The FPG Corporate Advisory Council serves as a strategic advisory group designed to strengthen the long-term sustainability, visibility, partnerships, and impact of the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. Comprised of leaders from professional and business communities, the council provides external perspective, practical counsel, and ambassadorial support to help advance FPG’s mission of improving the lives of children and families through research, evaluation, technical assistance, professional development, and work that informs policy and practice.
Working in partnership with FPG’s director and senior leadership team, the council helps identify opportunities to expand public-private partnerships, diversify resources, elevate FPG’s profile, and connect the Institute’s research and applied expertise to possible marketplace or other business opportunities. Its role is advisory and strategic, complementing—but not replacing—FPG’s internal leadership structures or existing External Advisory Board.
By engaging influential external leaders in FPG’s future, the Corporate Advisory Council helps broaden the Institute’s network of champions and strengthen its connections across North Carolina, the nation, and beyond. At its best, the council serves as a bridge between FPG’s scientific strengths and the partners, funders, and decision-makers who can help extend the Institute’s reach and impact.
Jenna Barnes has significant experience in the early childhood field having worked previously with the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and most recently, at MDC, where she led their early childhood portfolio, partnering with philanthropy and community to advance systems change to benefit North Carolina’s children, families, and early education workforce.
She brings expertise in systems capacity building, implementation science, partnership cultivation, and facilitating learning communities. In her current role as Early Childhood Director at Blue Cross NC Foundation, Barnes leverages this experience to support grantees and other partners in helping transform the early care and education system to better meet the needs of all children and families.
Barnes holds a Master of Education in Counseling Psychology from the University of Louisville and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Kentucky. She has also completed graduate coursework in Nonprofit Management at NC State University.
Mica Le John is a strategist and entrepreneur who has spent nearly two decades building the partnerships, communities, and career pathways that help people thrive.
Le John also advises organizations across a range of industries on regenerative business strategy and technology integration, and has co-founded several venture-backed tech startups, including Idoru, a creative technology company where she holds a patent. She is a frequently sought-after speaker on digital culture, youth mental health, and business leadership, whose work has been recognized by Vogue Business, Dazed Magazine, AFROPUNK, and more.
Before becoming Executive Director of Beyond Code Collective, Le John helped lead the transformation of BGC serving as Chief of Staff before becoming VP of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation. Prior to BGC, she served as Director of Education at a NYC arts organization where she redesigned the organization's signature youth and intergenerational programs, leading to a 10x increase in public engagement and press coverage for participants’ work. Le John's career began in marketing, working across editorial, experiential, and branded community strategy.
Matthew Marceron is President and CEO of Kaplan Early Learning Company, a top provider of early childhood educational products and solutions. Under his leadership, Kaplan promotes learning through play in classrooms and care settings worldwide, positively impacting early education. He joined Kaplan in 1989.
A graduate of High Point University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Accounting, Marceron is a collaborative, solution-focused leader and financial expert with a broad background in public accounting, private industry, and real estate development. He is a member of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of CPAs.
Marceron chairs the Board of Sunshine House, one of the country’s largest regional childcare and early education providers. He also sits on the boards of AlphaBEST Inc. and Guidecraft, Inc. Marceron is active locally, serving on Truist’s Local Advisory Board and the Family Services board. Previously, he served on the Advisory Board of The Arc of Winston-Salem, the Board of Trustees of New Philadelphia Moravian Church, and as a member of Rotary International and Kiwanis International.
Brandy Nelson, PhD, is the former Academic Director for Reading Reimagined within the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF).
She formerly served on the Board of Directors for the Belk Foundation.
Nelson has devoted more than 28 years of service to education serving as teacher, principal, and c-suite executive. She holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Salem College, a Masters in School Administration from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and a Doctorate of Education from North Carolina State University. Nelson taught middle and high school mathematics at Salem Academy, earning the Joel Weston Award for Faculty Excellence.
Inspired by his experience as an autism father and his child’s first experience with VR, Vijay Ravindran founded Floreo. Floreo uses virtual reality to teach social, communication, behavioral, and life skills to neurodiverse individuals of all ages. Its immersive VR experiences are based on established research and science-backed techniques, and are designed to be used in therapy, educational, or family settings.
Ravindran started his career as an engineer and leader at Amazon in its early retail days before dedicating himself to impact-oriented leadership opportunities that have taken him from building key voter technology used by the Obama campaign in 2008 to Chief Digital Officer at The Washington Post Company.
Ravindran lives in Washington DC with his wife, two Star Wars obsessed kids, and hundreds of Transformers robots which he doesn’t let his kids play with. Outside of work, when he’s not rooting on his beloved Oklahoma Sooners, you can find him on the tennis courts.
