Claudia Neary, Vice Chair

Claudia Neary is an attorney and advocate based in Westchester County, New York. Prior to being a solo practitioner, Claudia was a commercial litigation associate at Bleakley, Platt & Schmidt, LLP in White Plains, New York, and was a chair of the Diversity Committee and Board Member for the Westchester Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Claudia received her law degree from Fordham University School of Law in 2004 and her B.A. from UCLA in 2000. While at UCLA, she co-founded Mujeres Unidas, a mentoring group for 8th- grade girls. Claudia also helped develop the mentoring program for UCLA’s Early Academic Outreach Program, one of California’s most successful pre-collegiate student academic development programs working with over 19,000 middle school and high school students in the lowest-performing schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Claudia knows first-hand how valuable a good mentor can be in a child’s life. Growing up in Los Angeles, Claudia had several mentors who helped guide her through difficult times. As a college student, Claudia was mentored as part of UCLA School of Law’s pilot Law Fellows Program, meeting with law students and admissions personnel and attending workshops designed to help socio-economically disadvantaged students gain admission to and succeed in law school. Claudia has a passion for helping others, especially women and children. She was instrumental in starting the mentoring program at the Hunts Point Alliance for Children. Besides serving as a Board Member at the Hunts Point Alliance for Children, Claudia also sits on the Boards of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York, and the Bedford Hills Free Library.  She also provides pro bono legal work to those in need and volunteers her time at Bedford Hills Women’s Correctional Facility, the Bedford Historical Society, and at her children’s school, Blair Academy. Claudia is married and has five children.

Kana Nakajima, Treasurer

Kana Nakajima was born and raised in Astoria, Queens NY. 

She joined The Polk Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management in August 2006, where she is currently Group Director and the Team’s Chief of Staff. Within the team, Kana focuses on delivering Family Office services to UHNW individuals and families. Kana graduated cum laude from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College in New York City in 2007, with a major in Finance and Investments and a minor in Industrial Organizational Psychology. She currently holds the Series 7 and 66 licenses and is on the Board of Directors of Hunts Point Alliance for Children. 

She enjoys spin classes, traveling, attending live music shows, and spending quality time with her family and close friends.

Justin Starrantino

Justin is a Private Wealth Advisor within the Asset and Wealth Management Division of Goldman Sachs, where he has spent the entirety of his career. He provides investment and advisory solutions to high net-worth individuals, family offices, foundations and endowments.

Justin graduated from Baruch College with a BBA in Finance & Investments and a minor in Economics. He is the Co-Head of the GS Campus Recruiting Team for the City University of New York (CUNY), including Baruch, where he often visits campus for various speaking engagements. While at Baruch, Justin served as President of the CUNY Student Athletic Advisory Committee and Captain of the NCAA Soccer team. In his spare time Justin enjoys traveling, running, and cooking with close friends and family.

Thomas Malone

Thomas Malone has worked in the Commercial/Investment banking industry for nearly 40 years. His banking career was focused on financing the Media/Telecommunications & Technology industries.  At the outset of his career, he worked at large global firms, JPMorgan Chase and Royal Bank of Canada.  For the last 15 years, he worked at privately held Investment Banks that provide Merger & Acquisition and capital raising advisory services for firms in the Media/Communications industries. He was a senior banker at Daniels & Associates, Waller Capital and CEA Capital.  In 2017, Tom formed his own financial advisory firm, Avondale Communications to serve small/medium sized businesses in the aforementioned industries.  

Tom earned his BBA in 1975 from St. John’s University (The College of Insurance) and his MBA from The Thunderbird School of Global Management (now part of ASU) in 1980.  He was a US Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Kenya, East Africa from 1975-1978. He is married to Lynne Randall, Director of Development for The Manhattan Theatre Club. 

Jeffrey Bunzel

Jeffrey H. Bunzel is Co-Head of Deutsche Bank’s Global Equity Capital Markets group. Prior to joining DB, in 2012, he was at Credit Suisse for 18 years as the Head of Equity Capital Markets Americas and Co-Head of the Global Markets Solutions Group. From 1989 to 1992, he served as special assistant to the Under Secretary for International Affairs at the US Treasury Department. Jeff leads many of DB’s major equity transactions and works extensively with the financial sponsor community. He has led hundreds of IPOs across many different industries and countries. Mr. Bunzel received his B.A. from the University at California, Berkeley, and his Master’s Degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Brenda Daniels

Prior to joining the faculty at an independent school in NYC, Brenda spent her career advocating for students with special needs and working to provide a high-quality education to children in underserved communities. Under her leadership at Bronx Charter School for the Arts, students achieved an increase of almost 25 percentage points on the NYS ELA Exams.

Brenda received her Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies from Columbia University in 2005. She earned her MS Ed. from Brooklyn College and her Ed. M from Bank Street College of Education. Brenda is a life-long learner and proud Brooklynite (who currently resides in East Harlem). She enjoys yoga, shopping, and spending time with her daughter in her spare time.

Patricia Figueroa

Patricia is a vice president at Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), where she leads the company's Investor Relations function. Prior to AMG, Patricia was at Gladstone Place Partners where she advised companies on a wide variety of financial communications matters, including acquisitions, spin-offs, proxy contests, and crisis and issues management. Before joining Gladstone, Patricia held different roles in finance at Alcoa / Arconic including financial planning and analysis, as well as investor relations. Patricia holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, and a Master’s degree in Psychology from New York University. Patricia grew up in southern Mexico and is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

William F. Gorin

William F. Gorin is a Senior Counsel with the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York, where he practiced from 1978 to 2014 (including from 1986 to 2014 as a partner) in New York and Paris. Principal areas of his practice focused on corporate and business transactions in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, with a specialty in debt restructurings, domestic debt and equity capital markets and international finance, and corporate governance.

Mr. Gorin has extensive experience serving on and advising nonprofit boards, including on finance, accounting, and governance matters, and currently serves on nonprofit boards including Sanctuary for Families (Board President until 2019, currently Co-Chair President’s Council), the Hunts Point Alliance for Children, the Opportunity Agenda (a social justice communications lab), the Citizens Committee for Children of New York and Graham Windham.

Mr. Gorin also serves as a senior advisor and board member of CJS Beverage LLC and Pinhook Holdings LLC, a privately held manufacturer of bourbon and rye.

Ann McDonald

Ann McDonald grew up in New York City and has been a lawyer her entire working life, first at Davis Polk & Wardwell and then becoming a partner at the law firm Robinson McDonald & Canna LLP. Ms. McDonald joined the Board of The Shakespeare Society in 1997 and became its President in 2007. Also in 2007, Ms. McDonald was introduced to Maryann Hedaa, the co-founder of HPAC. Ms. McDonald and Maryann then started a partnership between HPAC and The Shakespeare Society that became known as the Hunts Point Children’s Shakespeare Ensemble. Ms. McDonald is also a member of the Legal Advisory Council for Sanctuary for Families.

Jennie Park-Taylor

Jennie Park-Taylor is an Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology at Fordham University. She is the Director of Training of the Counseling Psychology Doctoral Program and also oversees the coordination of the Master’s Program in Mental Health Counseling and the Master’s Program in School Counseling. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College, her M.A. from Columbia University Teacher’s College, and her Ph.D. from Boston College. Her research program focuses on the intersection of individual social identities and explores the ways in which contextual factors influence identity development. She has worked closely with HPAC since 2007 on several projects, research studies, and grants.

Yalitza Vasquez

Yalitza Vasquez is a dedicated education leader with over 22 years of experience advocating for equitable, rigorous, and culturally relevant education for students. She is the Deputy Superintendent of a network of high-performing charter schools in the Bronx. She has demonstrated her unwavering commitment to the success of her students and their families in various roles and settings.

Yalitza's career is marked by unique experiences and significant achievements. She has served as a Senior Executive Director for the New York City Department of Education's Division of English Language Learners and Student Support, leading initiatives that positively impacted over 150,000 English Language Learners. Her roles have included overseeing the opening of 100+ dual language programs, implementing policies for unaccompanied minors, and managing translation, interpretation, and summer enrichment programs. Yalitza has also held esteemed positions such as Educational Consultant, Vice President of Education for Trinity Education Group, and Lead National Literacy & Extended Learning Consultant for Scholastic Education and Vice President of Education of HITN. She has worked as Chief of Staff and Senior Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives for two NYC DOE chancellors and as a Special Advisor/assistant for the CEO of Urban Health Plan.

Yalitza's expertise extends to national and international platforms, where she has presented on various topics, including English Language Learners, literacy, social-emotional learning, dual language programs, immigration advocacy, school and district leadership pipeline, and family literacy.

Yalitza's commitment to education extends beyond her professional roles. As a proud Puerto Rican deeply rooted in the South Bronx community, where her family settled in the 1960s, she is dedicated to giving back. Yalitza serves on the Board of Directors for Hunts Point Alliance for Children, demonstrating her commitment to the betterment of her community.

Yalitza's educational journey is a testament to her dedication and resilience. She holds a master's degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Leadership in Schooling from the University of Massachusetts. Yalitza is a proud product of the New York City public school system and is a former English Language Learner herself, which gives her a unique perspective and understanding of the challenges students face.