New Classrooms Welcomes Three New Members to its Board of Directors

New York, NY – Today New Classrooms Innovation Partners for Learning (New Classrooms, a nonprofit on a mission to personalize education by redesigning how a classroom works, announced that Susan Asiyanbi, chief transformation officer at Teach For America, Rob Stavis, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners’ New York office, and Mark Zurack, a professor and executive in residence at Columbia Business School, have joined its Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to welcome Susan, Rob, and Mark to our board. They bring a diverse wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise that will strengthen New Classrooms’ ability to fulfill our student-centered mission,” said New Classrooms CEO Joel Rose. “Most importantly, they bring a passion for education innovation and ensuring all students have access to personalized, high-quality learning experiences.”

At Teach For America, Susan Asiyanbi oversees transformation efforts by coaching and building the capabilities of the organization’s executives to lead through change as they realize their strategic priorities. Previously, Susan taught fourth grade math and science in Newark, New Jersey, as a 2001 corps member, and joined Teach For America’s staff in 2003. Prior to her role as chief transformation officer, Susan served numerous roles at Teach For America, including chief operation and program officer. She summered at Boston Consulting Group and spent time at Sears Holding Company where she was a senior leading associate to the CEO on key strategic initiatives. She currently serves as a member of the Pahara-Aspen Network, Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), and CHIEF. She is on the board of directors for Chicago Children’s Museum, Museum of Science and Industry (President’s Council), ReGeneration Network of Charter Schools and Noble Day Care.

“As Covid-19 challenges all we know, I’m inspired by the innovative work New Classrooms has set forth in supporting schools and communities via personalized remote learning,” Asiyanbi said. “Studies have shown math scores across the country have plummeted, but the promise of Teach to One is astounding and worth learning from, so many more students can benefit. I joined the New Classrooms board given the opportunity to steward and collaborate with others in support of this approach.”

Rob Stavis has been actively investing in venture-backed startups for more than 15 years and currently serves on the boards of directors of several companies, including 2U, Betterment, NYDIG, Brightbytes, Relish and Forever Oceans. Previously, Stavis was co-head of global arbitrage trading at Salomon Smith Barney, where he was also a member of Salomon’s risk-management committees and chaired the recruiting committee. He is active in a number of not-for-profit initiatives, including serving on the Board of New School Venture Fund.

“I believe foundational math education needs change and New Classrooms has the right model to dramatically improve results. Better math outcomes, especially for students who are behind grade level is critical to success in the 21st century economy and required to drive equity in education,” Stavis said. “I joined the New Classrooms board because in the post COVID world we need to help students who have math learning loss get back grade level proficiency. This may be a once in a generation moment to implement this dynamic product both in school and digital platforms.”

In addition to teaching courses in Equity Derivatives and Capital Markets at Columbia Business School, Mark Zurack previously taught MBA courses as a visiting lecturer in the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. Formerly, Zurack worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. for two decades, serving most recently as advisory director. He serves on boards for numerous organizations, including Columbia Business School, Teach For America New York, Binghamton University Foundation, and Alzheimer’s Association.

“I joined the board to support New Classrooms’ mission to transform the way we think about delivering math education,” Zurack said. “I believe that shifting the focus from a single approach of instruction to a model that meets each student where they are can best support the way individual students learn, and help them to be more successful in school and beyond. I am inspired by the work co-founders Joel and Chris have done to bring New Classrooms and Teach to One this far, and excited to work with them to achieve greater scale and accessibility for students, teachers and schools across the country.”