BOARD OF TRUSTEES
A Network of Guidance & Support
The Board of Trustees at Classical Charter Schools is committed to our mission of preparing scholars in the South Bronx to excel in college preparatory high schools. With the guidance of this supportive group of board members, we are able to fulfill the goals of our charter.
Jake Elghanayan, Chair
Mr. Elghanayan began his career practicing law as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. He received his B.A. from Brown University in 2006 and a joint M.A.-J.D. from Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Study and NYU School of Law in 2012. Mr. Elghanayan is a Principal of TF Cornerstone, a New York City-based real estate development firm.
James R. Maher, Jr., Vice Chair
Mr. Maher is a Principal at Harbor Road Holdings, a real estate investment firm. Prior to Harbor Road, Mr. Maher served as a Director in the Real Estate Equity team in New York City. He earned his B.A. from Brown University and an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from NYU. He also serves on the board of Family Dynamics, which provides community-based services including family counseling, after-school programs, and workforce preparedness courses in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, and East New York, Brooklyn. Mr. Maher is also a member of the Advisory Council for Prep for Prep.
Veena Malpani, Vice Chair
Ms. Malpani brings over 15 years of legal and compliance practice to Classical and is currently the Deputy Chief Compliance Officer and Assistant General Counsel at SurgoCap Partner LP, a New York based asset manager. Ms. Malpani graduated from American University Washington College of Law, and from Emory University.
Bryan Lawrence, Treasurer
Bryan is the founder of Oakcliff Capital, which invests in public securities, and a member of Yorktown Partners, a private equity firm investing in energy companies. He has served on the boards of multiple for-profit and non-profit companies, and was a co-founder of Public Prep, a network of public charter schools in New York. He received a BA from Yale, an MPhil from Cambridge and an MBA from Harvard.
Kathryn Moore Heleniak, Trustee
Dr. Heleniak is an author and a professor of Art History at Fordham University. She was a residential fellow at the Ligurian Center for Arts and Humanities, a recipient of a Mellon Fellowship at the Yale Center for British Art, and was named an Outstanding Teacher in the Humanities at Fordham University.
C. Stephen Baldwin, Esq., Trustee
Mr. Baldwin, currently a writer, has served as a population and development educator with the United Nations, Population Council, and Ford Foundation. Previously, he was an attorney at the United Nations, an Executive Director of the Learning Disabilities Association of NYC, a third-grade teacher in the South Bronx, and an independent arbitrator/mediator.
Kevin Murphy, Trustee
Mr. Murphy retired from P.S. 96 in East Harlem where he taught Math across the elementary grades as a cluster teacher for a dozen years. Previously, he was an agent with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and a vice president at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York.
Hon. Robert E Torres, Trustee
Judge Torres is a Justice on the New York Supreme Court and a former Administrative Judge of Bronx County. He previously served as a judge in Family Court, Bronx County and a judge of both Civil and Criminal Court in the City of New York. Mr. Torres graduated from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is a long-time Bronx resident.
Arnaud Camu, Trustee
Mr. Camu is Director, Legal at Softbank Group International. He was previously an associate Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. He has extensive experience in M&A, dispute resolution and litigation, and corporate governance. Mr. Camu has represented pro bono clients in various matters across New York City. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.
Board Resources
For questions, contact our board chair Jake Elghanayan at boardchair@classicalcharterschools.org