Leadership

marina cofield | chief executive officer

Cofield has had an expansive career as an educator and leader beginning as a Teach for America Corps member in the Mississippi Delta in 1994, leading a high-performing KIPP charter middle school in metro Atlanta as the founding principal, overseeing a network of schools, including in East Harlem, for the NYC Public Schools (NYCPS), heading the Office of Leadership at NYCPS and serving as Chief Operating Officer of ExpandED Schools in New York City.  Cofield’s work has consistently demonstrated the commitment to academic excellence and antiracism that are core to EHTP.  

ingrid sotelo | chief operating officer

Ingrid D. Sotelo was born and raised in East Harlem. She attended the Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem. She is a first-generation college student who graduated from Marymount Manhattan College with a major in Sociology and minor in Hispanic Studies. She obtained her Master’s in Public Administration from the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Baruch College. She has over 10 years of experience in public affairs, government, and community relations. Her keen interest in government led her to serve in public service for State Senator Jose M. Serrano, Manhattan Borough President’s Office, NYC Comptroller’s Office, and NYC Census 2020. She served as Outreach and Operations Director at Union Settlement and her recent accomplishments include creating a food pantry program, COVID-19 vaccine outreach, Rank the Vote NYC and the Excluded Workers Fund.

Ingrid was recognized by City and State in 2015 as one of the city’s top 40 rising stars. She currently serves on the board of the Mexican Coalition, a non-profit in the South Bronx working to support and advocate for families in need. She most recently was appointed to the Metropolitan Hospital Community Advisory Board by the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. Her career path has led her to build teams from the ground up to connect and provide vital resources to communities that have been marginalized for years.

NYASHA MANIGAULT | Chief Finance & Human Resources Officer

Nyasha Manigault is an accomplished finance executive with proven experience in directing all aspects of business and fiscal operations. Nyasha spent several years working in the financial services industry, specifically in strategic and budgetary planning, analysis and forecasting, project and program management, risk oversight and investment optimization.  

Nyasha has leveraged her fiscal, strategic and operations experience and knowledge as the Chief Finance and Human Resources Officer at East Harlem Tutorial Program. She is very much committed to the families, students and community of East Harlem. 

Nyasha has a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics from Harvard University. She currently resides on Long Island with her husband.  Her passions away from work include reading, traveling and mentoring students.

MARTIN PALAMORE | Chief Schools Officer

Martin Palamore is deeply committed to the East Harlem community, having been a resident for more than ten years. Throughout his career, Martin has held several positions crucial to the success and direction of the institutions he was serving, including Managing Director of Schools, Principal, Dean, and Teacher-Leader.

Palamore is motivated by the success of students from diverse backgrounds. Throughout his career as an educator, he has contributed to expanding a high school, enhanced instructional programs for various schools, and played a pivotal role in the turnaround of a struggling charter school in the Bronx. Martin graduated from DePaul University, where he majored in Secondary Education and earned a master's in Teacher Leadership. He also completed the Relay National Principal Academy Fellowship.

Max has been working in education since 2007. After majoring in Cinema and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, he taught middle school in rural Louisiana. In his five years in Louisiana, he served as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and consultant to the Louisiana Department of Education, and graduated from Teachers College’s Summer Principals Academy with an M.A. in Education Leadership. After graduation, Max moved to New York and ran recruitment and admissions at the Summer Principals Academy before returning to K-12 education as Director of Operations for an elementary school in Brooklyn, where he managed family engagement, operations, finance, and enrollment.

In addition to managing operations across our network of schools, Max works with his wife, founder and director of Cat Castle NYC, to help make pet adoption and companionship accessible to families and individuals across racial and socio-economic lines.

ana Morrón | Managing Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

Ana has worked in education for over a decade and as a researcher, she analyzed data on childcare facilities during the pandemic for the National Institute for Early Education Research. More recently, as an administrator, she was the Director of Data and Assessments at Evergreen Charter School, where she focused on data analysis, state accountability, and compliance monitoring. As the new Managing Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment here at East Harlem Scholars Academies, she believes it is important to use data and theory to inform educational policies and practices. Ana is driven by the belief in quality education as an instrument for social change and liberation.

Ana Morrón is the proud daughter of working-class immigrants from Colombia and was raised in Queens. She holds an undergraduate degree from Williams College, a Master’s in Religious Studies from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Education from Rutgers University. Her dissertation focuses on improving higher education access and employment opportunities for immigrant youth. She is particularly interested in how ideologies and discourses are shaped by structural relations of power, such as race, class, culture, and gender.

VERONIKA HERRERA MOJICA | Senior Director, East Harlem Teaching Residency

Veronika Herrera Mojica joined the East Harlem Tutorial Program in 2016 and is the Senior Director of the East Harlem Teaching Residency. EHTR’s approach reimagines traditional teacher training and recruitment strategies by creating a more inclusive educational landscape. This work is done by intentionally recruiting, selecting and developing BIPOC teaching residents. Since it’s founding, EHTR has been committed to developing teaching residents using high leverage teaching techniques that are grounded in anti-racist practices. 

While at EHTR Veronika has successfully coached and developed each cohort of residents and has designed, launched and scaled both the elementary and secondary teacher training programs. In her most current role at EHTR, Veronika leads the vision and strategic planning for the program and manages the residency team and both cohorts of teaching residents across all 5 of the network’s schools. 

Prior to her tenure at EHTR and before transitioning into education, Veronika served in various capacities at community based non-profits in her hometown of Los Angeles, CA. She began her teaching career in Liberty City, Florida in 2003 and spent over a decade as a school based educator and administrator both in Florida and New York. Veronika holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in both Ethnic & Women’s Studies and Education. When Veronika isn’t leading EHTR you can find her listening to a podcast while running or chasing after one (or all) of her kiddos. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and three beautiful children.

HALEY HEMWALL | Senior Director of Inclusive Learning and Equity

Haley Hemwall has been with the Academies since 2013, starting as a Kindergarten Special Education teacher at Scholars Elementary. Her passion for inclusive learning and operations brought her out of the classroom to serve as the Student Support Services Manager, the Director of Operations, and most recently as the Dean of Inclusive Learning. Haley is thrilled to join the Network Leadership Team as part of the organization’s expanding commitment to antiracist inclusive education.

Originally from Philadelphia, Haley moved to New York City to pursue her undergraduate degree in Urban Studies at The New School for Liberal Arts. Before transitioning to education Haley worked as a surgical videographer at Columbia University and coordinated youth conferences at the United Nations. She later earned her masters degree in Early Childhood General and Special Education at Hunter College. Haley taught PreK - 2nd grade in the Bronx before joining Scholars Academy. She now lives right here in East Harlem with her family and her toddler’s new pet fish.

BRANDON SWABY | PRINCIPAL, EAST HARLEM SCHOLARS ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL

Brandon Swaby, originally from the Bronx, New York, has been advocating for the educational equity of sociocultural and linguistically diverse students in the Bronx, Harlem, central New Jersey, and central Delaware for over a decade. A graduate of the William Paterson University of New Jersey and Relay Graduate School of Education, Brandon has acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching. Believing that the liberation of young people and the liberation of ourselves are bound together, Brandon seeks to build bridges and engage our community in meaningful thought with the support of a rigorous love. He has served our students as a Substitute Teacher, Teaching Fellow, Lead History Teacher, Grade Level Chair, Mentor Teacher, Leadership Coach, Dean of School Culture and Instruction, Director of Learning and Culture Systems, and Assistant Principal. In his commitment to the soul work we have been called to do Brandon maintains his work-life balance by eating healthy and lifting heavy.

Tiffany Thomas | PRINCIPAL, EAST HARLEM SCHOLARS ACADEMY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Tiffany Thomas is a native New Yorker born and raised in The Bronx. She began her career in education with the New York City Department of Education in 2006. Tiffany earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Childhood Education and English Language Arts. She earned a Master of Science degree in Literacy Education. Tiffany has been at East Harlem Scholars Academy since 2015. She has served as a classroom teacher, Dean of Instruction, Assistant Principal, and now Principal. Tiffany enjoys spending quality time with her husband and four children, dining at soul food restaurants, listening to 90s R&B music, traveling, and shopping.

Jessenia Roman | PRINCIPAL, EAST HARLEM SCHOLARS ACADEMY II Elementary & MIDDLE SCHOOL

Jessenia Roman is a native of Bluepoint, Long Island who has been at East Harlem Scholars Academy since 2009. She has served as a Director of School Culture and Family Engagement and now Principal (Scholars Academy II Middle School). 

Jessenia has been working in education since 2003. Prior to joining the Scholars Academy Network, Jessenia worked as a Physical Education Teacher, Dean of Students, and Director of School Culture at Explore Network in Brooklyn, NY.

Jessenia earned a Bachelor’s of Physical Education and Sport Sciences from Hofstra University. She also has a Masters of Educational Leadership from Columbia University. In her downtime Jessenia loves to play softball, watch football, cook and listen to Salsa music.