LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Daniela Anello was nominated by her colleague, Morgan Carey.

Mrs. Anello is truly one of a kind. She is dedicated, not only to the students, parents, and surrounding community, but to her staff.

"As the HR Manager, I have the opportunity to interact with all staff members on different levels," said Carey. "DC Bilingual is a school full of many talented, loving, and passionate teachers. I have to say that I think it all starts with Daniela.  She is the head of our school family.  Our family is warm, loving, accepting, creative, and filled with academic excellence."

Having been at DCB for eleven years and starting out in a coach position, Mrs. Anello has truly grown with the school and has made DCB a big part of her heart.  It doesn't take long to recognize how much she loves the school and all who are a part of it.  Her compassion for every student, parent, and faculty member is unmatched. She believes in educating, developing, and caring for the whole child so that they will continue to grow and become leaders in today's world, even after graduating from DCB.

Angel Henriquez, a young activist in the Washington, DC area, is a former student of DC Bilingual who attended the school while under Mrs. Anello's leadership in a different role. Angel has gone on to serve as the communication intern for council-member Charles Allen and currently proclaims that he is Washington, DC's next Mayor.  Last school year, Mrs. Anello invited Angel back to DCB to speak at 5th grade graduation as another way to show students, not only what kind of leader they can be, but that they will always be a part of the DCB family, no matter what. 

Mrs. Anello is a wife and a mother of two who runs a school successfully and still manages to work extremely hard to keep her commitments to her own family. This is no easy task! She works long hours during the week and continues into to the weekend just to start again on Monday morning.

Every year, DCB completes a Global Leaders' trip where the students visit Puerto Rico with teacher chaperones. Upon their return, even if it's a late night arrival, Mrs. Anello is one of the first faces the DCB family sees as they are welcomed back to the school.  

Maintaining school culture is essential to Mrs. Anello.  You won't just find her sitting at her desk, working at her computer. You can expect to see her smiling out in the halls, welcoming parents, and talking with and encouraging students. It is important to her that people feel welcome and that there's an atmosphere of being a community school

"I have only been the HR Manager for a short period of time, but I have been able to gather a great sense of just how wonderful Daniela is as a school leader," said Carey. "She is a big portion of the heart and a true keeper of culture for DC Bilingual Public Charter School."