PLACE NYC - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Co - Founder
• Member of the Executive Board

Amy Tse is a Co-Founder of PLACE NYC. Tse is a proud Asian American immigrant and product of NYC public schools in Brooklyn. As the parent of a first generation student in NYC public schools, Tse has served as a former PTA executive board member and is a strong advocate for equity and excellence in schools for all NYC children.

Job Titles:

• Co - Founder
• Member of the Executive Board
• President of the Executive Board

Chien Kwok is President and Co-Founder of PLACE NYC. Chien Kwok's other education advocacy experience includes being a member and Treasurer of CEC2*, current parent-elected SLT member at the Clinton School* and PS 111* and former PTA co-President at PS 111, a diverse Title I elementary school in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen. He is a first generation Asian immigrant who attended New York City public, private and parochial elementary and middle schools. He is a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School and has a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University and MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Chien is a passionate advocate for restoring equal access to gifted, accelerated & academic merit based programs in all schools. These programs served as the pathway for countless students of low income and immigrant families to excellent education and career opportunities, including thousands of Black and Hispanic students enrolling in Specialized High Schools annually for twenty consecutive years.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Executive Board
• Treasurer of the Executive Board

Craig Slutzkin is the Treasurer of PLACE NYC. Slutzkin's education advocacy experience includes being the Co-President and Treasurer of the Townsend Harris High School Alumni Association*, for which he manages the Alumni Association's endowment and has been proudly serving since 1995. Slutzkin's other advocacy experience also includes serving as the Co-President of the PS 340 PTA* and as the 2 nd Vice Chair of Manhattan Community Board 5*, chairing the Parks & Public Spaces Committee.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Executive Board
• Secretary of the Executive Board

Deborah Alexander is the Secretary of PLACE NYC and the proud mother of two children in NYC public schools. Alexander's other education advocacy experience includes being a member of the District 30 Community Education Council* for ten years (Co-President for four years). Alexander is currently enrolled in law school, with a focus on public interest and education law and has received a New York City Proclamation for Work as a Community Leader.

Job Titles:

• Advisory Council

Heidi Chan-Sarantopoulos is a native New Yorker that has attended NY Public Schools from K-12. Chan-Sarantopoulos's other education advocacy experience includes serving as currently volunteers as a board member and Treasurer for The Greek School of Plato* and as an SLT member for PS/IS 104 SLT* team. She is committed to advocating for Meritocracy in Public Schools.

Job Titles:

• Co - Vice President
• Member of the Executive Board

Jean Hahn is the Co-Vice President of PLACE NYC. Her education advocacy experience includes being the parent-elected SLT member at JHS 157 Halsey and the former parent-elected SLT member and former PA President and Vice President at PS 174 in Rego Park, Queens.

Job Titles:

• Co - Founder
• Co - Founding Member and Advisor to

John J. Keller is a co-founding member and advisor to PLACE NYC. Keller's two sons attended New York City Public schools for 13 years, graduating from high school in June 2021. Keller started his education advocacy experience by supporting increased, screened Middle School capacity in his neighborhood in 2012. He was elected to the Community Education Council for District 2 in 2013 and was re-elected to that Council for the extent of his eligibility, through 2019. Keller actively worked with City Council members to expand local Pre-K capacity by several hundred seats and was subsequently appointed to Community Board Six in Manhattan in 2017 (under former BP Gale Brewer), where he is a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Youth and Education Committee. Keller was among the leaders of the efforts in 2018 to preserve the Hecht Calandra Act, engaging frequently with NYC and NY State elected officials and speaking before their committees. Keller was also continuously engaged in the PA's and SLT's of his sons' schools, beginning with SLT's in their elementary and middle schools. He was previously elected for three years to the SLT of the Bronx High School of Science and for four years, including as First Vice President, to the Executive Board of the Parents Association of Stuyvesant High School.*

Job Titles:

• Member of the Executive Committee
• Treasurer
• Chairman of the CEC 3 Multilingual Committee
• Co - Founder and Former Co - President
• Co - Founder and Former Treasurer
• Member of His Children 's School
• Member of Several DOE

Lucas Liu is a Co-Founder and former Treasurer of PLACE NYC. Liu's education advocacy experience began as a volunteer in many different capacities for over 25 years, and is one of the many parents who came together and founded PLACE NYC. He started as a tutor for high school students at an alternative high school assisting night school students and immigrants working towards earning their GED, later becoming the tutoring program manager, and ran a free SAT prep program for low income students. As a NYC public school parent, Liu has been an active member of his children's school communities. He has led the Grants Committee that successfully raised funds to support numerous capital projects and programming initiatives, and founded the Community Relations Committee that increased parent engagement and awareness on issues affecting NYC public school education, and volunteers regularly to assist with school functions. As a member of CEC 3*, Lucas served as Treasurer, and a member of the Executive Committee. As the Chair of the CEC 3 Multilingual Committee he advocates for bilingual education in District 3 and across NYC. Lucas worked with District 3 parents to start Russian and Italian Dual Language Programs, and with the DOE to translate middle school admissions presentation materials into French for District 3 Harlem French speaking families. Lucas has organized and led District 3 dual language program awareness and recruiting initiatives, and led the production of the CEC 3 Dual Language Showcase involving 8 schools and 20 participants. He also initiated and has been an active member of several DOE dual language working groups. Lucas is a vocal advocate for quality rigorous education for all students starting in elementary school.

Job Titles:

• Public School Teacher and Advisor

Maggie Boyd Fuertado is a retired NYC public school teacher and advisor to PLACE NYC. Fuertado taught grades 7 and 8 math at Lab MS and 9th grade High School Algebra at Lab HS for 17 years. As an education advocate, she co-founded the accelerated math program at Lab MS. She also served as one of the coaches for the math team from 2003-2015. Prior to teaching in NYC, she taught middle school math and taught math in the middle school gifted program in Youngstown, OH. Maggie has NYS gifted certification.

T. Hunter Dare is former Co-Secretary of PLACE NYC and has a 7 th grade daughter in NYC public schools. Dare's other education advocacy experience includes serving as a former PTA Exec. Board member and former SLT member for MS104 and PS77. Dare has also served on the Board of Directors for multiple non-profits where he helped build a Hospital in Somalia, supported non-profit education efforts in the developing world and the US, and served on investment committees managing endowments. He has also served as CFO for an ed-tech startup and is a veteran of the MBA Enterprise Corp (a Peace Corp like organization). He has also spent many years working in Structured Derivatives and Structured Finance for Goldman Sachs and Citibank. Hunter is passionate about developing a public school system that identifies, nurtures, engages and challenges all advanced learners, particularly those from disadvantaged, ELL and special needs backgrounds who too often go unserved by accelerated education programs.

Job Titles:

• Advisor

Born and raised in East Harlem to immigrant Ecuadorian parents, PLACE NYC advisor Veronica Flores attended NYC public schools PS206M, DaVinci Prep (no longer exists) and Brooklyn Technical High School. She is a proud mom to a middle-school bound student who currently attends the Gifted and Talented Program at the Roberto Clemente School (PS15) and previously attended the dual language program at Alfred E Smith School (PS 1). In addition to Flores' day job as a Technology Auditor for one of NYC oldest financial institutions, she has served on PS15's SLT for the past 3 years. She believes the key to success is to have equal access to accelerated learning programs in all communities. She advocates for the expansion of high quality education opportunities for all students based on standards designed to achieve a student's full potential.

Job Titles:

• Co - Founder and Former Treasurer

Vito LaBella is a Co-Founder and former Treasurer of PLACE NYC. LaBella's education advocacy experience began in 2016 where he was an active participant in school government. He started as an SLT member at two schools and then later served as the former President of IS 187 PTO and former President of the D20 Presidents' Council. He is currently serving as an Executive Board* and an SLT* member of the Brooklyn Technical High School Parent's Association. LaBella is a twice elected Parent Member of the District 20 CEC. He is also a member of FAIR, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing civil rights and liberties for all Americans, and promoting a common culture based on fairness, understanding and humanity. Prior to his current advocacy, he served as a lieutenant in the NYC Police Department where he retired after a 31-year career which was primarily focused on reducing crime and disorder in the subway. In March of 2022, he decided to take his advocacy to the next level and ran as a candidate for the State Senate in South Brooklyn. His decision to run was driven by the City's failure to protect its citizens (including students) from violence and his platform is informed by the tenets of PLACE NYC and FAIR.

As an advisor to PLACE NYC, Yi Fang Chen's experience includes serving as an elected member of the NYC Community Education Council District 20 for the 2019-2021 term. Chen came to New York City as an immigrant and attended and graduated from NYC public school as an ESL Student in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. She has children currently attending elementary and preschool in District 20. She believes that everyone deserves equal opportunity in this country.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Executive Board
• Co - Vice President, Co - Founder and Founding Co - President

Yiatin Chu is the Co-Vice President, Co-Founder and founding Co-President of PLACE NYC. As an immigrant New Yorker, Chu attended and graduated from NYC public schools as an ESL student at PS116, JHS 194 and The Bronx High School of Science. Her other parent advocacy experience spans 18 years and includes volunteering at the Anderson School, Stuyvesant High School, PS340 and PS184 Shuang Wen School.