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Board Bios

LCCS Board of Trustees

Founding Members - Founding Members are individuals the Board believes 

exemplify the school founders' mission and spirit. 

[email protected]


Angela Bennett Glock, Board President. 

Angela Bennett-Glock and her husband Neal have lived in Jersey City since 2005 and love raising their two boys in this community. From Los Angeles, Angela was raised by a special education teacher and developed a passion for advocating for all types of thinkers and students at a young age. 


Angela has worked for education organizations for the last 15 years and is currently, the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for a philanthropy-funded, not-for-profit that is dedicated to helping teachers and coaches improve their instructional practices and integrate literacy skills across all disciplines. Angela also serves as a Board member for Jersey City Soccer Association, the largest youth sports program in Jersey City.

 
Term expires 4/2024


Parent Members - Members are parents/legal guardians (of pupils enrolled in the school at the time of appointment) who have been elected by the parent/guardian(s) to serve as voting Trustees.

Kate Gratto, Board Trustee 

Kate Gratto and her husband, Chris, have lived in Jersey City since 2011 and have two children enrolled at LCCS.  Kate has worked for Prudential since 2000 and is currently a Vice-President, in Human Resources, Planning & Governance.  Her professional background includes leading large diverse (global and multi-lingual) teams, extensive program and project management, and overseeing human resources operations & service delivery. Most recently, she led a multi-year global cloud technology implementation, impacting 20,000 employees in 15 countries.

Kate brings prior Board leadership experience, having served on the Board of Trustees for the Boys & Girls Club of Newark for nearly a decade.  She earned a Bachelor's of Arts from Drew University, and a Master's in Business Administration from Rutgers University.

Term expires: 4/2025

Gaspar Cabrera 

I've lived in the West Side neighborhood since 2017 with my wife Katrina and our son Maximo, who is in first grade at LCCS. We feel very fortunate to be a part of this community, and I view serving on the school board as a way to contribute in a meaningful way that I hope could benefit both the school and neighborhood.

I immigrated to the US from Honduras, and grew up in New Jersey. I earned my Bachelor's Degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia, and have worked as an engineer focusing on sustainability and energy efficiency since 2004, most recently as an Associate Director of Commissioning & Field Testing at consulting firm Code Green. I've worked on site-specific and city-wide sustainability and energy programs that include the improvement of new and existing schools and community facilities, and have first hand experience with the process of updating aging buildings to be more energy efficient. Outside of work, I'm a coach for the Jersey City Soccer Association, and am active in local Jersey City community meetings and initiatives.


Term expires: 4/2025

Cathy Agle 

As a first generation immigrant who grew up in the California public school system, I feel very strongly about bettering the public school experience for kids of all backgrounds. I am especially passionate about providing equal opportunities and motivation for children.

My husband is Russell Agle and we have 2 children at LCCS . Miles is in 8th grade and Molly is in 6th grade. We have lived in Jersey City for 15 years and been at LCCS 4 years. The kids were previously at Hamilton Park Montessori & Stevens. I am a Managing Director at Bank of America and heads the Northeast Interest Rate Derivatives and Foreign Exchange sales team. I was previously at Citigroup for 13 year and was a consultant for 5 years at Accenture. I have a a BS & MS in Computer Science from UCLA and an MBA from Wharton Business School. I immigrated from Taiwan when I was 11 year old to San Francisco Bay Area. I am a fluent mandarin speaker.


Term expires: 4/2025 

Jaclyn Moore 

My partner, Frederick Trelfa and I are active and committed members of the Jersey City "Family" and we have been living and growing our family in Jersey City for the last 10 years. We are the proud parents of two LCCS students. 

As the Executive Director of New York City’s Office of Civil Justice, I manage over 150 contracts with experienced legal service organizations, with an annual budget of over 200 million in City, State and Federal funding. One of the keystones of our civil legal services initiatives is the first in the nation’s right-to-counsel program in NYC Housing Court. Our success hinges on our ability to work in lockstep with our partners – legal services organizations, court administration, advocates, city council and partnering City agencies - understanding roles, aligning missions, good faith negotiations, responsive policies, efficient administration, commitment to the mission and being exceptional stewards of tax payer resources are principles I can offer as a LCCS Board of Trustee member.

Starting with my childhood education, I have had the good fortune of being part of journeys that extended beyond me, all of which contributed to who I am today, and drive my commitment to help my community. Having worked for New York City’s Department of Social Services for the past 15 years, I have had the opportunity to serve a greater community at work, and now I appreciate the opportunity to serve my community at home.

Term expires: 4/2025 

Nikhil Puri, Board Trustee

Nikhil has been a resident of Jersey City for over fifteen years, and lives with his wife Ramya and two children, Neal and Tara. He is a Principal at Cambridge Systematics, a two-hundred and fifty employee firm providing transportation policy, planning, and analytics consulting services to the public and private sectors. His focus at Cambridge Systematics has been on building and managing a business practice for the New York metropolitan region, while leading consulting engagements around the country. He provides decision makers with data driven insights and tools that help inform decisions on transportation infrastructure prioritization, directly impacting peoples’ lives.  Nikhil serves on a task force of a research committee that shapes national transportation policy and is a part of a leadership advisory team that is responsible for the strategic restructuring at his firm. He has a Master's degree from Penn State University, School of Civil Engineering, with an emphasis on Transportation Planning & Modeling.

Term expires 6/2025

Marisa Gerke, Board Trustee 

Marisa has been a resident of Hudson County for more than half her life, and lives in Jersey City with her husband, Tom and daughter, Camille.

Marisa’s background is in educational administration and has mostly worked in communities with diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. As Director of Operations, Marisa worked for a non-profit organization serving primarily income eligible individuals and families of Hudson County for several years. Currently, Marisa is employed with the New York City Department of Education, as Program Evaluator for the Division of Early Childhood. The focus of Marisa’s work has been and continues to be, helping individuals thrive and succeed.

As a board member, Marisa welcomes the opportunity to support LCCS in its mission to help students become engaged global citizens.

Term expires 6/2026


Bertram C. Okpokwasili has three children who attend LCCS. His law practice focuses on small businesses, business formation, trademarks and copyrights, contract issues, and criminal defense matters. He is a former adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School and currently is a baseball coach in the Roberto Clemente Little League and a football coach Jersey City Flag Football league. He is a graduate of Tufts University and Rutgers School of Law.

 

He has served on the boards of the Rutgers Newark Law School Alumni Association, and the Solo and Small Firm Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. He is also a former trustee of the Jersey City Board of Education, where he supported policies to advance student achievement, increase high school graduation rates, and celebrate the hard-working teachers in Jersey City.

Term expires 4/2024


Paula Mahayosnand, Board Trustee


Paula and her husband, Adam Stein, are parents to two LCCS students. They have been married for 12 years and Jersey City residents for just as long. Always active at LCCS, Paula was a PTO representative for PreK and Kindergarten, and also enjoyed volunteering for Ms. Jaffrey's musical productions. The family serves as stewards for the neighborhood's Little Free Library, which was gifted through the organization's Impact Fund.

Paula is currently a Vice President for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation at Exchange Place and has spent the past 22 years in the financial services industry, including working at JP Morgan Chase in retail banking, investments, and IT systems. At SMBC she currently manages the Japanese Research Institute's Quality Assurance group in information technologies. She earned her BA from Marymount College of Fordham University with a dual major in English literature and Journalism and has a certificate in Advance Systems Managing Production, which focuses on organizational operation and capacity control from AMS. 

Term expires 5/2026


Community Members - Members/residents of the "surrounding school community" appointed by the Board to serve as voting Trustees.


Colin Dunn, Board Treasurer 

Colin Dunn was Vice President Finance and Corporate Secretary of Bel Fuse Inc., a worldwide electronics components manufacturer located in Jersey City since 1949. He has worked with Bel in Jersey City from 1991-2017. Colin started his international career at Weyerhauser Company in 1972 as a Management Accountant. During the first six years of his career at Weyerhauser, he held financial management positions in the Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Colin received an MBA from Yale University, School of Management, in 1980 and received his Accounting Certificate from the Gordon Institute of Technology, Deakin University Australia in 1969. He is a CPA and Fellow of the Australian Society of Accountants.

Term expires 4/2026

Elizabeth Cain 

Elizabeth Cain has spent her career specializing in solution based approaches for community building, economic development, and branding areas based on their existing assets. With over a decade of experience, Elizabeth specializes in urban development, events, marketing, and placemaking. As the Executive Director of the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District, Elizabeth spearheaded the Newark Avenue Pedestrian Plaza, restaurant row and Groove on Grove.

During her time as the Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs for Jersey City; Elizabeth planned and executed the Art & Studio Tour as well as the Jersey City Freedom & Fireworks Festival that was attended by more than 150,000 people. Cain has also been a local small business owner for the last 8 years. She and her husband have grown Hazel Baby & Kids and Hound About Town to 3 locations, servicing the region with curated selections for pet owners and parents. Elizabeth knows what truly drives change and action in our community-- and it’s not mastering the marketing flavor of the week. It is connecting with the local people you are trying to help and communicating your understanding back to them.

Term expires 4/2025

Neil Abadie has led non-profit, For­tune 100, and start-up e-commerce businesses for more than a decade. An expertise in information technol­ogy, operations, and business de­velopment, has enabled him to implement efficient processes throughout his leadership roles among world-class financial institutions. In 2005, Mr. Abadie was the youngest technology employee, at 19, to join Lehman Brothers as a software engineer. Later working for Barclay’s Capital and Goldman Sachs, he led various technology initiatives that were critical to business operations. Senior management were reliant on his ability to provide stable, accurate, and innovative technology solutions. In Neil’s community, he holds multiple leadership roles including Hudson Pride Center, New Jersey's largest LGBT center and Safe Streets JC, whose focus is creating safer streets for pedestrians in Jersey City. Currently, Neil is Chief Technology Officer for SafeBus, Inc., a software start-up focused on safe and efficient transportation of students to and from school nationwide. 

Term expires 4/2026


Teacher Member
- The teacher members are full-time teaching staff of the school, elected by the full-time faculty and approved by the Board.


Mike Brown

 
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