MEET THE TEAM

Nick was born in England and moved to the US when he was very young. He grew up in a small town in Connecticut not far from New York City. Nick earned his degree at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, graduating with a BS in Finance. Nick has previously worked in a variety of different roles including Finance, Retail, Customer Service and Landscaping. Outside of work he enjoys skiing, soccer, cooking, and travel. Nick has a passion for work that brings meaningful change to people and always tries to contribute as much as he can.

Deandra Anjahlee is a Brooklynite with Caribbean roots. The themes of life skills, personal wellness, and advocacy are the common threads in her career.  At the core of those themes are the relationships she builds and nurtures with students, families, and communities. She believes education is a vehicle to social justice and can combat the many systemic inequities faced by marginalized populations. Before her years in education, and workforce development, she studied Psychology at Medgar Evers College CUNY, spending time wearing many hats including crisis counselor, custom closet designer, and activity specialist for elderly populations.

Fern is a HEAF Board Member and Dean Emerita of Bank Street College’s Division of Continuing Education. As Interim Executive Director, Fern works closely with HEAF’s program team and the staff broadly to continue to drive innovative solutions for HEAF students that bridge education and opportunity gaps, and open doors to college, careers and success. At Bank Street College, Fern developed and supervised a wide range of continuing education programs including: a college access program for students who are at risk of dropping out of school; a Head Start program and other family support and education programs; and programs focused on school reform. Prior to Bank Street College, Fern spent nearly two decades at LaGuardia Community College, where she was the Associate Dean for the Division of Adult and Continuing Education. Many of the programs she has developed, including a program providing access to education for deaf adults, have been replicated throughout the city, and state.

Christabel is Director of College Quest.

Emily is Program Coordinator for our Harlem programs.

In her extensive career, Michelle taught thousands of college students the art of
public speaking, accent reduction, writing, and literature. Informally, she served as a mentor, advisor, and advocate for many of her students and helped them access support services/ opportunities on campus and in the workplace.

Michelle’s work with high school students from underserved and underperforming target schools in Harlem has been the highlight of her career because of her unwavering belief that equity and access to educational opportunities is a transforming force, levels the playing field, and serves as a conduit for generational change.

In her role as a senior instructor and academic coordinator, Michelle helped
hundreds of students build strong scholastic foundations through individualized assessments, and rigorous curriculum so that they were aptly armed for collegiate work. Additionally, she collaborated with the program staff to support and build a variety of pre-college opportunities such as providing standardized test preparation, workshop series on selecting colleges, financial aid, college information sessions, college tours and summer college residential experiences and career service for students.

Michelle holds a B.A. in Journalism and an M.A. in Language and Literacy. She is
currently working on a MSEd in higher education administration.

Steve is a Youth Development Facilitator at HEAF.