008.

Mrs. Burk is a former C.O.R.E. (Consortium on Reading Excellence) certified literacy trainer for the Jackson Public School District and has delivered research-based professional development since 2004. In 2005, Mrs. Burk attended the Harvard Institute for School Leadership: Leadership for Large-Scale Improvement along with other members of the MLI Collaborative. Additionally, Mrs. Burk has worked collaboratively with Parents for Public Schools and the Jackson Public Schools’ Partners in Education Exchange Program. Most recently, she co-presented at the 74th Annual Mississippi Association of Colleges and Universities (MAC) Conference to discuss Jackson State University's Mississippi Learning Institute, an initiative addressing student retention through a P-20 literacy-based public school partnership.