Four thousand eight hundred scholarships and counting...

Carson Scholars Fund Staff

Amy Warner
Executive Director

Amy Warner grew up surrounded by educators who reinforced the importance of a solid education.  After a 20 year career in radio, Amy joined the Carson Scholars Fund as Executive Director in 2005 to support her heroes, Dr. Ben and Candy Carson in their efforts to identify high achieving student role models in schools and counteract illiteracy.

Ben and Candy’s inspirational leadership and the dedicated board of directors are magnets for this country’s most exceptional donors, stakeholders and chapter volunteers.  Amy draws daily inspiration from interacting with teachers, administrators and the amazing student network. Watching the young, bright leaders emerge is enormously satisfying to Amy.
Rebekah Lin
Scholarship Director

Rebekah Lin has experience with a range of educational programs and organizations. She joined the Carson Scholars Fund as the Scholarship Director in July of 2010. In this role, she manages the scholarship program – creating the application, communicating with schools and funders about application distribution, coordinating our volunteer judges and the application scoring process, assisting with our annual awards banquets, and ensuring that scholars receive their payouts when it is time for college. She loves being part of a program that motivates students, rewards humanitarianism, and encourages students of all ages to start preparing for college.
Tammy Blazenyak
Reading Room Coordinator

Tammy Blazenyak is a self-proclaimed bookworm.  Reading is her passion and her position at the Carson Scholars Fund allows her to share her passion with others. Since 2007, Tammy has served as the Reading Room Coordinator for the Ben Carson Reading Project and has been instrumental in the creation of nearly 30 Ben Carson Reading Rooms in schools across the country.  Tammy feels giving children the gift of reading is the greatest gift anyone can give.  Reading is entertaining, informative, and important.  It increases self-esteem and gives one a sense of knowledge and experience, and she is delighted to help bring these benefits to our reading room schools.
Sheila Butler
Expansion Coordinator

Sheila Butler is always interested in helping others to succeed. She loves working with CSF volunteers to help them develop successful chapters so that bright students everywhere in America will have the chance at becoming a Carson Scholar. Her extensive sales and public relations experience provides a wide area of expertise to draw upon as she works with CSF chapter representatives to help them create growth opportunities and successfully manage chapter activities; such as scholarship awards ceremonies, grant development initiatives, and fundraising events for their local chapters.
Jo Weisgal
Events Coordinator

In 2005, Jo was instrumental in creating the Ben Carson Reading Room at Villa Cresta Elementary School, a Baltimore County Public School. Jo was very excited to build this room as she attended this school as a child and both of her daughters have since attended it. Jo feels education is highly important and has dedicated many hours working with the PTA and her children’s teachers. Jo feels passionate about the Ben Carson Reading Project and enjoys interacting with the students, scholars and CSF supporters.
Louise Burkert
Scholarship Assistant

Beginning at the Carson Scholars Fund as a regular volunteer during scholarship season is the definition of “baptism by fire,” but Louise didn’t let the demands of working in the buzzing office deter her. After volunteering more than 60 hours, she was invited to join the staff as a Scholarship Services Coordinator and Social Media and Website Communications Assistant. She is a part time assistant to the Scholarship Director and Executive Director, doing everything from assisting scholars in the application and payout process, to making informational pamphlets and programs, while also assisting at the many events held year-round by the Carson Scholars Fund. Louise is currently enrolled in the Nursing Program at the Community College of Baltimore County and looks forward to graduating in May of 2012 with her Certificate as a Registered Nurse.
Sabrina Body
Executive Assistant

Sabrina Body is the Executive Assistant for the Carson Scholars Fund. She performs a wide variety of executive secretarial and administrative services required for daily operation of  the Carson Scholars Fund Office. She also facilitates our merchandise sales for events and online orders. Sabrina joined the Carson Scholars Fund in November of 2010. She feels it is an honor to work for such a promising organization and enjoys being a part of Dr. Carson’s dream of giving young children a great start and encouraging them to “Think Big”.
Shelly Dark Horn
Reading Room Program Assistant

Shelly Dark Horn has over 20 years of experience in media and education but has found that the most rewarding work comes from that which celebrates diversity and empowers youth and families in underserved communities, making the Carson Scholars Fund a perfect career fit.  She is a strong advocate for academic and leisure reading as keys to lifelong learning.  Shelly is completing her Master’s Degree in Community Psychology & Social Change at Penn State Harrisburg in 2012.  She joined the Carson Scholars Fund in November, 2011 to assist with the day-to-day activities of the rapidly expanding and wonderfully successful Ben Carson Reading Project.  She looks forward to being an integral part of the growth and success of the organization.
Kumba Sennaar
Scholarship Services Assistant

Kumba Sennaar started as a weekly volunteer in the summer of 2011 at the Carson Scholars Fund. After 150 hours of service, she started as the Scholarship Services Assistant in January of 2012. As Scholarship Services Assistant, Sennaar works part-time to help support the scholarship program through a variety of mechanisms including data entry, communicating with scholars and schools, answering questions about the scholarship and payout processes, organizing application requests, assisting with awards banquets, assisting with the research study, and other CSF events. Sennaar graduated Cum Laude from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in May 2011 and is currently preparing to start medical school in the fall of 2013 with the ultimate objective of becoming a neurosurgeon. Dr. Ben Carson has been a hero of Sennaar’s since childhood, and she feels deeply fulfilled to be part of Dr. and Mrs. Carson’s mission to recognize and reward excellence in scholarship and service to humanity on the part of America’s youth.