Staff

Dr. Ashley Williams returns to Brooklyn Kindergarten Society as its Executive Director. She is passionate about providing opportunity and access to young children and their families. Her educational philosophy resonates deeply with Brooklyn Kindergarten Society’s mission – to nurture young learners and diligently work in partnership with families to ensure children reach their highest potential. 

Growing up in the inner city of Atlanta, Dr. Williams became keenly aware in high school of the educational and economic disparities impacting many black and brown communities. That realization influenced her decision to join Teach For America, where she started her career in education as a founding 5th grade teacher at a charter school in Coney Island. Over the last 15 years, Dr. Williams has worked in varying teaching and leadership capacities across K-12 charter, independent, and early childhood settings. From 2020-2023, she served as Brooklyn Kindergarten Society’s Deputy Director of Family and Community Engagement, where she managed the Family Services team across all seven centers, oversaw student enrollment processes, and worked closely with all enrichment and health consultants to best support BKS’ children and families. Most recently, Dr. Williams was a Senior Director for a global strategic fundraising consulting firm, where she helped nonprofits organize and launch multi-million dollar campaigns. 

Dr. Williams received her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Georgia. She also holds a Master of Special Education from Hunter College and a Doctorate of Education, with a focus in Leadership and Learning in Organizations, from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.

In her free time, Dr. Williams enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, traveling, and partaking in a delicious NYC brunch! She is excited to be back at BKS and looks forward to helping the organization truly fulfill its mission.

Elena Jaffe obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Educational Psychology in 1986 and a Master’s in Educational Psychology in 1995 in the Ukraine. There, she worked as an Educational Director for seven years and Child Psychologist for three years in daycare programs.

Ms. Jaffe migrated to the United States about twenty years ago. She has worked as an Educational Director for four years at St. Andrew’s Community Day Care Center, affiliated with Lutheran Medical Center. She was employed by Brooklyn Kindergarten Society in 2007 as the director of the Sumner Children’s Center. During that time (2007-2014) that site was NAEYC accredited in 2009 and re-accredited in 2014. She also worked as an Educational Director at Nat Azarow Children’s Center from 2016-2018.

Helen Kogan holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Touro Graduate School of Business and a SHRM-CP certificate. She has a wealth of experience (over 10 years) working in the HR departments of non-profit organizations in the fields of social services and education. She is a subject matter expert on Recruiting, Total Rewards, Compliance and other HR related areas.

Helen lives with her young daughter, husband, and their cat. She is a huge animal lover and enjoys traveling and the ocean. As someone who has lived in Brooklyn for more than a decade, Helen wants to make a difference in the lives of Brooklyners.

Marcia Thompson has been an Early Childhood Educator for more than 27 years. She taught preschool for almost 10 years and for the past 17 years, Ms. Thompson has worked as a Center Director. Marcia received most of her Early Childhood Education training at City College and gained certification as a Teacher and School Administrator.

Through the years, she has worked on a number of projects with other Early Childhood agencies such as Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Professional Development Institute and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.