Julia Bator is the former executive director of the Robertson Foundation. She was previously the chief executive officer of The Fund for Public Schools, the nonprofit arm of the New York City Department of Education, which connects private sector resources to the nation’s largest public school system. Before her appointment to The Fund in 2011, Bator worked at Highbridge Capital Management, where she served as chief of staff, managing external affairs for the chief executive officer. Her experience also includes working for the Heckscher Foundation for Children and a number of public-private partnerships such as the Fund for Public Advocacy, City Parks Foundation, and the Chancellor’s Literacy Campaign under NYC Schools Chancellor Rudolph Crew. Bator has also been a public school teacher and served on the executive staff of The White House from 1994 to 1996. She is a graduate of Yale University and holds a master’s degree in education.

Joe Ferguson is an executive-in-residence for the Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) where he supports charter leaders in addressing strategic and operational challenges. Prior to joining CSGF, Ferguson was the chief operating officer for Mastery Charter Schools, a 24-school network serving 14,000 students in Philadelphia and Camden, NJ. Before Mastery, he held senior leadership positions within the School District of Philadelphia. He spent his early career as a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting and American Management Systems helping private and public sector organizations improve their operational performance. Ferguson holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and dual undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Engineering School. He is also an alumnus of the Broad Residency in Urban Education and was a Pahara-Aspen Fellow.

Rick Arroyo has an extensive background in international banking and bank governance. He retired in 2016 after 38 years at Citigroup. Rick’s time at Citi included 16 years in Italy and Brazil in senior management positions. He was named CFO of Citibank, N.A. in 2010 until his retirement in 2016. As CFO of Citibank, N.A. Rick was a member/participant of its various Board committees, including Board, Risk, Audit, Operations and Technology, Compliance and CRA. In 2017 Rick was appointed an independent director of Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A.. He served on the Risk and Audit Committees and was appointed Chair of the Operations and Technology Committee before rolling off the Board in 2019.

Arroyo has a bachelor’s in modern languages from Manhattan College, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa in his senior year; an M.A. in French literature from NYU School of Arts and Science; and an M.S. in accounting and an Advanced Professional Certificate in international finance from NYU Stern School of Business. He is a CPA and a member of the AICPA and NYSSCPA.

Kemi Akinsanya-Rose currently serves as the chief operating officer and chief diversity officer of EL Education (formerly Expeditionary Learning), a leading K-12 education non-profit that provides school transformation strategy, instructional materials, and coaching services to more than 8,000+ teachers and 70,000+ students across the U.S. In this role, Kemi oversees EL Education’s organizational and talent strategy, diversity efforts, program development, and financial operations.  Prior to joining EL Education, Akinsanya-Rose was the chief information officer at the New York City Department of Education, where she was responsible for setting strategic direction for all district-wide technology and data initiatives. Earlier, Akinsanya-Rose held a variety of marketing, client management and product management roles at American Express and JP Morgan/Chase. Akinsanya-Rose earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University, an MA in education leadership from the Broad Foundation, and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.

Alex Berzofsky has returned to the classroom full-time in 2020 to teach English at Brooklyn Prospect Clinton Hill Middle School. Prior to this, he was a managing director at Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity investment firm, which manages $62 billion in assets. In this role, Berzofsky invested in innovative technology companies and guided the rapid growth of these organizations, serving as an active director on their boards. Berzofsky has supported 18 companies, which have created over 10,000 new jobs during his involvement. He currently still serves on the boards of Cargomatic and Softeon.  Prior to his 20-year tenure at Warburg Pincus, Berzofsky worked at Goldman Sachs in their investment banking division. Outside of work, he has volunteered at an underserved public middle school in East Harlem where he has taught enrichment classes. Berzofsky is a graduate of Harvard College where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics.

Isabel Geathers has taught, researched, and published broadly in the American literary canon, on topics ranging from southern regionalism, contemporary aesthetics, to genre theory.  After completing her post-doctoral studies at Princeton University, Geathers worked as the senior director for the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers, a non-profit dedicated to recruiting and retaining teachers in both K-12 and post-secondary education. Geathers moved to New York City in 2015 to serve as the assistant dean for academic diversity at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where she was responsible for the broad oversight and stewardship of diversity programming and assessment, graduate research and teacher training, academic policy, and student support. Currently, Geathers is an education program officer at the Robertson Foundation, working on issues impacting K-12 education. Geathers received her bachelor’s in English literature and classics from Washington University in St. Louis and her MA and PhD in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ian Rowe is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the cofounder of Vertex Partnership Academies, a new network of character-based International Baccalaureate high schools opening in the Bronx in 2022. Until July 2020, Rowe was chief executive officer of Public Prep, the nation’s first and oldest non-profit network that exclusively develops exceptional, tuition-free Pre-K and single-sex elementary and middle public schools. Prior to Public Prep, Rowe was the deputy director of postsecondary success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he was part of the team that disbursed nearly $470 million to increase college completion rates among low income young adults. Rowe has also served as senior vice president of strategic partnerships and public affairs at MTV, where he developed global and domestic public service campaigns to mobilize voters and improve high school and college completion. Earlier, Rowe held roles at the White House USA Freedom Corps and Teach For America (TFA), and co-founded Third Millennium Media, a media consultancy focused on raising awareness of and mobilizing action on social issues. Rowe serves on the boards of Spence-Chapin, the NYC Asthma Initiative, the NYC Special Education Collaborative, and Malaria No More. Rowe received his bachelor’s in computer science engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and has held numerous fellowships.

Nadine Sylvester is the director of internship services and employment placement at Year Up, a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged young adults attain higher education and succeed in their professional lives. In her role, Sylvester oversees internship and employment placements and leads Year Up’s alumni engagement strategy; for this work, she has been named an American Express Emerging Leader in 2016. Previously, Sylvester worked as a program coordinator for Cypress Hills Local Development Corp, through which she provided counseling and crisis management services to at-risk youth seeking to complete high school or GED programs. A native of Central Brooklyn, Sylvester is an active leader in her community, serving as a team leader for New York City’s largest volunteering network, New York Cares, and as a member of Brooklyn’s Community Board 17. Sylvester holds a bachelor’s degree in history and social work from New York University and a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University. She is the proud parent of an Ascend student, and also serves on the Ascend Charter Schools Board of Trustees.

Board Chair Stephanie Mauterstock is the Executive Director at Merrick Academy – Queens Public Charter School. Mauterstock formerly served as Vice President of Tugboat Education where she provided education consulting services on projects relating to school founding and start-up, strategy and business plan development, finance and funding, human resources and talent development, grants, and accountability for charter schools, charter school authorizers, school districts, and education non-profits. She is formerly the chief operating officer of Students for Education Reform (SFER) and SFER Action Network, national organizations devoted to developing first generation college students into grassroots organizers who fight for educational justice in their communities. Previously, Mauterstock served as chief operating officer of Manhattan Charter School and Manhattan Charter School 2. Serving as a co-leader to the schools, she partnered with the chief academic officer to manage the schools’ turnaround, growth and founding of MCS2.

She previously worked for Edison Schools, where she served as a grants compliance manager and later as a strategy and market research analyst. Mauterstock began her career as a program officer at the Institute of International Education. She is a graduate of Tufts University.

Architect Christine Schlendorf is a principal at Perkins Eastman with more than 20 years of experience in creating beautiful and innovative educational spaces. She has been responsible for numerous public and private school projects in the United States and overseas, including Mott Haven Campus in the Bronx, a 2,200-student campus containing two high schools, one intermediate school, one charter school, and a performing arts center. Prior to joining Perkins Eastman, Schlendorf was an architect with the firm Louise A. Agnes AIA of Northport, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Architecture at Syracuse University.

Board Treasurer Shelly Cleary is a senior vice president at Community Development Trust (CDT), a community development real estate investment trust. At CDT, Cleary developed, secured funding for, and leads their Charter School Lending Program, where she is responsible for the marketing and structuring of all charter school project transactions. Prior to this role, Cleary served as senior vice president for underwriting at CDT, where, during her fifteen-year tenure, she originated over $200 million of affordable multifamily housing debt through her various roles within CDT’s Debt Group. Prior to joining CDT, Cleary held positions in housing finance at the National Equity Fund, a syndicator of federal low income housing tax credits, and at the Community Preservation Corporation, a regional construction lender that specializes in affordable housing. She began her career in the education department at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Cleary holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Virginia and a master’s of public administration from the Humphrey Institute of Public Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Glenn Hopps has over 30 years of experience in real estate finance and accounting, and is the Chief Financial Officer of R4 Capital, a national affordable housing syndicator which has raised more than $1.7 billion in equity and owns nearly 200 properties. Prior to his current role, Hopps was the Chief Financial Officer of the NHP Foundation, a not-for-profit real estate organization dedicated to creating and preserving affordable housing across the country. He was previously a Senior Vice President and Controller at Centerline Capital Group, where he managed quarterly and annual financial reporting for Centerline’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) portfolio, valued at over $11 billion. Hopps holds a bachelor’s of science degree in accounting from the State University of New York at Albany.

Kwaku Andoh is a partner at Cohen & Gresser LLP. His practice focuses on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, joint ventures, and other corporate transactions, as well as general corporate counseling. Prior to joing Cohen & Gresser, Andoh was managing director and associate general counsel at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he advised on over $10 billion in mergers and acquisitions transactions, investments in FinTech startups, and venture capitla transactions for all JPMorgan Chase lines of business worldwide. Andoh began his career with the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York, where he practiced for seven years, focusing primarily on international financings, private placements and mergers and acquisitions for a diverse group of clients. Andoh received a bachelor of arts degree in economics, cum laude, from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1986 and a master of arts degree in economics from Boston University in 1989. He graduated from Stanford Law School in 1992, where he served on the Stanford Law Review as a notes editor. He is the author of a note entitled Countervailing Duties in a Not Quite Perfect World: An Economic Analysis, Note, 44 Stanford Law Review 1515 (1992), for which he received the Irving H. Hellman, Jr. Award for the outstanding student note published by the Stanford Law Review in 1992.

Amanda Craft is the senior director of recruitment for Uncommon Schools, where she oversees the recruitment of leaders, teachers, and administrative staff for Uncommon’s 53 schools and home office. Prior to joining Uncommon, Amanda worked at Bridgewater Associates—an investment company that oversees over $150 billion in investments for charitable foundations, university endowments, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds— working with the founder, CEO, and management committee to fill the organization’s most senior openings, and to create a series of recruitment technology tools to systemize strong recruitment practices. She began her career at Teach For America where she held a number of recruiting, data, and talent strategy positions at both their summer training institute and in their national office. In these positions she used data and technology to improve diversity, engagement, and performance of Teach For America staff members. Amanda has served Ascend’s schools board since 2011 and is an active member of her faith community. She holds a bachelor of arts in Russian literature from Columbia University.

Tracy is the Founder and Lead Consultant of HR ReDefined, an HR consultancy that designs equitable workplaces that produce results. Her firm engages and educates leaders on how to build systems, policies, practices where all employees are represented, accepted and treated fairly. Early in her career, Tracy worked for several large Fortune 50 corporations in business support roles, including accounting, technology, and marketing. After completing business school, she transitioned to the non-profit sector to contribute her business operations and management skills to mission-based organizations. As an HR team leader for over ten years at Teach for America and The Mission Continues, Tracy developed talent management systems and workplace practices that centered the needs of team members, limited bias decision-making, and fostered transparent communication. Tracy resides in Brooklyn, where she was born and raised. Outside of work, you can find her walking around New York City parks and bridges, practicing yoga, or watching the pros show off on the Food Network.

Emmanuel Fordjour is a finance professional with international exposure and over 20 years of progressive experience in financial analysis, business analysis, internal controls and profitability analysis. He is currently the VP of Finance at the Beanstalk Group, a brand consultancy, specializing in brand licensing. In this role he oversees the finance, royalty management and business systems teams. Additionally, he leads the development of data analytics tools such as financial dashboards. Previous to Beanstalk, Emmanuel worked at Cohn & Wolfe, a public relations company, owned by media conglomerate WPP.
Emmanuel is an avid traveler, visiting 31 countries on 5 continents and counting. He earned a BA in Economics from University of Massachusetts and an MBA in Finance and International Business from NYU Stern School of Business.

Nadine Sylvester is the director of internship services and employment placement at Year Up, a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged young adults attain higher education and succeed in their professional lives. In her role, Sylvester oversees internship and employment placements and leads Year Up’s alumni engagement strategy; for this work, she has been named an American Express Emerging Leader in 2016. Previously, Sylvester worked as a program coordinator for Cypress Hills Local Development Corp, through which she provided counseling and crisis management services to at-risk youth seeking to complete high school or GED programs. A native of Central Brooklyn, Sylvester is an active leader in her community, serving as a team leader for New York City’s largest volunteering network, New York Cares, and as a member of Brooklyn’s Community Board 17. Sylvester holds a bachelor’s degree in history and social work from New York University and a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University. She is the proud parent of an Ascend student, and also serves on the Ascend Learning Board of Directors.

Stanley is a nonprofit leader with experience in higher education, youth and workforce development, and program planning and management. Stanley is a Senior Site Director at YearUp, an organization dedicated to closing the skills gap for thousands of young adults across the country through a one-year intensive training program tailored to meet workforce needs. Stanley has been with YearUp for five years, having served as Director of Admissions and College Enrollment prior to becoming a Site Director. Earlier in his career, Stanley was Director of Membership Services at Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Assistant Director of Regional Admissions for the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Operations Manager at Emory University. Stanley received a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University and is earning a Master of Science in Non-Profit and Association Management from the University of Maryland.

Rev. Oral Walcott is a community leader and insurance specialist currently serving as a licensed agent at New York Life Insurance Company. Prior to joining New York Life, Rev. Walcott served for 12 years at the Beulah Church of the Nazarene as Sunday school teacher, youth pastor, pastor of discipleship and special events, and executive pastor. He has 13 years’ experience as a claims professional at a leading insurance company in Barbados. In 2010, Rev. Walcott was ordained as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene and serves as secretary of the board of ministries of the New York district. Rev. Walcott serves on the board of directors of Healing for the Soul Ministries, and as secretary and director of Project CHANGE, a rehabilitative program designed for inmates of Her Majesty’s Prison in Barbados. He was one of the chief architects of the program and co-authored Project CHANGE’s handbooks and curriculum. Rev. Walcott received a Diploma in Management Studies, in human resources management from Nazarene Bible College and Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in business, management, and economics from SUNY Empire State College; a master of science in organizational leadership from Quinnipiac University; and a professional insurance designation CPCU (Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter). Rev. Walcott and his wife Nicole are the proud parents of two Brownsville Ascend students.