BPE Board of Trustees

BPE is guided by a volunteer board of trustees that represents Boston’s corporate, education, philanthropic, and civic communities.

Charles K. Gifford, Chairman, Bank of America (Chair)

Mr. Gifford began his career in 1964 with Chase Manhattan and has held various leadership roles for Bank Boston, Fleet Boston, and Bank of America since 1966. Mr. Gifford is a board member for NSTAR, Northeastern University, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, WGBH Public Broadcasting, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Jesse Solomon, Executive Director, BPE

Mr. Solomon co-founded and directed Boston Teacher Residency since its inception in 2003. Mr. Solomon was a founding teacher at City on a Hill Public Charter School, one of the first charter school in Massachusetts, serving as head of the math department, lead teacher for curriculum and instruction, and a member of the board of directors. He taught secondary math in urban schools for ten years, and is a National Board certified teacher. He serves on the Board of Directors for UP Academy Horace Mann Charter School.

Maura Banta, Corporate Community Relations Manager, IBM Corporation

Ms. Banta has worked in marketing, sales, and community relations at IBM since 1973. She is currently responsible for IBM's corporate philanthropy, government relations, and community relations. She also serves as a board member to the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, United Ways of New England, Mass Taxpayers Foundation, Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, and the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Ms. Banta has served as chair of the board of the Mass Business Alliance for Education. 

John Barros, Executive Director, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative

Mr. Barros is a life-long resident of Roxbury/North Dorchester and was the first youth to run for the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) Board of Directors. Mr. Barros has served as Executive Director of DSNI since 2000 and current leads the Boston Promise Initiative effort. He serves on the Boston School Committee. 

Richard Burnes, Founding Member and General Partner, Charles River Ventures

Mr. Burnes is a Founding Member and General Partner at Charles River Ventures, one of the nation’s major venture capital firms. Mr. Burnes is a trustee of Boston’s Museum of Science, The Boston Foundation, and Vice Chair of the Sea Education Association. He brings extensive experience in the areas of organizational development and leadership.

John Fish, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Suffolk Construction Company, Inc.

Mr. Fish leaders Suffolk Construction Company, consistently one of the top 50 contractors in Engineering News Record and Building Design & Construction. Mr. Fish is also the Chairman of the Red & Blue Foundation, Suffolk's non-profit initiative. He serves on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Catholic Schools Foundation, Boston College, Tabor Academy, the Boston Private Industry Council, and Boston Symphony Orchestra, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He also serves on the Massachusetts Business Roundtable. 

Robert E. Gallery, Massachusetts President, Bank of America

Mr. Gallery has held various leadership positions within Bank of America for 20 years, beginning as a division executive of corporate banking for Bank Boston.  Mr. Gallery is the current Chair of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts and Horizons for Homeless Children. He also represents Bank of America on the Corporate Executive Council of WGBH.

Reverend Gregory Groover, Pastor, Charles Street AME Church

Reverend Groover was appointed to the Boston Public Schools School Committee in 2007 and was elected Chair in 2009. He serves as chairman of the Education Committee of the Black Ministerial Alliance in Boston, president of the board at Roxbury Renaissance Center, and board member for YMCA or Greater Boston and Gordon College. A Roxbury resident, Reverand Groover is also a Boston Public Schools parent.

Ellen Guiney, Senior Advisor, BPE

Ms Guiney led BPE as its executive director for 15 years, introducing a focus on teacher development and a whole-school approach to change. Prior to her work at BPE, Ms. Guiney was Chief Education Advisor to the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources and one of the Democratic staff leaders on the reauthorization of Goals 2000 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1995. A former high school English teacher, Ms. Guiney served as education advisor to Mayor Ray Flynn during Boston’s transition to an appointed school board.

Joanna Jacobson, Founder and Managing Partner, Strategic Grant Partners

Prior to her work in philanthropy, Ms. Jacobson’s career was in private industry where she held positions including the President of the Keds Corporation, SVP Marketing and Product Development at Converse Corporation, Product Manager at Colgate-Palmolive. She has taught at the Harvard Business School and was a partner in Core Strategy Group, a marketing strategy consultancy.

Dr. Carol Johnson, Superintendent, Boston Public Schools (ex officio)

Dr. Johnson was appointed by the Boston School Committee in 2007 after serving as superintendent in Memphis, Tennessee and Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was named Minnesota Superintendent of the Year, received the Communicator of the Year Award from the Memphis Chapter, Public Relations Society of America, and received the National Alliance of Black School Educators Superintendent of the Year Award. Dr. Johnson serves on the Board of Directors for the Council of the Great City Schools, the Spencer Foundation, and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.

Robert Schwartz, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Mr. Schwartz held a wide variety of leadership positions in education and government. From 1997 to 2002, he served as president of Achieve, Inc., an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit organization created by governors and corporate leaders to help states improve their schools. From 1990 to 1996, Schwartz directed the education grant-making program of The Pew Charitable Trusts, one of the nation's largest private philanthropies. Mr. Schwartz has been a high-school English teacher and principal; an education advisor to the mayor of Boston and the governor of Massachusetts; an assistant director of the National Institute of Education; a special assistant to the president of the University of Massachusetts; and executive director of The Boston Compact, a public-private partnership designed to improve access to higher education and employment for urban high-school graduates.

Micho Spring, Chairperson of Global Corporate Practice and President of New England Operations, Weber Shandwick, Inc.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Spring served six years as CEO of Boston Telecommunications Company, four years as Deputy Mayor of Boston, and Chief of Staff to Boston Mayor Kevin H. White. She has been named one of the “20 Most Powerful Women in Boston” by Boston Magazine; she currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, is a founding member of the WBUR Group Executive Council, is Chair of Friends of Caritas Cubana, and serves on the boards of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, The Boston Foundation, and the Massachusetts Women's Forum.

Alberto Vasallo III, Vice President and Publisher, El Mundo

Mr. Vasallo is vice president and publisher of El Mundo, the largest Latino newspaper in New England, hosts the TV show "Revista Hispana" on 7NEWS on 7NBC and CW56, and is an occasional host of "Urban Update," also on 7NBC. In 1995, Alberto partnered with the Boston Red Sox to promote and implement the annual Latino Youth Recognition Day at Fenway Park and, in 2001, to develop the annual Latino Night at Fenway.