Board of Trustees

Hoboken Charter School is managed by a Board of Trustees made up of parents, educators, and community members. The Board of Trustees meeting dates can be found on our school calendar. Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. with exceptions noted on the school calendar. The meeting location is 713 Washington Street. The 4th Wednesday of the month is reserved for committees which may meet at an alternate time and location. Changes are communicated via announcements in local papers, City Hall, the school website, and weekly school community communications.

Board of Trustees

Updated meeting agendas minutes and highlights are available here.

Member – Lisa McIntyre
Lisa, along with her husband Rob, is a parent of 3 HCS alumni. She has served in the past as an officer of the Parents’ Association/Friends for 5 years, in addition to chairing and assisting many school activities. She has been actively involved in school and community events and organizations, working hard to bring the two closer. She is currently the director of an ocean conservation nonprofit and a SCUBA divemaster in NYC. Previously, she owned a local business, was an executive at a major global financial institution, and has served in various community and civic capacities. lmcintyre@hobokencs.net

Chairperson – Joy Wheeler
Joy has worked in technology start-ups for over 20 years. She is currently the Co-Founder and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for an innovative technology start-up focused on disrupting the apparel manufacturing industry. Joy and her husband, Brian, are proud parents of an alumni and an 8th grader. jwheeler@hobokencs.net

Member – Mark Silberberg
Mark was a Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Hoboken Charter School from its inception until 2004. He is the Director of Admissions & Outreach at The Lang School. He is thrilled to be able to continue to support the mission of the Hoboken Charter School as a member of the Board. msilberberg@hobokencs.net

Member – John Berger
jberger@hobokencs.net

Member – Lauren Schickler Calmas
Lauren has worked in the luxury watch and jewelry industry for over 20 years, focusing on brand management, business development, and marketing. She holds an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. From 2013-2022, Lauren served as Board President and now acts as the Board’s Hoboken community liaison. Lauren and her husband, Steve, have been residents of Hoboken since 1995 and are proud parents of two Hoboken Charter School alumni. lcalmas@hobokencs.net

Member – Grace Guandique
gguandique@hobokencs.net

Member – Christine Sheedy
Christine has been a member of the Board of Trustees since August 2013. She contributes to the Board as an at-large community member after spending eight years as the Parents’ Association representative to the Board of Trustees of Hoboken Charter School. Prior to joining, she was a Friends of Hoboken Charter School Trustee from 2010 – 2013. She is the proud mother of two children, each of whom spent nine years learning at HCS and is now in college. A thirty-year resident of Hoboken, Christine works as a Human Resources executive, helping organizations and leadership teams improve their effectiveness through connecting people with strategy. csheedy@hobokencs.net

Member – Kelly Wilson Pansy
Kelly Wilson Pansy is the Chair of the Finance Committee and has been on the Board of Hoboken Charter since 2020. She has been a Hoboken resident for 20 years and a parent at Hoboken Charter since 2016. As of 2021, she has three children attending Hoboken Charter School. Kelly has a background in finance and has worked in financial services since 2001. She currently works at Pegasystems Inc., advising corporate and investment banks on how to use low-code software for digital automation. Prior to joining Pegasystems, she worked at Bloomberg as well as in corporate and investment banking for 15 years in both COO and client-facing roles in European banks. She has an M.B.A. from NYU Stern and a B.S. from Lehigh University. kpansy@hobokencs.net

Member – Matt Lipsky
Matt is the Assistant General Counsel for a family office that manages the philanthropic assets of a high-net-worth individual. He is the proud parent of one child currently attending HCS and another who will join her sibling in the coming years. Matt has been a Hoboken resident since 2014. mlipsky@hobokencs.net

Member – Laura Hecht-Felella
Laura is a HCS alumna. She was a part of the school’s inaugural third-grade class. Her career as a civil rights lawyer has been deeply inspired by her experiences as a student at HCS and the school’s service-learning mission. lhecht-felella@hobokencs.net

Board Secretary (non-voting) – Steve Literati
Steve is Hoboken Charter School’s certified School Business Administrator

Member (non-voting) - Deirdra Grode
Deirdra is the Executive Director of Hoboken Charter School

Mission Statement

Mission Statement for the Board of Trustees of Hoboken Charter School

The Board of Trustees of Hoboken Charter School is committed to upholding and advancing the school’s mission of fostering the academic, artistic, personal, and civic growth of its students through learner-centered practices grounded in a commitment to social justice and service-learning. As a Board, our responsibilities include:

Governance and Oversight: Ensuring the school operates in alignment with its mission and values while maintaining high standards of academic excellence and ethical conduct.
Strategic Planning: Guiding the long-term vision and strategic direction of the school to ensure sustainable growth and continuous improvement.
Financial Stewardship: Overseeing the school’s financial health, ensuring responsible management of resources, and supporting fundraising efforts to enhance educational opportunities.
Policy Development: Establishing policies that support the educational philosophy and operational effectiveness of the school while ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations.
Community Engagement: Promoting a strong, inclusive community by fostering relationships with students, parents, staff, and the broader Hoboken community to support the school’s mission and enhance its impact.
Evaluation and Accountability: Regularly assessing the school’s performance and the Board’s effectiveness, ensuring accountability and transparency in all operations.
Support and Advocacy: Advocating for the school’s needs and interests at local, state, and national levels and providing support to the administration, faculty, and students to achieve their educational goals.

By fulfilling these responsibilities, the Board of Trustees strives to create an environment where every student can thrive, empowering them to become active, compassionate citizens who contribute positively to their communities and the world. To provide this exceptional educational foundation, the Board, in active collaboration with the staff, families, and the wider public, seeks to provide through an accountable and transparent process the tools to ensure that our students and staff shall:

Work cooperatively in a safe, supportive, and challenging learning environment that addresses individual learning needs;
Apply problem-solving strategies and critical thinking skills learned through written, oral, technological, and experiential application in and out of the classroom;
Practice good citizenship by fostering respect for one’s self and others through a better understanding of the needs of a diverse society;
Fully integrate technology into the learning experience using creative and effective teaching techniques;
Appreciate, preserve, and promote the quality and professionalism of the staff, administration, and Board of Trustees.

Community Complaints and Inquiries

Families and staff may have inquiries or complaints at times. In these circumstances, they should address the matter with the staff member's point of contact as listed in the school policies and guidelines books. The first point of contact is typically the individual who most directly oversees a program (classroom teacher, club coordinator, etc.). When a satisfactory answer has not been supplied, families and staff are encouraged to pursue the inquiry or complaint with the building principal. If the matter is not addressed satisfactorily at the building principal level, the individual should reach out to the Executive Director. After these steps have been taken, the family can bring an unresolved matter to the Board of Trustees. Additionally, in the case of a potential violation of the Charter School Act of 1995, families are welcome to reach out to the Board grievance committee as can be reached at hcsgrievancecommittee@hobokencs.net. This committee consists of the Friends Representative to the Board of Trustees, The Chair of the Board of Trustees’ Management Committee, the President of the Friends of Hoboken Charter School, an HCS teacher, and at least one other Board of Trustees member. In addition to the members of the grievance committee receiving this email, the entire board, Executive Director and Board Secretary will be a recipient of the email.

Please review the HCS Community Complaints and Inquiry Policy here.