Board of Directors
Gary Cohen
Board Chair
Gary Cohen is a third generation Washington, DC real estate developer. He specializes in “boutique” residential development in areas such as Capitol Hill, Logan Circle, Shaw, Petworth, Adams Morgan, Mt Vernon, and Palisades. He has been in the industry for 15 years. Prior to entering the real estate profession Gary received a Masters in Elementary Education at Pace University in New York City and taught 5th grade at PS 1 in Lower Manhattan. Gary also served on the Board of KIPP DC from 2005-2007 where he helped oversee the renovation of their second facility in Anacostia. Gary is also involved in Stoddert Soccer where he is a youth coach. He is married with two boys and lives in Chevy Chase, MD.
Eneida P. Alcalde
Board Secretary
Eneida Alcalde, a first-generation immigrant, is the Executive Director of Educación Para Nuestro Futuro (formerly Escuela Bolivia) a nonprofit dedicated to empowering underserved Latino families through education and leadership development. In her role, Eneida leads a staff of more than 25 full and part-time employees and volunteers to achieve the organization’s mission through its family focused programs that reach more than 400 Latino families each year from the Greater DC region. An advocate of civil rights and an equal access to education, Eneida has dedicated herself to ensuring that Latinos excel in school; develop English skills while maintaining their Spanish fluency; are prepared to be community leaders; and are fully supported in their pursuit of a higher education. In addition to leading Educación Para Nuestro Futuro, she contributes to the success of a number of other organizations: as a board member of the Dream Project and The Next Step Public Charter School, and as a member of the Women’s Information Network, the Chilean-American Foundation, and The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC. Eneida received her undergraduate degrees in International Politics and Spanish at Penn State University and during her free time enjoys writing, playing tennis, and attending shows at the Kennedy Center.
Dr. Lynne Long
After more than 30 years in urban public education, Lynne Long, is the President and CEO of LongView Associates, a consulting firm specializing in the design, development and deployment of programs that promote rigorous and relevant content, strategies, and organizational supports for those in the teaching and learning environment. During her career, in the District of Columbia Public Schools, Dr. Long embraced formidable challenges in her quest to ensure high quality teaching and learning and instructional leadership. Beginning her career as a teacher, Dr. Long steadily rose to positions of increasing responsibility serving as: Assistant Principal at M.L. King ES, Principal of Brent Museum Magnet School, Assistant Superintendent of Division II, Acting Chief Academic Officer and retired as Assistant Superintendent of the Office of Professional Development and Leadership. She has a BA in Spanish Education-Morgan State University, MA-Elementary Education-Catholic University and an Ed.D.-Administration and Curriculum from George Washington University.
Aleta Margolis
Aleta Margolis is founder and executive director of Center for Inspired Teaching, a 15 year old Washington, DC-based organization that invests in teachers from recruitment to retirement to ensure schools make the most of children’s innate desire to learn. A third generation Washingtonian, Aleta has taught elementary and middle school in Chicago area public schools, has been a professor of education at American University, and has created and run alternative education programs for DC high school students in the juvenile justice system. Aleta is a Fellow with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, in recognition of Center for Inspired Teaching’s work to transform the way teachers teach and students learn. She works with Ashoka U to create curricula in social entrepreneurship for universities across the country. Aleta serves as a mentor with the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington’s Future Executive Directors Program and the Brown University Women’s Leadership Program, and serves as a board member for several DC-based nonprofit organizations. Aleta is a frequent speaker on issues of education reform, motivation, effective teaching, and engagement in the classroom and the workplace.
Michael Reed
Board Treasurer
Michael Reed is a partner as DLA Piper, a leading international law firm that provides a wide array of legal services. Michael concentrates his practice on corporate governance, public and private mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance transactions, complex structured finance transactions, private investment fund transactions, joint venture and strategic alliance transactions, and securities regulation. He represents publicly and privately held companies and private equity firms, with an emphasis on financial institutions and diversified companies. Michael advises and represents boards of directors on a variety matters, including strategic transactions, corporate governance issues, and legal issues and fiduciary duties in the context of strategic transactions and corporate governance. Michael is joined by his colleagues at DLA Piper, Lisa Dewey and Randi MacDonald, to provide pro bono legal counsel on all legal matters related to the charter school including governance, organizational management, real estate, and human resources.
Paula Young Shelton
Paula Young Shelton is an Early Childhood Educator with nearly 20 years experience teaching and the author of the children’s book, Child of the Civil Rights Movement. A graduate of Duke University, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. She began her teaching career in Gulu, Uganda under the auspices of Habitat for Humanity. This inspired her to pursue a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College in New York. Since that time, Paula has committed herself to enriching the lives of young children through a multicultural, interactive, child-centered approach to education which she has applied to teaching in a rural village in East Africa, the public housing projects of Atlanta, the elite neighborhoods of New York City and the culturally diverse communities of Washington, DC. Currently, Paula is a first grade teacher at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC where she lives with her husband, Hilary O. Shelton and their three amazing sons, Caleb, Joshua and Noah.
Laurie Wingate
Laurie has been committed to social justice throughout her life, both in the political and educational spheres. She served on Hillary Clinton’s National Finance Staff as Director of the National Lawyers Committee for the duration of Clinton’s presidential campaign and then moved the organization over to the Obama campaign – raising over $5 million.
Her involvement with education began in 1992 when she joined Teach for America –teaching elementary school in Oakland, California. She stayed at her public school in Oakland for an additional four years during which time she received her teaching credential, joined a UC Berkeley/Stanford research team, and was a guest lecturer at the Stanford School of Education. In 1998 she moved to Washington DC where, in partnership with the Smithsonian, she won a Department of Education grant to form a Museum Magnet School in DCPS. Additionally, she spent two years in Moscow, Russia teaching at Moscow State University and worked with the New Teacher Project – selecting and supporting new teachers. Laurie received her BA from Dartmouth College and her teaching credential from UC Berkeley.
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