Executive Bios
Dr.
N. Gerry House,
President and CEO
Dr. N. Gerry House has been President and CEO of the
Institute
for Student Achievement since April, 2000. Prior to joining ISA, she
spent 15 years as a superintendent for schools in Memphis, Tennessee,
and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She also has served as a teacher,
junior and senior high school guidance counselor, principal and
assistant superintendent.
Dr. House is an active leader in the education
community,
serving on numerous boards, including the Board of Directors of the
Educational Testing Service (former chair, 2002-2005), the Advisory
Committee of the Harvard Change Leadership Group; AutoZone Board of
Directors; Woodrow Wilson Foundation Board of Directors; member of
Visiting Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Board
of Trustees of Adelphi University; National Advisory Board for National
Center for the Study of Privatization in Education (NCSPE); and The New
Teacher Project Board of Directors, among others.
Dr. House has received numerous professional accolades
throughout her career. She was named National Superintendent of the
Year in 1999 by the American Association of School Administrators for
her extensive school reform efforts in the Memphis school system. Her
additional awards and recognitions include: the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Education, Alumni Leadership Award
(2000); The Harold J. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education Award (1999);
Tennessee Superintendent of the Year (1998); and The Council of the
Great City Schools’ Richard R. Green Award (1998). Dr. House was
also named twice to the Executive Educator Magazine’s listing of
Top 100 Executive Educators in Education.
Dr. House earned her doctorate in Education
Administration at
the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and she holds a
master’s degree in Counseling from Southern Illinois University.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in English Education from North
Carolina A. & T. State University and is the recipient of
Honorary
Doctor of Humanities Degrees from Rhodes College and Lemoyne Owen
College, both in Memphis, Tennessee.
Patrick
G. Halpin,
Executive Vice President for External Affairs
Patrick G. Halpin is Executive Vice President for
External
Affairs for the Institute for Student Achievement. Mr. Halpin has been
with ISA since 1994. Prior to joining the ISA team, Mr. Halpin had an
extensive career in local and state politics, which began in 1979 when
he was elected, at the age of 26, to represent the 13th District of the
Suffolk County Legislature. He won the New York State Assembly seat for
the 11th District in a special election held in 1982 and became the
first Democrat in 116 years to be elected to the Assembly in that
district. He spent three terms in office.
In 1987, Mr. Halpin was elected to the office of Suffolk
County Executive. He served in that role until 1992. While in office,
Mr. Halpin instituted the highly successful drug education program,
DARE; a comprehensive anti-domestic violence program; a nationally
recognized open space and environmental program and an extensive
homeless housing initiative. Elected at the age of 34, Mr. Halpin was
the youngest Suffolk County Executive in its history.
Mr. Halpin received a bachelor of arts degree in
Political Science and Economics from Old Dominion University.
Gena
Davis Watkins,
Vice President and Chief Development Officer
Gena Davis Watkins has been the Institute for Student
Achievement’s Vice President and Chief Development Officer since
joining the organization in March 2004. In her role, Ms. Davis Watkins
oversees all ISA fundraising activities with a focus on significantly
increasing and diversifying its financial resources to achieve maximum
growth. Ms. Davis Watkins came to ISA from the National Urban League
where, as senior vice president and chief development officer, she
oversaw all fundraising, including a $50 million endowment campaign,
raising $23 million in the first 18 months.
Ms. Davis Watkins began her career as a research
associate for
the United Way of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Other credits include
planning & development coordinator for the City of New Haven
Office
of Downtown & Harbor Development; mayoral appointee and
director of
the City of New Haven Office of Housing & Neighborhood
Development;
administrator/ development advisor for the $3.5 million historic
renovation and expansion of the Hannah Gray Home, a 140-year-old home
for elderly African-American women. Additionally, in this role Ms.
Davis Watkins had a wide involvement in community service organizations
and contributed to a number of publications on strategic planning and
implementation of community development projects and programs.
Ms. Davis Watkins holds a master’s in Education and a
bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as
certification from the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.
Adalberto
(Al) Andino,
Vice President for Strategic Partnerships
Al Andino joined the Institute for Student Achievement
in August 2007 as Vice President for Strategic Partnerships, with
expertise in leadership, sustainability and strategic execution, in
access and retention strategies affecting multicultural communities. He
provides leadership and support to the President/ CEO in developing
organizational development and strategic partnership strategy, applying
leadership to the design and implementation of partnerships and
regional networks that advance ISA’s high school transformation
mission, along with engaging all staff in innovative, continuous
improvement initiatives that support partnerships.
As Vice President for Strategy and Development at Jobs
for the Future, he was charged with providing direction and support to
the CEO/President in developing and implementing organizational and
fundraising strategies, and in engaging the entire organization in
innovative improvement performance and operations execution strategy.
Mr. Andino led the development and implementation of La
Raza’s community charter school and its Early College High School
initiative, where he built a 100-plus school network which provided
culturally- and linguistically-appropriate curricula and instruction,
professional development for administrators and teachers, and created a
comprehensive research-based evaluation and assessment agenda. He was
the founding Executive Director for the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation’s Gates Millennium Scholars Initiative, developing,
implementing and managing this billion-dollar program that increased
the number of low-income minorities enrolling in and completing
undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Anna
Maria Farnish,
Vice President of Programs
Anna Marie Farnish brings more than
commitment to education to her work
at ISA.
As Director of Making Middle Grades
work, she established a framework to help raise the academic
achievement of all middle grades students. Her responsibilities
included site-based management and strategic planning. Previously, Ms.
Farnish served as both Executive Director and Chief Academic Officer at
the Center for Leadership in Education in Elyria, Ohio, where she
focused on facilitating whole-school reform and providing professional
development opportunities.
Prior to joining the Center
for Leadership in Education, Ms. Farnish served as director of training
for the "Success for All/Roots and Wings" program at Johns Hopkins
University, designing curriculum and training materials for teachers
and administrators in more than 750 schools in the United States,
Japan, Germany and Belgium. She has taught at Johns Hopkins, San Diego,
Ashland Universities, and served as program development and
implementation specialist at the University of Pittsburgh's Learning
Research and Development Center. Ms. Farnish began her career as a
public school teacher in Pittsburgh and Newport News, Virginia.
Ms. Farnish holds an MA and
BA in elementary and special education from Duquesne University in
Pittsburgh. She has authored manuals for teachers and administrators
and has published in "The Journal of Education Psychology and Reading
Research Quarterly."
Laura
deBuys,
Director of Communications & Marketing
Prior to joining ISA as its senior marketing, PR and
communications executive, Laura deBuys was the Director of
Communications at The Salvation Army in Greater New York, where she
oversaw all external marketing, publications, video, websites and media
relations. During her tenure, she produced the Army in Greater New
York's first integrated marketing campaign as well as their "Night of
Ten Thousand Smiles," an evening at the world premiere of Ringling
Bros. and Barnum and Bailey’s Bellobration! at Madison Square Garden
for 10,000 underprivileged children and their families. She also
produced videos, speeches and publications for the Army’s first Spring
Gala, honoring President Bill Clinton, which raised over $1 million.
Prior to The Salvation Army, Ms. deBuys was the Director
of eDealer Solutions for The Cobalt Group, overseeing customized
eCommerce branding programs in the US and Canada for Lexus, Chrysler,
VW and Audi. Previous to that, Ms. deBuys was Director of Marketing for
Production Resource Group (PRG). PRG, a consortium of entertainment
technology companies, was the bridge between Ms. deBuys’ career as a
stage manager of Broadway plays and corporate events and her ultimate
career in marketing, branding and communications.
Ms. deBuys received her BA from Smith College.
Anthony
S. Hoffmann,
Director of Education Programs
Anthony S. Hoffmann joined the Institute for Student
Achievement in August 2003 in a full-time capacity, after serving as an
ISA consultant. Prior to his work with ISA, Mr. Hoffmann was the
assistant principal for administration at Middle College High School, a
creative alternative school on the campus of La Guardia Community
College in Queens, where he led efforts to develop and implement the
portfolio based, performance-based assessment system that the school
uses as an alternative method for graduating students. Mr.
Hoffmann’s career also includes 33 years with the New York City
Department of Education, in which he taught on every level from grammar
through high school.
Mr. Hoffmann was a member of the community board in
Greenwich
Village for eight years and has been very active in local politics. He
has worked extensively with elected officials and educators in their
attempts to convince the New York State Regents to allow alternatives
to high-stakes Regents exams.
Mr. Hoffmann earned a bachelor’s in business
administration and a master’s in development economics at the
University of Wisconsin. He also has master’s degrees from City
College of New York in the Child and the Individualized Curriculum, and
from the Principal’s Institute at Bank Street College, in
Supervision and Administration
Vanda
L. Simon,
Director of Finance, CPA
Vanda L. Simon, has been with the Institute for Student
Achievement since 1996. As Director of Finance, Ms. Simon has oversight
of the accounting and finance department operations. Prior to joining
the Institute, Ms. Simon worked as controller for 40 Acres and a Mule
Filmworks, where she was instrumental in creating and implementing
accounting procedures and company policies. /p>
Ms. Simon is a certified public accountant whose career
in the field dates to 1989, when she worked for the accounting firm
Mitchel l/Titus & Co., CPAs in New York City. Ms. Simon has
audited and prepared financial statement reports for many diversified
commercial and not for profit clients. Ms. Simon is a member of the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the
Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the New York State Society
of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), and the Board of Directors
of Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP).
Ms. Simon earned her bachelor’s degree from York College
of the City University of New York.
Leslie
Sussman,
Director of Grants & Compliance
Leslie Sussman comes to the Institute for Student
Achievement as the Director of Grants and Compliance with a 26 year
background in public education.
Mrs. Sussman began her career as a teacher in Brooklyn
and Queens. After teaching for 12 years, she moved into administration,
serving first as the Director of Funded Programs and later the Director
of Instruction and Professional Development for Community School
District 25 in New York City. As the Director of Funded Programs, Mrs.
Sussman designed programs and wrote competitive grant proposals for a
number of state, federal and private grants. She was also responsible
for ensuring compliance with competitive and allocative public and
private grant funds. As the Director of Instruction and Professional
Development, Mrs. Sussman created and implemented a number of
educational initiatives in the areas of job-embedded professional
development for teachers and principals, academic intervention and
support services for students, technology education, and gifted
education.
Most recently, Mrs. Sussman served as a Local
Instructional Superintendent in Region Three for the New York City
Department of Education. In this role she supervised and provided
professional development for administration and staff at 21 schools,
and also launched a number of regional initiatives, including
constructing supervisory evaluation procedures, designing and
administering school choice programs, and creating programs for
supplementary educational services and academic intervention services.
Mrs. Sussman holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French
and Education from Hunter College, a Master of Science Degree in
Education from Brooklyn College, and a Master of Science Degree in
Education Administration and Supervision from Long Island University.
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