2022 Gala

Thank you for joining us for our 2022 Gala honoring Chancellor David C. Banks and Gregory Worrell!

After a two-year hiatus, NYC Outward Bound Schools once again hosted its in-person Gala at 583 Park on Tuesday, May 24. We honored David C. Banks, Schools Chancellor, NYC Department of Education and Gregory Worrell, Scholastic Incorporated Senior Consultant: Education, for their inspiring commitment to education. As is tradition, the Gala was led by our students and included the presentation of the R. Gaynor McCown Excellence in Teaching Award to Dana Nelson, who teaches 12th grade humanities at Leaders.

This year’s event celebrated our commitment to school communities centered around belonging and educational equity, and highlighted the ways in which NYC Outward Bound Schools has greatly expanded its work this year. Funds raised from the Gala go toward ensuring that we can continue our critical work of transforming schools and changing lives.

Thanks to two anonymous donors who generously pledged $150,000 in challenge funds, all new and increased gifts to the Gala this year were matched. That means if you didn’t give last year or gave more than you did last year, your gift had double the impact!

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Meet our Honorees

David C. Banks

Chancellor, NYC Department of Education

David is Chancellor of the largest school system in the nation. He is the former President and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation, and the founding principal of The Eagle Academy for Young Men, the first school in a network of innovative all-boys public schools in NYC and Newark.

His vision of education emphasizes a partnership between schools and communities based on the guiding principles of academic excellence, leadership, and character development. With the Eagle Academy Foundation, David set out to prove that a high-quality college preparatory education for young men of color can be provided in a public-school setting.

David led the establishment of the first Eagle Academy for Young Men as part of NYC’s high school reform initiative in partnership with 100 Black Men, Inc. The Eagle model has since been adopted in schools throughout all five boroughs and Newark, N.J., expanding nationally through the Eagle Institute.

In partnership with Scholastic, David helped curate the Rising Voices Library, a collection of nonfiction, biographical, and fiction books celebrating Black and Latino boys designed to provide students in grades K–5 with high-interest, culturally-relevant texts that give context to what they’re experiencing in the world around them. He also authored SOAR: How Boys Learn, Succeed, and Develop Character.

David is a co-founder of Black EdFluencers United, dedicated to influencing and developing the capacity of Black educators and raising awareness about systemic challenges within education. He has also served as a board member for the International Boys’ Schools Coalition, co-chair of New York City Young Men’s Initiative, and founding board member of the Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color.

David is a graduate of Rutgers University and received his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law. He participated in the Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished Principals at the Teachers College Columbia University and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in education from Wheelock College.

Gregory Worrell

Scholastic Incorporated Senior Consultant: Education
Co-Chairperson, Yale Child Study Center + Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience

In January of 2022, Greg retired from Scholastic Incorporated, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and educational materials. He now serves as a retained consultant to that company and is responsible for building and reinforcing relationships to expand Scholastic’s reach with educational institutions, community-based organizations, and leaders across private and public sectors.

Greg has been working with Scholastic for close to three decades, most recently as President of Scholastic Education and Corporate EVP: Education Strategic Partnerships, where he has been a constant advocate for empowering educators and offering reading access to students of all backgrounds. Notably, Greg launched Scholastic Family and Community Engagement (FACE), dedicated to creating programs and partnerships that support literacy development in classrooms, at home, in early childhood and after-school settings, during the summer, and through mentoring programs.

Greg is the recipient of numerous awards, including recognition by City & State of NY magazine as one of New York’s Responsible 100 leaders for Excellence in Education and the Upton Sinclair Award, which recognizes educational leaders who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, ensuring that children around the globe succeed.

Greg serves on the Board of Advisors for the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Mission Society of New York City, one of New York’s oldest and foundational non-profit organizations focused on ending multi-generational poverty.

The R. Gaynor McCown Excellence in Teaching Award

The Gaynor McCown Award was established to honor the memory of R. Gaynor McCown, a former public school teacher, longtime Board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools, Executive Director of the Teaching Commission, and champion of the profession of teaching. The Award recognizes a teacher or other staff member from NYC Outward Bound Schools’ network of schools who exemplifies the qualities that Gaynor herself exhibited as a teacher and that she sought to nurture and support in others.

Dana Nelson

12th grade Humanities Teacher, Leaders

Dana has been teaching English at Leaders High School for 11 years, and considers it her home. She is thrilled to work at a school that has changed and evolved so much over the years — as our commitment to NYC Outward Bound and EL Education has grown, as we joined the Consortium of schools that use PBATs for authentic evaluation, and as we built a student-centered Restorative Justice Program. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, son, and two dogs.

Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees!

Simone Sylvester and Kristen Tomanocy, MELS
Emily Hollyday, West End Secondary School
Chrissy Prince, Brooklyn Collaborative Studies
Amanda Leake Lewis, Launch

Gala Chairs

Carole & Norm Barham

Beth Carney & Josh Struzziery

Vicki & David Foley

Jeffrey R. Gural, GFP Real Estate

Alphonse Lembo

Pamela & Gifford Miller

Nancy & Burt Staniar

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

Ginger & Geoff Worden

Gala Vice Chairs

Patricia L. Francy

LaRue Gibson/LRG Wealth Advisors

Lisa Hernandez Gioia & Eric Gioia

Jane Greenman

Timothy Greensfelder & Sari Granat

Bonnie & Brad Klein

Jonathan Miller, Miller Ryan, LLC

Lisa Moran & Scott Ainsbury

Amanda Vaughn

Sue & Ravi Yadav

*List updated as of 5/11/2022

Thank you to our lead supporters & corporate sponsors!

Underwriters - $50K+

Vicki & David Foley

Jeffrey R. Gural, GFP Real Estate

Alphonse Lembo

Pamela & Gifford Miller

Nancy & Burt Staniar

Benefactors - $25K+

Anonymous

Karyn & Charles Bendit

Beth Carney & Josh Struzierry

David Dase & Jacqueline Flake

LaRue Gibson/LRG Wealth Advisors

Timothy Greensfelder & Sari Granat

Jonathan Miller

The Muriel F. Siebert Foundation

O’Melveny & Myers LLP

Scholastic Inc.

Sue & Ravi Yadav

Patrons - $10K+

Dwayne Andrews/Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates

Carole and Norman Barham Family Foundation

Benchmark Education Company LLC

Burch Family Foundation

The Durst Organization

Allison R. Feldman

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP

Lisa Hernandez Gioia & Eric Gioia

John Gordon

Jane Greenman

Bonnie & Brad Klein

McGuireWoods

Amie & Scott Nuttall

Paramount

Brian & Erin Pastuszenski

Shearman & Sterling

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust

Virginia H. & Geoffrey F. Worden

Thank you for joining us for our 2022 Gala honoring Chancellor David C. Banks and Gregory Worrell!