Our Team

Jamila Mosley is an educational leader who excels in creating transformative educational experiences that are inclusive, creative, and progressively rigorous. Jamila embraces and values human differences in our societies and aims to create spaces for them to be reflected and celebrated in the classrooms. She strives to provide young people, with specific regard to minoritized youth,   with equal opportunities for active participation in all educational spaces that illuminate their capabilities, thus making deeper connections to themselves and our society at large.

As the director, Jamila manages a $1.7 million per year granted program to support community schools in Harlem, NYC. Within this role, she has been able to establish relationships and contracts with community-based organizations that help provide wrap-around services with partner schools within REACH. Additionally, she solicits and coordinates Teachers College and Columbia University faculty and students to carry out research, teaching, and service for REACH’s partner schools. Currently, she is in pursuit of her Ed.D in Instructional Leadership at Hunter College, with a research focus on students' exploration of finding Black joy in expanded learning opportunities.

Jamila is a tenured teacher and certified to teach 1-6 grade in New York City Public Schools. Prior to accepting the role as the director of REACH she taught in the Tri-State area for over twelve years and was the Instructional Specialist for REACH for two years. She holds an M.A. in Elementary Inclusive Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.A. in History from Hampton University.

When she is not running, Jamila enjoys running all over the world! She has completed three marathons in Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. She will be completing her fourth marathon in London in April 2024.

My name is Stephanie Latchman. I attended CUNY Queens College and graduated in 2016 with a Master of Science in Education. My passion lies in making a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and communities that need support the most. I have over ten years of experience working with children across various age groups,  from daycare, elementary, and middle school, to high school students in all 5 boroughs. I look forward to continuing my work, empowering students to become the best versions of themselves, and promoting impactful programming and resources throughout NYC.

 After working in public health internships at the Terrence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center in NYC and the Jane Kopas Women’s Center in Scranton, Chabeli decided to shift her career focus from clinical work to health education and coaching.  After graduating college, she worked with a Bronx-based non-profit organization as a health educator to coordinate and facilitate health workshops for parents and adolescents at health centers and public schools around topics such as asthma, nutrition, healthy relationships, and reproductive health.  Prior to joining the REACH team, Chabeli transitioned into a senior health education role, overseeing the professional development of a team of peer and health educators, and conducted outreach events to expand the impact of the youth development program. She attended the University of Scranton for her Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education, and earned Eta Sigma Gamma Professional Health Education honors. As a Harlem native, she aims to serve at-risk youth and families from her community, and looks forward to working with passionate teams of school-based staff to provide greater opportunities for young people. 

Timal McKen is excited to introduce himself as the newly appointed Community School Director at C.S.154. It is an honor for him to join this school community, and he is eager to contribute to the growth and success of the school and community alike. In his role as Community School Director, he brings over 15 years of experience in Youth Development, Education, and Entertainment. His passion for fostering a positive, collaborative, and fun learning environment aligns with C.S. 154's commitment to excellence. He is dedicated to working closely with students, parents, faculty, and community partners to enhance the overall educational experience. He is enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead to build meaningful connections with each member of the school and TC Community.

Paloma Perez-Zarzecka is the Success Coordinator at P.S.36 Margaret Douglas where she leads the Success Mentoring Program for chronically absent students in grades K-5th. She promotes an engaging and collaborative school environment through leading student projects, maintaining school-wide practices, and supporting community events. A native New Yorker and graduate of the public school system, Paloma Perez-Zarzecka is devoted to supporting students in schools that closely mirror those she attended. She attributes her dedication to NYC communities to school leaders who nurtured and uplifted her throughout her academic and personal development journeys. Her commitment to fostering student success intensified when she started at IUME in 2020 and joined the RESI (Reimagining Education Summer Institute) team for three years before joining REACH in 2022. 

Dravid Dowansingh is the Success Coordinator at C.S. 154. He is Jamaican and grew up in New York City. He graduated from Hunter College, and is a lover of music, art, and fashion.

My name is Madeleine Balliette and I am a graduate student in Education Policy at TC. Before starting at TC, I was a second grade teacher for 2 years in Nashville, TN. My favorite part about working with kids was seeing them grow socially, emotionally, and academically. I look forward to building relationships with more students through REACH and impacting their lives for the better.

Andrea Kim is a Ph.D. student in the Sociology and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research explores the intersections of race, place, and education, particularly how carceral logics are embedded in schools and navigated by marginalized youth. Andrea’s recent work uses podcasting as a tool to examine how surveillance and control are embedded in the physical and institutional design of New York City schools. She is especially interested in storytelling and counter-storytelling as methods that challenge dominant narratives and foreground lived experience. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., she worked at the NYC Department of Education in both early childhood and special education. She is excited to join the REACH team to cultivate joy and justice in education alongside youth.

My name is Ally and I'm excited to be returning to REACH for this upcoming school year 2025 - 2026. I am earning my Master's in Nutrition at Teachers College. I taught gardening and nutrition last year. My students' capacities for creativity, reflection, and connection to the world around them inspired me every week. I hope to continue fostering those qualities and planting seeds!  I believe nutrition education is a powerful tool for helping youth explore physical, mental, social, and planetary health.

I am a School Psychology Ph.D. student at Teachers College who is passionate about fostering children's confidence and love of learning. My career goal is to support both the academic and social-emotional well-being of youth, particularly for marginalized and minoritized youth. As a Zankel fellow who has worked at P.S. 154 in prior years, I have loved connecting with students through read-alouds and literacy work, and seeing a shift in student's academic engagement and excitement for school motivates me to continue working with kids.

My name is John, and I am thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to academically teach, to emotionally support and celebrate, and to personally learn from, our Harlem young people in the REACH initiative.  My life’s mission is to apply any gifts and talents I may have, or may develop, to make the world a better place for young people of color from under-resourced urban communities.  Previous experiences as a Social Studies teacher (7 years) in the School District of Philadelphia, PA, and as a youth development program designer and implementer (6 years) working with youth and families in Camden, NJ, have inspired fundamental educational questions that focus on how students’ race and class may afford and constrain their learning opportunities.  I look forward to exploring such questions in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, as an incoming first year doctoral student at Teachers College. 

I'm a graduate student at Teachers College, studying Nutrition Education as I work towards becoming a Registered Dietitian. My passion for nutrition grew through diverse experiences - from providing health education for elementary school children and their families in the Philippines, to developing community programs for survivors of gender-based violence and their children in NYC. I am motivated by the belief that nutrition education can empower individuals to make lifelong healthy choices, to support them in living fuller, happier lives. I especially enjoy working with kids because of their curiosity and energy, which create the perfect environment to instill healthy habits early on. Working with kids to build healthy habits early on is an important investment to make for their long-term wellbeing. 

 My name is Sofia Suarez, and this is my second year in the REACH program. I pursued graduate studies in School Psychology in order to gain the knowledge and skills to be a resource for my community. I believe that every child is inherently entitled to a positive and safe environment inside and outside school, and that each student should be provided with the support they need to learn, grow, and flourish. I also strongly believe in students' ideas, thoughts, and talents - there is so much to learn from them. I am driven by these beliefs in the various capacities in which I work with students and their families. I am motivated to learn from everyone at the REACH schools, and to further develop my skills guided by experts in the field.

Yeena is a doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University studying school psychology. She is dedicated to fostering environments where children can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. She is particularly committed to working with BIPOC and historically minoritized youth and addressing aggregate as well as systemic barriers to equitable mental health and educational access. She has previously served as a Kindergarten teacher in Baltimore City.