Sanjiv Rao, Director
Email: srao@nysan.org, Tel: (646) 943-8671
Sanjiv recently joined the NYSAN team from Teach For America’s national office, where he was the founding Director of the Policy and Advocacy Leadership Initiative. He began his career as an elementary school teacher in Oakland, California in 1994, where he partnered with a range of out-of-school programs and providers, including those focused on performing arts, conflict resolution and leadership development, recreation and athletics, and cultural and academic support. After six years as a classroom teacher, he served as Senior Associate at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, focusing on leadership development, standards-based education reform, and promoting high-quality youth-serving policies. Sanjiv has also researched and written articles and educational curricula, primarily on youth development, community organizing, and education reform topics. Sanjiv was also a founding board member of Democracy Prep Charter School, a high-performing charter school in Harlem, and served on the board of the International Charter School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He holds a BA in History from UCLA, an MA in Education from UC Berkeley, and an M.Phil in Public Administration from New York University, where he is currently a doctoral candidate in Public Administration.
Jennifer Siaca, Program Coordinator
Email: jsiaca@nysan.org, Tel: (646) 943-8672
Jennifer coordinates several of NYSAN’s major initiatives, staffs NYSAN’s subcommittees and provides support to NYSAN’s regional network affiliates. Jennifer joined NYSAN in 2007. She holds a Master of Public Administration degree with a specialization in public policy and management from the NYU Wagner School for Public Service. While at NYU Wagner, Jennifer worked with The After-School Corporation (TASC) on a systems-building research and evaluation project and became interested in the afterschool field. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Drew University where she studied Political Science, Sociology and American Studies. She has written and contributed to several publications on faith- and community-based social services. Jennifer is a native New Yorker and currently sits on the Nassau County 4-H Alumni Network, where she assists with programming, facilities maintenance and fundraising.
Taiwaan Harrison, Program Assistant
Email: tharrison@tascorp.org, Tel: (646) 943-8748
Taiwaan provides part-time support to NYSAN to manage accounts payable, contracts and other administrative matters.
John Albert, Fiscal Sponsor Supervisor
Email: jalbert@tascorp.org, Tel: (646) 943-8756
In his role as Vice President of External Relations for The After-School Corporation, John supervises the daily operations of NYSAN. He also serves as Co-Chair of the NYSAN Policy Committee.
