Dear NYSAIS Community,

I am pleased to announce that NYSAIS will welcome Worokya Duncan, Ed.D. as its next Associate Director of Professional Learning, effective July 1, 2023. The role will allow her to focus on her joy: helping educators see their own light.

Worokya is familiar as both a participant and a presenter in NYSAIS programs and has an abiding appreciation for our programming. She says that NYSAIS’ mission to promote the “well-being and public understanding” of member schools “is a promise to go the extra mile in the service of children, their development, and their potential to change the world for the better.” She looks forward to “the privilege of assisting in carrying out that mission through the vehicle of dynamic professional learning.”

She is currently Head of Upper School and Director of Equity and Engagement at Cathedral School of St. John the Divine. Prior engagements were as teacher at KIPP Star College Preparatory Charter School and P.S. 36 – The Duke Ellington School, both in New York City. Worokya will build on these experiences to lead NYSAIS’ online and in-person workshops, community conversations, institutes, and select other learning programs.

Her 22-year career in education has established Worokya’s reputation for developing teachers and learners and for creating an atmosphere defined by kindness, collaboration, and openness. Erica Corbin, her current Head of School, predicts that NYSAIS will benefit from the “deep empathy, devotion, and joy” that marks Worokya’s “signature positivity and unwavering support” of teachers and learners. Our interview process identified an action-oriented educator who cultivates innovation, maintains a strong understanding of current trends and research in independent education, and who sees the expansive impact of adult professional learning. She has leveraged these traits to capture an unassailable commitment to social justice work, augmenting her school roles with an impressive body of publications and thought leadership.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to the entire NYSAIS team who collaborated and worked diligently to assess and sort an incredible pool of more than 110 candidates to this key appointment. I also appreciate Marcy Mann, whose impact leadership helped to make the position worthy of such a pool. Marcy, Worokya, the entire NYSAIS team, and I are all committed to a smooth transition process throughout the Spring.

Please join us in welcoming Worokya to NYSAIS! We will be hearing much from her in the coming years!

Best Wishes,

Vince Watchorn

Executive Director