Meet The Team

Founder & CEO

Michelle Dinneen-White

Michelle Dinneen-White's career is strengthened by the combination of over twenty years of experiences teaching early childhood, high school, community college level and adult basic education students.  Mrs. White has a strong academic foundation in Early Childhood education practices, curriculum & instruction, child and adolescent psychology, and economics.

She knows that creating a peaceful, interesting and inspiring environment for young children to explore and learn is so important for their development, and also very healing and educational for the parent. She is a strong believer in the family model for learning and preventative systems of care. Mrs. White was a Core Member of  Innovation Zone for Little Village/Pilsen, a collaboration between the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development and Illinois Action for Children.

She seeks to continue to find progressive ways to reform education and fight the challenges of poverty using science-based and collaborative innovations of thought and practice.  She practices growth-focused, intentional development of strong, resilient families. She lives in Chicago with her husband and five daughters.  Mrs. White is very excited about the Play Smart Literacy Initiative, where she can use her experiences and strong academic foundation to help empower children and their parents to be dynamic learners by building relationships and strengthening language through play.

Program Coordinator 

Chloe Harrison

Chloe graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education, and taught third grade for 3 and a half years. After her daughters were born, she shifted her attention to early childhood learning and joined the Play Smart Literacy team. She is passionate about empowering parents and caregivers to be their child's first teacher and equipping them with the tools to #talkandplay at home! She lives in Homewood, IL with her husband and two daughters. In her free time, she loves to bake sourdough bread and work on DIY home projects.

Social Media Coordinator 

Courtney Boyd

Courtney Boyd is a wife, bio and foster mommy, and serial Target shopper. As a family and wellness advocate, she is committed to educating herself and others in various areas regarding safety, health and overall wellness for parent and caregivers to make the most informed decisions possible. She is accomplishing this goal through her business, Revive Family and Wellness. Originally from Florida, Courtney now lives in Chicago as she continues her education to become a licensed Clinical Mental Health Clinician. She is currently in school to obtain her IBCLC credentials as well. She is a certified conscious parenting coach through Jai Parenting Institute, Mental Health First Aid certified through BCBS, SEL certified through Harmony Social and Emotional Learning, and received several smaller training credentials in trauma-informed care and neuroscience as a foster mom and Safe Families host parent. Courtney has a huge love for reading and writing. As a former reading teacher through AmeriCorps program City Year Inc. and a spoken word poet and short stories writer, literacy has been a vital role in her life and a passion she hopes to pass along to her children. In her spare time, Courtney enjoys blogging, reading, and playing competitive volleyball. 

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Feedback Loop Coordinator 

Veronika Copeland

Veronika Hayes-Copeland (she/her) is a native of Chicago’s Westside. Veronika believes that education

should be equitable, relatable, full of joy, and participant-centered. Veronika is an experienced Instructional Leader with experience supporting the school transformation efforts of over 11 public school districts across the United States, in over more than 30 schools. Veronika has primarily worked in secondary education as an Accelerated Reading and English Language Arts teacher, Instructional Coach & Facilitator, Department Chair, Staff Developer, Team Leader, Summer School Coordinator and School Transformation worker. Veronika has a strong foundation in Adolescent Literacy, Curriculum Design & Implementation, Instructional Coaching, Community Outreach + Family Engagement, Distributed leadership, creating Tiered Student Supports & Collaborating with partners. In her spare time, Veronika enjoys spending time with her family, especially playing, reading & ADDING THE WORDS with her two small children.

Veronika attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for undergraduate, and The Johns Hopkins University for graduate school. Veronika is also a Teach For America Alumna.

Play Kit Factory Volunteer 

Karen O'Hara

 Karen is a retired preschool teacher with a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education and a passion for early childhood literacy. I have taught in both the Chicago Public Schools and with The archdiocese of Chicago. I am a wife and mother of 2 fabulous grown women of whom I am very proud. I love reading, learning, walking, and gardening and have recently gotten into yoga, mindfulness and meditation. I have been in a book club with the same group of women for 25 years.

Play Kit Factory Volunteer 

Alexandra Molloy

Poppins is a spirited and standout font that takes its inspiration from handwriting. It's sure to grab your reader's attention, especially in short paragraphs.

Outreach Intern 

Sandy Ruiz

Sandy Ruiz is a first-generation college student pursuing a degree in early childhood education and social work. She is  bilingual and enjoys being with children. Track and field, as well as science, are two of her personal favorites hobbies and interests. 

Outreach and Social Media Intern 

Shania Dorsey

Poppins is a spirited and standout font that takes its inspiration from handwriting. It's sure to grab your reader's attention, especially in short paragraphs.

Social Media Intern 

Vianka Gomez

Poppins is a spirited and standout font that takes its inspiration from handwriting. It's sure to grab your reader's attention, especially in short paragraphs.

Outreach Team and Feedback Loop Team 

Brenda Lopez

Poppins is a spirited and standout font that takes its inspiration from handwriting. It's sure to grab your reader's attention, especially in short paragraphs.

Outreach Team and Feedback Loop Team 

Cecilia Gutierrez

Poppins is a spirited and standout font that takes its inspiration from handwriting. It's sure to grab your reader's attention, especially in short paragraphs.

Social Media Intern

Monica Gillespie

Poppins is a spirited and standout font that takes its inspiration from handwriting. It's sure to grab your reader's attention, especially in short paragraphs.