Meet the Chancellor and Deputy Chancellors who lead the New York City Department of Education
David C. Banks, Chancellor
David C. Banks is Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, the largest school system in the nation. Appointed by Mayor Eric Adams on January 1, 2022, Chancellor Banks is reimagining the school experience to build bright starts and bold futures for all New York City children. 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 in a network of innovative all-boys public schools in New York City and Newark, N.J. After a year working as a school safety officer, Chancellor Banks began his first teaching job at P.S. 167. He served as an assistant principal at P.S. 191 before becoming a founding principal at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice and later at Eagle Academy. Chancellor Banks is a nationally recognized author and thought leader, known throughout his career as a defining voice on empowering young men of color. He earned his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law and holds honorary degrees from Wheelock College, St. Francis College, and Bard College. He is also a native New Yorker and a proud graduate of New York City Public Schools.
Daniel Weisberg,First Deputy Chancellor
As First Deputy Chancellor, Dan Weisberg is focused on ensuring that the Department’s strategies advance Chancellor Banks’ vision and priorities, The First Deputy Chancellor’s office manages a portfolio that includes Postsecondary Readiness, Human Resources, Policy, and Enrollment.
For over a decade Dan helped lead TNTP, one of the premier education non-profit organizations in the country, serving as its Chief Executive Officer for the past seven years. The organization supports approximately 300 school systems across the country on talent, academics, community engagement and policy, reaching over 12 million students a year.
Prior to joining TNTP, Weisberg served as Chief Executive of Labor Policy and Implementation for the NYC Department of Education under Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein. In this role he was responsible for leading the DOE’s relationships with its union partners, including negotiating groundbreaking collective bargaining agreements covering teachers and principals. Additionally, Dan played a key role in establishing a rigorous tenure system for teachers, incentive pay for principals aligned to student outcomes, and creating after-school intervention and enrichment time for underserved students.
Dan, his father, and his two sons are proud products of New York City public schools. Weisberg has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College and is a graduate of New York University Law School.
Kenita D. Lloyd, Deputy Chancellor of Family and Community Engagement + External Affairs
As Deputy Chancellor of Family and Community Engagement and External Affairs, Kenita Lloyd oversees the Chancellor’s priority of authentically engaging families, as well as the Department’s external affairs work.
Kenita most recently served as Chief Operations Officer at The Eagle Academy Foundation, where she was instrumental in the foundation’s growth and ability to support the Eagle Academy for Young Men schools, overseeing the foundation’s budget, day-to-day operations and marketing, and communications and development efforts.
Prior to joining The Eagle Academy Foundation, Lloyd was appointed Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Office of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. There she managed policy initiatives escalated to the Governor’s office and was responsible for ensuring community voices were heard and prioritized, facilitating high-level relationships with local leaders and constituent groups on issues including the Specialized High School Admissions Test and the launch of a targeted K-2 education campaign. Kenita has also held leadership roles at the Museum for African Art, the National Action Network, and the New York City Mission Society (Minisink Townhouse).
Kenita holds both a BA and MPA from New York University.
Kara Ahmed, Ed.D., Deputy Chancellor of Early Childhood Education
As Deputy Chancellor of Early Childhood Education, Dr. Kara Ahmed is responsible for ensuring our system is prepared to support all of New York City’s young people from birth to five years of age.
For the past 14 years, Kara was the Principal for the Department of Education’s Living for the Young Family Through Education (LYFE) program, which she transformed into a nationally recognized, city-wide, early childhood education program. Under her leadership, LYFE now models a three-generation strategy supporting student parents, their children, and their families. Kara began her career as an early childhood educator and then became the Early Childhood Supervisor for New Brunswick Public Schools. There she led all operational and programmatic aspects related to the public school and private provider preschool programs. Kara also led the implementation of preschool inclusion to guarantee children with identified disabilities were naturally integrated into general education preschool classrooms. Kara went on to work with William Patterson University to support the New Jersey DOE’s implementation of preschool across the state, and she taught graduate courses at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Kara has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University. She has a Master of Arts degree in Education Leadership and a Doctor of Education in Education Policy, both from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Emma Vadehra, Chief Operating Officer / Deputy Chancellor for Operations and Finance
As Chief Operating Officer, Emma Vadehra oversees finance and budget, procurement, the division of instructional and information technology (DIIT), school health, and school operations, which includes facilities, transportation, school food, emergency planning, and space management.
Emma most recently served as the founder and executive director of Next100, a think tank and policy leadership development programthat works to build a more diverse, inclusive, and effective public policy sector, and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation. Emma previously served as chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Education during the Obama administration, whereshe worked closely with the White House and across the department to develop, execute, and oversee the administration’s pre-K-through-workforce education agenda.
Until recently, Emma proudly served on the boards of Blue Engine and Govern ForAmerica, and on the Federal Advisory Committee of Results for America, and as a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. She has a JD from Yale Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. Emma is a native New Yorker.
Danika Rux, Ed.D, Deputy Chancellor of School Leadership
As Deputy Chancellor of School Leadership, Dr. Danika Rux oversees the work of Community District Superintendents and High School Superintendents, which in turn provide schools with coordinated strategic support, resources, and guidance. She also oversees the Department’s student wellness and school climate work.
Danika Rux is an instructional leader with over 27 years of experience in the areas of speech pathology, literacy instruction, special education, school leadership, district leadership, and systems level educational administration. Most recently, Danika served as Chief of School Support. Prior, Danika served as Executive Superintendent, Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Field Support Liaison and Principal.
Danika holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Sage College, Albany, NY. She earned her M.S. Ed. and B.S. from Long Island University and Advanced Certificates from Baruch College, Mercer University, Georgia State University.
Christina Foti, Deputy Chancellor of the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning (DIAL)
As the Deputy Chancellor of the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning (DIAL), Christina Foti serves to ensure the needs of historically marginalized students are centered throughout the department. In this capacity, she oversees both the Special Education Office and the Office of Multilingual Learners within a unified division.
In her previous role as Chief of Special Education for NYCPS, Christina led initiatives impacting over 200,000 students, managing citywide special education services and implementing specialized programs for students with diverse needs, including those with autism, dyslexia, intellectual disabilities, and students who benefit from bilingual special education.
Before her tenure as Chief of Special Education, Christina held various roles, including Deputy Chief Academic Officer, Chief Executive Director of the Special Education Office, principal, assistant principal, literacy coach, and middle school teacher.
Christina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Vassar College, a Master’s degree in Special Education from the City University of New York, and a Postgraduate degree in Educational Leadership from Hunter College. She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Additional Senior Leaders
Karine Apollon, Chief Diversity Officer
Karine Apollon is the New York City Department of Education’s Chief Diversity Officer. In this role, she leads the DOE’s MWBE strategies to greatly expand economic opportunities for women- and minority-owned businesses and our diversity, equity and inclusion strategies in hiring practices. Previously, Karine served as Chief Executive Officer of the educational nonprofit Reading Partners. Prior to this, Karine worked for over two decades in a variety of leadership roles at the children’s publisher Scholastic, where she scaled literacy and mentorship initiatives and launched Scholastic’s family and community engagement work, with a focus on supporting and empowering marginalized communities.
Jade Grieve, Chief of Student Pathways
Jade Grieve is the Chief of Student Pathways, overseeing all postsecondary readiness and work-based learning initiatives. Jade previously worked at Bloomberg Philanthropies and America Achieves in a variety of leadership roles related to postsecondary pathways, most recently as leader of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Career and Technical Education Portfolio. She has also worked extensively in federal and state agencies of the Australian government, including as senior education advisor to the Prime Minister and Education Minister of Australia.
Flavia Puello-Perdomo, Chief of Schools for Community Supports and Wellness
Flavia Puello-Perdomo is the Chief of Schools within the Office of Community Supports and Wellness. In this role, she oversees the district wide strategy for advancing student wellness, the nationally recognized Community Schools model, and related programming for supporting the needs of the whole child and developing social-emotional learning competencies. Flavia has over 20 years of experience in education, including serving as an educator, school leader, deputy superintendent, and senior level central administrator. She has dedicated her career to supporting vulnerable student populations, developing collaborative partnerships with families and communities, and mentoring educational leaders at both the school and district level. She brings a wealth of leadership experience to this role, including her ability to work across siloed workstreams, her commitment to modeling sound and ethical leadership practices, and her uncompromising approach to centering the needs of students as well as maintaining standards of excellence.
Liz Vladeck, General Counsel
Liz Vladeck is the General Counsel, representing and advising the DOE on all legal matters, including general practice issues, labor and employment matters, equal opportunity, employee discipline, special education, administrative/state/federal law and compliance, and commercial transactions. Prior to joining the DOE in 2021, Liz served as Senior Labor Policy Advisor in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Policy & Planning and as a Deputy Commissioner and founding Director of the Office of Labor Policy and Standards in the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs.
View the DOE's Organization chart.
