Zelda Washington serves as school director as well as dean of instruction for grade three at Bushwick Ascend Lower School. Prior to taking on the role of school director at Bushwick Ascend Lower School, Zelda Washington served as the school’s founding dean. She came to Ascend from a district school in New York, where she served as a youth development coordinator. In this role, she implemented programs to promote students’ positive social development, designed and implemented parent workshops and professional development for teachers, and created and maintained the school’s website. Previously, as a consultant to the city’s Learning Through the Expanded Arts Program, Washington focused on developing students’ conflict resolution skills through the visual and performing arts. In the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Washington served as a crisis counselor for Project Liberty. She holds a bachelor of fine arts from New York University and a master of divinity from Nyack College.