Karen Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer of Coney Island Prep and former Chief Operating Officer and founding Director of Operations of CIP’s Upper Elementary School. The importance of a good education was instilled in Karen from a very young age, but it wasn’t until college that she realized that she wanted to be an educator. She believes that all students deserve access to a quality education, and works to ensure Coney Island Prep continues to deliver on its mission. She works to lead all schools and the central office team, ensuring that CIP continues to deliver on its ambitious mission and commitment to our scholars, family, and community.

Prior to joining Coney Island Prep, Karen was a Teach for America New York City Corps Member, taught middle school science at Uncommon Schools, and worked on the network team at Success Academies. She later joined CIP as an Academic Operations Manager, before leading operations teams across two campuses as a Director of Operations.

She holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College, and a Masters in Teaching from the Relay Graduate School of Education.

Dawn Antoine Forbes is the Chief Operating Officer of CIP. She comes to CIP with over 12 years of school operations experience at both large and single-site NYC charter schools.  Inspired by her mom, Dawn transitioned from finance to the education sector with the goal of empowering students, families, and communities to harness their power of choice through a first-class educational experience.  She works to lead all school operations teams and several central office staff members to support the non-instructional workstreams that make our schools run smoothly.

Before joining Coney Island Prep, Dawn was the Chief Operating Officer at Forte Prep and the Director of Operations at PAVE Academy and Success Academy.  

She holds an undergraduate degree from Binghamton University and a Master’s in Business Administration from George Washington University.

Michael is Coney Island Prep’s Chief Talent & Equity Officer. Most recently, before joining the CIP Team, Michael served as the Chief of Staff and Director, Administration at SEEDS-Access Changes Everything. At SEEDS, Michael led the organization’s efforts around people and process development, managed the leadership team to support SEEDS’s year-round programming, placement, scholar support, and fundraising efforts, and expanded offerings for Alumni across the organization.

For more than two decades, Michael has been committed to providing access to high-quality education to youth in historically under-resourced communities, and the growth and development of educators to support these efforts. His work with school districts and educational nonprofits and his experience in student support services and human capital management have allowed Michael to study the education sector and scale impact from local to state levels.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and a certificate in African American Studies from Princeton University, and a master’s degree in Education Leadership, Policy, and Management from Seton Hall University. He is active on several nonprofit boards, including the Princeton-Blairstown Center and Newark Emergency Services for Families, and is the past President of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni. Michael is an alum of SEEDS-Access Changes Everything, Education Pioneers, and the Emerging Human Capital Leaders Initiative. He is active in the Heart of Worship Church in Newark, NJ, and a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Rachel is the Chief Schools Officer and former founding principal of Coney Island Prep’s Upper Elementary School. After completing her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from the College of Charleston, she spent seven years as a teacher and instructional leader in Newark, NJ before joining the CIP community. Beginning as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction in 2016, she went on to lead the Upper Elementary School in 2019. She also holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Montclair State University.

Rachel believes deeply that education is the driver of change and wants to ensure that every CIP student has amazing opportunities to set them up for success in college and beyond. She is excited to be in this role where she can combine her love of working with children and adults to help CIP fulfill its mission. As a leader, she believes in setting the bar high and doing whatever it takes to ensure that every student is able to meet and exceed it. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her family, try new restaurants, and be outside in the warm weather.

Liza Potter is Coney Island Prep’s Chief Academic Officer. Most recently before joining the CIP team, Liza served as Head of Schools at KIPP New Jersey, where she managed a portfolio of middle and high schools in Newark and Camden, and as Deputy Chief Academic Officer at Mastery Charter Schools in Philadelphia. At Mastery, Liza led the network’s vision and strategy for K-12 English language arts, social studies, world languages, ELL/bilingual education, and the arts, and spearheaded a comprehensive redesign of the network’s early literacy program to align with the science of reading.

Liza began her twenty-year public education career as a high school English and writing teacher in North Carolina before relocating to Brooklyn, where she had the privilege to serve on the founding leadership teams of the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice and the Urban Assembly School for Green Careers. Liza holds a M.Ed. from Bank Street College of Education, where she earned school district leader certification in both New York and New Jersey, and both an MAT in Secondary English Education and a BA in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Eugene W. Wood, IV, steps into the role of Chief External Officer after six years of leading and expanding our Postsecondary Success Team. A proud native Texan, Eugene is an alumnus of Prince William County Public Schools and the University of Texas at Austin.

With a background in school leadership and partnership development, Eugene is deeply committed to creating opportunities for underserved communities. His passion for collaboration has driven remarkable outcomes, including helping Coney Island Prep students unlock their full potential. Through these efforts, alumni have gained admission to more selective colleges while significantly reducing out-of-pocket costs.

Eugene looks forward to continuing to build and strengthen our community partnerships, amplifying our impact, and expanding opportunities for future generations.