Meet Our Leaders

Doreen C. Land, Ed. D.

Head of School

In July 2011, BCSC Board of Trustees proudly welcomed Dr. Doreen Land to our charter school as Executive Director and Head of School. Prior to joining BCSC, Dr. Land's career was marked by more than 20 years of combined experience in elementary education, charter school start-up, administration, supervision, training, and teaching, including Academic Superintendent of 26 Refocus Schools in Cleveland, Ohio; Founding Principal of DC Prep's Edgewood Elementary Campus in Washington, DC; Superintendent of Schools for Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academies, Harlem, NY; Principal of Cleveland Elementary School, and Quarles Early Childhood Center in Englewood, NJ; Teacher of Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, First, Second, and Fifth Grades in the NYC Public Schools. Dr. Land received her Ed. D. from the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, Philadelphia, PA, an Ed.M. and M.S. Ed. from Bank Street College of Education, New York, NY, and a B.S. in Business Administration from the New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY.

Stephanie Abel

Director of Upper School

Ms. Abel joined BCSC as a 3rd grade Teacher Leader during the 2007-08 school year and was promoted to the Director of Upper School in July 2008. Prior to joining the BCSC team, Ms. Abel served as a Writing Teacher and Team Leader at a charter school in Harlem. Ms. Abel served as the 4th Grade Team Leader and as a Summer Faculty Advisor for the NYC Teaching Fellows assigned to her school. Ms. Abel received her Masters of Science degree in elementary education from Lehman College and has nine years of classroom teaching experience. Ms. Abel's favorite book is Thank You, Mr. Falker because the story honors a teacher who took the time to work with a struggling student.

Rosalyn Bindman

ESL Coordinator

Ms. Bindman joined BCSC in September 2004. Ms. Bindman has since expanded her role at BCSC and provides staff development support to address the needs of BCSC's growing population of English language-learners. Fluent in Spanish, Ms. Bindman is the supervisor for both ESL and this year took on the responsibility of overseeing Spanish programs at BCSC. She has NY State permanent certification in ESL, music, French, and educational administration. Her BA, in French, is from the University of Michigan, and her MA in music, is from Hunter College. Previously, Ms. Bindman taught ESL in the NYCDOE, served as Director of Education for 11 years for the Orchestra of St. Luke's (overseeing children's arts programs and partnerships with NYC schools), and taught for several years at Hunter College. Ms. Bindman's favorite book is Jose Maria Arguedas' Deep Rivers because it captures the magic she experienced in the Andean villages of Peru.

Traci Gavila

School Psychologist

Dr. Gavila joined BCSC in September 2009. She graduated with a Psy.D. from the School-Clinical Psychology program at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and is certified by New York State as a School Psychologist. Dr. Gavila has worked in various settings throughout her doctoral training. She provided therapeutic services for children and families with developmental disabilities at Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center. She also worked with children and adults with mental health and substance abuse challenges in a psychiatric outpatient clinic at North General Hospital in Harlem and provided school psychology services at Prospect Hill Elementary School in Pelham, New York. Prior to her doctoral pursuits, Dr. Gavila served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkmenistan and taught English in Japan. She graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a major in psychology and minor in Women's Studies. Dr. Gavila's favorite book is Goodnight Moon because it sounds like a lullaby when you read it.

Kristina Jelinek

Director of Student Support Services

Ms. Jelinek joined BCSC in August 2009 as the Inclusion Program Manager and assumed the role of Director of Student Support Services in August 2011. She brings experience in coordinating student services, assessing student needs, and hands-on classroom teaching. Ms. Jelinek began her career in education with the New York City Department of Education, where she worked as a Special Education Coordinator and bilingual special education teacher, as well as a basketball coach, Penny Harvest coach, and ESL enrichment teacher. She also worked as a Fellow Advisor with the New York City Teaching Fellows. She is a certified teacher of Students with Disabilities as a Middle Childhood Generalist and holds her bilingual extension in Spanish. Ms. Jelinek received a BA in Sociology and Spanish with concentrations in Public Policy/Public Service and Human Services from Albion College, an MS in Urban Education from Mercy College, and a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership at Teachers College through the Summer Principals Academy. Ms. Jelinek's favorite book is The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss because it provides an inspiring portrayal of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for all of us.

Anna Johnson

Director of Lower School

Ms. Johnson joined BCSC in 2007 and moved into the position of Director of Lower School in the summer of 2010. Ms. Johnson previously fulfilled the roles of classroom teacher, Teacher Leader, and Assessment Coordinator at BCSC. Prior to joining BCSC, Ms. Johnson taught for three years at public elementary school in the Bronx, and for one year as an English teacher at a language school in Ecuador. Ms. Johnson is a graduate of the NYC Teaching Fellows program, and received her MS in Elementary Education from Hunter College in 2005. In 2010, she completed the Education Administration and Leadership program through the College of Saint Rose. Ms. Johnson's favorite book is Anagrams by Lorrie Moore, because of the author's use of inventive descriptions, plot tricks, and word play.

Carolyn Lashley

Dean of Students and Families

Ms. Lashley currently serves as Dean of Students and Families. Ms. Lashley comes to BCSC with 8 years of teaching and 3 years of Dean of Students experience, having worked as a teacher and a dean on both elementary and middle school levels for 15 years. Ms. Lashley, in accordance with her teaching license, possesses her SAS & SDA leadership certification from Queens College, and she received her MS from Brooklyn College. Ms.Lashley's favorite book is Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret because she really connected with the experiences of the character.

Candice Manzano

Director of Operations

Ms. Manzano joined BCSC in August 2004 and started at BCSC as an office manager, and in 2006 was promoted to the role of the Director of Operations. She now supervises all of the administrative support staff and manages contracted services personnel, including food service, security, and janitorial workers. Ms. Manzano's prior work experiences include internships with the All Stars Project, Green Haven, and three years at The Children's Health Fund at Montefiore Medical Center as a research specialist on a number of public health programs. Candice received her BA from Vassar College and her MPA in Nonprofit Management from New York University. Ms. Manzano's favorite book is The Little Engine That Could because her mother used to read it to her when she was a child.

Rose Byron McSween

Director of Development & Middle School Placement

Ms. McSween joined BCSC in September 2009. Ms. McSween comes to BCSC with extensive experience in non-profit management and educational leadership. Ms. McSween previously worked at the Saint David's School, Loyola School, The GO Project at Grace Church School, and The Development School for Youth at The All Stars Project. Earlier in her career, she worked at General Electric, Citibank, and The Related Companies in finance. Ms. McSween has successfully completed all of the coursework to obtain her doctorate in education from Fordham University Graduate School of Education and will soon have her first scholarly article published by Vanderbilt University Peabody Journal of Education. Ms. McSween received a BA from Dartmouth College, an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, and an MA in Educational Administration and Leadership from the NYU Steinhardt School of Education. Ms. McSween's favorite book is Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart because it exposes the struggle between change and tradition.

William Seiter

Director of Finance

William Seiter, CPA joined BCSC in 2009 and serves as Director of Finance. Mr. Seiter comes to BCSC with 6 years of professional experience in public accounting, non-profit and government contract administration. Mr. Seiter is a Certified Public Accountant and previously held positions at McGladrey & Pullen, the Children's Aid Society, and Thayer Associates. Mr. Seiter received a B.B.A. in Finance from Pace University, and an M.B.A. in Public Accounting from Pace University Lubin School of Business. Mr. Seiter's favorite book is The Bourne Identity because it's so thrilling he couldn't put the book down.