Ali Annunziato, Physical Education

     Ali Annunziato was born and raised in Commack, Long Island.  She received her undergraduate degree in sociology from Manhattanville College in Westchester.  While at Manhattanville, she competed on the women's ice hockey team and helped lead the Valiants to three straight appearances at the NCAA Frozen Four.  Falling just short of a collegiate national championship, it wasn't until 2007 that Ali brought home the gold with the USA Hockey sponsored Minnesota Blue J's, and in 2008 with Team Long Island in the Empire State Games.  She has played all over the world, including Finland, Sweden and Canada. Her identical twin sister, Annie, was an All-American in Minnesota, and now plays for the USA National Bandy Team. 

Christine Barton, 6th Grade Made
     Christine Barton came to teach sixth grade math at Bronx Academy of Letters after a long career building and programming computers and teaching undergraduate students at colleges in New York City.  In her work with computers she applied mathematical techniques to fields like television production, movie special effects, financial models and building websites.  She finds teaching students at Bronx Letters a very fulfilling new phase of her career.  Her hobbies include cooking large family dinners, hiking and travel.  She has visited every continent except Australia.  Her favorite foreign country is Ethiopia, where she worked for two years.

 

Kenneth Behr, Health/Physical Education

     Kenneth Behr was born and raised in Monroe, NY, a town about 50 miles north of the Bronx.  Upon graduating from CUNY York’s Teacher program with a Bachelor’s degree in Science, Kenneth became a part of the Newburgh City School District’s Physical Education staff at various grade levels.  He remains a Football and Softball coach for the Putnam Valley School District.  The message that Kenneth wants to relay to his students is that through hard work and determination, anything is possible to accomplish.  A self-proclaimed sports fanatic, Kenneth’s loyalties lie with the Yankees, Jets and West Virginia Mountaineers, where he attended school in 1998.  Recently married, he enjoys spending time with his wife Kim and their pit bull/lab puppy, Stella.

 

Elana Bell, Writer in Residence

     Elana Bell’s first collection of poetry, Eyes, Stones (LSU Press) was selected by Fanny Howe as the winner of the 2011 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets. Elana is the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Edward Albee Foundation, the AROHO Foundation, and the Brooklyn Arts Council. Her work has recently appeared in AGNI, Harvard Review, Massachusetts Review, CALYX Journal, and elsewhere. Elana has led creative writing workshops for women in prison, for educators, for high school students in Israel, Palestine and throughout the five boroughs of New York City, as well as for the pioneering peace building and leadership organization, Seeds of Peace. She is currently the writer-in-residence for the Bronx Academy of Letters and poetry editor of the Jewish Journal.

 

Kevin Brooks, College Guidance Counselor

     Kevin Brooks is a Bronx native, and has been involved in the field of College Access for the last 7 years working in NYC public high schools and community based organizations. He has a passion for helping young people achieve success, well beyond any limitations they may place on themselves. When he is not working he enjoys playing tennis, basketball and reading Stephen King books. Kevin is extremely excited to be joining the team at BAL!

 

Gail Brown, Special Education

     Gail made the South Bronx home in 1986 and has lived, raised a family, and worked here ever since. After attempting a career as an artist, Gail was persuaded by friends to try teaching and the kids captured her heart. Twenty-three years later, she’s taught every age group from Pre-K through college, and they still capture her heart. Gail’s philosophy is to touch as many lives as she can; if she touches one, she made a difference. Gail graduated from Pratt Institute with an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts and from City College with a graduate degree in Special Education. Her specialty is literacy and writing. When she’s not teaching, you can find her on the beach or on an adventure traveling the world.

 

Ashlie Cotton, Special Education HS English Language Arts

     Ashlie was born and raised outside of Denver, Colorado next to the great Rocky Mountains. A “mountain girl” at heart, she still spends most of her free time there with her family. In high school, Ashlie’s first love was the stage, as she was heavily involved in theater. She was also a Bill Daniels Scholar which led to her receiving a full scholarship to New York University. At NYU, Ashlie studied at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study creating a degree in Interdisciplinary Creative Arts. This included studying film, acting, and fine arts—all with a heavy emphasis on literature. Ashlie also minored in Psychology, which influenced her decision to begin working in Special Education. Upon graduating from NYU, Ashlie worked in the Admissions Department at The School of Visual Arts. This led her to apply to The New York City Teaching Fellows program, through which she is currently obtaining her Masters in Education with a concentration in Urban Adolescent Special Education at Long Island University-Brooklyn. As a teacher, she is constantly looking for ways to integrate creativity and art into the classroom. 

 

Tiara Davis, Special Education HS Social Studies

     Tiara Davis was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She joins our team as a member of the New York City Teaching Fellows. Before being accepted as a fellow, Tiara attended St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. She studied communication and global studies which allowed her to travel to France, Senegal and Quebec. In the spring of her senior year she decided to embark on her teaching journey. She feels as though her students have had the greatest impact on her life.

 

Lauren DeBonis, 10th Global/Social Studies

     Lauren DeBonis was born and raised in Saugerties, New York. Growing up, she spent most of her days catching frogs and   playing soccer with her siblings or binge reading in her tree house. After having several inspiring social studies teachers throughout high school, she decided to attend Binghamton University to continue her study of history. In college, she fine-tuned her waitressing skills and had th  opportunity to study in Turkey and Italy. While these experiences sparked a love of travel, she decided to stay closer to home and accept a teaching position in New York City after graduation, finishing her Masters in Teaching at Fordham University last year.  The daughter of an Italian chef, Lauren spends her spare time experimenting in the kitchen and testing baked goods on staff and students. After teaching at a middle school in Brooklyn for several years, she happily joined the BAL community this fall as a Global History teacher, where she gets to explore history with a curious, unique, and inspiring group of students every day!

 

Janice Dixon, 6th Grade Science

     Janice Dixon graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a degree in political science. For years before pursuing a career as an educator, she served as Deputy Chief of Special Operations at the New York City Department of Transportation. She completed a Master of Science in Adolescence Education from Mercy College, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Janice has taught mathematics and science courses for several urban and suburban school districts for more than a decade. She was Director of Education for the American Civil Rights Education Services in Brooklyn. She taught an American Heritage course on pre-, post- and modern civil rights era history at the City University of New York at Medgar Evers College. United Black Men of Queens County, Inc. honored her as a “Woman Who Makes a Difference.” Janice co-founded the 79th Precinct Community Council’s scholarship fund and served as its first chairperson. Honoring her commitment to youth development, Janice is a mentor.  She lives in Orange County, New York.   

 

Lauren Fardig-Diop, 11th ELA

     Lauren Fardig-Diop is an educator committed to positively impacting the lives and communities she serves, through reading, writing and interacting with the world.  Born in Detroit, raised in Ann Arbor, MI, she studied Poetry and Pedagogy at the New School's Eugene Lang College, and completed her MA in Education at the University of Michigan.  She has taught at Amelia Earhart Middle School in Southwest Detroit, Banana Kelly High School, Hostos Community College's CollegeNOW program and has written curriculum for CUNY's College Focus program, which focuses on assisting high school students in making the transition to college.  In addition to teaching, she enjoys reading, writing poetry, hip-hop, traveling to new places and learning, in all forms.   She is excited to join the team at Letters and teach 11th Grade ELA this fall! 

 

John Farranto, 10th ELA

     John Farranto was born and raised in Syracuse, New York.  He received a B.A. from Hamilton College, where he majored in English, and an M.A. in English Education from Teachers College.  He has been teaching since 2001.

 

Amin Fernandez, Enrichment Coordinator

     Amin Fernandez was born in Salcedo, La Republica Dominicana. Since the age of 3, the South Bronx has been his home. As a kid he found solace more in video games and Goosebumps books than at the park or on the block. He attended All Hallows Institute, graduating valedictorian, while also partaking in the Experiment in International Living: Japan. At All Hallows he discovered his love for filmmaking and acting, inspiring him to major in Cinema Studies at Columbia College, graduating in the Class of 2011. He is a spoken-word poet, amateur bodybuilder, aspiring filmmaker and a true believer that “todo tiene un porque.” Currently a first year law student in the evening division at New York Law School.

 

Yazmin German, 8th SPED

     Yazmin is new to the BAL community this year. Born and raised in the Bronx, she attended Hostos Community College for a year (to up her admittedly low GPA) and transferred to SUNY Old Westbury where  she received her BA in English Literature. After working as a Paraprofessional for a year, she rediscovered her childhood dream of becoming a teacher and joined the Teaching Fellows program. She is currently attending Relay GSE for her Master's in Special Education. She loves coffee, writing, and anything with owls or monkeys. 

 

Katrina Gounaris, Speech Therapist

     Katrina Gounaris was raised in Indianapolis, IN and graduated from Indiana University where she received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Speech-Language Pathology. Additionally, Katrina holds minors in Psychology and Spanish. She has worked in both healthcare and school settings, specializing in the pediatric population. Katrina is nationally certified by the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association and is a licensed speech-language pathologist in the state of New York.  She believes that communication is the key to success wherever one goes in life. For this reason she works with her students to achieve their goals so that they can better communicate as confident individuals in society. In her spare time, Katrina enjoys practicing yoga and cooking. 

 

Shahid Haque, 12th Grade Participation in Government & Economics

     Shahid Haque was born and raised in Queens, New York.  Taking after his father and two older brothers, he received his BA from Baruch College, majoring in Business Management.  After working for two years, he decided to pursue education, rather than a career in the business world. Shahid started his teaching career at BAL during the 2012-2013 school year.  He is currently working on his master’s degree at Queens College.  During his free time, he can be found outdoors with his friends, cooking, taking his dog to Central Park, reading, and traveling.    

 

Patricia Huancayo, Spanish

     Patricia Huancayo was born and raised in Ecuador and came to the US many years ago. She has spent most of her professional career working in the public sector as well as for multinationals such Nikon, Symbol, and Net2phone, where she was able to use her bilingual skills in the marketing department and as an account manager for Latin America. She became a teacher back in 1996 at Stony Brook University; however, she did not work in the field until 2007 when she had an opportunity to go back to teaching. She felt this was a great chance in life to do something she really had a passion for. For the past four years she has been teaching Spanish to High School students in the Bronx. As an educator, she likes to prepare students not only for college, but for the world we live in today. Patricia’s greatest satisfaction comes from seeing her students succeed and shine in life, knowing that she has contributed in some small way to their happiness and intellectual prosperity. Patricia’s earned her Master’s in School Administration from Fordham University, and her Bachelors in Foreign Languages from the Teachers’ Program at Stony Brook University. She enjoys reading novels in Spanish – especially those by Gabriel García Márquez – as well as traveling and exploring Latin America.

 

Katie Jarvis, ESL

     Katie Jarvis was born and raised in Watertown, Connecticut. She graduated with a B.A. in English with a minor in Spanish from the University of Connecticut. Deciding to merge her interests of language and culture, she moved to Brooklyn in 2008 to pursue her master’s degree in TESOL from Hunter College. Since graduating in 2011, she has worked with elementary, high school, and adult language learners. In her most recent position, she was the sole ESL and Film Studies teacher at New Dawn Charter High School. When she’s not teaching, Katie enjoys reading, watching classic films, doing yoga, and hanging out with her husband and dog. 

 

Mikaela Kidd, 7th & 8th Grade SPED

     Mikaela is a new addition to the Bronx Letters team this year. As a resident of the Bronx, she is passionate about empowering and advocating for youth of the Bronx, in addition to bringing social justice issues and identity exploration into the classroom as a way to connect young people to curriculum in meaningful ways. Mikaela is also a member of this year’s cohort of New York City Teaching Fellows. As a first generation college student, she attended George Mason University where she graduated cum laude with her degree in Social Work. Also, during her time in undergrad, she led, coordinated and facilitated anti-racism and identity exploration workshops across the campus community. She is currently attending Hunter College pursuing a Master’s Degree in Special Education. Prior to joining the BAL team, she was a residential counselor in a group home for teenage girls who were in the foster care and/or criminal justice system.

In her (limited) free time, she loves to read, grab dinner with friends, listen to hip-hop and Motown, talk about any and all things relating to social justice and go on random weekend trips to new places.

 

Eric Kossoff, 6th Social Studies

     Eric Kossoff was raised in New Jersey, in a town just outside of New York City. His childhood home is a great place in his memories, because he is very close to his family. Eric had many different hobbies while growing up, many of which he still does today. Eric is first and foremost a passionate historian, and has always has been. He says that it was always his favorite subject to study from middle school thru today. Eric’s hobbies consist of rock climbing, ultimate frisbee, playing the banjo, and leather work. He was educated at the University of San Diego, where he received his degree in history and education. Eric has expressed great joy in being apart of the BAL community today, and works hard daily to make improvements for his students and the community itself. 

 

Greg Leitao, 6th ELA

     Greg Leitao was born and raised in New Britain, CT, the birthplace of the coat hanger and basketball dribbling. In his middle and high school years he was heavily involved in the music department, traveling the country to perform in various sporting events and parades. He also participated in numerous athletic organizations, when time allowed. Greg then attended Trinity College, where he continued to be involved in extracurricular organizations, including serving as Editor-in-Chief of the college newspaper. During his time in college he also spent a semester living in Edinburgh, Scotland, which gave him a life-long interest to continue traveling and finding new and exciting experiences. After receiving his B.A. in English Literature he decided to follow his passion for working with the youth by joining Teach For America. Luckily enough he was given his choice of moving to New York City, where he received his M.A. from Fordham University and began working at the Bronx Academy of Letters as the 6th grade ELA teacher. When outside of the classroom Greg enjoys reading and writing, visiting new museums, and watching/playing baseball.

 

Lateasha Mays, SPED MS & HS

     Lateasha Mays was born and raised in the Bronx but currently lives in New Rochelle. She is a proud mother of three. Her children are her impetus for most things in life, including becoming an educator. Lateasha has been teaching for 9 years, primarily in special education settings. She believes that all students are capable of making progress in safe academic and social environments.

 

Laura Mercogliano, 9th Grade Literature

     Laura Mercogliano has taught ELA and Writing in the Bronx for the past eight years.  After graduating from Fordham University, she joined the NYC Teaching Fellows in 2005, and has been at Bronx Letters since 2008.  For the past four years she taught 8th grade ELA and Writing in our middle school, as well as serving as 8th Grade Team Leader and coach of the Mock Trial team.   She was thrilled to watch her 8th graders express themselves in programs such as Poetry Out Loud, Cafe Raven, and Bronx Loaf, and is excited to continue reading and writing with students.  While she is sad to leave the wild and wonderful world of middle school, she is looking forward to moving to our high school this year.

 

Jeannine Newell, Special Education Generalist & Small Group

     Jeannine Newell was born in East Quogue, a small town in Long Island. As a student, she enjoyed reading and writing -- especially poetry. Jeannine pursued a BA in English from Fordham University in the Bronx. Jeannine has been living and teaching in the Bronx for nearly 10 years. At BAL, Jeannine teaches both Middle School and High school ELA and Math.  While Jeannine enjoys teaching academic subjects, the most rewarding part of teaching for her is connecting with students.

 

Kelly Overton, Librarian

     Kelly Overton was born in South Carolina, lived in California long enough to lose her accent, and then returned to grow up in South Carolina. At Hampshire College she studied poetry, history, literature, and education. After college she fell in love with North Carolina, where she helped start a teen-run radio show, worked as a high school English teacher, and finally found her calling as a librarian...yes, a librarian! Before coming to Bronx Letters, Kelly worked as the teen librarian at the Mott Haven branch of the New York Public Library. After much searching, learning, and working in and around the South, Northeast, and now the South Bronx, she is very happy to have found the Bronx Academy of Letters.

 

Rachana Patel, 8th Science

     Rachana Patel was born in Smithtown, Long Island. Growing up on Long Island, she loved to paint and read fiction books. In school, she took an active role in her student government. Rachana went attended undergraduate school at the University of Maryland, majoring in Neurobiology and Psychology. She was part of an Indian Cultural Dance team and travelled throughout the United States competing against other schools. After college, she joined Teach for America and has been teaching science in the Bronx since.  Having a passion for traveling, she climbed a volcano in Italy and the Great Wall of China in high school. She hopes to travel to South America in the future and explore the Amazon Forest. 

 

Andy Pilc, 10th Earth Science

     Andy Pilc was born and raised in Queens, NY and is looking forward to becoming a part of the BAL community after teaching in Lower Manhattan.  Andy admires the diverse nature both in our city and outside of it and seeks any opportunity to be outside.  He enjoys running, hiking, snowboarding, rock climbing and playing other sports, as well as listening to music and making cheesy jokes.  

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Pascal Rekoert, Dance MS/6 & HS/9-12

     Pascal Rekoert originally hails from the Netherlands and has been a freelance teaching artist for the last 16 years. Pascal is currently on full scholarship for a graduate degree through CUNY Hunter College and Lincoln Center Education. He has been a professional dancer, a producer of various NYC dance festivals, and commissioned choreographer for the past 20+ years. After having traveled the world from Albuquerque to Zimbabwe he's excited to start this new chapter at Bronx Letters.

 

Hana Rexha, Special Education HS Math and Science  

     Hana was born in Prishtina, Kosova, a small recently-recognized state in Southeastern Europe. In June of 1999, Hana moved to the Bronx where she entered 4th grade without speaking a word of English. Through motivation and academic admiration, Hana started to learn English, and she always aimed to get high grades. Hana consistently maintained a high grade point average, and upon graduating from the Collegiate Institute for Math and Science High School, Hana was awarded a full academic scholarship to Fordham University where she received a Bachelors of Science in May 2012. Just a month later, Hana enrolled in New York City Teaching Fellows where she obtained her masters of Science in education from St. John's University. Finally in September 2012, Hana began to share her love and passion for education by joining BAL as a math and Science teacher. 

 

Spencer Robinson, 9th Algebra

     Spencer Robinson was born and raised in Rockford, IL, the second largest city in Illinois. After leaving the midwest he attended and graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, where he attended a sector of the Naval Academy called Nuclear Power School, serving aboard ships in both Japan and Guam. After leaving the Navy he moved to New York to pursue a career in acting. But he quickly realized that he had a passion for education (and also that no one is really a famous actor), so he joined the New York Teaching Fellows program and happily accepted a job at the Bronx Academy of Letters. He cannot believe, daily, how lucky he is to teach such amazing students and to be a part of the best grade team (and department) at BAL.

 

Shanua Rodriguez, 6-8th Science

     Shanua Rodriguez was born and raised in the Bronx and is a proud product of the NYC public education school system.  She has worked with the Department of Education for more than nine years first as a high school teacher at the Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies (FLAGS) High School and ultimately found The Bronx Academy of Letters’ Middle School to be her new home. Before becoming a teacher, she pursued a career in graphic and web design, but her experience of teaching in the nonprofit sector within after school programs around NYC and working with youth in other capacities kept calling her back to the teaching profession. She gave in and her passion for teaching matched her desire to learn. With a degree in fine art and another in computer information systems, she became a NYC Teaching fellow in 2006. She has once again returned to school and is currently pursuing a degree in Earth Science. She is now a Math for America Master Teacher Fellow who still loves learning and improving herself, creating works of art as a painter, writing poetry, and drumming on her conga and bongo. She hopes to extend herself to the BAL community creatively and passionately because nothing would please her more than to be an inspiration for young people like the teachers of her past have been for her.

 

Steve Russo, Chemistry and AP Environmental Science

     Steve Russo grew up near New Haven loving everything related to science and math, and spending most summers knee deep in the tidal pools of Long Island Sound catching all types of sea critters. He studied Environmental Engineering as an undergraduate at Cornell University before moving down south for his graduate work developing water quality models at the University of North Carolina. After school, he moved further south, spending two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in an indigenous region of western Panama, where he helped local communities gain access to clean water and sanitation. Upon returning, he worked as an engineer in NYC developing green infrastructure technologies, but ultimately found his calling as a teacher where he gets to share his love for science with young people everyday! 

 

Elizabeth Sampson, 12th Grade Literature

     Elizabeth Sampson got her start on the cobblestoned, coffee shop-lined streets of Portland, ME. She earned her BA in English and Art History from the College of the Holy Cross in 2002. Upon graduation, she worked on a Senate campaign and on Capitol Hill, but was soon lured to the NYCTF in 2003 by the excitement of big city life and the possibility of affecting change in schools that needed it most. As a Fellow, she earned her MS in TESOL from Long Island University—Brooklyn and spent five years teaching ESL at IS 162 in Bushwick, Brooklyn, while perfecting her risotto technique and exploring far-flung parts of NYC in her free time. In 2008, she took a hiatus from New York to pursue an MA in English at the University of Massachusetts, where a posthumous crush on George Orwell was given free reign. She joined the Letters team in 2010 and since then has taught ESL and ELA in both the middle and high school. She is thrilled to work with such a talented group of people in a place where her main interests — literary and cultural theory, social justice, keeping her slang fresh, and happy hour — all come together.

 

Katie Schuff, 7th Grade Math

     Katie Schuff was born and raised in Albany, NY. She was a competitive softball and basketball player throughout her high school years. Now she stays involved in athletics by coaching in summer youth leagues. She is a graduate of Union College where she completed her B.S. in Mathematics and discovered her love for teaching. While at Union, she studied abroad twice, teaching Math in Barbados and English in Cambodia. Following graduation she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in Indonesia for a year. Now as a part of Teach For America, she will be joining the team at the Bronx Academy of Letters as the 8th grade Math teacher. Over the next two years she will also be pursuing a Master’s of Arts in Teaching at Relay Graduate School of Education.

 

Meredith Smith. 8th ELA

     Meredith Smith was born in Smithtown, New York on Long Island. At a young age she fell in love with competitive sports: soccer, lacrosse and long distance running. She continued to play DIII lacrosse at The University of Scranton, where she graduated with a major in English and a minor in Counseling/ Human Services. She studied Irish Literature abroad in Galway, Ireland for one semester and still has a love for Irish culture. Meredith is a NYC teaching fellow and will graduate with her Masters in Secondary Education at the end of this year. She is coaching the youth running team this year at Bronx Letters and is excited for the spring season. Her goal is to run the NYC marathon in November 2015. 

 

Jake Thomas, 8th Grade Humanities

     Jake Thomas hails from Florida where he was a community planner and neighborhood organizer. In 2008, he moved to NYC and entered into the NYC Teaching Fellows program and received his master's degree in education with a concentration in special education from Hunter College. Since 2009 he has been living and teaching middle school literacy in the South Bronx and joined the BAL middle school literacy team in 2013. Jake enjoys reading great literature on his own or with his students, especially historical fiction (recommends Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor to students and adults alike). Outside school, Jake is an activist for environmental conservation and community rights in Mott Haven. For fun, Jake enjoys cooking, road biking, and playing board games with friends. Fun fact: Jake grew up living on a little sail boat with his parents and younger sister!

 

Marlene Troncoso, Special Education Writing/Humanities

     Marlene Troncoso was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She attended South Bronx High School graduating at age 16. Marlene attended the College at Old Westbury, however,  instead of graduating she embarked into the awesome journey of motherhood having her first child in 2000. She joined the Bronx Academy of Letters family in 2008 where she decided that it was time to go back to college and finish what she once started. In 2010 she began pursuing her bachelor's degree from Mercy college graduating in 2013 with a bachelor of science in Behavioral Science. In December 2013, Marlene graduated from Mercy College with a Master of Science in Childhood Education. She transition from being a paraprofessional to a special education teacher in September 2014.

 

Lisa Wong, 7th Grade Science

     Lisa was born in Hong Kong and emigrated to Queens, New York, at the young age of one and a half.  She grew up a Yankees fan in Astoria, playing stick ball. She played softball and volleyball throughout high school and college.  Her teaching career began in the South Bronx, teaching 4th grade, moving up to 5th grade the following year. She has since taught grades six through eight, both in Science and Writing, all over the city, and has helped to found an Urban Assembly school in Throggs Neck, Bronx. Lisa’s hobbies include watching crime dramas, and reading science fiction, action and adventure, and fantasy novels, as well as playing with her cats Tiki and Telly.

 

Lianne Yang, 11th & 12th Mathematics

     Lianne Yang was raised in the Rio Grande Valley on the U.S.-Mexico border on the southern tip of Texas. She attended Harvard University where she studied Economics. After brief stints working as a biophysics researcher and an analyst at an insurance company in China, she decided she was not about the 9 to 5 desk job life and decided to pursue her passion for education instead. Her work as a small group intervention educator at Martin Middle School in Austin, Texas coupled with her Jay-Z induced Empire State of Mind led her to apply to the New York City Teaching Fellows. This is her first year at the Bronx Academy of Letters, and she is extremely proud to be among such esteemed colleagues and students.

 

 

Staff

Alexandra Figueroa, Paraprofessional

     Alexandra was born and raised in the Dominican Republic with my four siblings. She attended UTESA university in Santiago, DR, where she studied medicine, but then was granted the opportunity to start a life in New York City. She moved to New York in April of 1990 and has loved it ever since. She have two wonderful daughters named Samantha (19) and Andrianelys (15).  She is thrilled to be a full-time paraprofessional, and counts working at Bronx Letters as a real privilege.

 

Lisa Monge, Parent Coordinator

     Lisa Monge was born and raised in Syracause, NY.  Her dad was in a salsa music band.  When Lisa was only four years old, her mother died of epilepsy and she and her sister had to move to the Bronx to live with their paternal grandparents.  They haven’t left the Bronx since. She inherited her passion for music, dance, and her outgoing personality from her dad, who still to this day wants to go out dancing with her whenever possible. Lisa always had a love for children, and now has two of her own. Lisa believes that there’s nothing better than to become part of a group that can educate, inspire, and motivate that inner Einstein in every child. Lisa likes spending time with her family, going to the movies, dining or hanging out with her girlfriends, shopping, reading a good book, and playing Scrabble.

 

Sulay Roldan, Paraprofessional

     Sulay Roldan has been working at Bronx Academy of Letters for the six years.. She enjoys her role as our paraprofessional because she loves  working with children and feels like she learns from them everyday.  She plans to continue her  path as a social worker in the future. She is currently  attending Mercy college studying psychology.

 

David Ortiz, Technology Coordinator

     David Ortiz was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New York city  in September, 1999.  After graduating from William Howard Taft high school in 2000, he attended Bronx Community College where he earned an Associate’s degree in Computer Application and Programming. Before joining the Letters team in the fall of 2009, David worked with both East Side House Settlement and Mott Haven Village Preparatory High School as a technology manager.  He spends his free time playing baseball, basketball and dominoes.