Leadership

After coming to The Equity Project (TEP) in 2009 as one of the school’s founding teachers, Casey is now the Head of School for K-8 across TEP’s three campuses. Casey served as a leader of TEP’s middle school campus for over ten years, acting as Assistant Principal and then Middle School Director while also teaching Math. He spent the first decade of his teaching career at Community School 211 in the Bronx, New York, where he was initially placed by Teach for America in 1997. Casey assumed the Head of School role at TEP in 2021 and is proud to serve in this role his 16th year at TEP and his 28th year in education.

Aaron Villela joined TEP in 2018 as Director of Talent Acquisition, partnering with leaders in the organization’s expansion to a three-campus school, to ultimately serve 1080 students (grades K through 8). Aaron’s journey at TEP continued, serving as Director of Talent and then as Chief People and Services Officer. He now serves as Chief Executive Officer.

Before TEP, Aaron brought over a decade of experience leading national operations specializing in the provision of pediatric therapy and educational services for children (ages birth through 21 years) and leading a global team with talent operations in nine countries. Aaron is a Queens (NYC) native, son to immigrant parents from Guatemala, who is committed to advocacy for immigrant families and the advancement of equitable services for historically underserved communities. Aaron is married and has three daughters.

Anatea Carpenter joined the TEP community in 2013 as an 8th grade ELA teacher with a background in Special Education. For the next eight years, she taught grades 6-8 while also contributing to the school as a literacy specialist, track coach, and member of the Racial Equity Leadership Team. In 2021, she assumed the role of Co-Assistant Director at TEP’s Elementary School before returning to the Middle School the following year as the campus Director. Anatea maintains a strong passion for literacy instruction and guiding students with unique learning styles to reach their highest potential. As of now, she has taught reading and writing to students in grades 4-8 and continues to guide teachers to achieve impactful student outcomes in their classes.

Andres Esguerra joined TEP’s social work department in the fall of 2012 where he met his first cohort of students. Since then, Andres has worked with a total of three cohorts, offering advocacy, support, and mental health services throughout their duration at TEP. Andres is also a member of TEP’s senior leadership team, serving as the Assistant Director of TEP’s middle school campus since 2016. Prior to serving the TEP community, Andres oversaw residential programming for psychiatrically-involved youth in the Coney Island and Flatbush residences of Brooklyn, New York, after having directed programming for children and families within the Hell’s Kitchen community in midtown Manhattan. Andres is first generation Colombian-American with over 2 decades of proudly serving the children and families of New York City.

Aisatou Toure's journey in education began at a young age when she assumed the role of a teacher for her immigrant parents from West Africa, Senegal, and Gambia. Her early passion for teaching led her to pursue an undergraduate degree at Binghamton University, followed by a Master's Degree in Childhood Special and General Education. Aisatou served students in the Bronx for three years at a charter school before joining the TEP community in 2017. At TEP, she taught grades 1-3 and held various leadership roles. In 2022, Aisatou joined the Senior Leadership team and currently serves as one of the Assistant Directors at the Elementary Campus.

Sadae Green-Diaz, is a dedicated educator with a strong commitment to educational equity. Sadae’s dedication to improving education reflects her belief in the transformative power of high-quality learning experiences. Sadae served as an Elementary teacher for five years at TEP, before stepping into to the role of Assistant Director for the Elementary School, and she is deeply committed to both the academic and personal development of students. Sadae, originally from Yonkers, NY, earned her undergraduate degree from Syracuse University and continued her studies at the Relay Graduate School of Education.

Stella Ma started at TEP in 2017 as a first grade teacher and then served as a leader of TEP Early Childhood from 2021-2023. Since becoming Director of Early Childhood in 2023, Stella continues to teach, keeping her in touch with classroom learning while satiating her joy for teaching. Prior to TEP, she taught at KIPP AMP Elementary in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where she was placed by Teach for America in 2013. Prior to a career in education, Stella worked to support the rights of immigrant and traditionally underrepresented groups in New York City.

Xzavier Jackson is a native of Syracuse, New York. Xzavier moved to New York City after graduating from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a degree in Education. After college, Xzavier started his career in education at The Children's Storefront before beginning his experience as a lead teacher at KIPP Academy Elementary, where he taught Kindergarten and first grade for 4 years. In 2016, Xzavier became a founding teacher for TEP Early Childhood, where he has taught a total of three years of Kindergarten and three years of first grade, before becoming the Assistant Director of TEP Early Childhood. Xzavier is also the proud father of two current TEP students and future TEP graduates.

Monica Sarmiento joined TEP in 2010 and served as a grade level social worker for three cohorts of middle school students. In 2022, Monica stepped into the role of Director of Social Work and Family Engagement to provide clinical supervision, coaching, and oversight to the K-8 Social Work Department. In her role, she is also responsible for spearheading the school’s work with advancing culturally responsive family engagement practices across all grades. Before TEP, Monica spent over decade of her clinical career working with children, adolescents, and their families impacted by foster care and substance misuse. She also led OMH funded school-based mental health programming in schools in Harlem and the South Bronx while completing her post graduate family therapy training at Ackerman Institute for the Family. Monica is a Bronx (NYC) native, daughter to immigrant parents from Ecuador, and deeply committed to securing emotional health services for students and families from historically underserved communities. Monica is a also a proud mother of an amazing young lady.

Sean Juan serves as a Portfolio Manager at Point72 Asset Management, a private family office based in Stamford, CT. Mr. Juan specializes in the energy sector and manages a team of research analysts. Originally from Texas, he studied finance at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to moving to New York in 2011, he worked at Goldman Sachs and Carlson Capital in Texas. He brings deep financial knowledge to the Board. Prior to joining TEP, Juan has been involved in the community through mentorship roles and various volunteer events through his company.

Laura Tavormina served as Deputy Director of the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing (www.wsfssh.org) from 1990 to 2020.  WSFSSH, a leading supportive housing provider located in New York City, was organized in 1977 and since then has built close to 2,500 units of housing in Manhattan and the Bronx. Over her 30-year tenure at WSFSSH, Ms. Tavormina was responsible for agency-wide financial matters including financial reporting and audits, budgeting, cash management, tax reporting and government contracts; she held primary operations oversight for the areas of property management, asset management and information technology; and she was a key member of the development team responsible for creating new real estate projects for the agency.  She retired from WSFSSH in 2020.

Jennifer Mulhern serves as Vice President, Mission Implementation at the College Board, a not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity.  The Mission Implementation team works to connect students and educators with digital access tools and college planning resources.  In this role, she manages the College Board National Recognition Programs as well as the strategic partnerships with access and scholarship organizations across the country, all with the goal of propelling students forward to college. A native New Yorker, Jennifer was born and raised in Brooklyn and experienced first-hand the transformative impact of a great education.  She looks forward to helping more students access a great education through TEP.  She holds a MA from Harvard University and a BA from Haverford College.

Brooks S. Clark is a native New Yorker raised on the upper east side of Manhattan.  He was educated at The Browning School in New York, and graduated from the College of William and Mary and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Mr. Clark is an attorney specializing in real estate finance in the Financial Services Department of Polsinelli Shughart (www.polsinelli.com), a 650 attorney law firm with offices in sixteen cities.  Mr. Clark’s practice focuses on advising foreign and domestic banks, private equity funds and investment banks on all aspects of real estate finance.  He also advises corporate clients on the real estate aspects of large corporate and M&A transactions.  He has presented and written extensively on corporate real estate matters.

Mr. Clark is active in his local community.  Mr. Clark has been a long term active parishioner of St. James' Church on 71st and Madison Avenue. Outside of New York, Mr. Clark has served as a Board Member of the Mountain Top Arboretum, an arboretum and conservancy group based in the Northern Catskills.

Andrew Buher is the Executive Director of Dialog, an organization that builds participatory forums that gathers global leaders from across industries and ideologies to discuss pressing issues and find opportunities for collaboration. Immediately prior, he served as a White House Fellow at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Until 2014, Andrew was the Chief Operating Officer of the New York City Department of Education under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an organization with a $25 billion annual operating budget and a workforce of 135,000 employees.  He began his career in education promoting college access for low-income, first-generation students. He earned an MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and his BA from Rider University. He is a French American Young Leader and has been a White House Fellow, Education Pioneer Fellow, Fellow at the Center for the Presidency and member of the Forbes 30 under 30. He and his wife live in Manasquan, New Jersey with their Labradors, Lincoln and Jackson.

Anyeli Matos (An-Je-Li) is a proud Afro-Dominican, born and raised in the Dominican Republic. Her experiences as an immigrant and first-generation graduate drive her passion for education reform. Most recently, Anyeli led the charter schools office at the New York City Department of Education. She is a product of New York City public schools, graduated from Binghamton University with a degree in Sociology and economics, recently completed an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and she is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) at HGSE.