Irina Ly
Director
Maturing as a young adult, Irina questioned many aspects of the ways she was taught. She devoted her professional career to improving education through an experiential approach. She earned a master’s degree in Elementary Education, with a minor in Humanities, from Herzen State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg, Russia. She has more than twenty years of experience as a teacher, tutor, camp counselor, program coordinator, director, and consultant across schools and programs in the United States, Mauritania, and Russia.
Mary Hackenburg
Treasurer/Secretary
Mary Hackenberg believes that many children are not receiving the education they deserve in the traditional public-school system and wants to be part of the solution by supporting teachers, administrators, and innovators.
Mary has served Community Education Project since 2009. She is a CPA specializing in nonprofits, including schools, hospitals, and local government, and has served Charlotte-area schools as an accountant or treasurer.
Mary is a mother of three and hopes her work at Community Education Project helps create positive change in the education system for the benefit of the community.
Ahmadou Ly
Member
Ahmadou’s belief in education is deeply ingrained. Born in Africa and raised across three continents, he believes that the best education is learned through experience.
Ahmadou has been a Community Education Project member since its inception. Before joining CEP, he co-founded a
nonprofit organization
with his brother that supports free cardiovascular surgery for young patients in West Africa.
Ahmadou brings experience in investment banking, leadership and team building, project management, and process improvement. He is fluent in French, English, Russian, and Arabic, and lives in Charlotte, where he works for a major financial institution.
Nicholas Triplett
Board Member-at-Large
Nick was born in upstate South Carolina and grew up in rural eastern North Carolina, in Tarboro, Edgecombe County. He attended UNC Chapel Hill on a Teaching Fellows scholarship, earning a BA in History and an MA in Teaching.
Nick has engaged with education for more than 20 years as a homeschool parent, high-school social studies teacher, pre-K facilitator at independent schools, member and teacher in a nature-based educational cooperative, and through charter- and independent-school governance.
He later earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction (Urban Education) from UNC Charlotte and is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor of Education in the Cato College of Education at UNC Charlotte. Nick lives in Charlotte with his wife and three children and enjoys being outdoors—especially hiking, climbing, fishing, carpentry, gardening, and spending time with family.