Alfred Cockfield

Founder & Executive Director

Reverend Alfred Cockfield, has more than ten years of experience in the field of Education, youth development and civic and community engagement. Since 2013, he has been the Executive Director of the Battalion Christian Academy Schools in Brooklyn, NY and Far Rockaway, Queens where he manages a diverse portfolio including recruitment and retention, partnership alliances, staff development and educational development whose programs use an engaging interactive approach to transform the lives of children. Reverend Cockfield holds a BS in Business Administration and Religious Studies and a minor in Music Business from Nyack College. He later returned to Nyack College where he earned a Masters of Business Administration and International Business Marketing and Management.

Barbara Cockfield

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Barbara Cockfield is a higher education professional with cross-cultural communication skills, successful multi-departmental collaboration experiences, and demonstrated leadership skills that ensure the success of students. For the past 21 years she been an educator; the last 14 of them have been in higher education. Her experience has been in both the field equity, diversity and inclusion working with students of diverse populations to ensure their success to complete college and meeting their life goals, and student affairs to include enrollment management, organization development, programming, student development, fiscal planning, project management, supervision and teaching. She is a highly motivated, forward-thinking individual dedicated to being an advocate for students, faculty and staff.

Ericka Keller Wala

Vice Chair

Ericka Keller Wala truly has a heart for community development and revitalization. Attending school on full academic scholarships and graduating Magna Cum Laude, Ericka earned her Bachelors of Arts, Master of Science and Professional Certification degrees from New York University, Brooklyn College, and the College of St. Rose, respectively. Ericka Keller Wala began her 20 year education career as a junior high school Social Studies teacher.  Within ten years she rose through the ranks serving as Staff Developer, Assistant Principal, and Principal . She worked in Elementary and Middle Schools, both traditional and charter public schools in New York and Gwinnett County, Georgia. She took over the family business of construction and development in 2012 at the passing of her parents, in which she currently serves as CEO of the second generation business.

Rubain Dorancy

Chair

Rubain J. Dorancy, Esq. founded TRIAD Consulting Strategies Inc. five years ago to provide professional development and strategic support to schools and districts. For 25 years, Mr. Dorancy has been directly involved in providing public education and support services to students in the New York City Department of Education of which 15 years were as an administrator and executive. He led professional development initiatives, advocacy support, and leadership development for school administrators, school counselors, district staff, and special educators to ensure that students were receiving appropriate services. Mr. Dorancy is also a partner in The Dorancy Law Firm PLLC, which is a special education law practice to ensure that students with disabilities are protected under the law. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Brooklyn Law School, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Baruch College, and Post-Master’s Professional Diploma and Advanced Certificate in School District Administration from Long Island University.

Adrian Brijadder

Treasurer

Adrian Brijadder is an experienced Tax Senior in the New York Metro Real Estate group. He joined PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Tax practice in 2014. Prior to joining PwC, Adrian spend three years as a budget analyst for the US Department of the Interior in Washington DC. Adrian’s aspiration to become a CPA lead him to apply for a PwC seasonal position which eventually resulted in a full-time offer. Adrian completed all four parts of the CPA exam in 2013 and became a NYS licensed CPA in 2014. Adrian graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Accounting in 2010. Adrian is originally from Brooklyn and graduated from Paul Robeson High School before attending Howard. Adrian currently resides in Brooklyn.

Kenneth Halperin

Trustee

Kenneth J. Halperin is in charge of the firm's complex litigation and construction case units. He also handles a wide variety of cases in the areas of general negligence, automobile liability and premise liability. His primary goal, and that of the firm, is to work closely with all of our clients on their cases from inception through settlement or trial. Ken is a member of the New York State Bar Association and The New York State Trial Lawyers Institute, where he is a member of the Labor Law Committee. He is also the incoming President (2017) of the Jewish Lawyers Guild. Ken is a former member of the Kings County Judicial Screening Committee where he was charged with the responsibility of screening Judicial candidates who are running for election. Ken is also on the Board of Directors of the Precious Dreams Foundation. This foundation raises money to provide comfort items such as blankets, pillows and stuffed animals to inner city children before they are moved into foster homes.

Kwesi McDavid

Trustee

Kwesi McDavid is a mathematician, digital strategist and political activist. Two decades of experience in digital strategy and data analysis with corporate clients and Fortune 500 companies-including Reuters, Nokia, DirecTV and Verizon-have refined Kwesi’s unique ability to analyze people, data, cultures and the political environment that binds these things together.