
Board of Directors
Board of Directors Leadership
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Vizhier Mooney, Past President and Chair of Development
A longtime spokesperson and public relations manager for Nike, Inc., working closely with executives and professional athletes and crafting the company message in areas that ranged from brand promotion to corporate social responsibility. A graduate of HCHS as well as P.S. 152 in New York City’s District 6.
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Andy McCord, Acting President, Chair of Programming & Recruitment
Freelance journalist, editor and translator. A former Fulbright Scholar and National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow. Parent of an HCES/HCHS graduate and a Bronx Science graduate.
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Alex Manzo, Chair of the Board
Partner at Australis Partners, a Private Equity group, former investment banker (JP Morgan and Citicorp) and parent of a recent HCHS graduate.
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Jon Tarnow, Treasurer (Non-Board Officer)
Data Engineering Manager in Media Technology, former Citibank Audit Manager and former Chair of the U.S Senate Credit Union Supervisory Committee, current HCHS parent.
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Pamela Roach
CEO and Founder of Breakthrough Marketing Technology, and past Board of Directors Member of the Hunter College High School Alumni Association and Head of the HCHS Alumni Diversity Committee. In addition, currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor at NYU.
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Jonathan Arak
Leading tutor on the Exam Schools entrance tests and admissions consultant, author of Cracking the Specialized High School Admissions Test (Random House), and former National Content Director for the Pre-High School programs at Princeton Review, where he developed content for the ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT. Jonathan is a Founding Tutor for NoodlePros. He is a Hunter College High School alumnus. While there, he founded the Musical Repertory Club, where Lin-Manuel Miranda performed in musicals. He currently directs for The International Brazilian Opera Company.
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Fred McIntosh
Currently Deputy Director of District and School Partnerships at New Classrooms. Fred has dedicated his career to helping families gain access to transformational educational opportunities. As Director of Partner Affairs for PASSNYC, Fred developed partnerships to increase the number of Black and Latinx students taking the SHSAT. As Director of Admissions for Prep for Prep, he oversaw the selection process for the leadership program. Fred also assisted NYC Outward Bound’s effort to build a network of inner city Public Schools. He holds a JD from NYU and worked five years at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. A NYC native from East Flatbush, Fred attended HCHS.
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Matt Blumenfeld
Principal of Financial Development Agency, Inc., a fundraising consulting firm based in Amherst, MA. He’s helped dozens of non-profits with strategic development, planning and financing. Matt is a Hunter College High School graduate with degrees from Oberlin College and University of California.
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Melissa Caldwell
Clinical Psychologist with a career dedicated to supporting families in communities affected by poverty. National Advisory Council member for Room to Grow, Inc.. Former Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU Child Study Center. Graduate of Stuyvesant and parent of a Hunter College HS alum. Holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from Yale University.
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Lyndon Park
Partner of ICR, Inc. and Head of ICR Governance Solutions, Lyndon advises public company Boards and management on takeovers and other contentious event-driven situations. A long-time leader in corporate governance and sustainability at BlackRock and Dimensional Fund Advisors, Lyndon also counsels companies on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
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Dr. John P. Loonam
A teacher in New York’s public schools for thirty-five years, Loonam earned an MA in Creative Writing from City College, CUNY, and a doctorate in American Literature from The Graduate Center, CUNY. He has been publishing fiction and articles for more than three decades. His work has appeared in various magazines and websites including The Summerset Review, The Santa Fe Writer’s Project, descant, and The Madison Review. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, near his grown sons.
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Dr. Alexa Sorden, Ed.D
The founding principal of Concourse Village Elementary School. (www.cves359.com) A high-performing pre-K-5th grade school in District 7's South Bronx. Since its founding in 2013, CVES has received national recognition for its success in addressing the achievement and excellence gaps in one of the country's lowest-income and most racially isolated urban schools. On June 27, 2023, the Panel for Educational Policy voted unanimously to expand and re-site Concourse Village to serve students through 8th grade, a further sign of its valuable work.
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Jennifer Prince
Jennifer Prince has spent nearly 20 years building Harlem Academy, an independent elementary school founded in 2024. Her roles particularly involved community outreach and the development of protocols for admissions, curriculum mapping and evaluation of student achievement. From 2008 to 2022 she served as Director of Enrollment.
Emeritus Board Members
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Dr. Robert E. Mason IV
Dr. Mason is a retired mathematics educator. He was the former Chairman of Middle School at the Dalton School, where he taught for 25 years. He also taught mathematics, science, and Logo computer language for seventeen years at Hunter College Elementary School. He has published several books on math pedagogy including The Euclid Project and Geometer’s Sketchpad. In addition to his advisory role with ESPI City Smart Scholars, he also teaches 7th grade math in the program. He is also the author of The Puncturing of Space: A Developing Pedagogical Tool.
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Akil Bello
Akil was a founding partner and CEO for Bell Curves, a test preparation company where he worked extensively to build community partnerships and programs. Akil has worked in educational access, supplemental education, and test preparation for almost 30 years, specifically focusing on working with low-income students and non-profit organizations.
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Elba Montalvo
Founder/Former CEO of the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, leading national and local advocate for Latino children and their families, and former educator. She is currently working with women in NY and in Puerto Rico to develop the first foundation focusing on women’s initiatives in Puerto Rico.
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Roberta Smith
Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School who has served as a staff attorney at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Formerly a law clerk to federal judges in both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, a commercial litigator in New York and Boston, and a graduate of Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School. goes here
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Amanda Moszkowski
Co-Founder and Director of the Hamptons Marathon Inc., a not-for-profit that hosts 2 marathons/half marathons on the eastern end of Long Island. Formerly ran the Princeton Review’s graduate programs, and worked in fundraising for Lawyers for Children. An alum of Hunter College Elementary School and Hunter College High School.
Staff
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Francesca Bacon, Operations Director
Most recently liaison to Hunter College Campus Schools for The Hunter College Foundation. Three time TEDxHunterCCS Producer. Previously a freelance production designer. Parent of HCES/HCHS and HCES/LaGuardia graduates.
