Kimberly Morgan (Chair), a former resident of the Bronx for 32 years, is currently serving as an Assistant Counsel with the Office of the Associate Chief Counsel for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Previous to her position with the federal government, Ms. Morgan was an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the New York State Attorney General and an Assistant District Attorney for the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney. Ms. Morgan is admitted to practice to law in New York State, all four United States District Courts situated in New York, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ms. Morgan received her Juris Doctor degree from St. John's University School of Law in 1998, and she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. John's University in 1995.

Marvin Waldman (Vice-Chair) has served in a variety of positions in the advertising industry, from Copywriter to Executive Vice President and Executive Creative Director, the latter of which was with Young & Rubicam Advertising of New York City. Furthermore, he created advertising and developed strategy for Senator Bill Bradley's presidential campaign and was a member of the Creative Review Board of the Advertising Council of New York. Currently Mr. Waldman is an adjunct professor at the Pratt Institute and is the President of the Shadow Group, which specializes in strategic and creative solutions, primarily for not-for-profit companies.

Marilyn Maye (Treasurer) is a long-time resident of the community in the North Bronx in which the charter school is located. She is a member of the board of her church and a prominent leader in the neighborhood. She has an Ed.D. in mathematics education from Columbia University, an M.A.T. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Swarthmore College, where she majored in mathematics and anthropology, with a concentration in black studies. Currently an Assistant Professor in New Jersey City University's Department of Educational Leadership, she has also served as an Assistant Superintendent of Schools, an Assistant Commissioner in New York City's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications and in the city's Computer and Data Communications Services Agency, a mathematics instructor with the City University of New York and a mathematics curriculum development consultant in Community School District Five, in Harlem.

William Bernhardt (Secretary) is an Associate Professor of English, Speech and World Literature with the City University of New York. He also serves as a Faculty Fellow in the City University's Office of Computing and Information Services. A Phi Kappa Phi award recipient from his graduate work at Cornell University, Professor Bernhardt was invited to guest lecture at Hebei Teachers University in the People's Republic of China. He has extensive expertise in the uses of computers to augment instruction, particularly in the area of writing. He has served as a professional development consultant to urban school districts and has participated as a presenter at professional conferences on the improvement of instruction in literacy. He is the president of the Gattegno Foundation for Education.

Jefferyson A. Barnes, Sr., is an attorney at law who has a general practice located in the Bronx, New York. He is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School, and received his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the New York Institute of Technology. His practice emphasizes work in the areas of Immigration, Real Estate, Divorce and Housing matters. Jefferyson is also a part-time radio broadcaster; he conducts a radio show on WPAT-AM radio on Saturday afternoons. This program features Caribbean music, news from the Caribbean and a talk segment in which issues of the day are discussed. Jefferyson, popularly known as Jeff, is a well-known figure in New York's Caribbean community.

Paula Hajar, a New York City resident with two children in city public schools, received her doctorate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Masters in the Art of Teaching from Antioch and a B.A. in government from Radcliffe College. Before helping to start up the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, she served in the following positions: Director of Program Evaluation and Assessment for the Mamaroneck Public Schools; Supervisor of Elementary Instruction for the Englewood, New Jersey, School District; Assistant Professor of Education, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, at Columbia University; teacher and teacher trainer in elementary mathematics at the Trevor Day School in Manhattan. She has taught every grade from first through eighth, and ESL and basic skills to adults. Dr. Hajar now serves as a staff development specialist in the school.

Lowell Lifschultz is a member of the law firm Epstein, Becker & Green, where he heads the corporate and securities department for its New York office. He has special expertise in mergers and acquisitions, as well as venture capital. Mr. Lifschultz developed and founded the International Lawyers Network and is currently its chairman; the Network includes over 70 firms and 4,000 lawyers throughout the world. He has represented numerous foreign companies in the U.S. and advised many U.S. companies on their business abroad. He has also served as adjunct assistant professor, Lubin School of Business, Pace University, and was certified as a New York City elementary school teacher.

Daniel Fergus Tamulonis (Teacher Member), a New York City resident with two primary school children, was one of our school's four founding teachers. Before joining the team that started up our school, he served as Director of Columbia University's Peace Corps Fellows Program. Mr. Tamulonis holds two Master's degrees, one in puppetry from the University of Connecticut and one in TESOL from Teachers College Columbia University. His long list of distinguished service includes: teacher-trainer in language arts at Englewood, New Jersey, public schools; guest lecturer, teacher and teacher trainer in New York City schools and ESOL programs; ESL instructor to adults and college students; coordinator of the Community English Program at Teachers College; and Associate Peace Corps Director for Education in Kinshasa, Zaire. Mr. Tamulonis has presented at a wide variety of workshops and conferences on ESL and on puppetry.

Flora Thomas (Parent Member).

Everett Wallace is Principal of E.K. Wallace LLC, an investment firm based in New York City that focuses on early-stage companies across a broad variety of sectors. His previous experience is at Allen & Company, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers. He holds a BSFS from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Crystal Williams (Teacher Member) earned her Bachelor's Education from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa. She taught Science in grades K-4 in South Philadelphia for one year. Upon returning to New York, Ms. Williams began working as a teaching assistant and substitute teacher while learning about how to subordinate teaching to learning. This is her 5th year at BCSBL, and her second as a 4th grade teacher. She finished her Master's Degree in Literacy at Hunter College. She was born and raised in the Northeast section of the Bronx and was enrolled in the public schools in this very same area. She enjoys listening to live music and reading a good book with her book club members.

Photo Credits

(top) Charlie, Grade 5

(middle) Damion, Grade 5

(bottom) Damion, Grade 5