Meet the Team
The Spark Learning team has decades of experience in research, policy, and operations across a variety of human services fields. Learn more about our team here.
April Allen
Founder & CEO
April Allen (she/her), PhD, MPA serves as the Founder and CEO of Spark Learning for Organizations She is a forward-thinking and forward-looking changemaker with a passion for using data to transform systems that serve children, youth, and families. Her professional life includes senior roles in research, government, and nonprofit settings, diverse in subject matter (health, human services, intergovernmental relations) but unified by her passion for making the world a better place.
Dr. Allen’s proudest accomplishments include convening and building the capacity of communities to translate data into action. She launched Amplify Action Research to train and empower people with lived experience to be the authors and leaders of the research, evaluation, and performance measurement that will drive critical system change in child welfare and related human services systems. [See More]
Ashley Calderon
Research Assistant
Ashley Calderon (she/her) serves as a Research Assistant with Spark. She initially joined the organization as part of the inaugural cohort with our Amplify Action Research program. In her current role, Ashley provides support to our research team on an as-needed basis.
Prior to Spark, Ashley served as a peer mentor for foster youth attending Norco College and an advisor for high school students in the Corona-Norco Unified School District. She is also a former intern for Senator Connie Leyva. In this role, she proposed and helped introduce SB 228 into the California legislature to improve the educational success of former foster youth by extending post-secondary priority enrollment and financial support benefits to homeless, formerly homeless, and Native youth. Ashley continues advocacy work through her involvement in the Reproductive Health Equity Project for Foster Youth.
Ashley currently attends the University of California Berkeley pursuing a degree in Sociology with a minor in Global Public Health.
Reginea Jackson
Special Projects Assistant
Reginea Jackson (she/her) serves as a Special Projects Assistant with Spark. She initially joined the organization as part of the inaugural cohort with our Amplify Action Research program. In her current role, Reginea specializes in managing research participant recruitment, development of performance measurement frameworks and logic models, and project management, as well as producing research findings.
Reginea is currently a senior at the University of California, Davis completing a Bachelor's degree in Human Development and Communications. She also recently completed the University of CaliforniaDC program in Washington, DC that provided further, direct exposure to research and public policy experience.
Melissa Lemus
Research Assistant
Melissa Lemus (she/her) serves as a Research Analyst with Spark. She initially joined the organization as part of the inaugural cohort with our Amplify Action Research Program. In her current role, Melissa focuses on designing and managing data collection, as well as performing statistical analyses.
Melissa attended the University of California, Davis and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She plans to further her education and pursue a Master’s degree in Public Policy to continue her work with research institutions and advance her career goals.
Ramonica DM Moore
EVP of Talent & Enterprise
Ramonica D.M. Moore (she/her) serves as Executive Vice President of Talent & Enterprise. She has more than 20 years of professional experience in the education, non-profit, and private sectors, where she has managed various operational departments, with a special focus on talent development and management.
Ms. Moore’s professional accomplishments, which include spearheading numerous recruitment strategies and launching successful training and leadership development programs, are coupled with her personal experience as a foster parent to provide the knowledge and expertise that will support Spark's Amplify program. [See more]
Dani Tafolla
Research Assistant
Daniella (Dani) Tafolla (she/her/ella) serves as a Research Assistant with Spark. In her role, Dani is responsible for the evaluation and research methods to review literature, collecting and analyzing data, and contributing to reports and proposals.
Prior to joining Spark, Dani worked with many nonprofits serving Indian Country, and taught college prep for underrepresented groups. Dani specializes in cross-cultural communication and Latinx/Indigenous culture. Born of Pueblo and Mexican descent, Dani is especially passionate about remaining deeply connected to her heritage, and works on and towards change that will amplify the voices of those who need to be heard.
Dani graduated from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa with a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology, focused on Indigenous culture. Her graduate studies includes a Master’s in Forensic Behavioral Science from Alliant International University. Dani plans to earn a PhD in Indigenous Studies with a specialization in violence against Native Women, Children, and Two Spirit individuals.
