IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Trustees appoint Ramón Javier as next Head of School. Click here to read more.
The GJA community is led by an esteemed and committed Board of Trustees and Head of School Ramón Javier.
Our Leadership
The GJA community is led by an esteemed and committed Board of Trustees and Head of School Ramón Javier.
Ramón brings to us nearly two decades of leadership experience at some of the most pre-eminent independent schools and educational access programs in New York City. Since 2016 he has been Director of Equity and Inclusion at Trinity School, where he acted as the senior administrator responsible for creating an inclusive environment grounded in academic rigor and equitable practices, while working closely with the Board of Trustees. Prior to Trinity, Ramón was Director of Diversity and Equity at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn from 2012-2016.
A graduate of Williams College, Ramón earned a Masters of Education (Ed.M.) and M.A. in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University, and served as one of two founding mental health counselors at KIPP NYC College Prep from 2009-2012. Before that he worked at The TEAK Fellowship and Prep for Prep, both of which are premier education access programs that help to prepare underserved, high achieving students for acceptance to, and success in, the nation’s most select secondary schools and colleges.
As a native New Yorker and Prep for Prep alumnus himself, Ramón comes to GJA with an intimate knowledge of the enormous potential of middle school boys as well as a deep understanding of their needs and the challenges they and their families face.
Board of Trustees
.jpg)
Steve Lipman
Board Chair
Elisabeth Hutchins
Vice Chair
Brother Brian Carty, FSC
Founder of GJA
Michael Carroll
Secretary
Nathan Norstrud
Treasurer
Dr. John Botti
Timothy Croak
Lauren Glant
Phineas Lambert
John Lechner
Jon Lindsey
Sabina McMahon
Holly Rayna Raub
Rafael Padilla, Md
Eric Rothfeld
Oliver Ramin
Sara Shulman
Marjorie Croes Silverman, PhD
Paul Williams
NEW BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
SARA SHULMAN
George Jackson Academy is delighted to welcome Sara Shulman to its Board of Trustees. Sara is a senior consultant at Carney Sandoe, where she leads the firm's development and finance search and consulting practice. She brings deep experience in independent school advancement, having served as Director of Development at both The Packer Collegiate Institute and Collegiate School, where she led major gifts programs, capital campaigns, and comprehensive fundraising operations. Earlier in her career, she held development roles at NYU and New York Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Sara holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an M.S. in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. A recognized voice in the independent school advancement community, she has spoken at CASE-NAIS and the NYSAIS Institutional Advancement Conference, and has led the NYC Independent Schools Directors of Development Group.
Sara's expertise in fundraising strategy and nonprofit governance will be an invaluable asset to GJA as the school continues to grow. We are thrilled to have her join our Board.
DR. JOHN BOTTI
John Botti has been the Head of School at The Browning School since 2016. In his work at Browning and in the boys' school community, he has collaborated with and learned much from George Jackson Academy--from both its leadership and its students--and has become a deep admirer of the school's mission and its supporters.
Before arriving at Browning, he was Associate Head of School at Landon School, where, over 16 years, he also taught history and English, served as ethics chair, was an academic dean, and coached baseball, basketball, and soccer. He started his career at the Salisbury School in Connecticut, where he was a teacher, coach, admission officer, and dorm parent for two years.
He is a former trustee of the International Boys’ School Coalition, and currently a board member of the Brearley School, Rodeph Sholom School, the Parents League of New York, and the New York State Association of Independent Schools. He received a B.A. from Williams College, an M.Ed. from the University of Virginia, and a PhD. from the University of Maryland. He is the very lucky father of two boys.
JAMES SCHLOSSTEIN
James Schlosstein is the Managing Member of Hill Castle LLC, a New York-based family office focused on multi-asset investment strategies. Prior to this, James built his career in financial services, spending over a decade within BlackRock’s risk and technology divisions. A native New Yorker, James attended St. Bernard’s School and Trinity School before earning his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College. Inspired by his family’s long-standing belief in the power of education—and his father's board service with New Visions for Public Schools—James is focused on supporting the next generation of talented students. He is dedicated to expanding high-quality academic access for bright young men from under-resourced backgrounds. He lives in New York City with his wife, Francesca, a Managing Director at Blackstone.
AYESHA PARRA
Ayesha Parra is an Managing Director in J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Global Alternative Investment Solutions team, where she leads the New York region and advises clients on private equity, private credit, hedge funds, and real asset investments. She previously served as Global Head of Alternatives at Russell Investments, leading the firm’s $22 billion alternatives business, and spent nearly 20 years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in investment management, GP strategy, and investor relations leadership roles. With more than two decades of experience across investing, capital formation, and alternative asset management, Ayesha brings deep expertise in helping investment organizations grow and innovate. She lives on the Upper West Side and has three daughters.
GJA gave me a great foundation of self. They taught me that I belong no matter what. In a room of 60 or 600 people, I belong.
ETHAN '22
