About Us | Breakthrough

Who We Are

Breakthrough New York is a six-year college access program committed to getting high-potential, low-income students to four-year colleges.

We provide after- school tutoring and summer enrichment programs to some of the best and the brightest middle school students from New York public schools, providing them on an ongoing basis with the academic preparation, guidance and mentoring they need to be able to attend selective four-year colleges.

Our Unique Approach

The Sooner The Better
Our program starts when students are in the 6th grade, and then we work with them all the way through high school, providing everything from tutoring and SAT prep to organized college visits and interview coaching.

Students Teaching Students
All of our teachers are themselves high-performing high school and college students who are interested in pursuing careers in education. This grass roots teaching staff is highly effective in motivating students and providing them with inspiring role models. 83% of our teachers have gone onto teaching or public service.

Board of Directors

Susan Blum
Consultant

Michelle Bork
Sports Industry Consultant

Jason Caldwell
Director of Admissions
Horace Mann School

Ilene Cranin
Former Board Chair
The Town School

Maria Cruz Melendez
Attorney
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, LLP

Ted Federici
Board Chair
Executive Coach
Federici Coaching

Amy Levere

Bonnie Litt
Managing Director
Goldman Sachs

Roszell Mack III
President
Mack & Co LLC.

Christopher Marblo
Head of School
The Town School

Dan Mezzalingua
CEO
Trawler Group, LLC

Christine McWalters
President
CMCW Consulting

Andrew H. Marks
Senior Executive VP
Bollinger Insurance

Ali Morgan
Director of Financial Assistance
SUNY-Westchester

Lisa Schweitzer
Chair Emeritus

Liz Sherman

Staff

Amesika Bediako, Placement and High School Director
Prior to Sika joining the Breakthrough family, she was a post-placement counselor for boarding school students at Prep for Prep. Sika received her BA from Cornell University with a major in Africana Studies and Government.

Alex Brady, Middle School Director
After receiving his B.A. in English from Boston College, Alex joined Teach for America in 2007. He taught eighth-grade English and Social Studies in the Bronx for four years before joining Breakthrough New York in May 2011 as our founding Brooklyn director.

Natalie Cox, Middle School Director
Natalie earned her B.A. in English and Communications from Tulane University. A Teach for America 2006 Bay Area alum, she taught high school English for four years, and worked with Oakland Teaching Fellows.

John Gentile, Volunteer Coordinator
John earned his B.A. in Theater from Eugene Lang College and has a background in education and social justice. He joined Breakthrough New York in 2011 as the School Year Coordinator and is now also the Volunteer Coordinator. For the past three years, John has traveled the country educating high school students on different aspects of diversity work as a faculty member for the Student Diversity Leadership Conference.

Yia Hang, Grants Manager
Yia prepares proposals and tracks grant-funded projects. She brings a strategic and results-oriented perspective as the former operating director for Breakthrough Austin and a product manager in educational technology. Yia graduated from Harvard University.

Hannah Miller, Operations Manager
In 2010 Hannah earned her B.A. in Sociology with an Education concentration from the University of Tulsa. Before joining Breakthrough New York, she worked with at-risk fourth grade students in Los Angeles, CA as a part of City Year Los Angeles.

Leonard Perlson, Finance Director
Leonard joined Breakthrough New York as a volunteer to set up our finance department in 2010, and is now working as Director of Finance. Leonard graduated NYU with a MPA in Financial Administration of Non-Profits.; he received his BFA in Art History at Hunter College and The School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Barbara Welsh, Director of Development and Communications
Barbara is a seasoned fundraiser with many years of experience in the academic environment. She is a member of the New York Chapter of Women in Development, the Association of Fund Raising Professionals and a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology. Prior to coming to BTNY, Barbara was a consultant to many non-profit organizations throughout New York and New England.

Rhea Wong, Executive Director
Rhea was a Breakthrough student at the original site in San Francisco. Following her experience as a student, she taught at Breakthrough sites in Hawaii, Hong Kong and New York. She received a BA in Political Science from McGill University. Prior to BTNY, she was at The Breakthrough Collaborative in teacher recruitment and alumni services.

Successes

Since 2005, 100% of all Breakthrough 8th graders gained admission into selective college-preparatory high schools throughout the US. This includes public, private, boarding and parochial schools.
Independent evaluations of our students over the course of our summer program indicate progress of up to 2.5 grade levels as measured by the WCJII.

Overall, 98% of our high school seniors enter and attend four-year colleges. 100% graduate high school within four years.
83% of our teaching alumni go on to pursue careers in education and public service.

Our History

As all things do, it started with a dream.

Breakthrough New York was founded as Summerbridge at The Town School in 1999 by a former Summerbridge Providence teacher, Sam Marks. Sam felt that the Town School was an ideal host for a program such as Breakthrough because of its alignment with the Town School’s values of diversity, inclusion and joy in learning. With the help and goodwill of many, this dream was manifested in the summer of 1999.

Over the years, many students and teachers have passed through the doors of Breakthrough New York. All of them bring something unique to our community; all of them leave changed by their Breakthrough experience. Maybe it is that they begin to believe in themselves and their capacity to make a positive difference in the world. Maybe it is that they find a community of learners who share their belief that being smart is cool. Maybe it is that they glimpse their future: college, a lifelong calling, a place to belong.

Since 1999, we have increased the numbers of students that we serve and now make a six year commitment to our students from the time of their acceptance until graduation from high school. Upon entry into a four-year college, our students become Breakthrough New York alumni and continue to access resources such as internship and job opportunities.

In 2009, Breakthrough New York became an independent not-for-profit organization in New York state. Though we continue to operate programming out of the Town School, our independence is an important step in our organization’s evolution.

It is our expectation that we will look forward to increased opportunities and exciting challenges in the next couple of years. More important, it is our dream that we will be able to reach more kids and teachers throughout the city and live up to our name: Breakthrough New York: for New York, for our kids, for our teachers, for dreams, for justice, for all.

Thank you for reading.