The passionate people behind the scenes of
Southeast Community Foundation
Jessica Burgwald
Academic Director
Jessica Burgwald is the Academic Director at the Southeast Community Foundation. She holds a Master of Education and an AMI Montessori Elementary certification. Before joining SCF, Jessica spent a decade in the classroom across both public and private schools, teaching students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Most of her teaching career was devoted to Montessori elementary education. Guided by curiosity and empathy, Jessica believes deeply in the power of education to create meaningful change; this is one of the many reasons she is drawn to Southeast Community Foundation’s work.
Beyond her classroom work, Jessica had served in a number of leadership roles, including co-chairing her former school’s DEIJ committee, representing elementary faculty on the leadership team, and serving as the staff representative on the Board of Trustees. Jessica also currently volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters as a Big Sister.
In her free time, she enjoys sewing, reading, drinking tea, and hosting murder mystery parties for her friends.
Connor Willing
Academic Program Manager
Connor Willing (he/him) is the Academic Program Manager at Southeast Community Foundation. Since joining SCF in 2022 as a Site Coordinator, Connor has worn many hats – supporting tutors, managing school sites, strengthening systems, and helping shape program strategy. All this led to his current role overseeing academic programming and quality across partner schools.
Before transitioning into nonprofit and education work, Connor spent over a decade performing professionally across Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe in dance, musical theatre, immersive productions, opera, and cabaret. His commitment to community well-being began in 2016 through English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s program.
Connor teaches weekly online Dance for Parkinson’s classes for participants in both the U.S. and Australia and serves as program lead for bringing in-person classes to Long Beach in partnership with the City of Long Beach.
He is currently completing his Bachelor of Arts with a major in Social Justice & Enterprise and enjoys beach time with his partner and their dog, Bourbon.