Maria Shepard Mendez joined the PEP Program in 2024 as the Executive Director. As an experienced educator and leader in college preparatory institutions, Maria is committed to opening pathways to higher education for students and empowering them to strive for excellence in their personal and academic lives.

Before joining PEP, Maria served as the Upper School Academic Dean at The Montclair Kimberley Academy, overseeing the implementation of the academic program and helping advance institutional and strategic priorities. She began her career as an educator at Princeton Day School, where she was the Global Studies Coordinator and Give Something Back Scholars Coordinator. At MKA and PDS, Maria taught History, Spanish, and Interdisciplinary courses; she was also an academic advisor and a faculty advisor to student clubs and affinity groups.

Maria was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is a native Spanish speaker. She has lived in New Jersey for 25 years with her husband and two grown children. Maria holds a B.A. in History with a minor in Latin American Studies from Princeton University and an M.A. in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.

Elizabeth Dean joined The PEP Program in the Fall of 2016 as the Director of Academics. She began her education career teaching social studies for the Great Neck Public School District in New York. During her time as a teacher, Elizabeth taught at both the middle and high school levels. She also worked as a private social studies tutor and spent a summer in Vietnam teaching English.  After teaching for several years, Elizabeth started working as a curriculum developer for Pearson Education and then for McGraw-Hill Education. During her time with Pearson and McGraw-Hill, Elizabeth worked on developing, producing, and implementing CODiE Award-winning programs in K-12 social studies and reading.

Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History Education from Marist College and a Master of Science degree in Education from CUNY Queens College. She is also a New Jersey State licensed teacher.

Melissa Horn is driven by the philosophy that every child can thrive and succeed when given the right support; through her role at PEP she is helping students to pursue their dreams.

In the fall of 2002, Melissa joined the PEP staff and has served in various roles. In her current role as Director of Post-Secondary Programs she works with the PEP students to prepare for college, explore career options, and support Alumni as they pursue opportunities after graduation from high school.

Melissa earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Human Development from Howard University with a minor in Early Childhood Education.

Jocelyne Perez joined the PEP Program in June of 2013 as the Program Coordinator/Office Manager. Prior to working at PEP she worked for the Morristown Neighborhood House, a not-for-profit social services agency that provides tutoring for at-risk, low-income children between the ages of 6 and 11.

At Morristown Neighborhood House, Jocelyne first served as Homework Center Coordinator, where she supervised corporate, high school and community volunteers. She was later promoted to Kindergarten Curriculum Coordinator, where she helped design a learning environment to meet the educational development objectives of her students.

During the summer months, Jocelyne assisted in the coordination of the Neighborhood House’s Summer Camp program, a nine-week intensive summer program exposing youth ages 6 to 14 to places their families could not otherwise afford.

Jocelyne earned a Bachelor of Arts in Labor Studies and Employment Relations with a minor in Women’s Studies from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.