Board of Directors
Board Leadership

Laurice Smith, Board Chair
Attorney

Laurice Smith is an attorney whose practice focuses on tax law. She is a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Tax Section where she serves on the Section’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Laurice also mentors law students through the Tax Section’s mentorship program. Laurice began her legal career in legal services before moving into government service. She earned her BA in African American Studies from the University of Maryland and her JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law School. Laurice has also served as an adjunct professor at Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law.

Aliya Johnson-Roberts, Board Vice-Chair
Owner, Bustleton Child Care Centers

Aliya Johnson-Roberts has been the Executive Director and Co-owner of Pratt Street Learning Center & Bustleton Learning Center for the past ten years. Over this time, she has pursued many quality initiative programs that would help build the quality of her programs, including Success by 6. Ultimately, her program became a STARS 4 site allowing them to receive the Fund for Quality grant, from which came Bustleton Learning Center.

Aliya puts forth great effort to stay actively involved in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) and business fields. She serves on the PACCA Board of Directors, is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10KSB program, has spoken on and/or participated in a number of ECE panels and focus groups, and is currently participating in the ECE Fellowship cohort. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Arcadia University and will be pursuing her Ph.D. in the Fall. All of these efforts will help her and her programs reach a part of their vision which is to become a hub in the Philadelphia community and a model program in ECE with strong, successful business and educational practices.

Nicole De Jackmo Valentino, Board Secretary

Nicole De Jackmo Valentino is Vice President of Marketing & Publicity at Quirk Books, an independent book publisher based in Philadelphia. With 15 years of experience, Nicole oversees the overall brand and promotion of Quirk's books, including international bestsellers like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and New York Times best-selling children's books like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers. Prior to joining Quirk, Nicole served as a publicist at Running Press and Simon and Schuster. She is a graduate of Fordham University.

Board Members
(Listed alphabetically by last name)

Kristine Alvarez
Director of Consulting Services at Nonprofit Finance Fund

Kristine has spent the last twenty years coaching mission-driven leaders to connect finance to programmatic goals.  In her current role at Nonprofit Finance Fund, Kristine provides one-on-one coaching, consulting and training in financial literacy & financial management for nonprofit leaders. Kristine had the pleasure of working with the Tree House Books team on a multi-year consultancy between 2019 – 2022, and is excited to serve the THB mission as a new board member.  Previous training includes:  MBA from George Washington University, BA from University of Pennsylvania, Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional Certificate from BDO Fiscal Management Associates, and Positive Psychology Resilience Skills Certification from University of Pennsylvania.  In her spare time, she enjoys line-dancing with her school-age daughters, cooking Lola’s recipes (or at least trying to cook), and growing mammoth sunflowers.

Kelly Bailey, Board Member
PwC, Global Learning & Development Senior Manager

Kelly has worked at PwC for over 12 years delivering strategic, technology-enabled transformational projects for both external clients and across the PwC global network of firms. As a certified PMP, Kelly has a strong background in providing project and program management services in the forms of financial management, reporting, planning, communications, training and change management. She has cross industry experience delivering projects focused on addressing legal/regulatory issues, crisis management, technology implementations, mergers and divestitures. Kelly shares her love of reading with her three young children and considers herself a picture book enthusiast. She believes that reading and writing are powerful tools for empowerment and empathy, and she's eager to collaborate with the THB community in their mission to grow literacy in Philadelphia.

Kimberly Clotman, Board Member
Pfizer; Senior Director, Marketing

For nearly 20 years, Kimberly Coleman Clotman has helped to shape and build some of the world’s most recognizable brands. Whether it was leading businesses or client relationships, Kimberly has been an equal partner in setting the strategic vision, developing innovative solutions and ensuring flawless execution for numerous category-leading brands. Most recently, Kimberly served as Head of US Marketing at Nabriva Therapeutics, where she led the development and execution of marketing strategy across the company’s entire infectious disease product portfolio. Prior to that, Ms. Coleman Clotman ran Agency Resource Consulting (ARC) Group LLC, an independent consultancy providing long-range strategic and project-based support for mission-driven community organizations along with small and mid-size biopharmaceutical firms. She also served as Senior Vice President at FCB Health, a global healthcare communications agency headquartered in New York City, overseeing multi-million dollar client budgets for some of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Kimberly earned her MBA at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, her undergraduate degree in Advertising at the University of Texas, and currently resides in Philadelphia with her family.

Cory Dulaney, Board Member

Cory Dulaney is the Assistant Director & Lead Support Coach at the Center for Male Engagement - a program a part of the Community College of Philadelphia that provides holistic support and resources to Men of Color at the College. His work also assists returning citizens at the College through the I Am More Program that serves folks who have been formerly incarcerated and looking to complete their degree at CCP.

Moving from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in 2012, Cory attended graduate school at Temple University where his focus was Afrocentric Education. His work centers on Black male achievement in post-secondary school education and has worked in higher education for over ten years. His goal is to create a safe space for Black young folk to cultivate their passions and skills, enhance them, and then attach them to the greater purpose of helping their community thrive.

Carolita Joseph, Board Member
KPMG; Senior Manager

Carolita was born and raised on the small island of Bermuda, a place that was so formative in developing her identity and building character. She came to the U.S. in 2010 to attend the Pennsylvania State University.

Carolita graduated with bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Public Relations as well as a masters degree in Accounting. She moved to Philadelphia in 2015 to start her career as Certified Public Accountant with KPMG Philadelphia, where she oversees audits of both public and private companies in the consumer/retail and industrial manufacturing industries.

From a very young age, the world of books provided a wonderful safe haven for her to become curious about the world and understand the way we all think. She believes empowering people through literacy can build their confidence and breed empathy towards others. Outside of being a CPA, Carolita is an avid fitness enthusiast (tennis and Pilates are among her favorites!).

She looks forward to serving the Philadelphia community with Tree House Books.

Dewain Johnson, Board Member
8th Street Investments, Owner

Dewain has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years now. As the owner of 215 Media, his team has assisted small to medium sized companies in achieving their goals by providing IT support and web design services. Simultaneously he also started up a real estate development company that focuses on providing affordable housing throughout the Philadelphia area. In recent years he has also provided consultation services to aspiring real estate investors looking to get started. Dewain is an alumni of Goucher college, where he graduated with a degree in business management in 2004.. But if you ask Dewain, the most important accomplishment/duty, is that of being the father of 3 beautiful children, who provide all the motivation to continue working and improving every day.

Sara Johnson, Board Member
JPMorgan Chase, Vice President - Marketing Strategy Lead

Sara Johnson is a Marketing Strategy Lead at JPMorgan Chase based in Wilmington, Delaware. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology along with 4 years in the pharmaceutical industry, 8 years in credit card marketing and is an advocate for career mobility and following your heart. No matter where life takes her, she loves jumping in, learning something new and helping spread positivity wherever possible.

Grace Manning, Board Member
Champions of Literacy Event Co-Chair

Assistant Director of Workforce Solutions

Grace Manning has a background in education and believes in the positive effect that teaching cultural and social responsibility early on can have on student outcomes and communities as a whole. Grace was a volunteer with Tree House Books all through her undergraduate time at Temple University, became re-acquainted with the program in 2018, and shortly after joined the board. She currently works for Hopeworks Camden as the Assistant Director of Workforce Solutions, a workforce development organization with a focus on education, technology, and entrepreneurship. Hopeworks provides a positive, trauma informed atmosphere that propels young people to build strong futures and break the cycle of violence and poverty. Additionally Grace was awarded the Philadelphia Inquirer's Outstanding Ally award at their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion summit in 2019

Past Board Members - Thank you for your service!