Board of Trustees

Nov. 21, 2019 | 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Roxbury Prep – Mission Hill Campus
120 Fisher Avenue, Roxbury, MA 02120
Board Agenda

Jan. 30, 2020 | 5:15 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Roxbury Prep High School – Upper Campus
5 Maywood Street, Roxbury, MA 02119
Board Agenda

Mar. 26, 2020 | 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Remote Meeting via Zoom
Board Agenda

Jun. 25, 2020 | 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Remote Meeting via Zoom
Board Agenda

Renee was most recently President of Curriculum Associates, an education technology company. During her tenure, the company grew from 100 to 700+ people, increasing revenues from $30M to over $200M, while establishing a user base of over 6M students. Curriculum Associates has been cited multiple times by Boston Business Journal and Boston Globe as a top place to work. It has also been the recipient of numerous product awards for its impact in developing programs to close student achievement gaps in districts across the company. After helping guide the company to a successful sale in November 2018, she has been taking time to focus on family and volunteer work.

Previously, Renee was Director at The American Museum of Natural History, where she built new business operations that increased funding for one of the top natural history museums in the world. Renee also served as Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company and early in her career was one of the youngest-ever Plant Managers for Shell Oil.

A 2016 Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow, Renee is a trustee for the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, serves on the board of Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, and has worked in consulting and volunteer roles across several education-related nonprofits. Renee has been recognized among the Top 100 Influential Ed Tech leaders, Boston Woman of Influence, and is passionate about creating tools to drive performance gains for all learners, particularly those with learning challenges and in under-resourced communities.

Renee graduated from Rice University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and earned an MBA from Stanford University.

Sylvia is a former management consultant with McKinsey and Company’s London office. She became interested in education issues 15 years ago, when, due to personal experience in her family, she worked to develop effective protocols for dyslexia and went on to help others facing similar issues. At Brookline’s Runkle School, she joined the PA leadership and fundraising teams. At the British School of Boston, she chaired the PA committee and led Julie’s Fund, a $30,000/year fundraising event for the Epiphany School of Dorchester. At Noble and Greenough, she volunteers on the PA and at Achieve, an academic support program serving under-resourced middle school students from Boston, where she is also on the Board. She is also on the Board of Trustees of Roxbury Prep Charter School and on the Board of Overseers at the Epiphany School, Dorchester. She is currently working with the Grove Hall Alliance, a principal-led coalition of 5 Pre-K-12 schools, where she proactively collaborates with BPS and the City Councillor’s office to address the impacts of poverty and trauma on their students’ ability to learn, so schools can optimally serve all of their students. On the side, Sylvia substantively renovated and sold three homes and designed and built two others, including a “green” home in Brookline, Massachusetts, where she currently lives with her husband and two children.

Sylvia received a BS in administration at Cornell University and an MBA at Harvard, both with honors, and was a Robert Bosch Fellow in Berlin, Germany.

Francisco is the CFO and co-founder of PlaceMe, Inc., a co-living solutions start-up based in Boston, MA. As a start-up co-founder, he wears all the hats possible in the company. Prior to joining PlaceMe, Francisco was part of the CVS Health Corporate Development team, where he analyzed potential acquisition targets. Before CVS, he was at Wellington Management as a Fair Value Analyst analyzing privately-held investments. Francisco also worked at EY as a Senior Associate with the Valuation and Business Modeling team.

Throughout his career, Francisco has been involved in diversity and inclusion efforts within the corporations for which he has worked as well as at non-for-profit organizations in the Boston area. He was member of the ALPFA Boston Executive Board, and Vice President of Student Affairs of the ALPFA Boston Chapter.

Francisco holds an MBA in Finance from Brandeis University, an MA in Economics from Boston University, and a BS in Economics and Business from ESPOL in his native Ecuador. He lives in Needham, MA with his wife Zoya, their kids Nina and Tim, and their dog Chewbacca.

Richard is a fourth-generation Californian who migrated to Massachusetts in 1973 to attend Boston College Law School–and never left. His interest in Boston’s public schools was initially stimulated in 1976 by a year clerking for Arthur Garrity, the federal judge who ordered the desegregation of Boston’s public schools. This interest was rekindled in 2009 when he attended a Prep for Success dinner. Richard is currently serving his third term on the Board of Roxbury Prep.

Jeff is a former banker/investment banker and wealth management executive who spent 37 years working in Boston and New York City with a number of firms, including Goldman Sachs, Citibank, First Boston Corporation, and Windhaven Investment Mgt. He also served, or serves, on a number of Boards, including Westin Auto Parts, the Colgate Alumni Corporation, the PKT Corp. and ATO Foundation, Weston Golf Club, and the Wayland Commons HOA.

Jeff has always been passionate about education and mentoring college-graduate students regarding the admissions process along with career guidance. Jeff is also a competitive runner participating in four Boston and NYC marathons, raising funds to fight cancer and leukemia.

Jeff received a BA in Biology from Colgate University, and earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He lives in Wayland, MA with his wife, and has three children, and two grandchildren.

Stanley is a native Bostonian and Founder and Managing Partner at Fruition Consulting. He draws upon his career as a Portfolio Manager and Corporate Banker at BMO Capital Market, RT Capital, and Bank of America to help organizations effectively manage risk and quantify their impact. Additionally, he has served in a leadership capacity at several community-based organizations.

Stanley was the former Governance Chairman for the Museum of African American History, and former Vice President of the Greater Boston Morehouse College Alumni Association. He also served on the EdVestors School on the Move Host Committee and Seed Fund Panel, and is a former coach for Junior Achievement of New England’s Business Academy. Currently, Stanley serves as a board member for the Yawkey Boys & Girls Club.

Stanley received his BA in Business Management from Morehouse College, and an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Ruven is a Senior Vice President for Morgan Stanley in Boston and has been since 2008. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Ruven spent 14 years at Bear Stearns Inc. as a Managing Director/Principal in the private client services division, serving the needs of Ultra High Net Worth Families and Institutional clients.

Ruven has served on the Board of Trustees of Roxbury Prep Charter School since 2018, and most recently accepted the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Roxbury Prep Charter School.  Ruven also serves on the Finance, Academic & Leadership, Governance and Development committees. Ruven shares an affinity for education and is passionate about providing opportunities for children of all needs to prepare for and graduate from institutions of higher learning.

Ruven received his BA in Finance/Investments, Entrepreneurial Studies from Babson College. He currently resides in Wellesley Massachusetts with his wife and three daughters.

Dianyvet graduated from Roxbury Prep, Mission Hill in 2007. At this time, she began tutoring students at multiple campuses. She continued to expand her interest in philanthropy and worked at the Women’s Lunch Place, a women’s daytime shelter in the Back Bay. In 2012, Dianyvet moved to Philadelphia to complete a year of service with City Year, where she worked in an 8th grade math classroom and was the community engagement coordinator on her team. It was then that her work with English language learners motivated her to create change for education. Dianyvet has a service-oriented mindset, with a passion for everyone to feel heard, represented, and loved. A key driver for her is Ubuntu — the South African proverb meaning “I am because you are.” She is passionate about being a part of the change and breaking the stereotypes of a below-middle-class Latino growing up in Jamaica Plain.

Dianyvet holds a BA in Philosophy from U-Mass. Boston, and is currently a Fine Arts Teacher at the Academy of the Pacific Rim. She is also currently a fellow for Latinos for Education, Aspiring Leaders where she hopes to continue to fight for equal education for all. She lives in Chinatown with her partner, Clara, and dog, Pluto.

Drew is currently a Director of Business Development at Mellon Capital Management, focused on institutional investors in the eastern third of the United States. Prior to joining Mellon Capital Management in 2016, he served in similar positions for 16 years at Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo, and for 7 years at John Hancock Advisors. Drew worked as an investment banker for 10 years in New York and Boston after earning his MBA at the University of Virginia in 1983. He also earned a BA in Economics from Trinity College. He is currently an advisor to LandSake Farm in Weston, MA, a volunteer for Community Servings in Dorchester, MA and a former Scout Master with the Boy Scouts of America. He is a long-standing appointed member of the working group that is investigating opportunities to the properly revive the Josiah Smith Tavern in Weston.

Drew has two adult sons and lives with his wife in Weston, MA.

Ayanna Woodhouse is a Human Resources Operations Manger at Rogerson Communities. As a certified HR professional, it is Ayanna’s passion to make an impact on people’s lives by making the place they spend most of their time, work, enjoyable and fulfilling.

Although born and raised in Roxbury, MA, Ayanna attended Lexington Public Schools through the METCO program. She furthered her education by receiving her Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). Ayanna then went on to graduate summa cum laude from Cambridge College with her Master’s in Business Administration. Ayanna is passionate about learning and education and hopes to pursue a doctorate degree in the future.

In her spare time, Ayanna is a motivational speaker and mentor to at-risk young women. Utilizing her personal experiences, she encourages young women to strive for greater than what is expected based on their environment and upbringing. Ayanna is in the process of writing a book that details her experiences, challenges, and successes. She is hopeful that by sharing her story, other minority inner city youth will be inspired.

Through all of her achievements, Ayanna’s inspiration and reason to succeed has been her son, Jason. Jason attends Uncommon School’s Roxbury Prep Charter School in Dorchester (RPDC). It was important for Ayanna to enroll Jason in a school within the community that could offer him a college focused education while simultaneously using the curriculum to address real life issues that Jason faces as an African American male growing up in the inner-city; Roxbury Prep accomplishes that and much more. Ayanna’s experience with Roxbury Prep has been nothing short of an amazing partnership. By coming together to educate, motivate, and develop Jason into the best individual he can be, there is no doubt that Jason will soar to unseen heights. As a single parent, Ayanna has depended on Roxbury Prep to assist her in raising Jason to be a well-rounded successful young man; RPDC has exceeded her expectations!