Board

Charles K. Gifford (Chad) is Chairman Emeritus of Bank of America. He served as Chairman of the Corporation from April 1, 2004 until his retirement on January 31, 2005. He continued to serve as a Director of the Corporation until April 26, 2016, when he retired from the Board.

Mr. Solomon co-founded and directed Boston Teacher Residency since its inception in 2003. Mr. Solomon was a founding teacher at City on a Hill Public Charter School, one of the first charter school in Massachusetts, serving as head of the math department, lead teacher for curriculum and instruction, and a member of the board of directors. He taught secondary math in urban schools for ten years, and is a National Board certified teacher. He serves on the Board of Directors for Cambridge College and UP Academies Boston/Dorchester, and is a member of Deans for Impact.

Ms. Banta has worked in marketing, sales, and community relations at IBM since 1973. She is currently responsible for IBM's corporate philanthropy, government relations, and community relations. She also serves as a board member to the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, United Ways of New England, Mass Taxpayers Foundation, Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, and the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Ms. Banta has served as chair of the board of the Mass Business Alliance for Education.

Ms. Battaglino co-leads the firm's Education Practice. She has advised clients on issues related to operational excellence, strategy development, and new venture creation. Her clients include a wide range of organizations from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, and some of the world's largest foundations. While at Parthenon, Ms. Battaglino has worked extensively with companies in the information and education sector, partnering with clients spanning the K-12, higher education, and corporate training continuum. Ms. Battaglino holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College. She received her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and her M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

John Borders IV proudly hails from Dorchester, MA. With a career focused on leveraging brands for impact, John's skill sets have shown forth through focused work in the areas of corporate social responsibility, community engagement, relationship management, and business development to name a few. Some of the organizations John has worked with include Goalsetter, Everfi, CUME, Morning Star Baptist Church, the Boston Celtics, as well as the Patrick administration for the Commonwealth of MA.

John is deeply rooted in the community and has worked over his career to amplify the heart and soul of the city that’s shaped him. John’s ability to leverage partnerships is the attribute that sets him apart as well as his unique ability to foster relationships. John earned his B.A. in Religion from Morehouse College and calls Boston home with his wife, three children, and their dog, Fudge.

Mr. Burnes is a Founding Member and General Partner at Charles River Ventures, one of the nation’s major venture capital firms. Mr. Burnes is a trustee of Boston’s Museum of Science, The Boston Foundation, and Vice Chair of the Sea Education Association. He brings extensive experience in the areas of organizational development and leadership.

Reverend Groover was appointed to the Boston Public Schools School Committee in 2007 and was elected Chair in 2009. He serves as chairman of the Education Committee of the Black Ministerial Alliance in Boston, president of the board at Roxbury Renaissance Center, and board member for YMCA or Greater Boston and Gordon College. A Roxbury resident, Reverand Groover is also a Boston Public Schools parent.

Ms Guiney led BPE as its executive director for 15 years, introducing a focus on teacher development and a whole-school approach to change. Prior to her work at BPE, Ms. Guiney was Chief Education Advisor to the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources and one of the Democratic staff leaders on the reauthorization of Goals 2000 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1995. A former high school English teacher, Ms. Guiney served as education advisor to Mayor Ray Flynn during Boston’s transition to an appointed school board.

Makeeba McCreary joined the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in January 2019 as the first Chief of Learning and Community Engagement. Her portfolio in this role encompasses public programs, learning programs, Interpretation and inclusion overseeing more than 60 full and part time employees, and another 300 active volunteers. Prior to joining the Museum, she was most recently Chief of Staff and then Managing Director and Senior Advisor of External Affairs at Boston Public Schools where she worked with the Mayor, School Committee, Superintendent, and district leadership to engage members of the Boston community and expand their efforts to garner positive attention for the many accomplishments of Boston students, teachers, and alumni. Previously she worked with global brands such as Nike Inc., Jordan Brand, National Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Darden Inc. Makeeba’s early career was spent in direct service delivery with opportunity youth. In addition to her youth-facing work, she has designed, programmed, and driven policy for supported team-problem solving with urban public school teachers. The goal of these efforts was to reduce the disproportionate special education designation of black and latino children – particularly boys. McCreary’s current portfolio touches the early childhood to college pipeline and along the way emphasizes the inclusion of students with special needs, experiencing housing instability and those most marginalized by the opportunity and achievement gaps. McCreary earned her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts Boston, an M.Ed. from Harvard University, and an EdD. from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Jal Mehta is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research explores the role of different forms of knowledge in tackling major social and political problems, particularly problems of human improvement. He has also written extensively on what it would take to improve American education, with a particular focus on the professionalization of teaching.

Jal is the author of The Allure of Order: High Hopes, Dashed Expectations and the Troubled Quest to Remake American Schooling (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013) and the co-editor of The Futures of School Reform (Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2012). He is currently working on two projects: In Search of Deeper Learning, a contemporary study of schools, systems, and nations that are seeking to produce ambitious instruction; and The Chastened Dream, a history of the effort to link social science with social policy to achieve social progress. He is co-editor of the Learning Deeply blog at Education Week, and in 2014 was the top-ranked junior faculty scholar in the Rick Hess Education Week rankings. He is also the winner of the Morningstar Teaching Award at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He was recently awarded a Radcliffe Fellowship and will be on sabbatical for the 2016-17 academic year.

Myriam Sullivan is a senior director in the Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning at JFF. She works to advance career pathways for populations who are underrepresented in high-demand sectors of the economy.

Her work focuses on transforming policies and practices across the Registered Apprenticeship and work-based learning ecosystems.

Before joining JFF, she was a presidential management fellow for two offices within the U.S. Department of Labor and an associate at JPMorgan Chase.Educational background:

Bachelor’s degree in political science, State University of New York at Albany

Master’s degree in public administration, Long Island University

EdD in higher education and higher education administration, Northeastern University

As the Market Executive, Erin works closely with Massachusetts President Miceal Chamberlain and local line of business leaders to deliver a focused and integrated local market strategy, that will improve our ability to drive business and revenue growth, make a positive impact in our communities, build connectivity and employee engagement, and deliver the Bank of America brand commitment. Her priorities are to deliver for our clients, employees and our community.

Erin joined Bank of America in 2009 and served in numerous roles, including as a Market Specialist, Project Manager and Market Executive in South Florida. Prior to joining the bank, her experience includes work in the nonprofit sector in program administration, fundraising, special events and donor services with the Community Foundation of Broward, Miami Children’s Museum and Big Brothers Big Sisters in Boston and New Hampshire.

Passionate about service, Erin is an active volunteer in her community and has been a Big Sister for many years in both Boston and Florida. She served on the Boards of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, City Year Miami and Leadership Broward before relocating back to Boston in early 2020. Currently she sits on the Summer Fund Advisory Council, and serves as a Board Member for the Boston Plan for Excellence.

A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Erin received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and social work. While Erin was born and raised in Rhode Island, she currently resides in Walpole, Massachusetts.