About the Site

Alberto Minujin, Director, Equity for Children
Alberto Minujin is a professor at the Graduate Program in International Affairs (GPIA) at the New School for Public Engagement, with a special focus on topics related to social policy and children’s rights. He serves as director of the School’s International Field Program (IFP) in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is a member of the Latin American Observatory (OLA). Until 2005, Professor Minujin was senior program officer for policy analysis in the Division of Policy and Planning of UNICEF Headquarters, New York. He operates a consultancy to UNICEF and other organizations worldwide. In 2010, Minujin was awarded the Argentina Bicentennial Medal in recognition of his contributions to the fields of child rights and social policy. Professor Minujin is the author of many books, articles and papers about child rights, social policy and the middle class.

Tom Fernandez, Advisory Board Member
Tom Fernandez is president of MSMB Capital Partners LLC. He served as chief investment officer for The Galleon Group from 1999-2009 and, before that, as assistant dean at Columbia Business School. He serves on the board of Synchronicity Foundation, an environmental protection organization. He received his BA from Yale University and MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Günay Salazar, Senior Research Program Officer
Günay Salazar, is a child rights advocate and international consultant specialized in child protection and communication for development. In the last two decades she has worked for UNICEF, Bilateral Agencies and NGOs in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, South East Asia and North Africa on prevention of all forms of violence against children. Most recently she worked on behalf of the German International Cooperation Agency GIZ on strategies to prevent juvenile violence and the recruitment of children by armed illegal groups in Central America. She headed communication offices of GIZ in Vietnam and Colombia and the communication and advocacy office of Casa Alianza in Guatemala. Before that she was an information officer of the German Committee for UNICEF. She holds a master degree in Social Sciences and lives since 2012 in New York City.

Leila Sarvghadi, Administrative Director
Leila received her BA in Global Affairs focusing in Middle East and North African Studies while minoring in Islamic Studies at George Mason University. She is a third year graduate student at The New School, pursuing her MA in International Affairs in Development. Her graduate thesis is about access to fresh local foods and its effect on public health. She previously worked as an intern at the Peacebuilding and Development Institute at American University, where she helped build professional training skills for participants from the Georgia-Abkhazia region, and analyzed field survey reports around reconstruction efforts in the Abyei region of Sudan. She recently completed an internship program in Cusco, Peru working with adolescent mothers to prevent the abandonment of children.

Jace Schinderman, Advisory Board Member
Jace Schinderman is president of JLS Enterprises, a management consultancy specializing in board development, fund raising and strategic planning. Before that she held positions over the course of 22 years in higher education, most recently at Columbia Business School as associate dean. Before that, Schinderman served as executive director for six years at Crescent House, Louisiana's first shelter for battered women and their children. She has her BA and MBA degrees from Tulane University.

Jessica Tallarico '13, Fundraising and Development Coordinator
Jessica Tallarico completed her BA in International Development with a minor in Education at McGill University. She is currently pursuing her second year as a master's candidate at The New School's Graduate Program for International Affairs, concentrating in Development. Before attending The New School, Jessica was working in diversity management in one of Toronto, Canada's crown corporations, as well as participating in community development and education as a volunteer in the small town of Alto de los Mores, Piura, Peru.

Michael Cohen, Director, Graduate Program in International Affairs (GPIA), The New School
Michael Cohen is director of the Graduate Program in International Affairs at The New School for Public Engagement. He also serves as advisor to the dean of the faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning of the University of Buenos Aires. Coehn has served at the International Center for Advanced Studies at New York University and worked for many years at the World Bank. Professor Cohen is the author or editor of several books, including Preparing for the Urban Future: Global Pressures and Local Forces (ed. With A. Garland, B. Ruble, and J. Tulchin).  

Student Volunteers are an instrumental part of Equity for Children's successes. Since its founding, volunteers and work study students have organized events, video interviews, photography, site postings, research and countless other tasks. Each year more than 20 students are involved. Current and recent studies include:

Linda Cadavid '13, Alejandra Davidziuk '09, Keyona Forbes '12, Beth Hill '14, Youngwon Kim '12, Rachele Morgante '11, Katherine Radke '13, Dennis Rainaldi '11, Melvilin 'Mel' Rodriguez '12, Emma Saloranta '10

Click here to learn more about our student volunteers, as well as open volunteer opportunities.