16 Strong Project Board of Directors

Board Members

Samantha Wettje, Ed.M.: Board President. Samantha is also Co-Founder and Executive Director of 16 Strong. She founded the organization in response to her own experiences growing up and has a passion for uplifting youth advocates. She works to teach young people how to be their own best advocates and how to educate their peers and community members. Samantha has an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and a B.S.in Financial Economics from Binghamton University. She currently works as a Community Affairs Manager for Morgan Stanley Community Affairs/Morgan Stanley Foundation.

Donna Wettje, MBA: Board Treasurer. Donna is a Co-Founder of 16 Strong alongside her daughter, Samantha. Donna is a lifelong advocate for ensuring everybody’s voice is heard. She works tirelessly to raise the collective voices of youth in an effort to help young people recognize and resist the negative impacts of adverse childhood experiences and break the cycle of generational trauma.

Kathleen Dwyer: Board Vice President. Kathleen Dwyer is currently entering into her 30th year of teaching English at Clarkstown, and has taught at St. Thomas Aquinas College.  Her involvement with and dedication to the 16 Strong Project was sparked by Clarkstown alumnus and 16 Strong Co-Founder, Samantha Wettje’s, meaningful work with her Assets Leadership course, wherein Samantha impressively conducted lessons involving ACEs and how to identify and mitigate them. This acted as a springboard for Kathleen’s desire to focus on incorporating ACEs activities into her courses.  Supported by a strong background in English Education (BA English/MA Literature), Kathleen has developed curriculum resources for Every Voice Heard and will continue to invest her time in helping students to tell their stories as a means to successfully identify, navigate, and mitigate the circumstances of their lives.  Kathleen is active in community service, a member of her parish council, a voracious reader, movie enthusiast, college basketball superfan, and she enjoys spending time with her wonderful husband, children, family, friends, and dog.

Tina Pilla: Board Secretary. Tina Pilla has a versatile background in non-profit operations, with a focus in donor and customer service as well as administrative support thanks in part to her time working for the Alzheimer's Association. She is currently a Project Coordinator at the Executive Office of the New York Banker’s Association. She likes to be behind the scenes, helping make everyone's life a little easier. When she's home in New York, she can usually be found reading with her grumble of pugs.

Thelma Ramirez, Ed.M.: Thelma is a Research Manager at the EASEL Lab at Harvard University where she primarily supports the equity-focused efforts of several projects. Prior to working at the EASEL Lab, Thelma served as the Program Director for the Oklahoma Serves AmeriCorps program, where she partnered with 21 non-profit agencies throughout the state of Oklahoma to increase academic engagement through in- and out-of-school programming which included arts education, equestrian therapy, academic tutoring, and mentoring. Thelma has experience in early education, having served as a Program Supervisor and Parent Educator in home visiting programs that support families with prenatal to five-year-old children from 2013-2017. Thelma has an A.B. in sociology from Princeton University and an Ed.M in Prevention Science and Practice Program from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Susan Solar, LCSW: Susan Solar is a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of experience. She has worked in hospital, clinical and school settings and specializes in substance abuse, adolescence and grief counseling. Her true passion is helping others and teaching our youth about the opportunities to help, and the joy and passion that is created when we reach out to others. She runs the Assets Leadership Program at Clarkstown High School South which is dedicated to teaching students positive qualities and behaviors that help influence the choices they make both in school and their community.

Luke Matys, Ed.M.: Originally from Worcester, MA, Luke started his career teaching middle school in New Bedford before getting his Masters in Education at Harvard. From 2019 to 2023, he managed a state-wide afterschool mock trial program that connected nearly 350 middle school students with volunteer legal professionals across Massachusetts. In this position, Luke tripled the size of the program, designed curriculum, trained and stewarded volunteers and school partnerships, and organized nearly a dozen culminating community events each semester. He is currently an educator at The Possible Zone in Boston, where he guides high school students as they explore their entrepreneurial passions and leadership abilities. He has served as a Board Member of the 16 Strong Project since 2021.