Board of Trustees

Foundation Academy is governed by a Board of Trustees which has responsibility for the long-term well-being, financial health, direction and success of Foundation Academy. The Board of Trustees has the authority to decide matters related to the operations of the school, including budgeting, curriculum and policies and procedures, subject to the school’s charter.

Five trustees are appointed for three-year terms, and two trustees—the President and Vice-President of the Foundation Academy Council Team (the Parent Council) — are elected by the school’s parents at an annual meeting. The Head of School and the School Business Administrator also serve as non-voting members of the Board of Trustees.

Board meetings are conducted and the public is notified consistent with the requirements of the “Open Public Meetings Act”, and all members of the public are welcome to attend.

The members of the Foundation Academy Charter School Board of Trustees are:

* Indicates a non-voting board member.


Ronald C. Brady previously served as a School Director at Trenton Community Charter School. He has also served as the Director of the CLASS Project in the Paterson, NJ Public Schools, Director of the Office of State Operated School Districts in the New Jersey Department of Education, Special Assistant in the Office of the Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education, and as a Research Associate at The Edison Project. Mr. Brady is a Harry S Truman Scholar and earned a Master’s Degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a Bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in History and Government from Bowdoin College.


Earl Kim, Board President, is the Superintendent of the Montgomery Township, New Jersey Public Schools. Between 2003 and 2008, he served as the Superintendent of the Verona, New Jersey Public Schools, and prior to that he served as Principal of Emerson Junior-Senior High School, in Emerson, NJ, where he was named a 2002 New Jersey Principal of the Year. Mr. Kim has also served as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and as a Math Teacher at Trenton Central High School. Mr. Kim is a graduate of Cornell University and he earned a Master's in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.


Christopher Lessard currently also serves as the School Business Administrator at the Frankford Township Board of Education, the Branchville Board of Education and the Central Jersey Arts Charter School. Previously he has served as the Treasurer of School Monies for the Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology and the Business Administrator of the Discovery Charter School in Newark, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Bentley College where he received his B.S. in Business Management.


Meghan Mackay is the Director of Strategic Planning for New Heights, a New York City non-profit that supports the education and development of inner-city student athletes. She is also the owner of Mad Platter Creations/Meghan Mackay Art and Design. From 2003 to 2004, Ms. Mackay served as the president of Southern Marin Mothers1 Club. She has taught in Massachusetts and California and assisted with writing the curriculum for a new charter school in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as developing technology curriculum for graduate students at the University of San Francisco. Ms. Mackay received her B.A. in Art History from Stanford University and her M.A. in Education from the University of San Francisco.


Grecia Montero serves as the Director of Recruitment in the Office of Admissions at the College of New Jersey. In this role, she specializes in the recruitment of students of color and other students who are underrepresented at the college. Previously, Ms. Montero served as the Assistant Dean of Admissions at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Ms. Montero is a member of the New Jersey Association for College Admissions Counseling. Ms Montero received her B.A. in Communications from the State University of New York at New Paltz.


Nicole Sistrunk-Lewis, Board Secretary and Board Treasurer, is a Co-Founder of Foundation Academy Charter School. Ms. Sistrunk-Lewis has been a resident of the City of Trenton since 1999, and has worked in education and social services throughout Mercer County. At present, she is a Care Manager at Capitol County Children’s Collaborative (CCCC), where she manages the cases of children with behavioral and mental health needs. Prior to joining CCCC, Ms. Sistrunk-Lewis served as a Family Support Worker at the Children’s Futures’ West Ward Center. Ms. Sistrunk-Lewis is a graduate of Piscataway High School, and has a B.A. in Fine Arts and Afrikan Studies from Rutgers College.


Frank N. (Kirk) Norris, Jr. is a former corporate vice president who has over 30 years experience impacting the lives of students from the United States to Europe. From 1972 to 2000, Mr. Norris worked with several companies to design and build educational, industrial, medical, pharmaceutical, petro chemical and correctional facilities. In addition to his corporate experience, Mr. Norris has been a Trenton community staple since 1972. As a volunteer and Board Member of the Mercer Street Friends organization, he approved the establishment of the Village Charter School in 1995 in the city’s West Ward. Mr. Norris managed and oversaw the architecture and construction of Trenton’s first new school in 30 years. He currently serves as a Board Member for the Friends Home Village in Newtown, P.A. where he contributes to the Grounds and Property, and Finance Committees and as a member of the New Jersey Charter Public School Association’s Advocacy Task Force.


Dr. John Webb is the Director of the Program in Teacher Preparation at Princeton University. Together with a colleague, he also conceptualized and founded the Princeton University Preparatory Program to prepare high potential students from working class families from Trenton, Ewing, and Princeton high schools for admission to highly selective colleges and universities. Dr. Webb is also a veteran middle school educator, beginning his career in education at Pomona Junior High School in East Ramapo, NY, where he served as a teacher and the chairperson of Foreign Languages and English as a Second Language. Dr. Webb earned his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany, his M.A. from the French School of Middlebury College, and his doctorate from New York University.

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