About Internationals:
Team

Claire E. Sylvan, Ed.D.

Executive Director and Founder

Claire leads Internationals' development of the organization's strategy, core values, partnerships, leadership training and fundraising efforts. Prior to founding Internationals, Claire raised funds for and developed various innovative programs for diverse populations of new learners of English in the New York City public schools. Claire joined The International High School at LaGuardia in 1991. After working in Brooklyn as a bilingual educator at the middle school level for eleven years, she facilitated the International Schools Partnership, the early network of International High Schools. Additionally, she coordinated the groundbreaking Early College program. Claire has taught undergraduate and graduate courses for educators at City University of New York and published various articles on language development programs. Claire graduated from Brooklyn College and Teachers College at Columbia University and is a trained school district administrator. She is fluent and literate in Spanish.

Daria Witt

Director of Academic Affairs

Daria Witt is responsible for the areas of curriculum and instruction, professional development, assessment, and other academic services for the Internationals network. Daria has been a Humanities and English as a Second Language teacher at the Brooklyn International High School for four years and a teacher for six. She was also one of the coordinators of the Brooklyn International High School internship program and a member of the Steering Committee and Professional Development Committee. Prior to teaching, Daria worked as a research associate at Stanford University for Professor Kenji Hakuta and for the Stanford Center for the Study on Race and Ethnicity on a variety of research, policy, and advocacy projects related to the educational needs of language and racial minority students. Before working at Stanford, Daria worked for several years as a Citizenship and Community Activism Project Coordinator for the New York Immigration Coalition, a non-profit advocacy organization for immigrants. She received her BA in Social Anthropology from Harvard University and an MA in Education from Stanford University where she focused on Language, Literacy, and Policy. She is fluent in Spanish and French and conversant in Italian and Portuguese.

Sharon Lungrin

Director of Business and Operations

As Director of Business and Operations, Sharon is responsible for developing, maintaining and expanding all business, financial and operational systems necessary to support Internationals' mission. Prior to joining Internationals, Sharon participated in a Finance Rotation program at Whirlpool Corporation in Corporate Accounting and Finance and in Sales Finance supporting the Lowe's distribution channel. Sharon has also worked for several not for profit organizations including Columbia University, the International Women's Health Coalition and the Women's Environment and Development Organization. In addition, Sharon spent two years working as an English as a second language instructor in Venezuela. She received her BA in International Studies from Vassar College and an MBA from the University of Southern California. Sharon is fluent and literate in Spanish.

Camille Rodriguez

Director of New School Development

Camille Rodriguez is Director of New School Development for Internationals. As the Director of New School Development, Camille is responsible for managing all aspects of the school start-up process for the growing network, both in New York City and nationally. Prior to joining Internationals, she has served as an advisor to nonprofit organizations in the New York City area. Camille worked as the Chief of Staff/Director of the Executive Office, National Association of Social Workers, from 1997-2002. She was instrumental in the redesign of the Research and Education Fund, resulting in the creation of the NASW Foundation. Prior to this, Ms. Rodriguez worked as Research Director and Interim Executive Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at the City University of New York (C.U.N.Y.) At C.U.N.Y., she conducted research related to minorities in higher education institutions and strengthened linkages between the university and minority communities in the United States and the Caribbean. Camille's career included founding grassroots organizations as well as making relevant more established institutions. She is an advocate of equality of opportunity, the critical role of nonprofits in strengthening vulnerable communities, and a proponent of research linked to policy debates. Camille has served on national, state and local committees on educational issues and has co-authored a number of articles on minorities and education. Camille Rodriguez earned a B.S. degree in Education from Mills College of Education and an M.S. degree in Educational Administration from Bank Street College of Education.

Jessica Lee

Academic Affairs Associate

Jessica completed her Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. During her year at Harvard, Jessica had several internships that involved data collection and analysis, project management, event planning, and institutional research. Prior to her studies at Harvard, Jessica was a Teach For America elementary school teacher and later a teacher mentor in Paterson, New Jersey for 3 years. Jessica completed her undergraduate degree in American Studies and Sociology at Rutgers University. Jessica is a native of Korea and fluent in both Korean and English.

Janine Martyr

Associate, Operations and Finance

As Associate, Operations and Finance, Janine is responsible for supporting and in some cases spearheading the development, maintenance and expansion of the business, financial and operational systems necessary to support Internationals’ mission. Janine earned her Masters in Education (Special Studies with a focus on International Education Policy) from Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) in June, 2006. There, in addition to other committee work, she founded and co-chaired CRIOLE, a student group that worked to highlight education in the Caribbean and provide a forum for its discussion. In the summer prior to joining Internationals, she volunteered as a teaching fellow in an international education seminar at HGSE and then spent 6 weeks in China teaching English in a University of Hong Kong/Harvard-affiliated program. This was an extension of the volunteer work she conducted while in undergraduate study, most of which involved student mentoring. She received her BSc from City University, London in Actuarial Science.

Josette Zeno

Executive Assistant

Josette provides administrative and logistical support to the Executive Director and Internationals Network for Public Schools team for program activities and special projects. Josette also coordinates meetings and school visits to the International High Schools. She is a Hispanic Scholarship Fund recipient, and in 2003 earned the title of Grand Slam semifinalist at the legendary Nuyorican Poets Café, which opened doors for Josette as a performance poet for colleges, universities and high schools. For the most part, she was educated in the Spanish language. Like many of the International students’ experiences, she struggled with being away from her family, and experiencing twice the effect of a language barrier by first transitioning from English to Spanish and again from Spanish to English when she first moved back to New York City. Josette has been an English teacher for the New York City public schools as well as a teaching artist for Martin de Porres High School - a charter school for special education on Long Island. She earned a BA in Creative Writing from Hunter College and a MS in Special and General Education from Touro College. She strongly believes in education as a scaffold for your dreams and Art as a tool for growth and inspiration.

Internationals Network for Public Schools: 50 Broadway, Suite 2200, New York, NY 10004: email