Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani appointed 13 members to the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) ahead of the panel’s inaugural 2026-27 meeting on Wednesday, July 29.
The new slate includes both returning and newly appointed members from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences who share a commitment to strengthening New York City’s public schools and ensuring every student has access to a rigorous, welcoming and safe education.
“Public schools belong to New Yorkers, and the families, students and educators who make them what they are deserve a real voice in the decisions that shape them,” said Mayor Mamdani. “The Panel for Educational Policy has a vital responsibility to help guide our school system with transparency and accountability. I am grateful to these members for stepping up to serve our city and for bringing the experience and commitment our students deserve.”
“The Panel for Educational Policy is a critical partner in ensuring that the voices of families and communities are heard and reflected in the decisions that shape our schools,” said Chancellor Samuels. “Meaningful collaboration with the Panel strengthens transparency, accountability and our shared commitment to putting children first. I look forward to working alongside our new members in service of every child and the future of public education."
Appointees
Karla Cordero serves as Chief of Staff at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, where she guides the organization's strategic direction and organizational change initiatives. Before joining WE ACT, she spent 12 years in New York City government, developing policies and programs serving underserved communities across social services, sustainability and economic development.
Her work included establishing an emergency food reserve program during the COVID-19 pandemic that delivered more than 18 million meals to New Yorkers, overseeing contracts providing client-centered services to more than 50,000 residents and spearheading major sustainability and resiliency projects.
A native New Yorker, Cordero earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Fordham University and a master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College's Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.
Tariq Khan works in budget and finance for the MTA. He has spent more than 29 years at MTA New York City Transit, serving in roles including budget analysis manager, maintenance program manager, principal transportation planner, computer specialist and associate staff analyst.
Khan earned an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Benin in Nigeria. He has been a Queens resident for 38 years and spent that time actively engaging school communities and their parent leadership.
Mehrain Mahdi is an education advocate and parent leader who served on the School Leadership Team (SLT) at a District 2 school, where she established an after-school Spanish program. She is also the founder of Little Leaping Leaders, a leadership and enrichment program for young girls.
Mahdi earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and has more than 20 years of experience leading strategic initiatives and digital transformation efforts, most recently in the health care industry.
She lives in Manhattan with her husband and children.
Alan Ong is a longtime parent and community leader in Queens. He previously served as a PTA president before joining the Community Education Council (CEC) District 26, where he later served as president. Ong has held numerous leadership positions while advocating on education, civic and community issues.
Amy Fair is a community advocate and educational leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education administration. She serves as director of strategic initiatives and special projects at NYU Steinhardt, where she oversees operational planning, cross-functional initiatives, emergency preparedness and institutional projects.
Fair has served as a Bronx Borough President appointee to CEC District 11, the District 11 Neighborhood Advisory Board, a previous mayoral appointee to the Panel for Educational Policy and in several community leadership roles supporting students, families and schools. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and a master’s degree in professional writing from New York University, as well as an associate degree in business management from Trinity College.
Courtney Rajwani is a managing consultant at The Lewin Group. She previously served as executive director for policy development and support in the New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) Division of Early Childhood Education during the de Blasio administration. Rajwani began her career at an educational nonprofit in Jackson Heights, Queens.
She earned an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University. She has two children enrolled in NYCPS.
Crystal Vera-Montalvo has served as director of community educational engagement at the College of Staten Island (CSI) since 2018. She oversees CUNY continuing education English as a Second Language and GED programs, along with lifelong learning programs for older adults and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
She previously spent more than a decade working in education and the nonprofit sector. Vera-Montalvo is the parent of a NYCPS student and serves on the boards of Nonprofit Staten Island, La Colmena, and Segunda Quimbamba. She is pursuing a doctorate in community-based leadership at CSI and earned both her bachelor’s degree in government and politics and her master’s degree in global development and social justice from St. John’s University.
Marjorie Dienstag is a mother of three whose children have attended both public and private schools in New York City, including a current student in a District 75 school.
A graduate of New York University, Dienstag has served for the past decade as president of the Charles Street Block Association. She also led advocacy efforts to build a middle school serving the West Village that includes District 75 programming and has supported her local Community Board. She immigrated to New York City from Haiti as a child.
Lucas Koehler is chief financial officer at the Foundation for City College, where he oversees financial management for a $500 million endowment. He previously played a key role in expanding New York City’s early childhood education system and worked at the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget and as a seventh-grade math teacher in the Bronx.
He lives in the Bronx with his wife and three sons.
Primo Lasana is chief impact officer at the Forum for Youth Investment. He previously served as executive director of Reading Partners and director of new site development at iMentor.
Lasana also serves as chair of the Finance and Development Committee of the Kings County Hospital Community Advisory Board and previously served as first vice chair of Brooklyn Community Board 9. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Hunter College and a master’s degree in public administration from NYU Wagner.
Kristin Jefferson is a senior education consultant at Teaching Matters and founder of KJ-Ed Solutions LLC. She previously served as academic director and network multilingual learner coordinator at Explore Charter Schools and as director of recruitment in the New York City Department of Education’s Office of New Schools.
Jefferson earned bachelor's degrees in sociology and Latin American studies from Rice University, a master’s degree in bilingual and bicultural education from Columbia University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Brooklyn College.
Dr. Maddy Fox is an associate professor of Children and Youth Studies and Sociology at Brooklyn College. She is also a faculty member in urban education and critical psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and a founding researcher with the Public Science Project.
A parent of two NYCPS students, Fox is an organizer, union member and participatory action researcher whose work focuses on partnering with young people and communities to shape public policy. She facilitated the District 15 participatory action research project, which centered community leadership in the school rezoning process.
Fox earned her doctorate in critical social-personality psychology from the CUNY Graduate Center.
Raysa Rodriguez is the executive director of Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC) of New York, a role she assumed in 2025. A lifelong child advocate, she has spent more than two decades advancing equity in education, housing, child welfare and economic justice.
Rodriguez previously served as chief program and policy officer at FPWA, vice president of policy and planning at WIN and associate vice president for education at United Way of New York City. Earlier in her career, she served as senior advisor on children’s issues in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
A graduate of New York City’s public schools, Rodriguez was born and raised in the Bronx and began her career as a kindergarten teacher. She earned a bachelor’s degree in human development from Cornell University and a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University, where she also serves as an adjunct professor. She lives in Queens with her husband and two children.
