Jemina Bernard

Jemina R. Bernard, a Yale University and Columbia Business School graduate, brings over twenty years of education leadership experience shaped by earlier careers in global business consulting at Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers and community development work with the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. She has held executive roles across a range of impactful organizations, including Executive Director of Student Leadership Network, CEO of ROADS Charter High Schools — where she launched two NYC schools serving over 400 vulnerable students — and multiple senior leadership positions at Teach For America, culminating in her role as President & COO; she also served the NYC Department of Education under Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein as Executive Director of Parent & Community Engagement and COO of the Office of New Schools. Rooted in her upbringing in the South Bronx and her identity as an African-American and Puerto Rican woman, Jemina is a passionate advocate for equity, social justice, and the transformative power of education as a driver of economic mobility, and she continues to champion access, mentor emerging women-of-color leaders, and promote wellness and sustainable leadership as cornerstones of lasting organizational impact.