De Blasio advisors include critics of Bloomberg school policies

A leading special education advocate and a PTA president are among the 60 people that Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has named to his “transition committee.”

The committee will advise de Blasio as he crafts policies for his administration, which begins Jan. 1. Its composition signals de Blasio’s priorities now that campaigning has given way to governing — and the names on the list suggest that, on education especially, de Blasio plans to stick with the profile of staunch progressive that he cultivated on the campaign trail.

The committee includes Zakiyah Ansari, the Alliance for Quality Education’s advocacy director and a leading critic of the Bloomberg’s education policies; Cynthia Nixon, an actress who herself has worked with AQE; and Kim Sweet, a special education advocate whose organization has repeatedly sued the city under Bloomberg. All are public school parents.

While the list of civic, business, and cultural leaders does include some allies of the Bloomberg administration, none of the education names on the committee have been strongly aligned with Bloomberg’s school policies.

Charter school advocates, who have said they are cautiously optimistic that de Blasio would back down on his pledge to charge rent to some charter schools, are not represented on the committee. But one member, Children’s Aid Society head Richard Buery, does operate a charter school within city-owned space.

Buery has been a leading advocate of community schools, or adding more social services to city schools, an arrangement that de Blasio has said he would pursue.

Although de Blasio has said he will heavily weigh the influence of educators on his school policies, the committee does not feature any. One member, Brooklyn Academy of Music President Karen Brook Hopkins, was a member of the state’s education policy making board for four years until 2010.

De Blasio said today — during his first public appearance in days — that the transition committee “will result in a city government that is progressive, that is effective, and is diverse … It really reflects all the strengths of New York City.”

The list of committee members is below, with education-oriented members in bold:

Jennifer Jones Austin, Co-Chair, Transition NYC (previously named) Carl Weisbrod, Co-Chair, Transition NYC (previously named) Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator, Studio Museum of Harlem Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, President and Founder of Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute Cheryl Cohen Effron, Founder, Greater NY; Former President, ATC Management Karen Brooks Hopkins, President, Brooklyn Academy of Music Alexa Avilés, Program Officer, Scherman Foundation; Co-President, Parent Teacher Association of Public School 172 Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director, Alliance for Quality Education Maxine Griffith, Executive Vice President and Special Advisor for Campus Planning, Office of Government and Community Affairs, Columbia University Kate Sinding Esq., Senior Attorney, New York Urban Program, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Hon. Dr. Una S.T. Clarke, Former Councilmember, 40th District MaryAnne Gilmartin, President and CEO, Forest City Ratner Companies Bertha Lewis, President and Founder, The Black Institute Marcia A. Smith, President, Firelight Media Ana Oliveira, President and CEO, The New York Women’s Foundation Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation Martha Baker, Executive Director and CEO, Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) Dr. Katherine LaGuardia, Assistant Clinical Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Mount Sinai Medical Center Dr. Conchita M. Mendoza, Chief of Geriatrics, University Hospital of Brooklyn, Long Island College Hospital Cynthia Nixon, Actress, Artist, Activist Arnold L. Lehman, Director, Brooklyn Museum Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director, The Public Theater Edward (Ed) Lewis, Founder, Essence Communications, Inc. Richard Buery, Jr., President and CEO, The Children’s Aid Society William Floyd, Head of External Affairs, Google, Inc. Meyer (Sandy) Frucher, Vice Chairman, The NASDAQ OMX Group Orin Kramer, Founder, Boston Provident LP Vincent (Vinny) Alvarez, President, NYC Central Labor Council Peter Madonia, COO, The Rockefeller Foundation Ken Sunshine, Founder, Sunshine Sachs Harold Ickes, Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dr. Rafael Lantigua, Professor of Clinical Medicine, New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center John Banks, Vice President of Government Relations, Con Edison; Board Member, Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Douglas (Doug) Durst, Chairman, The Durst Organization Derrick Cephas, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Former CEO and President, Amalgamated Bank Herb Sturz, Co-founder, Vera Institue of Justice Jeremy Travis, President, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York Rabbi Michael Miller, Executive Vice President and CEO, Jewish Community Relations Council Pastor Michael Walrond, Jr., Director of Ministers Division, National Action Network (NAN); Seventh Senior Pastor, First Corinthian Baptist Church Udai Tambar, Executive Director, South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!) David Jones, President and CEO, Community Service Society of New York (CSS) Marvin Hellman, President, OHEL Childrens Home and Family Services Rev. A.R. Bernard, Founder, Senior Pastor, and CEO, Christian Cultural Center George Gresham, President, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East Dr. Steven Safyer, President and CEO, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Ken Lerer, Managing Director, Lerer Ventures; Former Chairman and Co-Founder, Huffington Post Imam Khalid Latif, Executive Director and Chaplain, Islamic Center, New York University Marian Fontana, Board Member, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Families Advisory Council Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO, AOL, Inc. Kevin Ryan, Founder and Chairman, Gilt Pam Kwatra, President, Kripari Marketing; Executive Committee, Indian National Overseas Congress Elsie Saint Louis, Executive Director, Haitian-Americans United for Progress, Inc. Vanessa Leung, Deputy Director, Coalition for Asian American Children & Families Paula Gavin, Executive Director, Fund for Public Advocacy Kim Sweet, Executive Director, Advocates for Children of New York Dr. Marcia Keizs, President, York College, The City University of New York Jukay Hsu, Founder, Coalition for Queens Arnie Segarra, Activist and Longtime NYC Public Servant Elba Montalvo, Founder, President, and CEO, The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc. Mindy Tarlow, Executive Director and CEO, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Executive Director, Queens Council on the Arts