JOINED 2020 - Tanya is an educator, writer and facilitator. As a teacher, Tanya earned National Board Certification and was recognized by 826 Valencia for her outstanding instruction. Currently, Tanya uses experiential learning, coaching and inquiry to support and inspire teachers, parents and leaders to examine their work through the lenses of structural inequities, intersectionality, and lived experience. At Hunter College, Tanya studies how people develop the will, capacity, skill and emotional intelligence to enact anti-racist practices. She writes for a range of audiences about ways that privilege shapes our inner and outer landscapes. An alumna of Wesleyan University and Teach for America, Tanya spent two decades in California before returning home to New York, where she lives in Brooklyn with her partner and daughter, a thriving BKI student.

Tanya Friedman

Secretary

JOINED 2021 - Marilee Fiebig Holmes is Senior Director for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Save the Children, a leading international humanitarian organization protecting children around the world.  At Save the Children, Marilee leads organizational, program and partner diversity, inclusion and culture initiatives.  Prior to this role, Marilee was Chief of Staff at Roc Nation in NY, where she was the CEO's right hand on all Roc Nation platforms and business needs and oversaw all supporting departments.  Before Roc Nation, Marilee was VP of Operations and General Counsel at Wilhelmina, where she led all legal and business efforts across the company.  Marilee also spent over a decade at large, global law firms in Atlanta and NYC as an immigration attorney.  She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School and the University of Michigan.  

Marilee Holmes

Trustee

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Kenton Kirby

Trustee

INAUGURAL TRUSTEE - Michael is a native New Yorker who attended LREI from the age of four. He later founded LREI's Alumni Association and served on its Board of Trustees for a total of 17 years over two terms, the last ten (2001-2011) as Board Chair. Michael is a lawyer (BA, Syracuse 1975; JD Hofstra, 1978) who spent eight years in public service (NYC Corporation Counsel and US Attorney's Office, SDNY) and 36 in private practice, most recently as a senior partner at Fragomen Worldwide, from which he retired in 2016. Michael is also the President of ISCA (Independent Schools Chairpersons Association). He and his also-retired wife, Carol Sedwick (a proud member of BKI's Advisory Board), live on the Upper West Side; their son works at the Tenement Museum as Director of Events & Donor Engagement.

Michael Patrick

Chair

INAUGURAL TRUSTEE - Jevon is an independent filmmaker, born and raised in New York City. As a producer, director and editor, he works predominantly in non-fiction television, producing content for major networks and news outlets including NBC, Discovery, PBS and CNN. He also produces promotional and educational material for leading nonprofits in NYC, including National Resources Defense Council and Studio in a School. Jevon earned a BA in Comparative Literature from Brown University. He now lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two sons (BKI Classes of 2031 and 2034).

Jevon Roush

Vice Chair

JOINED 2020 - Denise is an Educational Consultant with SOLVED Consulting, where she works with literacy teachers to improve the academic achievement of their students.  Denise has 25 years of experience as a classroom teacher and coach.  She is driven by her belief that all students can learn, want to succeed and deserve teachers who can support them to excel.  She believes it is the job of educators to tap into each student’s interests, strengths, personality and cultural identities to ensure their success.  Denise is a proud parent of a Brooklyn Independent student and a graduate of Hampton University with a B.S. in Accounting and earned her teaching credential at San Francisco State University.

Denise Savoy

Trustee

Dan Schwartz

Trustee

JOINED 2020 - Dan is a Partner with Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, an immigration law firm with 550+ lawyers and 4,300+ employees globally. He focuses in immigration and nationality law and provides guidance and strategic advice on all types of U.S. immigration matters for employers and high net worth individuals.  This includes corporate, investor, and family immigration law, representing large and small corporate clients within a variety of industries, including academic institutions, finance, technology, sports, fashion, and the arts. He also focuses on the representation of employers during government investigations related to immigration compliance. He graduated from Fordham University in 2003 with a degree in Political Economy, and earned his JD from St. John's in 2006.

Lifan Shen

Treasurer

INAUGURAL TRUSTEE - Lifan is a wealth management advisor at Merrill Lynch where he advises high-net-worth families, businesses, and non-profit institutions. Prior to Merrill, he was at Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he managed the personal investments for the firm’s most senior partners. Immigrating to the US and arriving in New York City at the age of one, Lifan passionately supports educational programs for low-income immigrants. He is a Pipeline Member at charity:water and also supports the Chinese-American Planning Council where he was previously a volunteer teaching English and workforce development courses to recent immigrants. Lifan earned an AB In Economics at Dartmouth College and an MBA in Finance and Accounting at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.