Lili G. Murphy
Liliana “Lili” Gomez Murphy was named the Executive Director of the Florida After School, Inc., in February 2022. Previously, Lili served as the statewide assistant director for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program at the Florida Department of Education. In this capacity, she was immersed in working with afterschool programs and stakeholders, as well as administering grant resources. She has also held positions with Help Me Grow Florida and the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe. Lili serves as the Board Vice President for the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Foundation Second Circuit and as a GAL for two children. She graduated from Florida State University and is bilingual.
Debi Embry
Debi Embry's career includes more than 25 years working with Brevard Public Schools, overseeing as many as 58 fee-based afterschool programs and nineteen 21st Century Community Learning Center programs. Beginning in 2004, She had the privilege of supervising an amazing afterschool team who shared program operation responsibilities including workforce development, staff training, fiscal management, parent and student satisfaction, and grant writing. Brevard’s afterschool programs were committed to Florida’s quality standards and exemplary site leadership. Debi served on the Florida Afterschool Alliance (FASA) Board of Directors for many years and then as a consultant to support conferences, training, membership, and finances.
Holly McPhail
Holly McPhail manages communications for Florida After School, Inc., as well as provides strategic consultation for the organization’s program and funding development. As the chief strategist with Windwood Communications and nearly two decades of experience, her clients include several local government, statewide associations, early learning programs, literacy campaigns and more. Holly is very active in her home community serving as a ‘connector’ for many individuals and programs and was recently recognized as 25 Women You Need to Know in Tallahassee. Holly holds degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and International Affairs with concentrations in Anthropology and Economics from the Florida State University.
McKenzie Coker
McKenzie Coker joined the Florida After School Team in March 2023 as a Program Specialist. Her out-of-school-time experience comes from directing a week-long camp every summer for 6th-8th grade students. As a program specialist, she works directly with school districts to offer support for their after school programs. McKenzie graduated from Oklahoma State University and holds degrees in Multimedia Journalism and Political Science.
Kayla Kitchens
Kayla first started in the afterschool field as a volunteer throughout high school at the Museum of Arts and Science in Daytona Beach, Florida. She joined our team in August 2023, adding additional project and office management skills and will also assist with some of our research and training, putting her educational background in Family Child Sciences and Psychology to work. Kayla is a self-professed animal lover and has found a seamless fit with our Tallahassee-based team.
Shelby Norwood
Shelby Norwood is our newest resource for programs! A Tallahassee native, Shelby has fond memories of field trips to the National MagLab and Challenger Learning Center and is looking forward to helping programs access STEM curricula, training and evaluation tools. She joins us from the TEACH Team at the Children's Forum and brings with her nearly three years of direct childcare and afterschool experience. Shelby is currently pursuing a degree in Business Management and is now our second bilingual team member.