Our Board

Jemina Bernard, Chair
Executive Director, Teach For America

Born and raised in NYC, Jemina R. Bernard worked as an Associate Program Officer at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (UMEZDC) after graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science.  After two years at UMEZDC, Jemina received an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and joined Deloitte Consulting where, as a Senior Consultant, she led the training development and communications planning activities as part of a year-long international assignment with the UK’s Child Support Agency.  In 2003, Jemina returned to NYC’s public sector and for the last four years served as a member of the central leadership team at the New York City Department of Education. Jemina was recently appointed as the new Executive Director of Teach For America in New York City which support 1,000 corps members serving over 60,000 students in more than 300 public schools in the Bronx, Washington Heights, Harlem, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn.

Djena Graves, Treasurer
Director of Business Development, ICV Capital Partners

Djena Graves is the Director of Business Development for ICV Capital Partners, a New-York based private investment fund with over $440 million of committed capital focused on making equity investments in strong lower middle market companies across industries. At ICV, Miss Graves develops and implements marketing initiatives, cultivates investment opportunities, coordinates fundraising and investor relations, and pursues revenue enhancement opportunities for existing portfolio companies. Prior to ICV, Miss Graves was a senior associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Morgan Stanley focused on energy companies. Miss Graves worked as a chemical engineer at Lyondell-Citgo in her hometown of Houston, Texas prior to attending business school. Miss Graves received a BS degree cum laude in chemical engineering from Florida A&M University, an International Management certificate from HEC Paris and a Masters in Business Administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business.  A Harlem resident, Miss Graves is very active in both professional and community organizations with Board responsibilities for Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), Harlem Success Academy Charter School, the Association for Corporate Growth- NY Chapter and Women’s Association of Venture and Equity- NY Chapter. She is also a Founding Member of the Council of Urban Professionals.

Courtney Welsh
Executive Vice President, NYC Leadership Academy

Courtney Welsh, a graduate of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, has expertise in leadership development, organizational development and strategic planning and has led workshops in these areas for non-profits throughout New York City. Currently she is responsible for overseeing the Leadership Academy’s finance, human resources and evaluation functions and manages the organization’s internal capacity-building efforts. Most recently, she was responsible for overseeing the documentation and dissemination of the Leadership Academy’s programs, fundraising, and program evaluation. Prior to joining the Leadership Academy, Ms. Welsh was the Executive Director of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF).

Ellen Fried
Adjunct Professor

Ellen R. Fried joined the GEMS board in 2006, bringing a lifelong passion and commitment to fighting for the rights and protections of children. She is a seasoned attorney, teacher, mentor and administrator with extensive background in legal education, clinical instruction, and development of courses and programs in the field of juvenile rights.  Presently Ms. Fried is teaching a course in “Children and the Law” as part of the innovative interdisciplinary Children’s Studies Program at Brooklyn College.  From 1993-2007, Ms. Fried taught as an adjunct professor at CUNY Law School where she created and taught in its first Juvenile Defender Clinic.Prior to CUNY Law, Ms. Fried served as the Director of Training for the Juvenile Rights Division of The Legal Aid Society of NY for several years, where she developed training programs for all incoming attorneys, supervised new attorneys in all 5 boroughs, developed and implemented continuing education programs and produced the state-wide JRD Newsletter.  During Ms. Fried’s 30 year career as a public interest attorney, she also taught at Hofstra School of Law, was Assistant Director of the Fund for Modern Courts, an administrative law judge for the E.C.B., a consultant for the Fifth Avenue Committee, and a trial attorney with the Criminal Defence Division of The NY Legal Aid Society.  She is a graduate of Northwestern University (B.A., Phi Beta Kappa) and Columbia University School of Law (J.D., Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar).

Kalpana Bhandarkar
Manager, Manatt Health Solutions

Kalpana Bhandarkar has been a GEMS Board member since June 2007. Kalpana is currently a Manager at Manatt Health Solutions, an interdisciplinary policy and business advisory and consulting unit with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. There, she provides strategic and business advice, policy analysis, project implementation support, and coalition building and advocacy services to clients in the areas of healthcare access, healthcare financing and health information technology. Prior to joining Manatt, Ms. Bhandarkar worked for the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center in New York City and the Health Division of the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. Kalpana holds a Masters in Public Health and Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University.

David Schisgall
Filmmaker

David Schisgall has been producing and directing long-form nonfiction for the past fifteen years.  David has worked for ABC News, PBS, and Oscar-winner Errol Morris.  In 2004 he won the Edward R. Murrow Award for the Best News Documentary of the year for his work in Iraq.    David premiered Very Young Girls, about GEMS, at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival.  It screened in at festivals across the country, on television on Showtime and in 4 international markets, and currently is available online and on DVD at Netflix.

Motisola Zulu
Partner, The Davis Firm

Motisola Zulu, an entertainment law partner at The Davis Firm, is responsible for structuring, negotiating and drafting agreements for her clients. She takes pride in being able to educate her clients while representing them. With a stellar list of industry heavyweights that include Polow Da Don, Swizz Beatz and Lil Jon, Zulu has used her expertise to strengthen and protect their careers.  Prior to her working with the Davis Firm, Zulu was a sole practitioner and founder of the entertainment law firm of M. Zulu, P.C. which catered primarily to the music industry. Zulu currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, however, she was born and raised in Washington, DC. She attended Spelman college where she earned her BA in Political Science then acquired her J.D. from Howard Law School.  Zulu is a member of National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), a founding member of Black Women in Entertainment Industry, a mentor for Year-Up NYC and speaks on several panels discussing the entertainment industry.  Giving back, especially to the youth, is extremely important to Zulu whose family encouraged supporting the community.