About: Board of Directors
Juliana Russo
Board Chairperson
Juliana Russo is a Professorial Lecturer in Law at The George Washington University Law School, where she previously held a teaching fellowship. She is classically trained in voice and piano, and is also trained in acting and various forms of dance. Russo graduated Magna Cum Laude from Bates College and received her J.D. degree from Boston College Law School. She is pursuing a Master of Laws degree at GW Law. Russo is a member of the Massachusetts Bar.
Timothy A. Christensen
Board & Staff Development Committee (Chairperson)
Tim Christensen is Program Manager, Education Services at Vangent. A champion of college access and success, he’s a former vice president at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Christensen is also vice president of the Logan Circle (DC) Community Association and volunteers at a number of other cultural and social services organizations.
Julia Creighton
Finance & Governance Committee
Vice-President, Financial Reporting
Fannie Mae
Kira Marchenese
Development & Communications Committee (Chairperson)
Kira Marchenese is an online communications expert. She helped launch the Washington Post’s site and worked at America Online. She’s now director of online communications at Environmental Defense Fund and helps market Artomatic, a DC arts festival. She earned a BA in public policy from Duke University and an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Matthew McGuire
Special Events Committee
Managing Associate General Counsel
Freddie Mac
Allison Posner
Board & Staff Development Committee
Allison Posner has been a member of Project Create’s Board of Directors since 2006. Posner is also the Director of Advocacy at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), a membership organization that provides support to nonprofit immigration legal service providers across the country. She also sits on the Executive Committee of the Detention Watch Network and the Social Policy Committee of Catholic Charities USA. She is a member of the New York State Bar and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Posner is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and American University Washington College of Law.
Alan Simensky
Board Treasurer; Finance & Governance Committee (Chairperson)
Alan Simensky is a painter from Bethesda, MD. He is a self-taught artist. He has his BBA from George Washington University. Simensky’s work is included in many private and corporate collections. Some examples include the following: The West Institute, Dr. Tina West in Chevy Chase, MD / Baker Interiors, Washington, DC / Sallie Mae, Washington DC. Simensky is also the C.E.O., B.A.’s Business Services, LLC.
Hanna Smith
Board Secretary; Special Events Committee (Chairperson)
Hanna Smith is the Assistant Director of Development at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a non-profit membership association of over 8,000 child and adolescent psychiatrists that promotes the healthy development of children, adolescents, and families through research, training, prevention, comprehensive diagnosis and treatment. She has been a board member of Project Create since 2009 and is a member of the Association Fundraising Professionals. Smith graduated with a B.A. from the University of Richmond and has a graduate degree in the History of Art from Christie’s Education in London and a Master of Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University.