Staff

Beth Drummond Casey
Executive Director

Beth Drummond Casey has worked as an educational non-profit teacher and administrator for 29 years. At Baltimore independent schools Park and Gilman, she taught elementary and middle school music, as well as first through fifth grades, and was a staff development specialist in writing across the curriculum. She was Assistant Head of Park’s Lower School, where she also directed the Park Intern Teacher program and led several faculty development projects focused upon mathematics teaching and learning.

Beth has offered workshops and presentations on many subjects to teachers, parents, college students, and educational non-profit leaders. She is a founding co-leader of Park School’s five-year faculty and administration seminar Broadening the Conversation about Race, and is committed to seeking social and economic justice by reaching across cultural boundaries created by race and class.

Beth received her B.A. from Smith College. A lifelong musician, Beth is also a board member and singer in The Canticle Singers of Baltimore.

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Sophia L. Rudisill
Associate Director

Sophia L. Rudisill has been serving Baltimore City youth for more than 20 years as an advocate and mentor in support of college access for all. Sophia is responsible for Middle Grades Partnership’s long-term strategic vision of the school year, summer and college readiness/access programs. She directs the planning, implementation, and evaluation of special projects.

Sophia is committed to widening access to excellent education and political/economic opportunities to those in impoverished and marginalized communities. She has a particular interest in social policy affecting ethnic minority, immigrant and low-income urban communities.

Sophia earned her Bachelor of Music degree from University of the Arts and her Masters of Arts in Music Business from New York University.

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Katie Applefeld
Development Director

Katie began her professional career as a middle school special education teacher. She then worked for Advertising.com, an Internet advertising company. Katie also worked as a development professional for Friends of the Family and CollegeBound Foundation. She has held numerous leadership roles for The Associated: The Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore as well as several national and international Jewish organizations. Katie is a recent graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program.

Katie is passionate about building community here in Baltimore and around the world. She has traveled to Ethiopia, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Israel to gain a greater understanding of the challenges faced by different communities. She believes education plays a key role in building a strong community.

Katie earned a B.S. in secondary education from the University of Rhode Island and an M.S. in special education from Johns Hopkins University.

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Sierra Bunton
Assistant to the Executive Director

Sierra came to MGP with a young but versatile career as a public service professional. After working as a Mediator for the Attorney Generals Office of New York State, she completed AmeriCorps NCCC. During this time, she also received a bronze Congressional Medal for service and graduated as a member of the first cohort for Public Allies Maryland. She has had the opportunity to travel across the country working in various educational capacities to empower elementary school ESOL students, adults with barriers to employment, inmates and ex-offenders, and low-wage workers.

Sierra is passionate about empowering people and communities to maximize their potential, and she hopes to be an asset in enhancing the beauty of Baltimore. Sierra is originally from Rochester, New York and has a Bachelors of Science in psychology from the State University of New York—the College at Brockport.

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