Nicole Butler recently served as Vice President of Advocacy and Collaboration for the Newark Charter School Fund. In that role, she steered the charter community in establishing important city educational reform initiatives, including the implementation of the One Newark universal enrollment system and the adopting of the Compact for Newark’s Students. Nicole earned her B.A. degree in psychology from Elizabethtown College and her M.A. from New York University.
Kecia Daniels is the Personnel Director for the City of Newark, the largest city in the state of New Jersey. Prior to her current position, she served as General Counsel/Risk Manager for Liberty Health. She has a BS in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a JD from Seton Hall University School of Law.
Harold Fullilove is a judge currently serving on the Intensive Supervision Program Re-sentencing Panel. He served previously as the Presiding Judge of the Essex County Criminal Division, Municipal Court Judge for the City of Orange, and Chair of the New Jersey Supreme Court Standing Committee on Minority Concerns. He has also practiced law as a partner for Fullilove and Bland.
Elaine Hughes (Board Vice President) is currently a Partner at Lowenstein Sandler, a national law firm with offices in New York, Palo Alto, and Roseland, NJ. Ms. Hughes focuses her practice on private equity, venture capital and hedge fund formation, compliance and investment. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Boston College Law School.
Katherine Liu is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Viacom International Media Networks. She is responsible for building brands with a common strategic vision across 200-plus countries. She has also worked in Corporate Development at News Corp. and began her career at Merrill Lynch. Katherine holds a MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Georgetown University.
Ellen Lumpkin Brown is currently the founder and Chief Executive Officer of a new online venture, The Doll Loft (www.thedollloft.com), a doll and fashion lover’s community. Previously, Ellen served as Chief Operating Officer of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a Newark-based urban research and advocacy organization.
Warren Tranquada (Board President) is currently Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ. Previously he was partner and co-founder of Aperio, a leading social sector consultancy. Warren has an MBA from Harvard Business School (with distinction) and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University (with great distinction).
Anuja Vejalla is currently the Chief Operating Officer for the Emerging Markets Latin American Desk, at Barclays. She manages daily operations covering foreign exchange, rates and credit products. Anuja has an MBA from the Yale School of Management, a Masters in Computer Science from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Engineering from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India.
Lillian Whitaker is the Principal of Parker Elementary School in Hackensack, NJ, the “School with Tomorrow in Sight.” It is one of the top performing schools in the state, where on the NJ ASK 100% of 3rd graders scored proficient or above on the English Language Arts section and 95% scored proficient or above on math. She is an active member in the community and Music Director for Bethany Baptist Church.
Vera Wynn serves as parent representative on the board. Her son, Nicolas, is in fifth grade. She previously was Assistant Manager at a local Kumon Learning Center and a medical secretary.