Cassandra St. Vil, Ph.D. ​is the visionary education entrepreneur behind Amateka College Preparatory Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. She is a trained Africanist, social worker and former high school special education teacher and currently serves as history faculty in Southeast, D.C. A Teach for America, Peace Corps and Fulbright alumna, “Dr. Cass” has worked with adolescents and adults in youth development, internationally, for nearly 20 years.  She brought her work in cultural exchange and education among youth to over 30 countries. Dr. Cass  is a graduate of Howard University’s doctoral program in African Studies, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Hunter College and the University of Michigan School of Social Work. The first of her five degrees was completed at Buffalo State College. She first wrote about the design of what would become Amateka's work in The Push for African-Centered Education, independently published in 2017.