Our Team

Furman Brown, Founder.Mr. Brown began his education career in South Central Los Angeles as a member of the first corps of Teach for America. He has two decades of experience in education reform, helping district and charter schools redesign their use of time, staff, professional development, and instructional technology. In 2004, Mr. Brown won a prestigious Echoing Green Prize as “one of the world’s foremost emerging social entrepreneurs” for developing the Generation Schools Model, a scalable and sustainable new paradigm for urban schools. A native of Colorado, Mr. Brown earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver.

Lydia Colón Bomani, Principal, Brooklyn Generation. At BGS, Ms. Colón Bomani will be applying over 20 years of experience as a middle- and high-school educator in Brooklyn where she has worked in communities of color to close the achievement gap. She has a demonstrated ability to foster teacher leadership, places a high value on the importance on innovative problem solving, and on improving instruction through the use of data. As a teacher-leader, she helped develop an alternative program in Bushwick, and remained as the lead teacher and data specialist when the program became an official school. Later, she became the assistant principal of a successful transfer school that partnered with CBOs to provide social, wellness and wrap around services. She has a MA in secondary math education from University of Bridgeport, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science, and a professional diploma in educational leadership both from Manhattanville College.

Elizabeth Dickinson, Director, Development & Communications. At Generation Schools, Ms. Dickinson is applying her 30 years of experience working and volunteering in the non-profit sector to build and implement a robust fundraising and communications plan. For 10 years, she worked as a development consultant for non-profits, foundations, and government agencies committed to advancing social justice and promoting the arts. She has also led the development team at Latino Justice PRLDEF, WITNESS, and Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation. Ms. Dickinson has an MBA in nonprofit management from Binghamton University and a bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology from Kenyon College.

Athena Fliakos, Director, Teacher Talent & Development. Before joining Generation Schools, Ms. Fliakos served as an instructor in English, first at The Taft School and later at The Hotchkiss School, where she developed vertical curriculum, supported incoming faculty, coached athletics, and supervised residential life and arts programming. Ms. Fliakos also trained athletes for the Olympic Development Authority in Lake Placid, NY, and trained CEOs for Ironman Triathlons as a means of building their leadership capacity. Ms. Fliakos earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College and an MFA in Poetry from Bennington College.

Louis Garcia. Assistant Principal, Curriculum & Instruction, Brooklyn Generation. At BGS, Mr. Garcia is providing instructional support overseeing the humanities and science departments; managing the programming process to shape how students are scheduled, their courses of study, and Regents exam administration; supporting the Wellness team; and directly supervising guidance. Most recently, Mr. Garcia served as the Principal for South Brooklyn Community High School with a $1.5M budget, staff of 21, and partnership with Good Shepherd’s Services. For five years, Mr. Garcia served as a social studies teacher at Boys and Girls High School, and West Brooklyn Community High School, where he designed and implemented curricula for American and Global Studies courses, designed and implemented a service learning course to incorporate community service in coursework, and lent support to new teachers as a Lead Fellow in the NYC Teaching Fellows Program. Mr. Garcia served as a Child Protective Specialist/Casework for Administration for Children’s Services. He has served as a group leader and teacher with the Experiment in International Living in Spain. Mr. Garcia has been working towards his PhD in Urban Education from the Graduate Center at CUNY. He has a master’s in Educational Administration from Baruch College, a master’s in Teaching Secondary Education from Pace University, and a bachelor’s degree in both Sociology and Puerto Rican and Latino Studies from Brooklyn College.

Wendy Piersee, CEO. Ms. Piersee brings extensive experience in the non-profit and education sectors to Generation Schools, especially in the area of network development and school replication. She has worked in higher education (Northwest College, Colorado Christian University, & Harvard University), and served as Development Director and Associate Director of the Denver Street School and as the co-founder of the StreetSchool Network, which grew to include 47 schools in 27 cities, serving more than 4,000 students. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Colorado Christian University, and she is currently a GetSmart Fellow.

Susan Sosoo, Assistant Principal of Organization/Security, Brooklyn Generation. Ms. Sosoo joined BGS in fall 2010 bringing over 19 years of experience working with Brooklyn’s public school students as an administrator and teacher. At BGS she serves as the ARIS-DATA Inquiry specialist, and oversees operations, security and is building a cooperative environment among schools on the South Shore campus. For eight years she was in the classroom, first as a middle school mathematics teacher at Meyer Levin IS 285, and then as business education/information systems technology teacher at Samuel J. Tilden High School. She then went on to serving first as the assistant principal of security and special projects, and then assistant principal of administration/ organization at Tilden for 12 years. Ms. Sosoo has an advanced certificate in SAS/SDA from Brooklyn College, a master’s in Business Education from Baruch College, and a bachelor’s in accounting from New York Institute of Technology.

Jonathan Spear, Co-Founder. At Generation Schools, Mr. Spear builds on his background in school operations and governance in both district and charter school settings. He manages the technical assistance and training GSN delivers to school leaders and staff, and works closely with the district, labor organizations, and other institutions to build the bridges that allow innovation to occur within the existing system. Prior to co-founding Generation Schools, he was Director of Charter Schools for the Beginning with Children Foundation. As a founding teacher at the New York City Museum School and as Director of New Voices School for Academic and Creative Excellence, Mr. Spear has deep experience developing and managing effective school partnerships with community-based organizations and cultural institutions. Mr. Spear earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in education from Bank Street College of Education.

Craig Spencer, CFO & COO. Mr. Spencer became involved in urban education as a member of the Board of Directors of the StreetSchool Network, a network of over 40 schools serving at-risk children across the US. Prior to joining Generation Schools, he served as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with Global Link Technology, Inc. Mr. Spencer also worked with a company acquired by American Express Business Finance in a number of capacities including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer. He worked with Arthur Andersen for 12 years in the Audit and Business Advisory Services group. Mr. Spencer graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s of business administration in Finance and Accounting.

Dr. Robert Villarreal, Founding Principal, West Generation Academy. Dr. Villarreal, one of Colorado’s most accomplished principals, has dedicated his life to facilitating substantial educational gains on behalf of students in high-needs communities in both Aurora and Denver, CO. His recent work as principal at Garden Place Academy resulted in the school moving from red to green status within two school years, and in 2000, he was recognized by President Clinton as one of six outstanding principals in the nation. A graduate of North High School, Dr. Villarreal received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver, his master’s degree from the University of Colorado and his doctorate in education from the University of Northern Colorado, where he focused his research on the critical elements of high-achieving schools.

Rachael Walsh, Communications & Events Associate. Ms. Walsh brings her tech savvy and expertise in administration and organization to Generation Schools. Previously, she worked with StreetSchool Network, a national organization that developed schools to serve at-risk student populations. Her experience includes development, grant-writing, database administration, school support, services and accreditation, and event planning. Ms. Walsh received her bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Pastoral Ministry & Youth Ministry from LIFE Pacific College in San Dimas, CA.

Sharon Wurtzel, Board Chair. Ms. Wurtzel brings to the Board of Generation Schools over 20 years of experience in nonprofit and public sector leadership in the areas of youth development, social venture creation, and asset-building programs for low-income and marginalized populations. She has served as Assistant Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and she was the co-founder of Juma Ventures, a San Francisco-based youth development agency for homeless and low-income youth. Most recently she has been a consultant to New York City non-profits, focusing on organizational strategy and capacity building. Ms. Wurtzel earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and an MBA and certificate in public management from Stanford University.