Board of Directors
Andrew S. Adelson
Andrew S. Adelson held a series of positions at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc. He was the Chief Investment Officer of Global Value Investment Management Services, the chairman of the Global Value, Global Value Balanced and International Value Equity Investment Policy Groups of Alliance Bernstein’s Bernstein Investment Research and Management unit (“Bernstein Unit”), and a member of the U.S., Emerging Markets, Canadian, European and U.K. Value Equity Investment Policy Groups of the Bernstein Unit. He joined Bernstein in 1980, and until 1983 was a Research Analyst covering the aerospace industry. From 1983 until 1987, he was Research Director for Investment Management, and from 1987 through 1990, Managing Director of Institutional Services. Starting in 1990, he developed the international investment management services for Bernstein. Mr. Adelson is also a former member of the Board of Directors at The Hastings Center.
Mr. Adelson was named to the Institutional Investor All-America Research Team in 1982. He earned a B.S. and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1977 and 1978, respectively.
Mr. Adelson has served on our board since 2016.
Andrew S. Adelson
Retired, Chief Investment Officer, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc.
Bill Albers
Bill Albers is an expert in mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and debt restructuring. He was a previous Partner with IHP Capital Partners where they managed and invested over $1 billion of their top three investor’s money. Bill was responsible for the real estate investments and made equity investments of over $500 million. Prior to that experience, Bill served as the Chief Financial Officer for Centex Homes, and was responsible for providing the company with strategic financial direction as well as negotiating the successful completion of acquiring seven public and private companies totaling over $250 million.
During the 19 years prior to joining Centex Homes, Bill gained financial and strategic planning experience while serving as the Chief Financial Officer of Computer City and the Vice President of Business Development at Pizza Hut International where he was responsible for acquisitions, joint ventures and a capital budget of over $200 million. Prior to that, Bill was the Director of Finance and Corporate Accounting at Frito Lay, Inc. and was responsible for 170 employees in financial reporting, tax, cost accounting and processing departments.
Bill earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania; graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1978. He is currently a Member ULI and on the Residential Neighborhood Development Council. Bill is also a Policy Advisory Board Member of the Fisher Center of Real Estate and Urban Economics, UC Berkeley.
Albers has been an advisory council member since 2017 and a board member since 2019.
Bill Albers
Private Investor
Amanda Cahn
Amanda Cahn is the Managing Director at the Center for Public Research and Leadership. The mission of the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) is to revitalize public education while reinventing professional education. CPRL conducts rigorous coursework, skills training, and research and consulting projects to ready talented graduate students for challenging twenty-first-century careers enhancing the education sector’s capacity to improve the outcomes and life chances of all children.
Her prior roles include the founding COO for Public Square Partnership and Deputy Chief Portfolio Officer at the NYC Department of Education. Amanda began her career as a high school English teacher. She holds a BA from Rice University, an MA Ed in Secondary Education from the University of Phoenix, and an MBA in Social Enterprise from Columbia University. She is an alumna of Teach For America (TFA), TFA’s School Systems Leaders Fellowship, and Education Pioneers.
Cahn has been a board member since 2016.
Amanda Cahn
Managing Director at the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL)
Charles C. Cahn
Charles C. Cahn, Jr., The Cahn Fellows Program Chairman of the Board and Founder spent the preponderance of his career at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. where he was a Research Analyst, Research Director, Managing Director of Research Services and Managing Director of Fixed Income Investment Management. He was a member of Bernstein’s board of directors. After he retired from Bernstein, he was the CEO of Cahn Medical Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage life science companies, from which he has also retired. Mr. Cahn holds a B.A from Washington and Lee University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.
Cahn has served on our board since 2001.
Charles C. Cahn
Chairman of the Board and Founder
Sheila Harris
Sheila Harris is a public relations industry veteran. She has enjoyed over 25 years of success leading successful publicity campaigns for various red carpet events and initiatives for top-tiered corporate brands, as well as for community and faith-based programs. She is hailed as a strategic, engaging and results-focused leader and communicator who serves as a trusted advisor when addressing challenges and handling various public relations crises.
Sheila applies innovation and creativity in the development of highly effective communications strategies. Her strong networking and relationship building prowess allows her a consistent rapport with key industry and media contacts to drive placements and media coverage. She is also an author, speaker and Certified John Maxwell Life Coach who lends her time to encourage others at schools, organizations and churches with a message of hope and empowerment.
She received her B.A. in both Media Studies and Political Science from Fordham University and her M.A. in Public Relations from Kent State University. She also successfully completed the Crisis Communications Certificate program from the Public Relations Society of America.
Sheila Harris
Senior Manager, Public Relations & Strategic Communications, Essence Communications Inc.
Mason D. Haupt
Mason Haupt retired from a career in fixed income investment management. He began his career at Salomon Brothers, and served as co-head of the Mortgage Securities Department for seven years. He also was a partner at Five Mile Capital Partners, where he managed a liquid fixed income hedge fund. He served as portfolio manager for a Structured Credit Fund at Soros Fund Management for six years.
Mason also serves on the Overseer Board of the University of Pennsylvnia’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and as a board member of PennPraxis, also at the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
Mason earned a B.S. Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1977 and an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1980.
Mason has served on our board since 2015.
Mason D. Haupt
Retired – Soros Fund Management, Portfolio Manager of a Structured Products Fund
Kirsten Busch Johnson
Kirsten Busch Johnson is Vice President, Learning & Development at The D.E. Shaw Group and was the Founding Director of The Cahn Fellows Program (2002-2006)
Ms. Busch Johnson joined our Board in 2020.
Kirsten Busch Johnson
Vice President, Learning & Development at The D.E. Shaw Group, Cahn Fellows Founding Director 2002-06
Moses Ojeda
Moses Ojeda is the principal of Thomas A. Edison Career & Technical Education High School, one of the top-performing CTE schools in New York City.
An educator for the past 27 years. Moses is a lifelong learner who holds various Information Technology certifications. He attended Thomas A. Edison CTE High School (Edison) as a student and is a product of Career & Technical Education. Upon graduating, he enrolled in a five-year program with the NYC DOE to prepare him to become a CTE instructor. In 1998 he returned to his alma mater as a Technology instructor until 2008, when he became the department head of CTE, overseeing 13 CTE programs. In 2012, Moses became the Principal of Edison and was persistent in implementing an authentic college and career readiness experience through his vision of developing students with the academic rigor and career and technical education skills needed to become the 21st-century leaders of the future.
Moses is a 2017 Fellow and joined the Board in 2020.
Moses Ojeda
Principal, Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School, New York (Cahn Fellow 2017)
Rhonda Perry
Rhonda Perry is the principal of the Salk School of Science, a public middle school in district 2 in Manhattan. She has served as the school’s principal since 2001. The Salk School has a unique partnership with the New York University School of Medicine. Under Dr. Perry’s leadership, the school has been awarded the BlackBoard Media Award for best middle school in the city on two occasions and is considered one of the best public middle schools in the state. She is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University; Teachers College, Columbia University and Baruch School of Public Affairs.
Perry was a 2013 Fellow and has been a board member since 2017.
Ms. Busch Johnson joined our Board in 2020.
Rhonda Perry
Principal, M.S. 255 Salk School Of Science, New York (Cahn Fellow 2013)
Tara Shelton
A product of Chicago public Schools, Tara Shelton began her teaching career at Benjamin Banneker Elementary school in the Englewood neighborhood. This led her to the UIC EdD Urban Education Leadership program. The program is designed to prepare and develop principals to be able to lead school improvement at the district level. Tara began her administrative career in 2006 with a focus on teacher development.
This experience has led her to many other great opportunities: Principal of South Loop Elementary for the past 12 years, 2008 RFP approval to open South Shore Fine Arts Academy, 2012 Cahn Fellows Program in New York, 2014 CPS Principal Fellowship program, 2015, Independent School Principal Model, 2016 Golden Apple Stanley C. Golder Leadership nominee, 2019 Golden Apple Foundation Awards for Excellence in Teaching & Leadership Nominee, Principal mentor with Chicago Leadership Collaborative and serving on a variety of district level committees. Tara earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern University A&M College and a Masters in Elementary and Educational Administration from Chicago State University.
Ms. Shelton joined our Board in 2019.
Tara Shelton
Principal, South Loop Elementary School, Chicago (Cahn Fellow 2012)
Dr. Nancy Streim
Dr. Nancy Streim joined Teachers College in 2007 in the newly created position of Associate Vice President for School and Community Partnerships and Special Advisor to the Columbia University Provost. In her role as the head of the Office of School and Community Partnerships (OSCP), Dr. Streim leverages faculty and student research, teaching, and service to enrich learning and improve outcomes in New York City public schools, especially those in the local community. Major initiatives include the development of the Teachers College Community School and the Teachers College Partnership Schools network. The OSCP also provides a broad array of enrichment programs for local schools including the Reading/Math Buddies, Performing Arts Series, Harlem Schools Partnership for STEM Education, Harlem Ivy after school program, and Earth Friends.
Before coming to TC, Dr. Streim was Associate Dean for Educational Practice at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education where she and President Fuhrman developed the university-assisted school model that guides the work at TC. She holds a B.A. in Art History from Bryn Mawr College, an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from SUNY-Brockport and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Streim has served on our board since 2015.
Nancy Streim
Associate Vice President for School and Community Partnerships and Special Advisor to the Provost – Teachers College, Columbia University
Grace Suh
Grace Suh is Director, Education Programs, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs at the IBM Corporation. In her position, Grace manages IBM’s global education portfolio of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and teacher professional development programs. These programs include Teachers TryScience, MentorPlace, and Teacher Advisor, powered by IBM Watson. Grace also manages the P-TECH 9-14 School Model, beginning at Pathways in Technology Early College High School in Brooklyn, NY and now being replicated in 58 schools in the United States and Australia. Prior to IBM, Grace worked at the Children’s Defense Fund, a national child advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. where she focused primarily on child welfare policy.
In addition to the corporate and nonprofit sectors, Grace has worked on education and children’s issues in state and city governments. Grace serves on a number of education committees and boards, including the Schools That Can. She has a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.
Suh has been a board member since 2016.
Grace Suh
Director, Education Programs, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs at the IBM Corporation
Steve Sussman
Steve Sussman is the President of the Curriculum Division for Sussman Education Company, a leader in K-12 digital and print sales distribution that has served New York City schools for over 40 years. In 2011 he helped launch Lightswitch Learning, a national K-12 sales organization that has recently published several best-sellers in the parent engagement arena. For almost 20 years, Steve has collaborated with various educational leaders in New York City and beyond conducting market research to inform the design of supplemental programs that meet the demands of education policy, and evaluating thousands of educational solutions to bring the newest and best to schools across the country.
Sussman has been a board member since 2014.
Steve Sussman
President of the Curriculum Division for Sussman Education Company
Frank Trainer
Frank Trainer was chief investment officer–fixed income with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc. from 1980 to 2000, an investment analyst with Monumental Capital Management from 1975 to 1979, and a portfolio manager with USF&G from 1972 to 1975. Mr. Trainer received his MBA from Temple University and his BS in Economics from St. Joseph’s University and is a CFA. He serves on the investment committee for the Sisters of Saint Francis and as a director for Columbine Country Club in Colorado and the Cranaleith Spiritual Center in Philadelphia.
Trainer has been a board member since 2019.