BOARD MEMBERS

Julie Serfass, President*
Julie is a native Capitol Hill resident and proud graduate of DC Public Schools—the Capitol Hill Cluster School and the high school formerly known as Wilson High School—and George Washington University, where she studied nonprofit management. She was a board member for the Washington Area Frisbee Club for 10 years, and served as the board president for five years. In this capacity, she spent many hours cultivating relationships with field providers, planning schedules and compiling rosters for leagues and events.

Claude Harriott, Vice President*
Claude is a former American football defensive end. He played at the University of Pittsburgh and in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and other teams. He is a cofounder of Quest-Act, a nonprofit that works with students to live a purpose-driven life building their community. He coaches football at Ballou and McKinley Tech high schools. He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, their two daughters and a nephew, all of whom attend the Capitol Hill Cluster School.

Charles Barnett, Secretary + Treasurer*
Chuck has been a resident of Capitol Hill for over 20 years, where he lives with his wife and two boys. He is actively involved in youth baseball, serving on the Washington DC Little League Executive Committee. Chuck has volunteered in various capacities in youth sports organizations across Capitol Hill. A native of Arkansas and lifelong Arkansas Razorbacks fan, Chuck holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Arkansas and regularly returns to cheer on the Hogs.

Thu Pham
Thu has worked for over 20 years on national efforts to advance women’s leadership, environmental protection, progressive movements, and strategic philanthropy. She is chief of staff at Defenders of Wildlife. Thu serves on the boards of The Boat Company and the Institute for Conservation Leadership. She has volunteered with the Capitol Hill Cluster School PTA, a travel soccer club, and Capitol Hill Little League, as well as Calvary Women’s Services and Dress for Success-DC, two women services organizations.

Michael Godec, Immediate Past President*
Mike is CRYSP’s immediate past president and one of its founders. He is President of Sports on the Hill and has volunteered in the organization in a variety of capacities, including as commissioner, coach, and referee coordinator. He was previously a commissioner of the Capitol Hill Youth Baseball and Softball League. After receiving a M.S. in Technology and Human Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis, he moved to the DC area and has lived on Capitol Hill since 1985. Mike is an energy and environmental consultant in his day job.

Brian Atkins
Brian has over 15 years of leadership experience in community engagement with Events DC, Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative, Inc., and now, JPMorgan Chase & Co. where he educates residents, small business owners and nonprofits in financial health and is the firm’s liaison with wards 7 and 8. Raised in Southeast DC, Brian is passionate about bridging the gap between organizations and communities and creating access for underserved youth to career and education programs and higher education, including on the board of the William Lockridge Foundation.

Alex Bearman*
Since 2009, Alex has served as the executive director of District Sports, the largest adult soccer organization in DC. In this capacity, Alex builds and maintains relationships with school and government entities and drives new organizational initiatives. Over the years he has created robust partnerships with organizations such as the DC Ed Fund, DC SCORES, and DC United. Alex holds a Master’s degree in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University.

Carlos Bonner
Carlos serves on the board of Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta and The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the Senior Vice President of Development and Asset Management at Cedar Realty Trust.

Robert Coomber
Bob completed his second term as the ANC Commissioner for ANC 7D01, the Kingman Park neighborhood, in 2018. He has served in leadership positions in several neighborhood organizations, including Friends of Kingman Park Civic Association, Kingman Park-Rosedale Community Garden, and Friends of Kingman and Heritage Islands. During the day, Bob works as a senior labor attorney for the federal government. He lives with his wife, Nicole, their four sons—Tony, Gus, and twins Cassius, and Lucien, and their dog, Penny.

Brendan Dougherty**

Brendan is a 16-year-old sophomore at DeMatha Catholic High School. A Capitol Hill resident, he attended Maury Elementary School and Eliot Hine Middle School.  Brendan played Capitol Hill Little League for 9 years and spent a lot of his free time at The Fields at RFK.  He has served as a volunteer umpire for Capitol Hill Little League and is a Major League Baseball aficionado. 

Tony Francavilla*
A lifelong soccer player, and regular user of the Fields, Tony is the chief development officer of DC SCORES, the largest after-school program in the District, which serves 3,000+ kids through an award-winning combination of soccer, poetry, and service learning. Tony has over a decade of fundraising experience with youth-serving nonprofits in DC, and served as major gifts officer at the SEED Foundation before heading to DC SCORES. A lifelong soccer player, Tony is a graduate of Georgetown University and has been a DC resident for more than 15 years.

Bridgett Frey
Bridgett has lived on Capitol Hill/Kingman Park for over 15 years and serves in a leadership position with Friends of Kingman Park Civic Association, and she loves to spend time in the community with her beagle Stevie. She has volunteered with George Washington University, where she earned her Masters in Public Administration, N Street Village, and DC Scores' annual One Night, One Goal event. She previously worked on Capitol Hill and now works in strategic communications in the private sectors.

Larry Kaufer
Larry has been a Capitol Hill resident for 40 years. He has been active in youth sports for the last 20 years as coach and commissioner of youth soccer, basketball, baseball, and touch football. He currently serves as president of Sports on the Hill, a 501(c)(3) volunteer organization serving over 1,500 youth athletes with programs in lacrosse, field hockey, wrestling, volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball, and touch football.

Damion Sanders

Damion Sanders is the founder and managing partner of District Jump. Before opening District Jump Damion spent close to 20 years in marketing and advertising helping to connect clients to individuals in need of the products and services they offered. Damion transitioned his career from print media to digital ads and marketing when he accepted a marketing consultant position with Reach Local, which at the time was one of the world’s largest Digital Ad Agencies for Small To Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs). Damion has a BS in Biology from Virginia Union University. He also lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two children who continue to be the inspiration for his family-oriented businesses.

Sharita Slayton
Sharita is a solutions-oriented African American female with a heart for the success of the youth and seniors of the District of Columbia. She volunteers as the Board Chair of the Legacy Collaborative Senior Village and Managing Director for Dynamic Solutions for the Aging. She has a Bachelor's degree in Management and Business and an Associate’s degree in Management Technology. As a native Washingtonian, residing in Eastland Gardens of Ward 7, she believes that solutions come from those who are being directly affected and that we must include them to be effective.

David Toney

David Toney, Senior Vice President of Development for Akridge, is responsible for coordinating all aspects of development activities from acquisition to completion. His responsibilities include acquisition, financing, entitlements, design, construction, marketing, and leasing. He is an active member of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association, the Urban Land Institute, and is a former Vice President of the African American Real Estate Professionals. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, BUILT National, and Capitol Hill Little League. He is an advisory board member to the Washington DC Economic Partnership and Build DC, an organization that uses entrepreneurship to ignite the potential of students from under-resourced communities.

EX OFFICIO AND ADVISORS

Anne Corbett*
As Executive Director of CRYSP DC, Anne is an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors and a member of the Executive Committee. Learn more about Anne in the Staff section above.

Sanju Misra
Sanju is the owner and principal of Misra Law PLLC, a boutique law firm focusing on commercial real estate, general real property, and trusts and estates law. Sanju was previously with the DC Office of the Attorney General as Deputy General Counsel for the Department of General Services. She is a member of the District of Columbia and New York State bars. She serves on the Board of the Capitol Hill Day School, for which she is chair of the Facilities Committee. Sanju lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of the District of Columbia with her husband, two children, and dog.

*Executive Committee members
**Youth board members serve for one year and are full voting members