Board & Staff
Board of Trustees
| Lestor Aron, Esq., SVP & General Counsel University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ |
Michael Smith, GM of Operations Forbes.com |
| Vincent Giordano, Executive Director New Jersey Education Association |
Rebecca Spar, Esq. Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, P.A. |
| Helen Lindsay Education Activist |
Gregory Stewart, Esq. Law Offices of Gregory Stewart |
| John Rue, Esq. White & Case, LLP |
Jeff Venezia, Architect President, Design Ideas Group |
| Glenn Schroeder, Esq., SVP Educational Testing Service |
Junius Williams, Esq., Director Abbott Leadership Institute |
Staff
David Sciarra, Esq.
Executive Director
David Sciarra oversees and directs ELC programs and activities. A practicing civil rights lawyer since 1978, he has litigated a wide range of cases involving socioeconomic rights, including affordable housing, shelter for the homeless, and welfare rights.
Since 1996, David has litigated to enforce access for low-income and minority children to an equal and adequate education under state and federal law and has served as counsel to the plaintiff students in New Jersey’s landmark Abbott v. Burke case. He also conducts research, writes, and lectures on education law and policy in such areas as school finance, early education and school reform. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated magna cum laude in 1978 from Temple University School of Law.
Elizabeth Athos, Esq.
Senior Attorney
Elizabeth Athos’ law practice focuses on issues related to special education, residency, school discipline, bullying, and New Jersey school funding.
Elizabeth joined ELC in 1997, after working as a Legal Services attorney in New Jersey. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Mount Holyoke College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. In 1990, she was awarded the Ronald B. Atlas Outstanding Attorney Award by Legal Services of New Jersey.
Danielle Farrie, Ph.D.
Research Director
Danielle Farrie maintains an extensive educational database and conducts analysis to support litigation and public policy for ELC and partner organizations.
Before joining ELC, Danielle conducted research in the field of urban education on such topics as school choice, racial and economic segregation, and reactions to racial integration, and coauthored peer reviewed articles on parental involvement among low-income families. Danielle has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Temple University.
Molly Hunter, Esq.
Director, Education Justice
Molly Hunter is a nationally recognized expert on issues of school funding litigation and reform.
Molly directs ELC’s Education Justice program, which offers technical assistance to a nationwide network of education advocates, advocates for improved federal education policies, analyzes and disseminates information on research and policies, and convenes conferences and meetings to promote equal educational opportunity. Prior to joining ELC, Molly directed the National Access Network at Teachers College, Columbia University, practiced education and employment law in New York City, and represented plaintiffs as a member of the team litigating New York’s quality education case, Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) v. State. She received a J.D. from New York University’s School of Law and a B.A. from Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Stan Karp
Director, Secondary Education Reform Project
Stan Karp works to monitor and support implementation of effective middle and high school reform in New Jersey’s urban districts and to engage a broad group of stakeholders, policymakers and the public in efforts to reduce dropout rates, increase graduation and college participation rates, and narrow gaps in educational achievement and opportunity.
Stan comes to ELC from his teaching position in Paterson, New Jersey, where he taught English and journalism for 30 years. Stan is also an editor of the school reform journal Rethinking Schools and has published widely on school reform and educational policy.
Sharon Krengel
Policy & Outreach Coordinator
Sharon Krengel coordinates the statewide education coalition, Our Children/Our Schools, and staffs the New Jersey Education Organizing Collaborative on behalf of ELC.
Sharon also manages press, legislative and other outreach and communications. Prior to joining ELC, she served as the Executive Director of the Coalition to Preserve Public Education, a group of New Jersey public school districts seeking to change the state’s charter school funding formula. Sharon also has worked as a freelance journalist and as an editorial and communications consultant to non-profit organizations and for-profit firms.
Ruth Lowenkron, Esq.
Senior Attorney
Ruth Lowenkron’s practice focuses on special education law at ELC.
Ruth has been active in the field of disability rights since 1981, working at Untapped Resources, Inc., in New York City; the Community Health Law Project in East Orange, New Jersey; and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Inc., in New York City, where she was the director of the Disability Law Center. She received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1981, and her law degree with the inaugural class of CUNY Law School in 1986. She has taught disability law at CUNY Law School and Seton Hall University.
Theresa Luhm, Esq.
Managing Director
Theresa Luhm works closely with the executive director to oversee programs, activities and fundraising at ELC. She also participated extensively in the most recent Abbott v. Burke litigation.
Theresa has a B.A. with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Rutgers-Newark School of Law. Prior to joining ELC, she worked as a research analyst at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
Aimee Roche
Intake Coordinator
Aimee Roche is ELC’s Intake Coordinator and works directly with parents and guardians who contact ELC for legal assistance.
Prior to joining ELC, Aimee worked as a Community Organizer at La Casa de Don Pedro, where she was also responsible for implementing outreach and recruitment for the Abbott preschool program. Her efforts resulted in the enrollment of 2,182 preschoolers into Abbott Preschool programs in Essex County in 2002-2003.
Jenna Statfeld, Esq.
Skadden Fellow
Jenna Statfeld's work focuses on ensuring that students with special education needs receive appropriate services in the least restrictive environment.
Jenna joined ELC in 2010 as a Skadden fellow. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 2010, and received her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006.
Cynthia Triminio-Batista
Administrative Assistant
Cynthia Triminio- Batista manages day-to-day administrative operations at ELC.
Prior to joining ELC, Cynthia worked for La Casa de Don Pedro, where she helped low-income families qualify for home energy assistance.
Jitendra Vakani
Treasurer
Jitendra Vakani oversees accounting, financial operations, and retirement and insurance plans at ELC.
Jitendra has a B.A. and a Master’s degree in Accounting & Auditing from India.