OUR MISSION AND VISION
OUR MISSION AND VISION
OUR MISSION AND VISION
Stokes Foundation delivers the life-transforming experience of residential education directly to students in need.
We build urban boarding schools in partnership with existing public, charter, parochial and private schools in the United States.
Our vision is to normalize access to non-remedial residential options that serve as safe spaces for students.
OUR RESIDENTIAL MODEL
OUR MISSION AND VISION
OUR MISSION AND VISION
Our replicable, scalable, and agile residential model impacts the lives of students for whom the most basic human hierarchical needs are not presently being addressed in school, in the community, or at home.
We serve adolescents dealing with high risk factors, indicating a need for our programs, while also displaying various core resiliencies, reflecting the capability to thrive in dorm life.
OUR HISTORY
OUR MISSION AND VISION
OUR HISTORY
Our "tried and true" residential model was created by Ray Walker during his service as founding director of NYC's 1st urban boarding school for boys at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, New York from 2005-09.
Students showed longitudinal gains in GPA, attendance, punctuality, behavioral metrics, diet/nutrition, and community service hours, among other measurables.
OUR IMMEDIATE FUNDING PRIORITIES
Capital Expenses and Reserve
Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment
Operating Expenses for Students
We have a MoU in place with LaunchPad to occupy the 2nd level of a bespoke build located in the San Bernadino, CA opportunity zone. While our MoU w/ LaunchPad formally stipulates $0 Capital Commitment with $0 rent due in year one and below-market $2/sq.ft. rent starting in year two of a ten year lease, we need Capital Contingency of $400,000. Any capital paid to LaunchPad will offset future rent.
Operating Expenses for Students
Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment
Operating Expenses for Students
Our annual operating budget for this inaugural residential program is $400,000 which is just under $34k/student, roughly the average cost-per-student in NYC public schools without our residential value-add.
Future programs in partnership with LaunchPad will benefit from greater economy of scale and a cost per student that can get as low as $24,000/year per student.
Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment
Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment
Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment
Our imminent FF&E needs are varied in nature and reflect modern collegiate dormitory style furniture and amenities that accommodate the living and working needs of twelve students, one full-time residential program director, and several F/T and P/T staff. We need to raise approximately $200,000 toward furniture, fixtures, and equipment not provided by The LaunchPad Collective's design team.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM
Ray Walker, Executive Director/CEO
With over 30 years of service to students and school communities, Ray most-notably served as founding Director of Residential Life at New York City’s first Urban Boarding School for young men in Brooklyn, NY.
Ray is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and proud alumnus of Prep for Prep, Deerfield Academy, and Georgetown University, and participated in cohort-based learning via PASE/American Express’ Executive Leadership Series. Ray began his career in Residential Services in 1997 at Fountain House in midtown Manhattan, working as a Supportive Housing Counselor and Transitional Employment Manager for mentally ill adults and teens. In 2000, Ray moved to Massachusetts where he served as a Clinical Counselor, Residential Supervisor, and ultimately Residential Program Director of a 16-bed Crisis Stabilization Facility at YOU, Inc.’s Cottage Hill Academy.
Upon returning to the tri-state area, Ray managed 34 afterschool programs for BuildOn before being recruited to design and implement all aspects of a comprehensive Urban Boarding School Program as Director of Residential Life at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, New York.
Ray Walker, Stokes Foundation's Executive Director and CEO (pictured) as featured in Prep for Prep's Annual Report.
In terms of Board and Volunteer Service, Ray is a former Board Member at Martin De Porres Schools and Schomburg Charter School and served terms on the Alumni Executive Committees of both Deerfield Academy and Prep for Prep. Ray participated in and fully authored the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools’ accreditation of the Ocean Tides Residential School in Narragansett, Rhode Island. He currently leverages his background in Philanthropy in furtherance of Social Good, Equity and Access in the Film Industry through service on the Advisory Committee for the Santa Clarita International Film Festival (SCIFF).
Ray launched Stokes Foundation in 2011 and served as the organization’s founding Executive Director prior to taking a step back from the role to grow as a Development Officer by spending 6+ years reinforcing his Fundraising and Development toolbox by working in the Advancement Offices at Deerfield Academy, as Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, and Cardinal Hayes High School as the school’s Director of Alumni Engagement and Development.
Ray lives and works full-time from his home office in New York with his wonderful partner and Stokes Foundation Trustee, Ms. Cindy M. Perez (see Ms. Perez’ full bio below) and their son, the youngest of Ray’s three children, the elder two of whom grew up in an Urban Boarding School setting themselves as faculty kids living in the Director’s Residence within the dormitory at Bishop Loughlin.
Dr. William Howe, Associate Executive Director
After over 40 years of service in secondary schools and universities, Dr. William “Bill” Howe joined Stokes Foundation as the organization’s first Associate Executive Director. Through an extensive career in higher education, Dr. Howe has demonstrated a commitment to diverse and under-represented populations and to residential education across his career, as well as a passion for empowering all people and helping to develop diverse leaders. Dr. Howe graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1967.
Bill holds five university degrees, including a master’s degree from Harvard University and a doctoral degree from Stanford University.
As one of the founding faculty at the nation’s first school of Leadership Studies, the Jepson School at the University of Richmond, Bill supervised and taught in the “Service Learning” program and helped to develop leadership programs at the University of San Diego, National University, the University of California at San Diego, Thomas Edison State University, Claremont Lincoln University and Bethune-Cookman University, a HBCU located in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“We have the opportunity to put our residential model in play as a catalyst for existing investments being made in schools and communities.”
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Willow Oberweger, Board Chairperson
Willow's full bio "coming soon".
Ariel Cordero, MHA, Associate's Council Chairperson
Ariel serves as an Associate at Acquis Consulting in addition to his own entrepreneurial endeavors in Real Estate and Travel Industry. He states that his success is, in great part, a direct result of the Stokes Foundation Residential Model designed and implemented by Ray Walker during the time he was a student residing in LaSalle Hall. He graduated in 2010 after spending four years in the Urban Boarding School Program at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School and went on to earn degrees from University at Albany in 2014 and Columbia University's Malman School of Public Health in 2016.
In lieu of a sub-committee assignment, Ariel helps Stokes Foundation grow its Associate's Council of Young Professionals as it's co-chairperson in addition to service on the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Sandra Toro, Program Evaluation Committee Chair
Dr. Sandra Toro serves as Management and Program Analyst in the Office of Acquisition, Grants, and Risk Management at the United States Department of Education, a Federal Agency.
Dr. Toro is an Educational Psychologist, an artist, a parent who believes in the value of Residential Education and an alumna of both Cushing Academy and the Prep for Prep program.
She holds a B.A., B.F.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. from Seton Hall University, and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from University of Washington. She also holds a law degree after completing her Master of Science in Law from University of Maryland.
Dr. Toro is building and refining our Program Evaluation Structures and Best Practices while engaging in all activities as a voting member of the Board of Trustees except for those activities which may periodically require recusal.
Dr. Rich Petriccione, Fundraising Committee Chair
Dr. Rich Petriccione is a former Chief Development Officer of Iona College, White Plains Hospital, as well as Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. He also served as Senior Vice President for Philanthropy, Community Relations & Volunteers for the 2014 NFL Super Bowl Host Committee at MetLife Stadium, as well as Founder and Executive Director of the Snowflake Youth Foundation.
Dr. Petriccione began his professional career as a NCAA College Basketball Coach at Iona College and Florida State University before being named the country’s youngest NCAA Division I Athletics Director. Through his firm, Concourse Consulting, he works with school leaders, non-profit executives, athletic directors, and development professionals to help them design and implement successful fundraising and cause-related programs.
Dr. Petriccione is a proud Hayesman and member of Cardinal Hayes High School’s Class of 1977. He earned his BA and MA from Iona College in Organizational Communication and Public Relations. In 2009, Rich was conferred his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Fordham University.
Dr. Petriccione is a member of AFP, a volunteer fundraiser in the health industry local to Westchester, and has a long history of Board Service at Cardinal Hayes.
Cindy Perez, M.Ed, Staff Support Committee Chair
Ms. Cindy M. Perez began service as Director of Leadership Development Opportunities at Prep for Prep in 2018. The organization identifies and prepares top New York City students for matriculation at highly selective independent day and boarding preparatory schools. In her current role, Ms. Perez serves on Prep for Prep’s Executive Leadership Team and manages the organization’s College Guidance Department, as well as its Leadership Development Opportunities (LDO) and Professional Advancement Teams.
With over 20 years at the organization, Ms. Perez began in 2000 as an Undergraduate Affairs Officer before transitioning to the role of College Counselor. While earning her master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from George Washington University (and serving as Executive Coordinator for the university’s study abroad programs) Cindy continued to teach Psychology in the summer. Ms. Perez returned to Prep for Prep in 2010 as Director of College Guidance while serving as adjunct Academic Advisor in the evenings at CUNY’s Guttman Community College.
Ms. Perez serves on the Board of Advisors at Emory University as a non-alumna. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Hamilton College and has served multiple terms on Hamilton Alumni Council’s Executive Committee. Cindy was formally listed as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair of the school’s ambitious $400MM Because:Hamilton Fundraising Campaign. Ms. Perez’ other accreditations include both Myers-Briggs (MBTI) and Human Resources Management Certifications. She is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and College Board and the College Access Consortium of New York (CACNY).
Rene John-Sandy, Special Events Committee Chair
Rene John-Sandy II holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from Syracuse University. Rene currently leverages decades of entertainment management experience to impact and inspire youth as co-founder and CEO of Hip Hop Loves Foundation, an NPO which produces educational seminars and special projects grounded in hip-hop culture around the globe.
A native New Yorker, Rene currently resides in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil for most of the year. In joining the Board of Trustees at Stokes Foundation, Rene brings over twenty years of experience in talent management, entertainment marketing and brand management across the sports, music, food and beverage industries. Some of Rene’s recent clients include Marcus Samuelsson, Tara Dowdell, Jon Quick, Vanessa Chakour, and a cadre of global hip hop artists who often help facilitate global workshops and music fundraisers for Hip Hop Loves Foundation and non-profit partners like the Muhammad Ali Center.
Rene has spearheaded Hip Hop Loves workshops globally, has lectured on the powers of motivating youth through sports and hip-hop at Brown University, and has been featured in Black Enterprise Magazine. Some of Rene’s other successes include launching Spitkicker, an urban lifestyle company, and Omega Artist Management. Through these companies, Rene organized and promoted concerts and events, produced a weekly program on XM Radio, and worked directly with high-level talent, such as Dave Chappelle, Kanye West, Common, De La Soul, and Yasiin Bey.
ADVISORS
Prince Hussain Aga Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Focused on Nature
David Banks, Chancellor, New York City Public Schools and Founder, Eagle Academy
Dehdahn Miller, Principal, TrueEquity, Former Deputy Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr. Eric Widmer, Former Head of School, Deerfield Academy and King's Academy
Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Head of School, The Ethel Walker School
Dr. John P.N. Austin, Head of School, Deerfield Academy
Dr. Margarita Curtis, Former Head of School, Deerfield Academy
Dr. Manning Curtis, Director of Mind Heal Clinic and Retired Cardiologist
Dr. Ivory Hills, Head of School, St. Mark's School
David Thiel, Principal, Aptonym and Former Assistant Head of School, Deerfield Academy
Jan Hostage, Former Director of Advancement Research, Deerfield Academy
Tom Fike, CFRE, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Father Judge High School
Dr. Carrie Beckstein Vargas, Clinical Psychologist and Principal, Care Counseling
Lou Martino, Principal, Acheson Doyle Partners Architects
Frazer Rice, Director of Next Vantage, Family Office Services at Next Capital Management
Jawanza Gross, Chief Operating Officer for Corporate Trust, BNY Mellon
Tim Oberweger, Senior Vice President, Commonwealth Land Title Insurance
Adam Lubinsky, Architect/Principal, WXY and Associate Professor, Columbia University
Alethea Hannemann, Chief Executive Officer, Board.Dev
Bridgitte Anderson, Principal, Orange Vista Consulting
Ryan FitzSimons, Chief Executive Officer, Gigunda Group
Jay Newton-Small, Chief Executive Officer, PlanAllies/MemoryWell and Time Magazine Correspondent
THEN AND NOW
Can you spot the now-adult alumni of NYC's 1st Urban Boarding School for boys?
ROCK CLIMBING ACTIVITY ANSWER KEY:
Individual Photos: Oshane Davis (top left, second student from left) Shaun Hudson (top center, far left student) Group Photo (left to right): Kepler Auguste (not pictured, climbing) Kyle Milan (first student right of center) Michael Shands (center student) Dejon Lawrence (far right student) Ariel Cordero (not pictured, climbing)
OUR FRIENDS AND CORPORATE PARTNERS
Stokes Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) organization in good standing with the IRS. All donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.
We are a GuideStar Gold rated charity, eligible for most employer matched giving programs and all Donor Advised Funds.
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY'S EAMONN MATHEWS
Is there any surprise that former U18 Team USA Rugby Captain and pro player Eamonn Matthews is now a coach?
Fun Fact: Our early programs supported school communities by funding partnerships with sports-based youth development programs like PlayRugbyUSA and Police Athletic League. Eamonn Matthews' team won the NYC Mayor's Cup in Rugby during our scholars' very first season paying the sport. Stokes Foundation introduced Eamonn to Rugby and he went on to star at Xavier High School and earn a scholarship to St. Bonaventure, before completing a Pro Career.
"I am thrilled to announce that I will be coaching a Premier Rugby Sevens Academy Team this Fall. I will be coaching The RISE Academy Team alongside Ishmail Shabazz and Karameli Tiffany Faaee and we are excited to create an elite professional experience for the young men and women in the NJ/NY/CT area who are looking for pathways to the next level of their Rugby Journey, whether it be PR 7's, MLR, or Collegiate Rugby." -Eamonn Matthews