building brighter futures
Meet The Team Driving Educational Opportunity Across Missouri
Our Leadership Team
Behind our mission is a team of committed leaders who ensure strong stewardship, thoughtful strategy, and meaningful impact. Their dedication guides our work to uplift family voices and strengthen educational opportunity throughout Missouri.
CEO & FOUNDER
Tiara Jordan-Sutton
Tiara Jordan-Sutton, M.Ed., is the Founder and CEO of Activate Missouri. A former teacher, administrator, and principal, Tiara brings deep classroom experience and a lifelong commitment to educational equity. Inspired by her own upbringing in Flint, Michigan, she founded Activate Missouri to ensure families have the information, access, and power needed to secure high-quality learning opportunities for their children.
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS & POLICY
Matthew Griese
Matthew Griese brings extensive experience working with legislators and community organizations. He previously served as Legislative Director to the Majority Floor Leader and as Policy Director to the Speaker of the Missouri House. As a husband and father, Matthew developed a personal commitment to education reform while planning for his family’s future. His passion and policy expertise will help expand educational opportunities and advance meaningful reform for students and families across Missouri.
Community Organizers
The Work That Inspires Us
Our team’s shared purpose is to support Missouri families in our most marginalized communities, to share power dynamics with elected leaders, ensure parent voices are heard, and become solution-oriented change agents within the community while obtaining political insight and sharpening parents’ political lenses through support from Activate MO.
Activate Missouri empowers families across the state to access equitable school choice by providing support through the following initiatives:
- Engaging and Impactful Community Events
- Parent and Student Cohort Experiences
- Conversations with Elected Officials, Community Leaders, and School Administrators
- Listening Tours and Focus Groups
- Parent and Student Cohort Experiences
Board of Directors
Daiana Lambrecht
Daiana Lambrecht is the founding Executive Director of Futuro San Antonio, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for excellent public education and prosperity for all children in San Antonio. Prior she served as Rocketship’s Senior Director of Parent Leadership and Advocacy focused on building grassroot power and championing change as a coalition. As a Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni, she coached organizing and public narrative as part of Marshall Ganz’s Leading Change Network and Leadership Coach & Strategist under her own LLC, Comunidad Connects. She brings over 10 years of experience as a bilingual educator, community organizer and organizational leader in education and public school space. As a proud daughter of an immigrant mother and father from Argentina, her family experiences continue to inspire her fight for education and other opportunities for immigrants and other communities of color in the US.
Dr. Twyla Baylor
Dr. Twyla Baylor is a lifelong educator and advocate for student success. A graduate of McCluer High School in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, Dr. Baylor holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems with a minor in Business Administration from Missouri Baptist University. After a decade-long career in technology, she transitioned into education, earning a Master’s in Elementary Education in 2007. While teaching full-time, Dr. Baylor launched Soaring High Tutoring Academy, serving elementary and high school students with additional academic support. She later earned a second Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Fontbonne University, where she also completed her doctoral degree in Collaborative High-Impact Instruction in 2024. Dr. Baylor brings to the Activate MO board a deep commitment to educational equity, decades of classroom experience, and a passion for innovative instruction that empowers students to reimagine what education can be.
Leslie Holloway
Leslie Holloway is a successful fundraising specialist with more than 30 years of experience, including annual and capital campaigns. Her commitment to supporting future leaders and ensuring equitable opportunities for underserved communities has been evident throughout her career. As conscientious executive who aggressively advocates for innovative programs, constructively challenges the status quo and assertively champions new initiatives, Leslie Holloway has served in chief fundraising roles at YWCA Metro St. Louis, United Negro College Fund, INROADS, Inc. and several universities including Harris-Stowe State University, The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and Tulane University. Leslie Holloway has been responsible for campaigns with fundraising goals of $22M annually. Leslie Holloway has also held executive roles in Alumni Relations and Institutional Board oversight. Leslie Holloway, a native St. Louisan, received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Master of Business Administration in Marketing and Management from Tulane University. She serves on the Flance Early Learning Center Board and as a member of several professional associations including the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and National Black MBA Association, Inc.
