Meet the District Team

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 most recently served as the proud Deputy Superintendent of Brooklyn North High Schools. She is a lifelong leader supporting individuals to find their true potentials.

On September 29, 2025, Dr. White was named Interim Acting Superintendent of Brooklyn North High Schools.  Continuing and expanding upon the legacy of Brooklyn North High Schools, Dr. White looks forward to advancing our shared goals in amplifying student voice, strengthening partnerships with parents and communities, and expanding college and career pathways so that every student has a strong plan toward economic security. Together, BKNHS will deepen culturally responsive instruction, strengthen literacy and math outcomes through targeted interventions and professional development, and widen business partnerships that give students real-world learning opportunities;  by "centering students, leading with love, and innovating for tomorrow." 

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.  After 32 years of dedicated leadership, Janice is retiring at the end of October 2025. 

Terrence has worked in the field of education and community development for 30 years, first receiving his bachelor's degree from Baruch College for Industrial Organization and then a master's degree from Columbia University for Social Work Administration and Education.  He began his career providing psychotherapy to children, families, and mentally ill adult populations across NYC.  In 2003 he co-founded the HS for Service and Learning and proudly served and collaborated as a co-principal. Starting in 2007, he has since worked for the DOE in several capacities: Senior Manager of Youth Development, Director of Youth Development & Organization, Deputy Network Leader of Operations, Field Support Liaison, and currently Chief Operating Officer for Brooklyn North High Schools Superintendency.  

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. 

Cherina Booker is an equity driven educator with more tha  15 years of experience in education, committed to co-creating inclusive, student-centered learning environments.  Prior to joining the BKNHS team, she served as the Assistant Principal of Special Education at Flushing High School where her work led to a significant increase in special education outcomes including increasing graduation rates, expanding transition supports for students and establishing systems for using data to drive continuous improvement. The work that she co-led around teacher inquiry while an assistant principal was chosen as a case study for the 3rd Edition of The Data Wise Improvement Process published by Harvard University Press. She has a Masters degree in Special Education from Brooklyn College and a Masters in Educational Leadership from New York University.  Cherina looks forward to supporting Brooklyn North High Schools in all aspects of Special Education. Cherina will be the point for D13, 14, 23, 32; although she and Natasha will be working hand-in-hand so feel free to reach out to either or both of our sped rockstars! Cherina's email is CBooker2.

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.

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".

Jill joins Brooklyn North as an Academic Policy, Performance, and Assessment Lead after spending the last decade in the classroom as a social studies and special education teacher. Her teaching career has spanned three boroughs as she served as testing coordinator, data specialist, and programmer in addition to Peer Collaborative Teacher. She received her undergraduate and master’s degree from Long Island University as well as graduate certifications from the College of St. Rose and Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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.

Omar Griles is an experienced educator and advocate with over 20 years in student support and school community development. He began his career as a school social worker, working with at-risk youth from elementary to high school. Omar spent 8 years in Brooklyn’s ALCs, providing social-emotional support and helping students transition back to their schools.

As the former Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for District 15, Omar implemented equity practices to foster inclusivity and support diverse student needs. He led restorative justice initiatives, facilitated teacher professional development, and organized career fairs to expand students’ opportunities. Omar’s commitment to education and social justice has had a lasting impact on both students and educators.

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 and is currently in her 29th 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. Prior to joining the DOE, Yuet worked in sales and marketing for an investment management firm. Yuet is a proud alumna of Yale College (B.A. Economics & Political Science) and Boston Latin School where amazing teachers changed her life's trajectory as a first-generation immigrant, born of working-class parents from Hong Kong.