C. Waters-Hassan, Founder

“Educator for Life”

Cheryl Waters-Hassan’s inspiration is the result of hearing her grandmother say, “Cheryl’s going to be a teacher.”

Cheryl is a product of Baltimore City Public Schools, and a graduate of Coppin State University with a B.S. in Education and concentration in Special Education. She earned her M.S. in Education with a concentration in Disciplinary Literacy at Goucher College. Her career as a special educator extends over 45 years, three Maryland school districts, and the District of Columbia Public Schools. Throughout her career in the high school setting, she has been a Pied Piper for underserved students in need of guidance and information about post-secondary education. Her passion for young people keeps her energized.

The Anna V. Waters Scholarship Fund fills her long-standing desire to provide encouragement and recognition through financial support to students.

Christine Amihere

Mrs. Christine Amihere was inspired by the goals of the Anna V. Waters Scholarship Fund and has contributed to the administration of the scholarship since 2014. As a high school chemistry teacher, Mrs. Amihere has witnessed the need for including a deeper swath of students receiving scholarships that encourage them to pursue their vocations, and believes firmly that students need the encouragement and monetary support that the Anna V. Waters community offers. 

Mrs. Amihere began her professional career as a modern dancer and is the beneficiary of public support, scholarships, and donations. She served on the board and was an administrator of several non-profit dance companies in Kansas City and New York City. She entered the teaching profession over 15 years ago with the goal to support equity in public education. She continues to believe in the value of public education and to strive for equity and excellence.

Joycelyn Peyton

Joycelyn S. Peyton. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Joycelyn graduated from Howard University in 2005 with dual Bachelors degrees in English and Classical Civilization. In 2013, Joycelyn graduated from The University of Chicago Law School where she acquired her Juris Doctor. Joycelyn currently works at the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division, Washington, D.C. She is also the wife to Menelik Coates and mother to beautiful twin girls.

Dr. April E Copes

Dr. April E. Copes has worked with the Anna V. Waters Scholarship since its inception developing literature to promote the scholarship fund, support fundraisers, and bolster its expansion. A veteran educator, Dr. Copes taught high school students and served as a scholarship chairperson for the District of Columbia Public Schools for 16 years. In that capacity, she championed first-generation high school students who desired a college education but lacked the financial and social support to turn their dreams of a college degree into reality.

Through her work with the A.V. Waters Scholarship Fund, she remains a proponent of access to higher education for all students, especially those who are often overlooked. Dr. Copes is an Associate Professor of Communication at Anne Arundel Community College.

Andrea German

Ms. Andrea German is the Special Education Department Chair and Equity Coordinator/Liaison at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts in Dundalk, Maryland. Previously she spent eleven years at Catonsville High School in Catonsville, Maryland as Special Education Department Chair. Ms. German earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in American History at Mars Hill University and Western Carolina University respectively. She earned an additional Master’s degree in Special Education/Learning Disabilities at American University in Washington, D.C. Most recently she completed a post-graduate professional certificate in Culturally Proficient Leadership at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ms. German has particular interests in promoting high school special education and facilitating broader conversations around race, racism, white supremacy, and, in particular, racial inequities within the context of education.

Kenyatta Matthews

Kenyatta Matthews is passionate about AVWSF because she might have been a recipient herself during her post-secondary educational journey. A perennial “C” student at Howard University, Kenyatta went on to spend more than 15 years as an editor and writer for a range of publications, including Ms. magazine, EW, Parenting, Time, Uptown, Essence, Suede, and Cosmo/Marie Clare/Harper’s Bazaar international editions.

She later revisited her childhood dream and returned to study at Columbia University, where she earned a degree in Biological Anthropology with a pre-med concentration and became a Doctor of Medicine candidate at Howard. She is honored to be a board member of this rare and much-needed scholarship fund.

Joel Miller

Joel is a doctoral candidate from Baltimore, MD. He has had the honor of teaching as an adult literacy instructor, a high school special educator and social studies teacher, as a museum educator, and as an undergraduate instructor. The classroom has been Joel’s site of professional meaning making and joy. His graduate research is focused on the historical developments of special education as well as student rights and activism.

Joel’s instructional philosophy drives him to struggle alongside students to help them identify their strengths and assets that might contribute to their own learning and that of others. Classrooms, Joel believes, should be sites of joy, courage, exploration, and excitement. Joel and his wife Nora live in Dundalk, Maryland.

Tanwa M. Suma

Tanwa M. Suma attended and graduated from the Community College of Baltimore (CCB), currently known as Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) and Morgan State University. She has over 20 years of experience working in the private sector, including serving as Diversity Outreach Coordinator for the Central Maryland Chapter of The Alzheimer’s Association. She has over 30 years of experience in government services as a Case Worker, Case Manager and Supervisor in Family Services. She is also an entrepreneur with nearly 40 years of experience in Direct Marketing with Mary Kay Cosmetics, owning and operating her own business. She is the recipient of numerous awards in all of these areas.

Ms. Suma has volunteered in several community service organizations, including Cooperative Extension Services as a 4H Leader, the Family & Consumer Services (F&CS) Advisory Board at Morgan State University, and the NAACP Baltimore City Chapter. She currently volunteers as a member of the Senior Companion Advisory Council, Health Freedom Inc. (previously C.H.A.M.P.) on the planning committee and conductor of a walking group.

Ashley Whidby

Ashley Whidby is one of the first recipients of the Anna V. Waters Scholarship. In the Spring of 2019, she earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence at the University of Maryland’s Francis King Carey School of Law, and received her Associate of Applied Science in Paralegal Studies from the Community College of Baltimore County in 2013. In 2016, she graduated Cum Laude from the University of Baltimore, where she majored in Jurisprudence and Philosophy. During her time at the University of Baltimore, she co-founded the Women of Color Student Association in response to the lack of representation of women of color in the legal and other professions. She also served as Vice-President of the Pre-Law Division of the Black Law Students Association.

Ms. Whidby was elected as the Student Representative for the Student Bar Association Class of 2019 in Law School. She has served on the Black Law Students Association Executive Board as the student ambassador to the Lawyers’ Alliance of the Public Justice Center and was a member of the National Trial Team. She has spent two summers interning at the District of Columbia Public Defender’s Services as a law clerk and hopes to dedicate her legal career to advocating for marginalized communities and working toward fairness and equality in the justice system.