School Team

Leadership Team

ASHISH KAPADIA

Executive Director

Mr. Kapadia served as CQA’s School Director from 2014-2018. He now serves as the Executive Director, overseeing all aspects of the school. Prior to joining CQA, he was the Founding Principal of University Prep Charter High School in the South Bronx for six years. Mr. Kapadia has also worked as a consultant to several charter schools in New York City and for the SUNY-Charter Schools Institute.

Mr. Kapadia can be reached by email at ashish.kapadia@centralqueensacademy.org.

Glenn Liebeck

School Director

Mr. Liebeck has been with CQA since 2013. He came to us as a lifelong educator who got his start in Teach For America. Mr. Liebeck has been a teacher, school administrator, school start-up consultant, and leadership coach around the country for more than 20 years. He is the proud father of two and he attended Union College and UMass-Boston.

Dee-Ann Martell

Principal - Middle School

Ms. Martell has been with CQA since 2014. Ms. Martell attended the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania where she studied communications and Spanish as an undergraduate and remained to study education as a graduate student. Through her Master's degree program, she had the opportunity to teach abroad in Curacao before returning to New York. Upon returning she taught at parochial, public, and charter schools before obtaining her leadership certification from the College of Saint Rose.

Michelle Feirman

Principal - Elementary School

Mrs. Feirman joined the CQA family in 2020 to lead the first CQA Elementary School. Mrs. Feirman has worked as a teacher, instructional coach and school administrator in schools across New York City for over 10 years. She graduated from American University and Hunter College.

MICHELLE DALPIAZ

Chief Financial Officer

Prior to joining CQA in 2014, Mrs. Dalpiaz spent seven years directing finance and operations for the Riverhead Charter School. During her tenure there, she oversaw the financing and construction of a new 48,000 square foot school building. Before stepping into the nonprofit world, Mrs. Dalpiaz managed the operations and financial administration for numerous Citicorp divisions. She is a graduate of Hofstra University.

MELISSA KINSELLA

Director of Advancement

Ms. Kinsella has two decades of fund development, advancement and governance experience in the nonprofit sector. She came to CQA from both well-established New York City institutions like The Frick Collection Museum, School of American Ballet, and the Central Park Conservancy as well as newer and smaller organizations, including international education and youth-focused institutions.

Operations and Human Resources

Director of Elementary School Operations and Facilities Officer
Madelyn Guzman

Director of Middle School Operations and Compliance Officer
Katherinne Castillo

Operations Manager
Anielka Espinosa

Operations Assistant
Michelle Campos

Operations Assistant
Cinthia Bajana

Operations Assistant
Shirley Villamar

Human Resources/Payroll Administrator
Vanessa Obodjan

School Technology Manager
Jonathan Tipan

IT Tech Assistant
Jonathan Granada

Talent Recruitment Specialist
Nadia Deokinanan

Head Custodian
Edgar Marroquin

Finance

Controller
Enika Sopiqoti

Purchasing Manager
Emily Abreu

Instructional Teams

For a list of instructional leadership, teachers and school staff, please see the school pages.

Board of Trustees

Joyce Wu, Chairperson
Goldman Sachs

Sonia Park, Co-Vice Chairperson
Diverse Charter School Coalition

Catherine Tse, Co-Vice Chairperson
Allen & Co. LLC

Rick Ruvkun, Treasurer
Lee Hecht Harrison

Suvadip Bose
Barclays

Rebekah T. Coleman
New York City College of Technology

Michelle V. Hallam
JP Morgan

Michael E. Lee
Museum of Chinese in America

Tom Ng
Achievement First

Bruce Saber

Lindsey M. Seymore
MTA New York City Transit Authority

Michael Tang
State Street