Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today appointed eight members to the Panel for Educational Policy, which was re-established when Governor Paterson signed the New York City school governance legislation into law on Tuesday. The eight members, whom the Mayor announced on his weekly Friday morning radio show on WOR Radio, are Philip A. Berry, Linda Lausell Bryant, Joe Chan, David Chang, Tino Hernandez, Richard L. Menschel, Tomás D. Morales, and Gitte Peng. The Panel's primary responsibilities include approving educational policies proposed by the Chancellor as well as the Department of Education's budget, the school capital plan, certain contracts, labor agreements, proposals for closing failing schools and other significant changes in how schools are utilized. Each Borough President has one appointee to the Panel, and members will elect a chair at the first meeting. The Panel previously existed from 2002 until the school governance legislation lapsed earlier this summer.

"The work of the Panel for Educational Policy is critical to maintaining the bold reforms we have initiated since gaining control of schools in 2002, and to making sure that each student has access to a quality public school education," said Mayor Bloomberg. "This marks the last step in re-establishing the school governance that has allowed our schools and students to make so much progress over the last seven years and will allow us to keep working to improve our schools."

The eight members appointed by Mayor Bloomberg are:

Philip A. Berry is the President of the management consulting firm Philip Berry Associates LLC and the Vice Chairman of CUNY Board of Trustees. He brings more than 25 years of experience in human resources management to a school system with more than 136,000 employees. Berry previously served in a variety of human resources positions at Colgate-Palmolive, including Vice President, Global Workplace Initiatives.  Prior to that, Berry worked in human resources at Proctor & Gamble, Digital Equipment, and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York by Governor Pataki in 2006, and Governor Spitzer appointed him Vice-Chairman in 2007. A product of the New York City public school system, Berry attended Manhattan Community College and received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Queens College. Berry also earned a Masters of Business Administration from Xavier University and a Masters of Social Work from Columbia University. Berry served on the first Panel for Educational Policy from 2002 through 2009.

Linda Lausell Bryant, who has a child in a public middle school in Brooklyn, is the Executive Director of Inwood House, a nationally-recognized innovator in teen pregnancy prevention, youth development and family support programs. She manages and directs the nonprofit's day-to-day operations, including the 36-bed maternity residence and other programs helping some 4,000 youth annually. Bryant was previously Associate Commissioner in the Office of Youth Development at the New York City Administration for Children's Services, where she developed initiatives and partnerships for strengthening child welfare practice with adolescents to improve educational, social, and economic and health outcomes. A cum laude graduate of Pace University, Bryant has a Masters of Social Work from Hunter College, and has completed coursework toward a Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work at New York University.

Joe Chan, who has one child in a public Pre-K program in Brooklyn and a second in a Brooklyn public elementary school, was appointed as the first President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in September 2006.  As President of the Partnership, Chan works closely with City agencies, elected officials, businesses, cultural organizations, and the real estate industry to spur new and continued investment in Downtown Brooklyn's growth. Chan oversees the revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn's core including the development of new office and retail space, mixed-income housing, cultural facilities and public open space and streetscape improvements. He previously served as Senior Policy Advisor to New York City Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff and was his liaison for Brooklyn and long-term strategic land use and infrastructure planning issues.  Prior to serving in City Hall, Chan had been Director of Real Estate and Business Services for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Director of Economic Development for the Local Development Corporation of East New York.  A magna cum laude graduate of New York University's Metropolitan Studies Program, Chan also holds a Masters degree in Urban Planning from NYU's Wagner School of Public Service. He also taught public school in the South Bronx for three years as part of the Teach for America Program.

David C. Chang, the Chancellor of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, is an internationally-recognized scholar in the fields of engineering, science, and electromagnetics.  As President of Polytechnic University in Brooklyn prior to its reorganization, Chang increased enrollment by sixty percent. He is a member of the Mayor's Committee on Appointments and served as a member of Mayor Bloomberg's Transition Team. Chang, who also teaches Electrical Engineering at Polytechnic, earned his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University. Chang served on the first Panel for Educational Policy from 2002 through 2009.

Tino Hernandez is President and Chief Executive Officer of Samaritan Village, Inc. one of the largest nonprofit providers and community-based, substance abuse treatment services in New York. He is responsible for the administration and oversight of the Agency's ten facilities which include drug-free residential, methadone-to-abstinence and out-patient modalities, as well as homeless and senior services. From 2001 to 2008, he served as Chairman of the New York City Housing Authority. Prior to his service at NYCHA, Hernandez was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Education and Human Services, and Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Homeless Services.  A licensed social worker, Hernandez earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Adelphi University in 1986, and holds a Masters of Social Work from SUNY Albany's Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.  Hernandez served on the first Panel for Educational Policy from 2004 through 2009.

Richard L. Menschel is Senior Director of Goldman Sachs, a firm he joined in 1959.  He is Director and President of the Charina Endowment Fund, a member of the Dean's Council at the Harvard School of Public Health, Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees for the Hospital for Special Surgery, and a Vice President and Trustee of the Morgan Library & Museum.  He has also served as Co-Chairman of New York City's 1977 Transitional Government Search Panel, Director and Treasurer of the Fund for Public Schools, among many other positions. Menschel earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. Menschel served on the first Panel for Educational Policy from 2002 through 2009.

Tomás D. Morales was appointed by the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York to serve as the third President of the College of Staten Island in June of 2007. An educator and administrative leader in higher education for over 32 years, Morales is one of the few higher education administrators in the United States who have held senior administrative positions at the three largest public university systems in the nation: the California State University system, the State University of New York, and the City University of New York. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History (Secondary Education) cum laude from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and earned his MS and Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from the State University of New York at Albany. 

Gitte Peng, a new mother and an independent documentary filmmaker and field producer for Better Than Fiction Productions, served for five years as the Senior Education Policy Advisor to Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott.  There she played a lead role in crafting and implementing the school governance reform legislation establishing mayoral control of the schools, advised on all issues of education policy and reform, and developed and oversaw education strategies and initiatives throughout the system. Previously, she directed parent engagement efforts and the support of School Leadership Teams at the New York City Board of Education's Chancellor's District, a district of low-performing schools. Peng graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, where she taught law to high school students as co-director of the Street Law project, and helped to found the Amistad Academy charter school.