Steering Committee

NCSD Steering Committee Members (April 1, 2021-March 31, 2023):

  • John Brittain
  • Nyah Berg
  • Anna Lodder
  • Matt Gonzales
  • Kris Nordstrom
  • Phil Tegeler
  • Elaine Gross
  • Tanya Clay House
  • Brenda Shum
  • Rachel Norman, Avishek Mojumdar, Yotam Pe’er (IntegrateNYC)

About the NCSD Steering Committee Members

One of NCSD’s founding members, John Brittain is a law professor at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. He has held academic posts at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston and the University of Connecticut School of Law. A long-time civil rights attorney, he previously served as Chief Counsel and Senior Deputy Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C. He was part of the original counsel team in Sheff v. O’Neill, the landmark school desegregation case decided by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1996.

Nyah Berg is the Integrated Schools Project Director at New York Appleseed. She previously worked as an Education Equity Organizer at ERASE Racism, where she spearheaded the Student Voices Campaign and developed the organization’s Education Equity Initiative. Her work with students catalyzed the formation of ERASE Racism’s Student Task Force. As a biracial woman who grew up in a suburb outside of Boston, Massachusetts, she gained a unique perspective on the complexities that surround racial relations across geographically segregated areas. She holds a Master of Arts from Teachers College, Columbia University in education policy and social analysis with a specialization in education law and a BA with a concentration in English and Educational Studies from Vassar College.

Tanya Clay House is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for P-12 Education in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development (OPEPD) at the U.S. Department of Education with almost 20 years of civil rights policy experience in Federal Government, U.S. Congress and national advocacy organizations, and is nationally recognized as a racial justice expert. Prior to this appointment, Ms. House served as the Director of Public Policy at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Public Policy Director at People For the American Way (PFAW) and began her political career as Legislative staff for both U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Matt Gonzales is the Founder and Director of the Integration and Innovation Initiative (i3) at NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools. He is a co-Founder of the NYC Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation (nycASID), and serves as the Policy Coach for the youth-led advocacy group IntegrateNYC. As a member of NYC’s School Diversity Advisory Group, Matt has helped to craft citywide policy on school integration.

Elaine Gross is the Founder and President of ERASE Racism, a regional civil rights organization primarily focused on addressing structural racism at the intersection of inequity in access to quality public school education and housing (discrimination and segregation based on race/ethnicity and income). In this role, she utilizes research, policy advocacy, educational workshops, and organizing (educators, high school students, parents and others) to effect change locally and at the New York State level.

Kris Nordstrom is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Education & Law Project at North Carolina Center for Justice. Prior to this, he spent nine years with the North Carolina General Assembly’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division, where he provided budget analysis and information to all members of the General Assembly on public education issues. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and BA in Economics from Wake Forest University.

Rachel Norman’s work as Adult Program Director at IntegrateNYC lies at the intersection of education, racial justice, and advocacy. Rachel’s background in youth development and program design is anchored in her experience overseeing the Student Equity Program at Orange Coast College, which connected over 300 low-income students annually to resources that guaranteed access, opportunity, and advancement. She moved from Los Angeles to New York City in 2018 to acquire a Masters in Education Policy & Social Analysis. Since then, she has deepened her understanding of segregated systems and has immersed herself in communities that are committed to transforming them.

Avishek Mojumdar is a director at IntegrateNYC. He’s also a senior in high school. In school, he was a part of Student Equity Teams of District 1 and 2. He was part of a committee where they facilitated conversations around race within their school. Looking to make a larger impact on the inequities in the NYC school system, he joined IntegrateNYC. He comes from a Bengali family where he’s a middle child.

Yotam Pe’er is a youth director at IntegrateNYC. His interest for public service started growing when he and his mom supported the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. Ever since then, he has done the most he can to help his community, by helping with census outreach, joining QCDC (Queens Central Democratic Club) and being elected the youth engagement chairman, and other different activities.

Brenda Shum is a Senior Directing Attorney at the National Center for Youth Law where she oversees complex litigation to enforce the civil rights of vulnerable children and youth on education, juvenile justice, child welfare, and immigration matters. She previously directed the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where her work focused on the promotion of diverse and integrated learning environments and other education equity litigation and policy.

Philip Tegeler is a civil rights lawyer with a strong background in both school and housing desegregation law (previously at CT ACLU, now at PRRAC), with experience in policy development and advocacy on housing and education issues. Phil was one of the founding members of NCSD and has worked to support the coalition since 2009.

2019-2021 Steering Committee Members (term end: March 31, 2021):

  • Tanya Clay House
  • Susan Eaton
  • Courtney Everts Mykytyn
  • David Glaser
  • Matthew Gonzales
  • Elaine Gross
  • Sufyan Hameed
  • Monique Lin-Luse
  • Brenda Shum
  • Philip Tegeler