Cristina Garcia-Coleman, Interim CEO & Managing Director of Finance and Operations
Cristina Garcia Coleman joined Public Prep staff full time after a summer internship as an Education Pioneer Fellow between her first and second year of business school. During that summer she helped conceptualize the growth plan for Girls Prep. Throughout her young career, Cristina has been committed to education. Prior to business school, Cristina worked for The After-School Corporation (TASC), a nonprofit that funds after-school programs in NYC public schools. At TASC, Cristina was the Special Assistant to the President and a Policy Analyst. Prior to that Cristina worked for SCORE! Learning Inc as an Assistant Director. Cristina received her MBA from Columbia Business School and BA from Stanford University.
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Tiffany Liston, Managing Director of Strategy and Development
After seven years as a litigation associate at Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP, Tiffany put her skills and experience in the not-for-profit community to work as Public Prep's new Managing Director of Strategy and Development. Tiffany leads Public Prep's strategic planning, external relations and development initiative. Tiffany has been committed to working with underserved New Yorkers throughout her professional career. Prior to working at Simpson Thacher, Tiffany worked in the development department at MFY Legal Services, Inc., a not-for-profit organization providing free legal services to underprivileged New Yorkers. During her tenure at Simpson Thacher, as part of her pro bono practice, she provided counsel to low-income communities, partnering with several not-for-profits such as inMotion, RAINN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network) and Harlem Legal Services, amongst others. Tiffany is currently on the Board of Directors of VIP Community Services, received her JD from the Georgetown School of Law and her BA from Harvard University.
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Nichole Ladopoulos, Director of Special Education
Nichole Ladopoulos first became interested in teaching while volunteering as an art instructor in Detroit’s public schools. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Graphic Design, she moved to New York to join the New York City Teaching Fellows.
For three years Nichole taught in a Bronx public school where she worked in a variety of classroom settings, ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. Nichole’s favorite thing about Girls Prep is the individual attention that we are able to give to each student.
Though she grew up in Michigan and Austria, she’s happy to now call New York City her home. When she’s not at Girls Prep, she likes to eat, read and travel to new places. She loves learning new languages and hates forgetting them.
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Alexandra Steele, Director of Operations
Alexandra Steele is the Director of Operations at Public Prep. Alex is deeply passionate about education reform and compelled to help provide every student she serves with an equal education opportunity regardless of socioeconomic background.
Prior to joining Public Prep, Alex was an Education Pioneers Fellow in New York City the summer between her first and second years of business school. In this position, she worked with Harlem Village Academies where she managed the successful expansion and relocation of two schools. Prior to graduate school, Alex worked in New York City's art world, where she helped launch and grow Artist Pension Trust (APT), a barter-based investment program providing financial planning solutions to artists. Alex is passionate about finding, developing and implementing creative ways to help underserved communities and is dedicated to raising standards in today's diverse and dynamic urban education landscape.
Alex received a MBA and MA in K-12 Educational Studies from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a BA from Columbia University in New York City. In her spare time, Alex likes running, visiting museums, and spending time with her gorgeous niece.
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Stacey Coburn, Associate Director of Recruitment
Stacey graduated from Ithaca College with a BA in Journalism with minors in English and Spanish. Following graduation, she taught fourth grade for two years in Phoenix, Arizona as a Teach for America corps member. While in Arizona, Stacey also founded an afterschool arts club at her middle school and served as an arts mentor for adolescent girls in a group home. Stacey moved back to New York in 2008 and interned for the arts section at The Villager newspaper before joining Public Prep. She also teaches test prep on Saturdays at Community Partnership Charter School in Brooklyn, where her twin sister — another educator — teaches full-time.
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Lisa Marie Patti, MS, CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist
Lisa M. Patti began her career working with students and families in underserved communities of New York City advocating for student services, working with families to assure they understand the services entitled to them and providing speech and language services and assessments to the pediatric population.
In her most recent role, she is working as a member of Public Prep providing speech and language support to the students and teachers of Girls Prep Charter School. Her role consists of provision of services and collaboration with a dynamic team of educators in three schools. The schools support the communities of New York City's Lower East Side and South Bronx areas. She is extremely hands on in her work with students and advocates for a progressive speech and language model for school aged children based on work within in their curriculum.
Lisa M. Patti holds a master's degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She holds a bachelor's degree in Paralegal studies/business from Saint John's University in Queens, New York. She holds a certificate of clinical competence from the American Speech Language and Hearing Association and certified by the State of New York. She also holds a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Celta).
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