Ms. Yi-Perry, a proud Flatbush resident, is a former teacher, teacher coach, and school leader. Ms. Perry is an alumni of the Building Excellent School’s Fellowship, a rigorous and selective training program for aspiring charter school founders. Prior to joining BES, Ms. Perry served as the Chief Community Officer for Purpose Built Schools Atlanta – a network of traditional public turnaround schools serving over 2,000 students. In her role, Ms. Perry served on the network senior leadership team and led the network’s Community Engagement department, an innovative $15 million initiative aimed at stabilizing the out-of-school experience for students and families. Previously, she served as the Chief of Staff at UP Education Network, a network of turnaround schools in Massachusetts, before moving into a founding school leader role at the network’s first school in Western Massachusetts. Ms. Perry began her career as a special education teacher in Atlanta.

Ms. Dass is a strategy and organizational development consultant and has worked in the nonprofit, government, and private sectors for over a decade. Most recently she served on the Organizational Development team at Away Travel where she was responsible for talent strategy including initiatives across culture and employee engagement, learning and development, diversity and inclusion, and organizational design. Ms. Dass began her career as a 6th grade math teacher in the South Bronx and went on to serve as Teacher and Instructional Facilitator at Achievement First East New York Middle School in Brooklyn before holding several leadership positions with Teach For America, Educators for Excellence, and the Fund for Public Schools. She obtained her B.A. in Global Economic/Political Development from the University of California – Berkeley. She is also a proud alumnae of Rosary High School, an all-girls high school in Southern California.

Mr. Depas is the Managing Attorney and founder of the Law Office of Emmanuel Depas and Associates. A Brooklyn native and current resident with over a decade of experience in immigration, intellectual property, and criminal defense, Mr. Depas launched the Haitian American Lawyers Association of New York (HALANY) in 2013. Under his leadership, HALANY promoted the active participation of Haitian Americans and other ethnic minorities in the judicial and legal system to advance the interests of Haitian Americans and the diaspora. HALANY regularly organizes to assist recent immigrants and Temporary Protected Status recipients with renewal applications and hosts legal clinics in neighborhoods across Brooklyn. Mr. Depas obtained his J.D. from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and his B.A. in Political Science from Stony Brook University.

Mr. Faoye is the Director of Global Real Estate at WeWork. Prior to joining the WeWork team, Mr. Faoye served as Assistant Vice President of Investment Banking at Barclays Investment Bank. Mr. Faoye brings extensive expertise in financial modeling, due diligence, and transaction execution in the capital markets. A Brooklyn resident raised in Flatbush, Mr. Faoye is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Developing Responsible Economically Advanced Model-Citizens, Inc. (D.R.E.A.M.), a New York City-based financial education and advocacy, social impact organization. Mr. Faoye serves on the Board of Advisors and the Alumni Board of Liberty LEADS, a college preparatory organization based at Bank Street College in New York City. He obtained his MBA in Finance from Cornell University and his B.A. from Trinity College. Mr. Faoye is a proud alumnus of Rice High School, an all-boys high school in Harlem.

Ms. Fullwood is the Head of School of Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy Charter School – an all-girls charter school authorized by the SUNY Charter School Institute. She is a former Assistant Principal for two Urban Assembly schools and has served the students and families in Bedford-Stuyvesant for over 10 years. Prior to her leadership roles, she was a New York City Teaching Mathematics Fellow at Thomas Jefferson High School in East New York. Ms. Fullwood served as founding Program Director for the Children’s Aid Society Carerra Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program at the Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women (UAI). She obtained her M.A. in Educational Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

Description goes hereMs. Hardy is the Principal of Achievement First Aspire Elementary Charter School in Brooklyn, managing kindergarten and first grade teachers. Resident of Brooklyn, Ms. Hardy also serves as Adjunct Professor at Relay School of Education. She began her career as an Early Childhood Teacher with Teach For America in Atlanta, GA and went on to serve as Distinguished Teacher, Curriculum Designer, and Instructional Coach at Achievement First Apollo Elementary. She obtained her B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University.

Kristin Hodgson most recently served as the VP, Marketing & Communications at Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT), the world's most popular online marketplace of educational resources created by teachers, for teachers. In her role, she champions the teaching profession and celebrates the millions of teachers in the TpT community. Prior to TpT, Kristin led marketing, communications, and partnerships at Meetup. While there, Kristin often focused on the civic value of community organizing, notably partnering with the White House Office of Social Innovation and Michelle Obama's voter-turnout organization, When We All Vote. Previously, Kristin was the Senior Managing Director for Digital at Teach For America, where she set vision and direction for TFA's web based products. Ms. Hodgson obtained her BA in Art History from Princeton University.

Mr. Pollock is a Senior Asset Manager at Civic Builders where he is responsible for monitoring the operations of all of Civic Builders’ school buildings and ensuring each property remains in compliance across a variety of metrics. Prior to his work with Civic Builders, Mr. Pollock served on the Asset Management team at Riverside Capital as the primary liaison for a development portfolio of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties worth $100M in Net Equity. Mr. Pollock obtained his MBA in Finance from NYU Stern School of Business and his B.S. in Engineering from Rutgers University.

Ms. Sharma is a Senior Associate at Acquis Consulting Group. Prior to joining Acquis, Ms. Sharma worked for Sabre Travel Network and Hotel Reservation Service (HRS), where she gained experience in business development, strategy, process improvement, and procurement. She has been responsible for contract negotiations with revenue growth in excess of $1M and client relationships in excess of $7M, and she has spearheaded cost-saving strategies of 9%, leading to $90M in savings across the hotel programs. She obtained her MBA from New York University and her BBA and B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Sigourney currently serves as the Vice President of Leasing at SkyHarbour Group. Prior to CBRE, Mr. Sigourney served as an Investment Sales Professional at Ariel Property Advisors. Mr. Sigourney began his real estate career in Brooklyn where he served as a Managing Director at CPEX Real Estate, leading a team in selling retail investment properties. Since entering the New York City market, Mr. Sigourney has brokered over 50 transactions with an aggregate value of over $225 million. Before moving to New York, Mr. Sigourney spent five years in Costa Rica where he founded multiple businesses including an English school for the local community of Coronado, and a TESOL institute to provide training, certification, and job placement for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. Mr. Sigourney obtained a dual B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Syracuse University.

Ms. Sills currently serves as the Head of Operations at the NBA Foundation. Previously, Ms. Sills served as a Senior Manager of Global Impact at Nike. Prior to joining the Nike team, Ms. Sills served as a Senior Associate in the Global Philanthropy office of JP Morgan Chase & Co. Ms. Sills began her career as a 10th and 11th grade special education teacher in Los Angeles, California. She went on to serve as Staff Assistant for U.S. Senator Tom Carper of Delaware before joining Generation Progress as Advocacy Manager. A Brooklyn resident, Ms. Sills obtained her M.A. in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University and her B.A. in Political Science and Comparative Women’s Studies from Spelman College, a historically Black women’s college in Atlanta, GA.

Ms. Winder is the Associate General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at Hofstra University. Prior to this position, she was an attorney for the child in the Juvenile Rights Practice of The Legal Aid Society in the Bronx, where she represented and advocated for children in abuse and neglect proceedings. While attending the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, Ms. Winder’s Note was published in Hofstra Law Review regarding childhood trauma and special education. In addition, she was a Pro Bono Scholar and Child & Family Advocacy Fellow, where she focused her studies and experiences on working with underprivileged youth. A Brooklyn resident, Ms. Winder was a Teach for America Corps Member in the Greater New Orleans region. She received her J.D. from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and her B.A. in International Relations from University of Delaware.

Ms. Zapata most recently served as the Deputy Director of Democrats for Education Reform and Education Reform Now (ERN) New York. Prior to this position she served as a Policy Advisor to Queens Borough President, Donovan Richards Jr. while managing the boroughs’ transportation, parks and community affairs portfolios. She started her place in public service as the Government Relations fellow for the New York City Department of Emergency Management. she is an active Queens Community Board 5 member, volunteer for the MIRA USA - Queens Chapter, and a member of A Better Association for New York’s Young Professionals Programs. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and a Masters of Arts degree in Global Affairs from the University of Denver where she was a member of Pi Lambda Chi Latina Sorority Inc., the Latine Student Alliance and the DU office for First Generation Students. Ms. Zapata was born and raised in Queens, New York City, and is a proud first-generation Latina, who enjoys traveling, following local politics, boxing, and watching documentaries.