Esther de Rothschild

Esther is a NYC public school teacher, and has worked with young people in an educational capacity for over 10 years. Esther was a Program Coordinator at Harlem RBI for 3 years, developing and running academic and enrichment programs for teenage girls. She has a BA from Brown University in Immigration Studies, and a Master’s in Education from Northwestern University. Esther taught History at a high school on Chicago’s South Side, and is currently teaching 9th Grade Humanities at the School of the Future in Manhattan. Esther has worked with young people in four continents as a tutor, coach, camp counselor, conflict resolution trainer, peer leader and refugee translator.

Josh Goldstein

Josh Goldstein is a corporate counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, an international law firm, where he focuses on corporate finance and transactional law. Since graduating from law school in 1996, Josh has spent his entire legal career at Skadden, except for approximately two years from 2005 to 2007, when he served as a finance partner at Torys LLP, a Canadian law firm with offices in New York and Toronto. Before finishing law school, Josh spent four years as a financial accountant at Goldstein & Morris, LLP, a small Manhattan CPA firm. Josh holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham Law School. Josh is also a New York State licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Michele Joerg

Michele was recently the Assistant Director of Teacher Training at Urban Education Exchange where she delivered professional development for a research-based curriculum for at-risk students in charter schools serving low-income neighborhoods. She previously taught and designed curriculum in East Harlem for six years in both the public and Catholic school systems. Michele was also the director of REAL Kids program at Harlem RBI for three years. In addition, Michele was a selector for the NYC Department of Education's Teaching Fellows program for four years. She holds one MA in Elementary Education from Marywood University and a second MA in School Administration and Supervision from Fordham University.

Brad Mak

Brad Mak is Head of Investment Research at Kingsbrook Partners, an alternative asset management firm he helped start in March 2009, where he focuses on structured equity and debt investments. Previously, Brad worked at Highbridge Capital Management and Paul Capital Partners investing in public and private companies. Prior to this, he was a Manager at Genentech, Inc., where he worked on the commercial development of cancer products. Brad has been involved with nonprofits for over 10 years and was part of the initial planning team for the DREAM Charter School, where he currently serves as Chair of the Finance Task Force. Brad is a Founder of the Clean Economy Network, a national advocacy organization that promotes clean technology policy, investments and jobs. In addition, Brad has worked with the Full Circle Fund, a venture philanthropy group in San Francisco, Doctors Without Borders in Latin America and The World Bank in Bangladesh. While in college, he co-founded the Rhode Island Chapter of Project HEALTH, a national healthcare nonprofit. Brad holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Human Biology from Brown University.

Natashia Veras

Natashia is a parent of a Kindergartner at DREAM Charter School and member of the DREAM Family Action Council (DFAC). As a Family Liaison at DREAM, Natashia works closely with staff and families to encourage family involvement and strengthen communication. Natashia’s work experience includes several years as an Office Manager in a corporate setting. Natashia earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the State University of New York at Purchase College.

Eric Weingartner

Eric is the Managing Director of Survival at Robin Hood. Robin Hood targets poverty in New York by finding and funding the best and most effective programs and partnering with them to maximize results. Previously, Eric was the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Comprehensive Neighborhood Economic Development (CNED), a pilot initiative aiming to aggregate city and private sector resources to impact the social service and economic development programming in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Eric was also the Assistant Vice President of FEGS, where he managed the Education and Youth Services division including the management of over 40 school-based programs serving over 8,000 youth annually. Before joining FEGS, Eric worked as a Senior Planner at the Vera Institute where he worked on issues relating to foster care, family court, and juvenile justice. Prior to joining Vera, he served as a special assistant to the Mayor of New York where he focused on issues including public education, welfare reform, and human services. Eric is a former Teach for America corps member, having taught eighth grade English in the South Bronx, and also worked as Executive Director of Teach for America following his school placement. Eric is a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Claudia Zeldin