Board of Trustees

Partner, Bain & Company

Jon Barfield is a Partner in Bain & Company’s New York office. As a management consultant, Mr. Barfield focuses on advising healthcare companies and private equity funds on their strategies and potential investments. He is also a leader in Bain’s Blacks at Bain affinity network, where he focuses on recruiting, inclusion and retention strategies for Bain’s black employees. Prior to Bain, Mr. Barfield was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers, and later Barclays Capital, where he advised both large and small technology companies on mergers and acquisitions and financing deals. Through these experiences, Mr. Barfield brings extensive business experience and financial acumen to the board. Mr. Barfied is passionate about high quality K-12 education, and in particular, ensuring that all students have access to the best educational opportunities regardless of their zip code or financial situation. As a resident of Harlem, NY, Mr. Barfield is thrilled to be serving his neighbors to the east in the Central Bronx. Mr. Barfield attended Harvard University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Economics, and later the Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA.

Assistant Federal Defender, Federal Defenders of New York, Inc.

Ashley Burrell is an Assistant Federal Defender at the Federal Defenders of New York. Prior to the Federal Defenders of New York, Ashley was a Supervising Attorney at the Bronx Defenders, a public defense non-profit that represents low-income Bronx residents in criminal, civil, child welfare and immigration cases. Since 2013, Ms. Burrell has represented thousands of individuals in criminal proceedings, from arraignment through trial. Ms. Burrell graduated from Columbia University School of Law where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Notes Editor of the Columbia Journal of Race & Law. Additionally, she was a recipient of the Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Fellowship and the Lowenstein Fellowship, a fellowship awarded to graduates who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to public interest law. Ms. Burrell graduated with Honors from Williams College, where she majored in History. Ms. Burrell joined Bold because she believes in the power of quality education and its ability to change the trajectory of one's life. Ms. Burrell believes that everyone, regardless of their background, should be afforded the opportunity to an exemplary education.

Chief Technology Officer, Harry's Inc.

Sandeep Chouksey is a global technology executive with over a decade of experience in transforming engineering practices and organizations at top technology companies. Mr. Chouksey is currently the Chief Technology Officer At Harry’s Inc. As CTO, Mr. Chouksey is responsible for leading Harry’s technology strategy and plays a key role in leading the company by driving new tech-led initiatives. Prior to Harry's,  Sandeep was the CTO at Care/Of, a healthcare technology company dedicated to simplifying consumer health, starting with a fully personalized vitamin pack. Before Care/of, Sandeep was the Vice President and Head of Engineering at Animoto, a New York City-based technology company specializing in helping small businesses and others create professional videos online. He came to Animoto via Shutterstock, a leading e-commerce platform, where he played the role of Vice President of Engineering and Interim Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Chouksey received a Bachelor's in Computer Science degree from the University of California, San Diego, after which he went to work for Microsoft and later Amazon.

Global Head of Multi-Asset Portfolio Solutions, Citi Private Bank

Raymond ("Ray") Joseph, Jr. has supported, through board service and volunteer programs, charter schools and educational access non-profit organizations for more than 20 years. He is excited at the opportunity to bring an additional high-quality charter school to students in the Bronx. Mr. Joseph earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Professionally, Mr. Joseph has more than 20 years of experience in financial services and is currently the Global Head of Multi-Asset Portfolio Solutions for Citi Private Bank. Prior to this role, he spent six years at UBS Wealth Management as the Americas Head of Portfolio Management, leading the firm's discretionary investment management, quantitative research and manager selection groups. Before moving to wealth management, he was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch & Co. and equity research analyst/portfolio manager at the Capital Group and AllianceBernstein. Outside of work, Mr. Joseph has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Odyssey Charter School (Altadena, CA) and Future Leaders Institute Charter School (NY). He has also served on the boards of the Oliver Scholars Program and Posse Foundation Los Angeles Advisory Board.

English Teacher, Comp Sci High

Sherry Mao, originally from Los Angeles, California, earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Psychology from the University of California, Irvine. Having found her métier as an educator, she was eager to share her passion for literature with young minds. Ms. Mao served as a middle school teacher at Mesa Robles, a California Distinguished Middle School, in Southern California. After four years of teaching, she decided to move to New York City to further her education. After earning a Master’s degree in Literature from New York University, she spent the next six years teaching at a charter school in New York City, where her students performed among the top performing students across New York State. Ms. Mao’s leadership experiences include curriculum development and design, specifically at the high school level. Currently, she is a founding English teacher at a new charter school in the South Bronx, Comp Sci High. Ms. Mao brings her commitment to educational equity to her role as Vice Chair of Bold; she firmly believes that every student deserves access to a world-class education.

Senior Director, Nuveen, A TIAA Company

Pamela is a Senior Director with Nuveen’s Impact Investing group. As the real estate lead for the Impact Investing team, Pamela manages a portfolio of real estate assets ranging from affordable housing to private equity fund investments focused on people and planet. She is passionate about the mission of providing safe, quality affordable housing to increase housing stability and improve the quality of life for underserved populations. Pamela has more than 20 years of transaction experience in real estate starting with CBRE, where she primarily focused on multifamily investment sales in the southeastern region of the US. In 2007 Pamela joined Nuveen Real Estate, formerly TH Real Estate and TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate, and has transaction experience across several portfolios inclusive of acquisitions, capital markets, impact investing and dispositions within the US. Pamela received her Master’s of Business Administration in Real Estate and Finance from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She obtained her Bachelor’s of Art Degree in English and Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is also an active member of the Real Estate Executive Council, Urban Land Institute and City Parks Foundation real estate committee. As a former middle school teacher focused on students at risk of dropping out of school, Pamela continues to engage in initiatives that will lead to better educational outcomes and regularly participates in and is a speaker at student-based programs that expose students to potential careers in real estate and impact investing.