Meet the District Team

Janice Ross earned her Bachelor of Science in Education at Stony Brook University, graduating Cum Laude. She began her professional career as a teacher and administrator in East New York—teaching social studies across high school grades. As Superintendent of Brooklyn North High Schools, Janice leads 47 secondary schools in 7 districts, anchored in the “Pedagogy of Critical Love” that ensures each of the almost 27,000 students in our schools are seen, heard and affirmed every day. Instructional vision is supported by the Equity and Rigor Project that includes current partnerships with LINC (Learning Innovation Catalyst) featuring Dr. Jason Green, Dr. Carol Tomlinson and Dr. Kristina Doubet, Black History 365, and Dr. Donyall Dickey - CEO of Educational Epiphany, Apple, CISCO, and Adobe. Earlier collaborations featured Glenn Singleton (Courageous Conversations About Race) and Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, Professor at Georgia State University. Janice has spoken at the United Nations and professional conferences in the U.S. and abroad about integration of education technology including artificial intelligence, elevating the educational experience of underrepresented student groups; and has been honored in celebrations of women in leadership.  

Born in St. Thomas, Jamaica, Dr. White migrated to America when she was 8. She attended IS 383 G&T and John Dewey HS. She earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s Degrees and Advanced Certificate in Supervision and Administration from Brooklyn College. In 2018, Dr. White earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the Sage Colleges and published her dissertation,"Psychological Safety and English Speaking Caribbean Students in NYC Public Schools.” An educator for 24 years as English Teacher, Dean, AP, 9-year Principal, Director of Continuous Improvement, she proudly serves as  Deputy Superintendent of Brooklyn North High Schools. She is a lifelong leader supporting individuals to find their true potentials.

Profile Pending

Ainsley is an accomplished educator and clinical social worker. He held various leadership positions in the NYC government,  including the Department of Education, Administration for Children Services, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Additionally, as a licensed clinical social worker specializing in child and adolescent psychotherapy, Ainsley is skilled in child and adolescent mental health evaluation and treatment and has previously worked at several of NYC’s premier child welfare agencies, including the Children's Aid and the Staten Island Mental Health Society. In addition to earning a Master of Social Work degree from New York University, he also earned his Doctor of Education degree from Fordham University.

Andrada Frunza started her career with the DOE in 2004 as a Teaching Fellow and worked for 13 years as a math teacher at Wadleigh Secondary School in Harlem where she also served as a mentor supporting teachers across disciplines, led multiple teams , developed professional learning, and supervised after-school programs. She joined the Brooklyn North High School Superintendent team as a TDEC in 2016 to support the district's talented and dedicated principals with instruction and professional learning for math educators and new teachers.  Andrada earned her BAs in Math and French from Manhattan College, went on to obtain her first Master's degree in Math education from the City College of New York, and received her second Master's in Educational Leadership from Fordham. 

Alexa began her career in the DOE as a NYC Teaching Fellow and her very first classroom experience was at the High School for Enterprise, Business and Technology in the summer of 2012. She went on to teach ENL and social studies to newcomers in the South Bronx and Queens before embarking on an exciting opportunity to work at the Ministry of Education in Lima, Peru. There, she co-designed the nationwide curriculum for pre-service English teachers as part of the country's policy to promote bilingualism. Most recently, she was a peer collaborative teacher at Pan American International High School, where she mentored teachers and shared her passion for data-driven instruction, project-based learning and language/content integration as drivers of success for MLs/ELLs. 

In 2001, Alicia started her teaching career at Boys and Girls High School. Twenty-one years later, she continues to support Brooklyn North and bring a wealth of expertise in curriculum writing, developing teacher teams, professional learning and ELA. In addition to being a thought partner offering strategic support to schools, Alicia also serves as district lead for My Sister's Keeper. 

Angela joins our team after successfully leading special education as Assistant Principal at FDNY High School for the past 7 years. FDNY consistently provided timely services to students with IEPs and has a been a model for other district schools. Angela also brings expertise in Specially Designed Instruction and Integrated Collaborative Teaching models. She looks forward to sharing her passion and expertise in support of IEP students in our district. 

Former Elementary, Middle & High school teacher, Testing Coordinator
College of St Rose: Certificate in School Building Leadership (SBL)
College of St Rose: Certificate in School District Leadership (SDL)
Touro College: Master of Science  Education/Special Education
University of Guyana:  Bachelor of Arts (BA) English
Cyril Potter College of Education : Trained Teacher's Certificate

Cynthia Garvin is an extremely accomplish member of the Finance and Human Resource team at the Department of Education, with twenty-nine years of experience in all areas of finance and Human Resources, currently serving as the Operations Associate.  Prior to joining us Cynthia served as the Operations Director at the Children First Network 408. Through her experiences and academic background, Cynthia has acquired the skills necessary to serve in a highly functioning operational setting.  Cynthia received her BA from the College of New Rochelle and her Master in Special Education from Concordia University.  With such talent and skills, we welcome Cynthia Garvin to the Brooklyn North HS Superintendent team.

Dayana was born in Ecuador and raised in Spain. At age 15, she migrated to New York, where she graduated high school from Brooklyn Lab School and obtained her undergraduate of psychology from Queens College. Currently, she is pursuing her Masters in School Counseling. For the past four years, she has worked as a Parent Coordinator and is excited to start her new role as Family Leadership Coordinator. 

Desiree has proudly worked for the New York City Department of Education for the past 16 years. In her time with the department, Desiree has held several roles both at the school level and Citywide. Prior to joining the Brooklyn North High School team, she worked as a Director of Enrollment, Assistant Director of Enrollment, School Counselor and Parent Coordinator. Desiree is a lifelong Brooklynite who attended NYC Public Schools. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and a Masters of Education in Bilingual School Counseling from Long Island University. She also holds a Masters in Educational Leadership from the College of St. Rose. Desiree looks forward to supporting Brooklyn North High Schools in the area of Student Services. 

Esther started her career with the DOE as a Teaching Fellow and has served as an educator for 10+ years while further engaging as a member on the Professional Development Team, Measures of Student Learning Committee, Behavior Intervention Plan Team, Interview Committee, and serving as the lead for the Geometry Team. Outside of the DOE, Esther serves the community as a volunteer of various summer educational outreach programs located in NYC, Navajo Reservation (Arizona), Ecuador, and Argentina. She has earned her first Master's in Education at Long Island University at Brooklyn, and received her second Master's in Education Leadership at Hunter College. Esther is the final recipient of the Northeastern Regional Chapter scholarship in 2021 and an active member of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship and to promote the "unity and democracy of education".

Joan started working with the Department of Education, in Superintendent’s Karen Watts Office in 2014.  Joan processes Sabbaticals, Leave of Absence Forms and other DOE documents; maintains staff files, creates Purchase Orders, and supports the superintendent with correspondence. Educated up to the age of 21 in London, England, Joan achieved General Certificates of Education (GCE) and Royal Society of Arts Certificates in Economics, Business and Office Practice.  After working with Church of England Children Society, Joan went to Jamaica, West Indies where she worked with the Department of Labor and Public Service.  Since arriving in the US and while for the DOE, Joan has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science from Kaplan University. 

John has been a New York City educator for over twenty years. His knowledge of academic policy, performance and assessment has been formed in this time, through his roles as high school English teacher, assistant principal of pupil personnel services and founding charter school principal. Although he has worked in schools in the Bronx and Manhattan, Brooklyn is his home.  "The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility, we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom." - bell hooks

Kristin Donnelly started her career in education as an ENL teacher with the NYC Teaching Fellows in 2007. She worked in both the Bronx and Queens as an ENL/Social Studies serving recently arrived immigrants and English language learners. While teaching, she served as a Peer Collaborative Teacher and was recognized for Excellence in Instruction by the Queens North High School Superintendency.  She has Masters degrees in TESOL education from Hunter College and Educational Leadership from Baruch College. Since leaving the classroom in 2019, Kristin has served as ELL Instructional Coach and Assistant Principal. She is committed to advocating for the needs of immigrant students and promoting multilingualism. 

A proud NYC Public Schools alumna, Maria has proudly served NYC students for 17 years. Prior to joining the superintendent's team, she was an ELA teacher, beginning her career student teaching 2005-2006 and then a substitute teacher until 2010, when she began teaching full time in the Bronx. She spent most of her teaching career at Transit Tech CTE High School. She was then appointed as an Academic Response Team Specialist at the Brooklyn North Borough Office from 2019-2022, where she collaborated with school leaders, coached teachers, built teacher teams and supported schools’ instructional foci. Maria earned her BA in English Education at Brooklyn College, her MA in English Education at NYU and her MS in school administration from the College of Saint Rose. She is excited to be a part of the Brooklyn North High Schools Superintendency. 

Natasha Carr, a native of Queens, New York, graduated her high school class as valedictorian and pursued higher education, achieving a Bachelor of Arts in English, Language, and Literary Criticism at CUNY Hunter College. In 2017, she completed the NYC Teaching Fellows Program with preservice training in a District 75 school in a 12+1+1 setting. Following the program, she earned her Master's in Special Education from Pace University. After onboarding her childhood high school as a Special Education teacher, she focused on case management and quality IEP writing. Natasha coordinated and facilitated the School Implementation Team, the Instructional Leadership Team, and the Academic Intervention Services Team as the Special Educational Liaison for five years. She later achieved a Master's in Educational Leadership from CUNY Hunter College. Since 2020, she worked as a Peer Collaborative Teacher, focused on professional development and improved teacher practice.

Nirmala began her career in the NYCPS in 1998, working at Park West High School and then Leon M. Goldstein High School as a Biology and Chemistry teacher. She became an Assistant Principal at Port Richmond High School in 2015, proudly serving as the Science Department supervisor for 8 years. She joined BKNHS in 2023 to partner with our schools in providing rigorous, aspirational and data-driven science and CTE instruction to our district's amazing students.

Owa taught ELA in Middle Schools and High Schools for 18 years in Houston, San Francisco, and New York City public schools. For the past 7 years, he has worked as an instructional support lead in Queens and Brooklyn. Owa is very excited to be working on the Superintendents teams and supporting high schools in Brooklyn North. 

Yuet joined the Brooklyn North High School team in 2022 in her 26th year with the NYCDOE. She previously served in a similar role supporting citywide alternative schools and programs (A.C.C.E.S.S Citywide Office). Previously, she was selected by Chancellor Carmen Farina as one of 8 Field Support Executive Directors to lead all facets of school support for Manhattan, in partnership with 10 superintendents who served the borough. During Chancellor Joel Klein's tenure, Yuet joined the Empowerment Schools initiative to lead the reformation of the NYCDOE. She proudly served as an Achievement Coach then as Network Leader for one of the inaugural Children First Networks, serving schools across 4 boroughs. Her first love will always be School of the Future, Manhattan, where she taught 6th grade math/science and served as Middle School Director.