Board of Trustees

Mark is a Partner at Highland Development and has been active in real estate development and finance, in Greater Boston and other major US markets, for over 25 years. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Northeastern University’s School of Architecture. In addition to acting as Treasurer and Head of the Finance Committee for Roxbury Prep Charter School, he has served on the Board and Executive Committee for The University Club of Boston. Prior volunteer experience includes student mentorship at The Steppingstone Foundation and the Climb Against Cancer, an affiliate of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Mark received his BA in International Relations from Boston University and his MS, RED from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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 proactively collaborating with BPS and the City Councillor’s office to address the impacts of poverty and trauma that impact their students’ ability to learn so they may optimally serve all of their students. On the side, Sylvia substantively renovated and sold 3 homes and designed and built 2 others, including a “green” home in Brookline, Massachusetts where she currently lives with her husband and two children.

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

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, and been the recipient of numerous product awards for its impact 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.

Sarah is currently a Director at Wayfair, Inc. where she is the head of BirchLane.com. Sarah spent the first part of her career immersed in education and youth development, working in Boston with The Bridgespan Group, and later working for Joel Klein, then Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. After business school, Sarah joined Bain & Company as a consultant; from there, she joined Talbots, Inc. as part of their strategy, business development, and turnaround team. Prior to joining the Wayfair team, Sarah was the head of marketing at peach, a Boston-based, fashion apparel startup. She has been an active volunteer at her children’s school and has stayed connected and involved through various organizations within the education community.

Sarah received her B.A. in Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and her M.B.A. at Harvard Business School. She lives in Wellesley with her husband and two boys.

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 he has worked for, as well as with 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 has just started his third term on the Board of Roxbury Prep. He currently heads the Governance Committee.

Janet is a former attorney, having practiced for 10 years as both a defense attorney and as a prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice. Since leaving law practice 15 years ago, Janet has been an active volunteer at her children’s schools, serving as the PA President, Trustee, and the Chair of the Development Committee at the Chestnut Hill School, and as chair of the Annual Fund at Noble and Greenough. Janet also serves on the Board of Trustees of Roxbury Prep Charter School and on Boston Board of Overseers for Peer Health Exchange, and is active in several community organizations, including Horizons for Homeless Children, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Cradles to Crayons, Rosie’s Place and Facing History and Ourselves.

Janet received her B.A. in Philosophy at Yale and her J.D. at Columbia, both with honors. She lives in Brookline with her husband and three children.

Ruven is a Senior Vice President/Senior Portfolio Manager/Family Wealth Advisor for Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management 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 B.A. in Finance/Investments, Entrepreneurial Studies from Babson College. He currently resides in Wellesley Massachusetts with his wife and three daughters.

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 B.A. 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 which 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.

Sept. 25, 2019 | 4:45 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Roxbury Prep High School – Hyde Park Campus
1286 Hyde Park Ave., Hyde Park, MA 02136
Board Agenda

September 2019: Agenda | Meeting Minutes