Fiona Lin, Board Chair

VP, PEOPLE & CULTURE - RESULTS FOR AMERICA

Fiona joined Forte Prep’s Board in 2018 & currently serves as Board Chair.  Fiona resides in Jackson Heights with her family, is proud to live in the community served by Forte Prep Academy & looks forward to FPA’s continued expansion in Queens through its newly-launched high school campus.

After nearly 20 years working in the education nonprofit sector, Fiona entered the broader social impact space, most recently in politics at ActBlue.  Fiona currently leads people strategy at Results for America, a nonpartisan org that helps government leaders harness evidence and data to accelerate economic mobility and improve resident lives. 

Yale BA, UMichigan MA; Fiona also serves on the Advisory Board for NextGen Politics/YVote, a non-partisan youth civic engagement & voting movement organization.

Wai Lin Yip, Vice Chair

DIRECTOR DIGITAL & BRAND MARKETING, THE PENINSULA NEW YORK

Wai Lin joined the Forte Prep Board in July 2018 and is currently on the Fundraising Committee. As an immigrant who moved from Hong Kong to the US at the age of eight, she joined the Forte Prep Board because she saw the opportunity to help children on their journey to become first-generation college-bound students.

Wai Lin currently works as the Director of Digital and Brand Marketing at The Peninsula New York. For the past 17 years, she has worked in digital marketing and e-commerce roles for startups, technology, and hospitality companies on both the East and West Coasts as well as international corporations. Having participated in ESL, gifted programs, and magnet schools at the LAUSD, Wai Lin is passionate about literacy and working with underserved communities. Prior to starting a family, she spent many years volunteering at Reading to Kids in LA, Wheelchairs for Humanity, and mentoring at the Big Brothers and Big Sisters. 

Wai Lin holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and has a son starting kindergarten this fall.

Christine Padula, Treasurer

VP, FINANCE, SMARTKEM, INC.

Christine joined the Forte Prep Board in August 2022 and has served as the treasurer on the board since September 2023. She was introduced to the founders and board and was immediately drawn to the passion for providing a quality education to all children of the community Forte Prep serves.

Christine is the VP of Finance at SmartKem, Inc, where her responsibilities include managing all accounting and budgeting functions, as well as providing human resource and other administrative support to the organization. She has more than 30 years of finance experience in various industries, ranging from large corporations to small startup companies.

Christine graduated from Montclair State University with a BS in Accounting and Business Administration. She is also a Certified Public Accountant with an inactive status.

Ellen Winn, Secretary

independent education policy consultant

Ellen has been a member of the Forte Prep Board since 2020 and leads the Fund Development committee. Ellen is honored to support this terrific school and the students and families it serves with rigor, excellence, and creativity. Ellen currently serves as an independent education policy consultant. The bulk of Ellen’s career has been spent working to improve public education via government, nonprofit, policy, advocacy, and philanthropic initiatives. Most recently, Ellen built and led the School Systems Leaders Fellowship, a national leadership development program for aspiring school systems leaders. Ellen holds a BA from Haverford College in urban studies and an MPP from the University of California, Berkeley. Ellen also serves on the Board of Camp Eagle Island, a summer camp in New York’s Adirondack region.

Val Abrams, trustee

Executive Director, Denare Youth (Denari)

As an educator, Val focuses on enrichment programming for K-8 students from underrepresented communities in his social impact work. Prior to Denari, Val worked in the financial services industry at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and UBS in various roles. He also served his country for ten years in the United States Army. 

Val completed his BA from Howard University and is currently working on a Masters degree at University of Pennsylvania. Val is an alumna of Columbia Business School Nonprofit Management certificate program. He was also previously selected as an Aspen Ideas Festival Fellow. 

Val has been active in the community as a volunteer at The Fresh Air Fund, The Opportunity Network, and Hospital for Special Surgery. Val joined the Forte Prep Board of Directors in 2022.

Lorenzo Mendez, trustee

PRINCIPAL, INNOVATIVE FINANCE, THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION 

Lorenzo joined Forte Prep’s Board in 2022 and currently serves on the Finance Committee. He was drawn to Forte Prep’s mission to equip students from underserved neighborhoods in Queens with the tools necessary to excel in college preparatory high schools and beyond. 

Following a decade providing investment banking services to higher education and non-profit organizations, Lorenzo currently helps lead The Rockefeller Foundation’s Program Related Investment program, which consists of a growing portfolio of investments that support the Foundation’s philanthropic goals. Lorenzo holds a B.A. from University of Rochester. 

Katie Mullen, trustee

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORTFOLIO MANAGER AT JP MORGAN

Katie joined the Forte Prep Board in 2022. She is passionate about closing the achievement gap in our education system and supporting children and communities in the New York area. Prior to her involvement with Forte, Katie was involved with organizations including Fiver Children’s Foundation, New York Cares, Covenant House, among others.

Katie works as a Portfolio Manager at JP Morgan Asset Management where she specializes in derivatives strategies. Katie holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. Katie lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with her family and is the proud mom of an active toddler.

Laura Rodriguez, trustee

PARTNER, FRONTERA LAW FIRM PLLC

Laura has been a member of the Forte Prep Board since 2019 and leads the Academic Achievement committee.  

Laura is a founding partner at Frontera Law Firm, which specializes in immigration and employment law.  She focuses her practice on employment law and has spent the majority of her career representing low wage and immigrant workers whose workplace rights have been violated.  Laura also represents management to help ensure that they are in compliance with existing employment laws.  She is particularly passionate about working with and advocating for the rights of immigrants because they are often overlooked and exploited within the workforce. 

Laura has also been interested in education equity since college, where she majored in Education Studies and Policy.  Upon graduating she moved to Boston to work as a tutor and teacher at the MATCH Charter High School and an Americorps volunteer at the English High School.  After several years in New England, Laura moved back home to Queens, New York where she was raised.  She is grateful to now be on the board of Forte Prep which serves members of her own community.  She was drawn to the school upon seeing the ways Forte Prep supports and raises up its students while also actively involving families in the educational experience.  

Laura holds a B.A. from Brown University and a J.D. from Fordham Law School.  She lives in Jackson Heights with her family.

Sally Song, trustee

Teacher, Center of All Abilities

Sally Song joined the Forte Prep Board in 2023 and serves as a member of the Fund Development Committee.  She has always believed in the power of education to transform lives.  She was drawn to Forte Prep's commitment to diversity and focus on providing a rigorous academic curriculum to students of such an important developmental age.  

After a decade of working in international finance with the World Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch, she now focuses on her interests in education and food.  Today, she is a volunteer teacher for the Center of All Abilities, where she is part of the Blue Hat Vocational Training Program that helps young adults with special needs to acquire life skills through baking and culinary arts.  

Sally holds a BA from Sophia University, Tokyo Japan and is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, New York.

Joseph Schiling, trustee

SENIOR PRODUCTION ASSOCIATE

Joe has been a member of the Forte Prep Academy Board of Directors since 2024 and works at Freddie Mac, where he originates and structures financings for Multifamily  buildings across the Northeast. He has worked on over $20 billion worth of transactions over his 4-year tenure and runs the Student Housing product in the New York office. Joe holds a Bachelor’s in Economics with a concentration  in Corporate & Investment Finance from The University of Texas at Austin.

Raised by a Mexican mother, Joe was brought up in a fully bi-cultural environment. After  spending his childhood years in the Seattle  area, he moved to Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico at a young age, where he finished High School before attending college. Early on, he was deeply instilled  the value of an education  which led him to his involvement with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) in 2016, where he currently serves as Advisory Council Member in New York, and Sponsors for 

EducaTIonal Opportunity (SEO), which focuses on helping minorities  navigate the college experience and land internships/full time  roles. Additionally, he advises the Sinaloa Institute  of Neuroscience and Education  (INyES), a higher-education  institution focusing on Neuroscience and Neurodevelopment, the first of its kind in Mexico. His desire to further the growth of education in areas of need, specifically in the New York area, led to his involvement in the Forte Prep Academy Board today.

Joe is an avid traveler, is passionate about music, art, science, literature, sports, and enjoys playing guitar and piano.

Jennifer Cordero, trustee

FOUNDER AND CEO, MILA RESEARCH AND ADVISORY

Jennifer joined the Forte Prep Board in 2024 because she was inspired by how Forte Prep empowers students to excel academically and to take pride in themselves and their community. Born in Elmhurst, as the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants with a mother who was a school nurse teacher in Hempstead, Jennifer is honored to help Forte Prep provide a high-quality education to students in the diverse and vibrant community of Queens.

Following a career in financial services, academia, and nonprofits, spanning the United States and Latin America, Jennifer is now a Harlem-based entrepreneur exploring the use of artificial intelligence to help underserved communities. More specifically, with support from the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub program, she is developing an AI-based application focused on immigration. 

Jennifer has earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Management at the University of California, Irvine, a Master of International Affairs at Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts at New York University. She also serves on the New York Advisory Council for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, which supports Latinx college-bound students and families, and Columbia University’s She Opened the Door leadership committee, which focuses on engaging the Columbia alumni community.