Adrienne Barr, Executive Director
Adrienne Barr joins Interschool after spending several years in leadership roles with the Parents' Association at Trinity School in Manhattan. A former television news producer, Ms. Barr became active in educational and parenting issues while sending her own two children to Trinity. She also worked closely with students and their families while running ArtScenes, a theater, and art summer camp founded in 2008. As President of the Trinity PA, Ms. Barr was deeply involved with organizing and developing Parent Affinity Groups and fostering more involvement and leadership roles for families of various racial, religious, ethnic, and other identity backgrounds. She also helped create more programming and several film and lecture series to support these groups and has been an active fundraiser and volunteer coordinator for many events.
Ms. Barr has a BA in Communications from Rutgers College, a Creative Writing Certificate from the NYU School of Continuing Education, and an award-winning screenwriter and producer.
Brandie Clarke, Associate Director
Brandie Clarke has worked at New York Interschool and The Faculty Diversity Search (FDS) for 20 years; she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She is responsible for the administrative operations for Interschool and FDS and the recruitment and placement of associate teachers and head teachers in FDS member schools.
Before coming to the independent school community, she worked for the NYC Department of Education. She worked with a team of twelve, developing several citywide projects for the board, such as Principal for a Day, Take Your Daughter to Work Day, and The NYC Mentoring Program.
Jaleh Amouzegar, Consultant
Jaleh Amouzegar has been a consultant at NY Interschool since 2002. She co-taught a weekly seminar to new teachers in our Teaching Fellows program. In 2005, she began her work with our Faculty Diversity Search program (FDS). Over ten years, Jaleh has counseled and helped place many teachers of color in our schools, working in particular with lower school head and associate teaching candidates.
In addition to her work with Interschool and FDS, Jaleh has taught at The Dalton School, The Brearley School, Collegiate School, Georgetown Day School, and The University of Chicago Lab Schools. She is currently working at Dalton's First Program Admissions, conducting assessments for Kindergarten applicants.
Jaleh has a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Lesley University and has worked in education since 1990. Jaleh was a board member at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School from 2013-2015. She is currently serving on the Alumni Leadership Council for The Peddie School in Hightstown, NJ.
Denise Valentine Philpotts, Consultant
Denise Valentine Philpotts is the newest member of the Interschool/Faculty Diversity Search (FDS) team; she joined FDS in fall 2018. Although new to FDS, Denise is not new to independent schools. She taught science, grades 7-12, and was part of an upper school administrative group for over 30 years. Her New York School experiences include Trinity School, The Spence School, Dalton, and The Professional Children's School. Denise is delighted that FDS has given her a path to follow her passion for diversity work while at the same time helping educators find a career in the independent school community she so enjoyed.
In addition to her independent school work, Denise's prior experiences include working for New York State as a Rehabilitation Counselor and a Mental Hygiene Therapist. She has also done an Earthwatch in the Ecuadorian Cloud Forest on biodiversity, served on the Mountain School of Milton Academy's advisory board, and co-led the I-CM Institute, Dalton I-CM Project.
Denise holds a MA in Science Education from New York University, a MA from The New School in Developmental Psychology, and a BA from Stony Brook University in Psychology.
Jansen Po, Consultant
Jansen has been a teacher and school administrator for over 20 years. She joined FDS in February of 2017, focused on mentoring and placing candidates who are seeking administrative positions. Jansen is the former Head of the Preschool and Lower School at The Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn. She now serves as an admissions associate (and is the proud parent of two students). Before working at Packer, Jansen served as the Director of External and After School Programming at The School at Columbia University. She was a classroom teacher at The School at Columbia and Ogden Elementary School, in the Hewlett-Woodmere public school district on Long Island.
Jansen holds two masters degrees from Columbia Teachers College — an M.Ed. in Education Leadership and an MA in Curriculum and Teaching. She earned her BA in English, and Elementary & Moderate Special Needs from Boston College.