Meet The Team

 Samandria Crowther is the founder of GWD. She is currently, a 3rd grade, ELA teacher with DPSCD. She has a very diverse background when it comes to working with kids. Samandrdria has held leadership positions/worked with organizations such as:  Big Brothers & Big Sisters, AmeriCorps, Girl Scouts of America, Boy Scouts of America, Project Community, America Reads Tutoring Corps, CAMP Detroit, and Wayne County Juvenile Detention Center.   

She is a graduate of The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Samandria also has graduate degrees from Marygrove College.  She continuously seeks opportunities to educate and work with the youth in the community. One of her many passions is helping young ladies reach their highest potential without sacrificing their morals and beliefs. 

Tiffany Ward is a Detroit native with 7 years of experience in Education. She earned her B.A. in English at Grand Valley State University and M.A. in Teaching at Wayne State University. Tiffany is a passionate educator and literacy advocate.  Tiffany's mission is to support children as they acquire the foundational skills needed to achieve their highest potential.

Rebecca Karlstad is currently, a K-5 ELA Master Teacher and professor at WSU. She has been working with GWD since the beginning. 

Katherine Andrews is a veteran teacher of the Detroit community. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Wayne State and her Master's from Walden University. She believes in empowering the youth for the betterment of the community as a whole, for generations to come. Katherine strongly believes that women are the backbones of our society and are capable of extraordinary things. Therefore, she seeks to help girls realize and work towards their potential.

Markita Weaver is currently, a K-5 ELA Master Teacher.  She has been teaching for 20+ years.  Markita was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, attended Detroit Public schools and graduated from Martin Luther King Jr. Sr. High School. Then, Markita went on to graduate from Wayne State University and the University of Phoenix. 

     Her level of compassion is limitless, and her desire to help children in the community where she grew up is shown in her everyday actions. The children she service are pretty much a significant portion of the apple of her eye. Markita’s vision is to reach one, in efforts to teach everyone. 

Latisha Smith is currently, an assistant principal with DPSCD. She has been working working with GWD for the last 7 years.

Ebony Lewis has been working with GWD since the beginning. 

 Sharde Crutchfield has been working with GWD since 2015.