Family Centers - Literacy Volunteers Meet the Team

Andrea Byrne

Program Manager
Andrea oversees all program components of Literacy Volunteers. She is a lifetime educator who strives to ensure that all students have equitable learning experiences and believes that adult education with a focus on literacy is the way to close the opportunity gap and support self-sufficiency for adult learners at all levels. She is passionate about supporting adults and working closely on their career and educational goals to inspire them to be impactful members of the community. She believes that collaboration with agency and community partners paves the way to access essential resources and can lead to a successful pathway to independence. Andrea has held roles as an English teacher and special educator, literacy consultant, school and district-level administrator in domestic public and international school settings, and as a higher education adjunct instructor.

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Daniel Mazariego
Student Outreach & Data Management Administrator

Daniel is the primary contact for adult students interested in taking English classes. He provides students with registration information and the next steps for enrollment. Daniel notifies students of essential program updates, community resources, and class reminders. As the Data Management Administrator, Daniel facilitates program data entry for state and federal grants. He is a bilingual, passionate client advocate, who comes to Literacy Volunteers from a background in banking. Daniel is a graduate of Sacred Heart University, where he received his B.A. in Business Management.
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Caitlin Hogan
Digital Navigator/Data Projects Coordinator
Caitlin is the program’s frontline for technology support for all tutors, volunteers, and students in the program. She oversees student attendance and retention records and designs the student writing journal published bi-annually. Additionally, she teaches computer classes to advanced level students and prepares them for a 21st-century workplace inclusive of essential digital literacy skills. Caitlin joins the team after seven years with Family Centers’ Early Childhood Education program, and brings with her skills in data management, communications, and English and Spanish languages.
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Ferdinando D. Schiro, MPS, TESOL
Education Coordinator
Ferdinando joined the team in October 2022. He is a lifelong resident of Western Greenwich and was a student of the Greenwich Public School District, where he attended Glenville Elementary, Western Middle, and Greenwich High School, graduating in 2012. Ferdinando attended Western New England University for his undergraduate degree, achieving a BA in History with a minor in Music. He holds a graduate degree from Manhattanville College in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) in Adult and International Settings. He has also taken teacher preparation coursework to teach Elementary Education. He holds his #088 endorsement from CSDE for adult education.
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Iryna Hzhesiak
Education Coordinator
Iryna came to the United States in 2019 from Ukraine and enrolled in advanced English classes with Literacy Volunteers. In the fall of 2021, she was interested in working, and as a first step, she began volunteering in the LVFC office, quickly learned operating systems, and took on small projects. In the summer of 2022, she became officially eligible to work and was hired to work as program staff. She brings strong education and work experience from her native country. Her bilingual ability to speak with recently arrived Ukrainian students is comforting and welcoming to them and very helpful to staff. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the National Technical University of Ukraine/Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine. Her career consisted of 10 years of successful experience in B2B business development.
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Francesca Ordonez

Program Administrator/Career Navigator

Francesca is the point person for the English language and Child Development Associate (CDA) Certification program. Her main focus is providing supports for students as they identify and navigate their next steps forward in English proficiency and career readiness. She serves as a student success counselor and works with individuals and small groups to prepare resumes and take steps toward employment as they master English. She is from Stamford, Connecticut and attended the University of Rhode Island where she received her B.S in Communicative Disorders with double minors in Human Development and Family Sciences and Leadership Studies. She has student leadership experience in event management and preschool education. She is excited to be a member of the Family Centers community and looks forward to contributing her skills and energy to advancing our mission.

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