Natalie Ferrell

Previous to being a founding member of South Bronx Community, Natalie was the Director of School Design for the NYC Department of Education, providing leadership and expertise to EPIC Schools’, a network of schools designed collaboratively through a fellowship commissioned by the mayor’s Young Men’s Initiative, around social-emotional learning, youth development supports and systems of improvement. Previously, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic where she worked to build the capacity of a children’s advocacy nonprofit around collaborative action research and youth development initiatives. She has also served as a teacher coach and education consultant both in the US and abroad and has published research on the effects of school choice on student wellbeing. Natalie began her career as a bilingual teacher at a middle school for recently arrived immigrants in Washington Heights, New York. Natalie holds a BA in Latin American Studies and a Masters in Public Health from Tulane University, as well as a Masters in Teaching with a focus on ESL and bilingual education.