Marina Cofield Announced as new CEO of East Harlem Tutorial Program
Marina Cofield Announced as new CEO of East Harlem Tutorial Program
Cofield Brings Education and Nonprofit Leadership Experience to Role
NEW YORK, NY Dec 7, 2023 – East Harlem Tutorial Program’s (EHTP) Board of Directors today announced Marina Cofield, a highly experienced educational leader, will join the organization as the new Chief Executive Officer of EHTP and its network of schools, East Harlem Scholars Academies (EHSA), effective February 1, 2024. Ingrid Sotelo, EHTP’s interim Chief Executive Officer, will continue in a leadership role and serve as Chief Operating Officer upon Ms. Cofield’s arrival.
Cofield’s appointment comes after a thorough national CEO search with Alma Advisory Group, led by a CEO search committee comprised of Board Chair, William D. Rahm, Board Vice Chairs, Saskia Levy Thompson and Kenney Robinson, former Board Chair, Joan Solotar, and board members Hope Knight, Maria Medrano and Brian Gavin.
“We are proud to name Marina Cofield as the new CEO of East Harlem Tutorial Program and its East Harlem Scholars Academies,” said William D. Rahm, Board Chair. “After a thorough and inclusive process that included feedback from parents, school leaders, and senior management, the board unanimously agreed that Marina has the experience, leadership and commitment to best serve the families of East Harlem.”
“Leading EHTP and the multiple ways it serves the community from schools to after-school and summer programs to its teaching residency, is truly the opportunity of a lifetime”
“I have spent my career advancing racial and economic justice by expanding educational opportunities for all children, particularly those who have historically been least well served by our public systems. Leading EHTP and the multiple ways it serves the community from schools to after-school and summer programs to its teaching residency, is truly the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Marina Cofield, incoming CEO at EHTP. “I am so grateful to the organization for its faith in me and look forward to working with our educators, staff, board, partners and especially our families as we strive each day to better achieve our mission.”
Cofield has had an expansive career as an educator and leader beginning as a Teach for America Corps member in the Mississippi Delta in 1994, leading a high-performing KIPP charter middle school in metro Atlanta as the founding principal, overseeing a network of schools, including in East Harlem, for the NYC Public Schools (NYCPS), heading the Office of Leadership at NYCPS and serving as Chief Operating Officer of ExpandED Schools in New York City. Cofield’s work has consistently demonstrated the commitment to academic excellence and antiracism that are core to EHTP.
“I have been involved with EHTP for over 15 years as a parent and, more recently, as a Trustee. As part of the Search Committee, I worked with Alma, the Board and other stakeholders to find the next CEO of EHTP who can bring experience, dedication and humanity to leading this organization that means so much to the community,” said Maria Medrano, Trustee and Chair of the EHTP Family Council. “I embrace our new CEO, Marina, to join and work alongside our COO, Ingrid Sotelo; two amazing women leaders each with their own experiences and hearts ready to lead EHTP and EHSA.”
“EHTP has achieved tremendous growth over the last 15 years with the opening of its network of schools, creation of its teaching residency and development of real estate, including the first new high school building in East Harlem in over sixty years,” said Kenney Robinson, Board Vice Chair. “At the same time, the organization’s focus has not wavered on delivering educational opportunities and challenging the systemic inequities that exist in its community. Marina’s work and life experiences prepared her to meet this moment, and to ensure that EHTP is best positioned to serve all children in its community.”
EHTP’s interim Chief Executive Officer, Ingrid Sotelo, will continue to serve in that role until Ms. Cofield joins the organization in February 2024. Ms. Sotelo will then transition to Chief Operating Officer of EHTP. Prior to her interim CEO role, Ms. Sotelo oversaw development, public engagement, communications, student recruitment and operations across both East Harlem Scholars Academies and out-of-school-time (OST) programs. Earlier in her career, Ms. Sotelo served as Community Outreach and Operations Director at Union Settlement, and in key positions for State Senator Jose M. Serrano, the Manhattan Borough President’s Office and the NYC Comptroller’s Office. She was born and raised in East Harlem where she continues to reside.
“EHTP has an incredibly rich history in our neighborhood and it’s been an honor and privilege to work with our staff, families and students to ensure we are going above and beyond so that each of our scholars can excel academically and become leaders in their own community,” said Ingrid Sotelo, COO and Interim CEO. “I’m excited to welcome and work with Marina and the entire team to achieve great results by focusing on the core values that make EHTP special.”
“We are incredibly grateful for the leadership Ingrid has displayed during this transition period and excited to support her partnership with Marina in the years to come,” said William D. Rahm, Board Chair. “We also want to thank Jeff Ginsburg for the extraordinary expansion he led over fifteen years as CEO and are glad he’ll continue to support EHTP as a member of the Leadership Council.”
“Marina’s extraordinary track record of delivering academic outcomes and educational equity will help ensure EHTP fulfills its mission”
“Over the last fifteen years, I have had the great privilege to learn from and work with teachers, staff, Board, partners, community leaders and, most of all, students, as we expanded EHTP from an afterschool program to an education nonprofit that serves thousands of children,” said Jeffrey Ginsburg, EHTP Leadership Council Member and Co-Founder of EHSA. “Few work harder or care more about East Harlem than Ingrid Sotelo, who is one of the most inspiring and effective leaders that I know, and I am truly grateful for her. Marina’s extraordinary track record of delivering academic outcomes and educational equity will help ensure EHTP fulfills its mission. I’m excited to witness and support her leadership at EHTP.”
Ms. Cofield is a graduate of Harvard College and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Education Leadership from National Louis University.
ABOUT EAST HARLEM TUTORIAL PROGRAM AND EAST HARLEM SCHOLARS ACADEMIES
East Harlem Tutorial Program (EHTP) was founded in 1958 by a community leader whose love of reading and the children of East Harlem inspired her to offer a volunteer-run reading group in her living room.
Since then it has grown from a tutoring program into a multi-site, multi-dimensional educational program that will serve more than 1,650 Pre-K to college students this year through our after-school and summer programs for traditional public school students; East Harlem Scholars Academies network of public charter schools; College Scholars program; and the East Harlem Teaching Residency.
Today, EHTP is recognized as a leader among organizations working to advance educational outcomes and as an agent of change and thoughtful contributor to the national fight for racial equity.
EHTP prepares students with the academic skills, strength of character, and emotional well-being to excel in college, lead in their communities, and realize their best possible selves.
East Harlem Scholars Academies represents an expansion of East Harlem Tutorial Program’s mission, programs and delivery of service to the children of East Harlem. Having provided successful programs that support school day instruction for decades, the organization is now committed to leveraging its experience, its reputation and relationships in the community and its effective teaching and learning model to support the development and implementation of a school-day program through its involvement in East Harlem
Scholars Academies. Through its partnership with East Harlem Tutorial Program (EHTP), East Harlem Scholars Academies benefits from resources, including staff development and other services by experienced educators and academic specialists.