NYSAIS Emerging Leaders Institute Cohorts

The following outstanding educators have been selected to participate in the NYSAIS Emerging Leaders Institute. The response to this program has been robust and speaks to the strength and commitment to leadership and professional development found in our NYSAIS member schools. We thank each of the schools listed for investing in the professional learning of their faculty as well as in the future of their schools in this way.

Cohort (2025-27)

Patrick Aquino – The Chapin School

David Bedard – The Brick Church School

Joshua Bookin – Rippowam Cisqua School

Aaron Brand – The Buckley School

Rolanda Brinson – York Prep School

Lorena Caballero-Bower – The Dalton School

Aruna Chavali – The Spence School

Evangeline Delgado – Emma Willard School

Cynthia Diaz – The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine

Liana Fong – Berkeley Carroll School

Hardeep Juttla – The Packer Collegiate Institute

Sarah Luposello – The Hewitt School

Kaicy MacLeod Watanabe – De La Salle Academy

Arlene Padilla – Convent of the Sacred Heart

Jasmine Pai – Trinity School

Sujean Park – St. Luke’s School

Susan Rios – Bank Street School for Children

Maranda Rushing – The Spence School

Peggy Tsue – Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Morika Tsujimura – Grace Church School

Cohort (2023-25)

Elisse Battle – Collegiate School

Caroline Boyajian – Emma Willard

Stephanie Broder – Green Vale School

Carolyn (Carrie) Burke – Buffalo Seminary

Alia Carponter-Walker – Hewitt School

Emma Cothren – Brooklyn Friends School

Richard Douglass – Village Community School

Aaron Fleksher – Hebrew Academy of Long Beach

Victoria Jansen – The Masters School

Shnieka Johnson – The Calhoun School

Elizabeth Mignon – The Dalton School

Samantha Nadal – Bank Street School for Children

Ravendra Persaud – Grace Church School

Victoria Piedmont – Buckley Country Day School

Joshua Samuel – Hackley School

Christina Saraceno – School of the Holy Child

Kara Schremser – The Windward School

Anil Sookhoo – Horace Mann School

Runako Taylor – The Brearley School

Coco Yang – The Brearley School

Cohort (2021-23)

Jean-Robert Andre – Grace Church School

Natalie Abtan – Manhattan Day School

Nadine Carroll – DeLaSalle Academy

Taina Coleman – Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Andrea Del Valle – Poly Prep Country Day School

Jennifer Donovan-Stump – Trinity School

Alfonso Espinal – The Nightingale-Bamford School

Claudia Folgar – Trevor Day School

Annie Gruenwald – Mary McDowell Friends School

Helen Huang – Village Community School

Michele Levin – Saint Ann’s School

Delilah Lora – The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine

Tori Marroquin – Avenues, The World School

Dana Massie – Lycée Français de New York

Elizabeth Mavis – The Calhoun School

Saniya Mehdi – Caedmon School

Kyle Mitschele – Rye Country Day School

Maria Richa – Bank Street School for Children

Alisa Soriano – Little Red Schoolhouse Elisabeth Irwin School

Lauren Thomas – St. Luke’s School

Cohort (2019-2021)

Duane Bailey-Castro – St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s School

Becky Blumenthal – The Berkeley Carroll School

Shawn Chisty – The Town School

Renee Chung – The Spence School

Michael Danenberg – Trevor Day School

Jessica Delgado – Riverdale Country School

Kim Deveaux – Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Amalia Francisco – Saint Thomas Choir School

Tracy Gruver – Brooklyn Heights Montessori School

Alicia Howard – St. Luke’s School

Alexandre Leclercq – Manlius Pebble Hill School

Sarah MacWright – Millbrook School

Stephanie Metz – The Harvey School

Katie O’Shaughnessey – Rye Country Day School

Christina Olivares – Grace Church School

Trish Rigg – Portledge School

Yojairy Sands – The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine

Michelle Schackman – Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School

Paige Sweet – Collegiate School

Jordyn Wolking – Cornelia Connelly Center

Cohort (2017-2019)

Lemor Balter – The Speyer Legacy School

JP Connolly – Saint Ann’s School

Jack Cooley – The Chapin School

Yom Fox – The Dalton School

Linda Fussell – Dwight School

Jennifer Gresens – Robert C. Parker School

Kathryn Humora – Regis High School

Tyler Jennings – The Caedmon School

Ali McKersie – The Bank Street School for Children

Isaac Neal – Buckley Country Day School

Amy Oliveri – Allendale Columbia School

Cindy Pearlman – The Cooke Center School

Briar Sauro – The Berkeley Carroll School

Ridley Sperling – Rippowam Cisqua School

Meghan Stott – Friends Academy

Alexis Williams – The Hewitt School

Deirdre Williamson – Trinity School

Karen Zaidberg – Manhattan Country School

Cohort (2015-2017)

Claire Anderson – Nightingale-Bamford School

Jaclyn Berney – Cathedral School

Jennifer Bernstein – Ramaz School

Melissa Boviero – Hackley School

Ana Chaney – LREI School

Russell Combs – Nichols School

Andrea DeJesus – Dalton School

Connie Dowling – Trinity School

Gilbert Ekotto – French-American School of New York

Kelly Grimmett – Friends Seminary

Katharine Knuppel – Buckley School

Nayantara Mhatre – Bank Street School for Children

Yuval Ortiz-Quiroga – Brooklyn Friends School

Christina Pelekanos – Village Community School

Anwar Robinson – IDEAL School

Kerry Roeder – Professional Children’s School

Justin Schuhmacher – Mary McDowell Friends School

Semeka Smith-Williams – Packer Collegiate Institute

Cohort (2013-2015)

Abby Balafas – Nightingale-Bamford School

Andrew Gyves – Emma Willard School

Jenny Heath – Rye Country Day School

Andrea Kassar – Chapin School

Jennifer Kirsch – Hewitt School

Christine Kulke – Friends Academy

Patricia Malone – Harley School

Gina Marcel – The School at Columbia University

Pippa Mayell – Packer Collegiate Institute

Karen Nichols – Poughkeepsie Day School

Erik Resurreccion – Allen-Stevenson School

Daniel Rufer – Grace Church School

Luke Salerno – Gow School

Jeremy Sambuca – Hewitt School

Peter Soto – Mandell School

Mari Tezeli – Abraham Joshua Heschel School

Randi Timan – Brearley School

Nikki Vivion – Nightingale-Bamford School

Andrew Wilson – Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Cohort (2011-2013)

Alewa Cooper – Trevor Day School

Abigail Diamond – Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Tracy Fedonchik – Dalton School

Darrel Frost – Nightingale-Bamford School

Laura Graceffa – Poughkeepsie Day School

Julia Heaton – LREI

Kimberly Jennings – Friends Academy

Lizabeth Joseph – Packer Collegiate Institute

Basil Kolani – Dwight School

Cari Kosins – LREI

Bryant Palmer – Rodeph Sholom School

Nadine Renazile – School at Columbia University

Vincent Sagona – Professional Children’s School

Debra Spiro-Allen – Emma Willard School

Stephanie Teachout – Rye Country Day School

Christopher Weaver – Hewitt School