LORNA HARRIS, Chairperson, SICCS Board of Trustees

Lorna Harris has worked in various leadership capacities for the Ford Foundation, the Network of Cultural Centers of Color, Clean Air Communities, the Alliance of New York State Arts Organizations, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Providing technical assistance in the area of board development to nonprofit organizations is her passion.

Currently a business development representative in the Office of Business and Job Opportunity for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Ms. Harris focuses on the certification of minority- and women-owned businesses. She was before that a consultant, implementing fund-raising and public relations campaigns, specializing in multicultural, multidisciplinary, legacy and cause-related projects such as the Romare Bearden Homecoming Celebration, Producing Green at SilverCup Studios, and the Staten Island Composers’ Project. From 1999 to 2006, Ms. Harris was a member of the executive committee and a one-term board president of the Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island (COAHSI).

Ms. Harris was an active member of the original SICCS founding board and has been part of the school’s growth and development since its earliest days. She holds a professional Certificate of Leadership from Cornell University School of Labor, is an alumna of Beloit College and a long-time Staten Islander who makes her home in St. George.

ELLEN ICOLARI, Founder, Trustee, Advisor in School Culture Development

NYC native Ellen Icolari is the founder of Staten Island Community Charter School. Beginning her career in education as a paraprofessional, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree with honors from Medgar Evers College/CUNY; a Master of Science Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in Family and Community Education; and a Master of Arts Degree from Bank Street College of Education in Educational Leadership.

After ten years as a classroom and resource room teacher, Ms. Icolari became a district-wide Special Education staff developer; and finally, New York City Board of Education city-wide Director of the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP), used at schools in the U.S. and internationally to teach social-emotional learning skills.

Ms. Icolari has been an adjunct professor at Long Island University and St. John’s University, and is the recipient of two Fulbright–Hays summer seminar abroad awards from the U. S. Department of Education. She has addressed the United Nations Hague Appeal for Peace on the rights of women and girls; and participated in international conferences and conducted workshops in the Netherlands and South Africa to create government policy and train education policy makers, school administrators and teachers in the “Peaceable Schools Model.”

Ellen Icolari is confident that as SICCS introduces RCCP concepts and skills to an expanding number of individuals within the school community––from students to trustees––everyone will benefit, as best practices are put to work creating a school culture that supports learning and helps children develop their full potential.

HAROUNA BA, Trustee

Harouna Ba holds a Doctorate in Psychology from the City University of New York; a Masters of Philosophy in Psychology from the Graduate School and University Center; a Master of Arts in Psychology from Hunter College; and a Master of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of Dakar.

A New Brighton resident, Dr. Ba is a research scientist at the Center for Children and Technology of the Education Development Center. His particular interests are exploring the context of children’s development of digital literacy skills; and evaluating the impact of complex multimedia and interdisciplinary programs in formal and informal educational settings.

Dr. Ba has published extensively in (partial list) The Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment; TechLearning Magazine; and Journal of the Institute for Democracy, Education & Access.

MARIANNE CASTILLO, Trustee

Marianne Castillo is a long-time Stapleton resident who has assumed responsibility for all matters relating to the physical structure the school occupies—finding it, rehabilitating it, and ensuring its compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Ms. Castillo earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Sarah Lawrence and did postgraduate work in psychology at NYU. She was director of administration for New York State’s 42nd Street redevelopment project from 1990-96 and most recently was director of field operations for a large housing organization, training property managers in efficient management methods that reaped substantial savings.

JANET PATTI, Trustee

Janet Patti is Professor of Administration and Supervision, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Hunter College, CUNY. Dr. Patti holds an Ed.D in Educational Leadership from the University of Northern Arizona, and a Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education (1978) from Hunter College, CUNY.

A Staten Island resident, Dr. Patti is an internationally recognized educator and author in the fields of social and emotional learning and educational leadership.

Prior to assuming her university posts, Dr. Patti worked for 25 years in pre-K-12 public schools as a teacher, administrator and school guidance counselor in New York and California.

Dr. Patti is a founding member of the Leadership Team of the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL); an executive board member of the New York State Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development; and a member of the Consortium for Research in Emotional Intelligence in Organizations.

G. CARL RUTBERG, Trustee

Carl Rutberg is the Executive Director of The Alice Austen House Museum and Adjunct Assistant Professor (American History) at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Dr. Rutberg earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from the Stockholm School of Economics, where he majored in Finance and Marketing. He holds a Master of Industrial Design Degree from Pratt Institute; and a Post-Masters Museum Studies Certificate from New York University. Dr. Rutberg was awarded his Ph.D. in Education/American Studies, also from New York University, in 2011.

Before assuming his current post, Dr. Rutberg was Executive Director of The New Jersey Museum of Agriculture and before that was Supervisory Curator of Exhibits for Ellis Island Immigration Museum and Statue of Liberty. In those jobs as in his current one, Rutberg energized exhibits, boosted attendance, increased fund-raising and expanded capacity, lending new vibrancy to established institutions.

CAROL SONNENBLICK, Trustee

Carol Sonnenblick is Dean of the Division of Continuing Education at New York City College of Technology, City University of New York. Dr. Sonnenblick earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Barnard College; a Bachelor of Science Degree from Wagner College; and a Doctorate in Education from Rutgers University.

A Stapleton Heights resident, Dr. Sonnenblick is a specialist in developmental disabilities, with a focus on children and adults with learning disabilities. She has published in the Journal of Adult Literacy and Basic Education and is the co-author of Job Hunting Made Easy, The Learning House (Random House, 1997).