Executive Director
James Matison reports to the Board of Directors and directly supervises all aspects of the BKS programs. Mr. Matison has a recognized track record in providing leadership for multi-site, multi-program organizations. A proven senior-level manager, he spent more than twenty-five years in high level corporate management positions in several different industries but spent most of his business years in entrepreneurial settings prior to becoming the executive director at the Brooklyn Kindergarten Society in 2009. 

Mr. Matison began his education career as a sixth-grade teacher in Brownsville for four years before he became the head of the lower school at Saint Ann’s in Brooklyn Heights. He then moved on to NYC City Hall as the assistant to the mayor for education. Jim has also been active on not-for-profit boards of schools and organizations that deal with troubled youth.

Mr. Matison is the author of The Only Barter Book You’ll Ever Need, published by Bantam Books. He received an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and his BA from Columbia College.

Deputy Director
Marcia Forbes, a licensed social worker with more than 20 years of experience in programs serving children and families, has devoted over ten years to BKS. She serves as Deputy Director and the Director of Family Services. As director of family services, she provides oversight to all family services programs at our early childhood centers and works with all center directors and social service staff (including social workers, family service coordinators, family workers, and graduate student interns). As deputy director, she provides leadership and oversight to the center directors and works closely with the senior administrative team to coordinate the integration of services, assess programs and staff, share ideas, and develop goals for program development. Ms. Forbes received her undergraduate degree from SUNY Buffalo and her MSW from New York University. She also holds a SIFI certificate and has taught as an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Social Work.

Director of Education and Research
Anusha Subramanyam, PhD, the Director of Education and Research, joined BKS in 2015. She received a BA from Rutgers in Cell Biology, Neuroscience, and Psychology; an MA from Columbia University in Teaching as Applied Behavior Analysis; and a PhD from Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Applied Behavior Analysis. She has a broad range of experience, teaching children in both mainstream and special education settings. She has expertise in instructional design, evidence-based practices, and data-based decision making. She is also experienced in developing and executing preschool and literacy programs for underserved children, an experience that includes systematic training, supervision, and performance management for teaching assistants.

Director, Tompkins Children’s Center
Ms. Atkins started her career as an EMT for the NYC Fire Department, responding to emergencies and saving lives. While her work there was critically important, we are all grateful that she made the switch to education more than ten years ago when she became a kindergarten teacher. Ms. Atkins joined BKS in 2010, teaching a class of two and three-year olds at our Tompkins Children’s Center in Bedford Stuyvesant. In 2013 she moved to Nat Azarow Children’s Center in Brownsville where she has been the lead UPK teacher, assuming broader management duties when they became available at the center. In January 2017, Ms. Atkins returned to Tompkins Children’s Center as Director.  Ms. Atkins received her B.A from Nyack College, graduating Summa Cum Laude.  She also has her Masters Degree in Early Childhood from Brooklyn College.

Director – Sumner Children’s Center (Bedford Stuyvesant)
Angalie Dasai combines a passion for educating young children with high energy and a natural leadership style. As the center director at Sumner (another NAEYC accredited center), Ms. Dasai has distinguished herself as sparing no effort to give the best to every individual child in her care. Her teachers feel that clear sense of mission and respond by giving far more than they are required to. The results have been impressive with high enrollment, the best attendance of all our centers, and top marks when it comes to children’s progress. Ms. Dasai received her BA in English Language Arts from Hunter College, an MS in Education from Metropolitan College, and a Special Education Extension Certificate from Touro College.

Director – Nat Azarow Children’s Center (Brownsville)

Olena Jaffe joined BKS in 2007 as the center director at our Sumner Children’s Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Prior to coming to BKS, she worked as a head teacher, school psychologist, and an education director in several high-quality programs in both Brooklyn and Ukraine. As director at Sumner, Olena directed her entire staff to focus on quality and measurable results with our children. The end product was that Sumner became the second program in BKS to receive the much-coveted honor of NAEYC accreditation.

Olena took some time off three years ago to have a delightful baby boy, then returned to BKS as our director of monitoring and compliance to ensure that all our policies and procedures continued to meet the highest standards. In the fall of 2016 the center director at Nat Azarow Children’s Center retired, and Olena was appointed to replace her. Olena brings a vast amount of hands-on early education experience to BKS, a BA in early childhood education and educational psychology, and an MA in educational psychology.

Director – Brevoort Children’s Center (Bedford Stuyvesant)
Huguette Lareche was initially hired as a group teacher at our Nat Azarow Children’s Center in Brownsville. A gifted master teacher, Huguette quickly established herself as a thoughtful leader and a team player, someone who would assist anyone if it involved improving outcomes for children. When the director opening at Brevoort appeared in 2012, there was no doubt that Huguette’s intelligence, sensitivity, knowledge of early childhood education, and leadership qualities made her the ideal candidate. And she has fulfilled every aspect of that demanding job.

{We are proud to announce that our Brevoort Children’s Center has just been awarded NAEYC accreditation status, the gold standard in the world of early education. NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) sets extraordinarily high standards for organizations that seek their endorsement. Brevoort now joins this elevated status, which has been achieved by only one percent of all programs in New York and eight percent in the country. Our Sumner and Tompkins Children’s Center have previously attained this honor.}

Prior to joining BKS, Huguette served as the Education Director at Community Life Center Head Start and before that she was the Head teacher at Hudson Guild Children’s Center, Bank Street West Head Start. She received her BA and MA in Early Childhood Education from the City University of New York.

Director – Edwards L. Cleaveland Children’s Center (North Crown Heights)
Delores Mims comes to BKS with a wealth of experience in early childhood education and has been a Program Director for more than 10 years. She began her career as a Head Start parent and soon became a head teacher at Bloomingdale Family Program Head Start in Manhattan. Following 17 successful years teaching, she was promoted to Educational Director at Bloomingdale. Prior to joining BKS a year ago, Ms. Mims served as the Educational Director at Bedford Stuyvesant Early Child Development Center (a Head Start program). She received her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and her MS in Literacy Education from the City University of New York.

Director/Community Liaison, Weeksville Gardens Community Center

Judith (Judy) Brown Fears has over 20 years of experience in education and developing programs to the community at large. She has worked in Clark Atlanta University School of Education Teacher Education program teaching trainees and professionals in early childhood through high school. In addition, she has traveled throughout Central America teaching educational technology to undeveloped communities. She is an advocate for youth and under-served communities bringing services and educational programs that resulted in improved relationships, programs, and resources. Her commitment to the community has helped to transform the lives of many. She has served as the Program Director/Volunteer & Community Services Coordinator for STEM programming for girls where she developed innovative approaches that open doors to college, mentoring and job opportunities for the participants. As an adjunct instructor she has taught Instructional Technology for Teachers and organized, and developed syllabi for classes in teacher education for Classroom Management and Exceptional Children.

Judy has dedicated her education and professional career to helping people. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education (Business) with a minor in Marketing from Clark Atlanta University and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in educational technology from the University of Phoenix. She has worked with AmeriCorps, National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), and served as a facilitator for It’s Time to Talk: Forums on Race.

Director of Finance
Kishor Belani reports to the executive director and, as part of the senior management team, he is responsible for overseeing BKS’s finances and general agency administration. Prior to joining BKS, Mr. Belani held financial management roles in both the not-for-profit and the corporate sectors (SONY Music Entertainment, Merrill Lynch). He earned his Master of Business Administration degree from St. John’s University and his BBA from Hofstra University. Mr. Belani is a Certified Public Accountant.

Director of Development
Aprille Russell joined BKS as director of development in 2017. She has spent over fifteen years in direct marketing with over ten years dedicated to the nonprofit field. She’s worked as a consultant or an employee in academia, pulmonary research, civil rights, environmental conservation, and issues affecting women and their communities. The organizations include grassroots nonprofits and large, established institutions. As director of development, Ms. Russell oversees special events, grantwriting, and individual giving. She has an extensive background in nonprofit fundraising, direct marketing, and strategic planning. She received a BA from Yale University.