Board of Trustees
Our Board of Trustees supports school leadership with legal, financial and strategic guidance, and holds our school accountable for results.
Josh Wolfe, Chairman
Josh Wolfe is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Lux Capital, focusing on investments in nanotechnology, semiconductors and life sciences. He manages Lux Capital’s investments in Nanosys and Cambrios, and serves on the Board of Directors of Crystal IS and Lux Research. Before forming Lux Capital, Mr. Wolfe worked in Salomon Smith Barney’s Investment Banking group, where his experience included a $4 billion hotel merger and a defense against an unsolicited LBO. He has also worked in capital markets while at Merrill Lynch on its Financial Futures & Options/Government Strategy desk and at Prudential Securities in its Municipal Finance department.
Mr. Wolfe graduated with distinction from Cornell University with a BS in Economics and Finance. Widely recognized as one of the preeminent minds in nanotechnology and finance, he has been invited by the White House and Canadian Government to advise government organizations on funding strategies.
Mr. Wolfe is a co-founder of The NanoBusiness Alliance, a columnist with Forbes Magazine, and editor of the monthly Forbes/Wolfe Emerging Tech Report.
Kathryn Olsen, Vice Chair
Kathy Olsen is an experienced charter school finance professional. Currently, she works with Two9Three Consulting where she helps structure and secure real estate financing transactions on behalf of charter schools. Previously, Ms. Olsen worked for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s (LISC) Educational Facilities Financing Center for eight years, most recently serving as the Center’s Director where she was responsible for structuring charter school financings, making investment decisions, and overseeing LISC’s charter schools portfolio. Prior to LISC, she worked in the fund development and public policy departments of The After-School Corporation in New York City. Ms. Olsen also worked at the Philadelphia Education Fund where she was responsible for implementing public policy initiatives.
Ms. Olsen received her BS from Villanova University and a Master of Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
Joan Davidson
Joan Davidson has enjoyed a rich and varied life as an city planner, student and patron of the arts, and philanthropist. Trained originally as a geographer, Joan spent a decade in city government under Mayor Ed Koch, first working in the Manhattan office of the Department of City Planning, and then in the Department of Human Resources, where she developed transitional housing programs for the homeless.
Joan was also VP for Public/Community Affairs for Gannett Outdoor, a subsidiary of the Gannett media company, where she helped launch Gannett’s successful entry into the New York City outdoor advertising industry.
More recently, Joan completed a Masters Degree in the History of the Decorative Arts and Design from The Parsons School of Design and Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Joan currently serves on a number of boards of directors of organizations in the arts, education and social services. Joan is a member of the board of directors of the Studio Museum of Harlem. She also pursues her passion for art and design by serving on the Board of an American Foundation, Friends of the Centre Pompidou. The Foundation assists the contemporary Paris museum in acquiring major gifts by contemporary artists.
Joan is also very committed to education reform. She is a founding board member of Coney Island Prep, located just a mile from where she grew up.
Joan also serves on the Board of Citizens’ Committee For Children, the leading children’s advocacy organization in NYC. She is also a member of the (Women Donor’s Network WDN), a community of progressive woman philanthropists committed to building a just and fair world through education and collaborative funding. Joan is also involved in local politics and participates in a Middle East peace and education reform study groups with other members of WDN. In addition, Joan participated in the creation a donor’s circle to support young Jewish women social entrepreneurs who help vulnerable women and children around the globe.
Joan is married to the filmmaker Neil Barsky, and is the mother of Alexandra and Davidson Barsky. Joan was raised in Brooklyn, and currently resides in Manhattan with her family.
Joan previously served on the board of directors of TADA, a children’s theatre and arts organization, for over a decade.
Jennifer Philbrick-McArdle
Jennifer Philbrick McArdle is currently a Partner at Satterlee Stephens LLP, where her practice focuses on commercial litigation and intellectual property law. Prior to joining Satterlee Stephens, Ms. McArdle was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and spent a year as a law clerk for the Honorable Naomi Reice Buchwald, a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Ms. McArdle also has a background in politics, having worked at a small electoral and public affairs consulting firm and for a national political campaign prior to law school. Ms. McArdle earned her BA in Government from Harvard University and her JD from Columbia University School of Law.
Anu Malipatil
Bio coming soon!
Joseph Talia
Bio coming soon!
Joe Herrera
Director’s Council
Our Director’s Council coordinates volunteer, enrichment, and fundraising activities that support our scholars, including workplace visits, our annual non-fiction exhibition, and our famous dodgeball tournaments.
Shivani Banker
Bio coming soon!
Christapher Benson
Bio coming soon!
Brian Buckmire
Trial Attorney for The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Practice, Brooklyn.
Juris Doctorate. Washington and Lee School of Law, 2014.
Bachelor of Arts. Queens College, CUNY, 2011.
Division II All American Soccer Player 2011.
Mary Cheever
Bio coming soon!
David Houlihan
David Houlihan is the Senior Director of Operations at DREAM – a youth development organization that operates a Pre-K-9 school as well as summer and after-school programs. He oversees DREAM’s Information Technology, Facilities, School Operations and Administration departments. Prior to arriving at DREAM, David served as an Intern for the United States Trade Representative’s Office where he researched, analyzed and provided recommendations for President Obama’s trade advisory committee. David also worked at Coney Island Prep as a Director of Operations, where he planned and executed school expansions and improved the operations department’s ratings from 60% to 100%. David holds a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University, a Master of Science of Teaching from Pace University and a Bachelor of Arts from New York University.
Jason Kinsella
Bio coming soon!
Scott Justin
Bio coming soon!
Jonathan Smith
Jonathan Smith works as an attorney under the General Counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in its World Trade Center headquarters. Prior to joining the Port Authority, Jonathan spent over three years as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York. Outside of the Director’s Council, Jonathan serves the community through his involvement with Minds Matter of NYC, an organization that provides high achieving high school aged students from underprivileged backgrounds with mentors, tutors, SAT prep courses, and college preparation.
Sandrine Vorburger
Bio coming soon!
Mark Wien
Bio coming soon!