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