Our Board
John Callahan, Chair
John (Jack) Callahan is a business owner and entrepreneur in NYC in the area of real estate development and construction compliance. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business. He is currently a member of the NYC Building Code Development Committee and of the Larchmont NY Zoning Variance Board and a representative on the Mamaroneck School District Audit Committee.
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Jumaane Saunders, Vice-Chair
Former Principal of Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, Mr. Saunders was the Principal since 2013 and before that, he was the Director of External Programming at the School at Columbia University, earlier in his career, he was the Curriculum Consultant in Kaplan Inc.
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Linnet Tse, Treasurer
Linnet Tse served as a trustee on the Mamaroneck Union Free School District’s Board of Education from 2003-2012, two of those as president. She was formerly a financial executive at PepsiCo, responsible for business planning and analysis. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
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Janine Azriliant, Secretary
Janine Azriliant is an attorney and Administrative Law Judge for New York City's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). She is also a mediator for the Southern District of New York and an arbitrator in the State court system, as well as a volunteer counselor for the City Bar's Monday Night Law program where she provides individuals with free legal consultations. Ms. Azriliant received her B.A., cum laude, from Lehigh University and a J.D. from New York Law School, where she was also a member of its Law Review.
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Charmone Adams
Charmone Adams is an Advisory Senior Manager with Grant Thornton LLP and is based in the New York Office. Since joining the firm, Charmone has been working closely with many financial institutions. He has over 13 years’ experience in financial services and in alternative investments and his portfolio comprises US and UK based companies. In recent years, his focus has been on providing clients with guidance on key technical accounting and risk matters. He holds a BSc. in Business Administration from Central State University and an M.B.A. and MSc. from Franklin University. He also holds a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license with the state of New York and is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). He currently serves on the Board as the Treasurer for Blacks on Wall Street, Inc. (BOWS).
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Christian Bannerman, MD
Dr. Bannerman is Regional Director for Medical Education and Quality Assurance at Island Medical Management and an Attending Physician at South Nassau Communities Hospital. Dr. Bannerman is also an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Medical Director of Urgent Care at Queens Hospital Center.
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Rina Beder
Rina Beder served 6 years on the board of education of the Mamaroneck Union Free School District, including as the president and vice president. She also served on the board of the Westchester Putnam School Board Association, representing 54 public school districts. Ms. Beder has actively advocated at the State level on behalf of 77 public school districts as a member of the steering committee for the Lower Hudson Education Coalition. She holds a J.D. and a Master's in Management and Organizational Studies and also completed the Columbia Teachers College Educational Policy Fellowship Program.
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Sarah Fuentes
Sarah Fuentes is a veteran NYC educator and entrepreneur. Born and raised in the Bronx, she returned after college to teach as part of Teach for America. Since then, she spent 20 years in education as a teacher, coach and Assistant Principal. She holds two MAs in Education and Leadership from Bank Street School of Education. She is currently an education consultant and coach with Blue Engine and started her own business Math Mini-Lessons during the pandemic to help students reach their fullest potential in math and is also launching a new financial literacy program for students age 9-17 in 2022.
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Amy Fuller
Amy worked in marketing for over 35 years, retiring recently as Accenture’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer with responsibility for every aspect of the company’s marketing, brand development, communications, crisis, and financial communications. Amy serves on the board and audit committee of Encore Global, a high-growth company in the event space. She is also on the HealthRight International board, a fast-growing global public health NGO and serves on the boards of the Charter High School for Law and Social Justice and Restless Books, an international book publisher. In addition to corporate executive advising and coaching, Amy is a Fellow at a public policy and advocacy organization in New York. She is a frequent keynote speaker at global marketing events, a guest lecturer in marketing and ethics at universities, and a brand consultant for nonprofits.
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Richard Marsico
Richard Marsico is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Justice Action Center at New York Law School. He is a graduate of Fordham College and Harvard Law School. After law school, Marsico worked as a clerk to a federal district court judge and then in the Bronx Neighborhood Office of the Legal Aid Society, where he specialized in representing tenant associations. Currently, Marsico teaches education law courses at New York Law School and is publishing a book on special education law in 2014. He served as a trustee on the Mamaroneck Union Free School District Board of Education from 2005-2011.
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Denis O'Rourke
Denis O’Rourke has retired from 35 years as a social studies teacher and department chair in the Mamaroneck school system and was an adjunct professor of education and social studies at Manhattanville College School of Education from 1989 to 2012. He has also worked as a writer and reviewer of social studies texts for Prentice Hall and Benchmark Educational Publications and was a social studies coach and consultant at five New York City charter schools from 2010 to 2020.
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Socrates Solanoโโ
Socrates Solano is passionate about social equity, relationship building, and community development. He is an expert in establishing new relationships with non-profits and government agencies, as well as maintaining existing partners with personnel having similar beliefs, interests, and ambitions. Through his work as a Community Relations and Outreach Coordinator, he has developed an understanding of developing highly effective marketing strategies and developing special events and programs to increase overall public awareness. Mr. Socrates prides himself on his ability to work cross-functionally and in any environment and earned his Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration from Medgar Evers College. Mr. Socrates has 18 years of professional experience.