Deanna Sheaffer joins Families Empowered as Strategic Gifts Manager.
As a long-time governing board member, Deanna brings a deep understanding of the Families Empowered mission: to empower families to engage in a marketplace of schools. Most recently having served as the Senior Events Manager with the Advancement Team for KIPP Houston Public Schools, Deanna worked to give children from under-served communities access a better tomorrow through education, with the academic and character skills necessary to thrive in college and lead choice-filled lives.
Deanna has more than 15 years of non-profit advancement and development experience, primarily in education. Previously, Deanna served as the Director of Alumni Support for Teach For America’s Houston office, and as the Director of Alumni Engagement and Finance at Rice University.
She earned a dual Bacheors of Science in Marketing and Public Relations from Syracuse University, and holds a Master of Business Administration from Rice University. As an active community leader and parent, she supports multiple parent-teacher organizations, the Braeswood Place Homeowners Association, Youth For Understanding international exchange program, and Amigos de las Americas nonprofit organization.
Deanna keenly understands the opportunities and challenges many parents face to find a right-fit school for each individual child; she has four children who all attend different schools. Her children have attended public zoned, public magnet and private schools.
In her role as Strategic Gifts Manager, Deanna will focus on advancing the Families Empowered mission of empowering families across Texas to access educational opportunities for their children.