After School Staff Bios

Eric joins the current Chess faculty in building student skills and heightening enthusiasm for the game!

Sofia is originally from Washington D.C. and graduated with honors from Yale University with a degree in Music, focusing on composition and songwriting. She has been a composer and teaching artist with Hear Your Song since 2015, engaging in collaborative songwriting with children managing serious illness and complex health needs. Sofía took a year off from school to travel the world as the first woman singer in the Yale Whiffenpoofs a cappella group. She now lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she writes, records, and performs original music, teaches voice, and sings with the Oratory Choir of St. Boniface. Sofía loves sharing her passion for songwriting with students at the After School Program.

The Character Builders is founded by Lisa Fader and offers enrichment programs with a personalized focus to celebrate each child’s uniqueness and bring out the best in each student. We foster a love of learning, instill respect for self and others, promote collaboration and teamwork, and build integrity, character and leadership skills empowering each student to be a voice and make a difference in their community simply by being themselves.

Lisa Fader is an enthusiastic educator devoted to making a difference in children’s lives. She likes to incorporate arts and crafts in her lessons, as well as hands-on activities that will keep students engaged. Her classes help children build self-esteem, and she is an advocate of anti-bullying practices through collaboration and teamwork. Lisa holds bachelors and graduate degrees in Communications. Lisa currently works with the SPARK Business Academy and is excited to bring her own Leadership and Team Building classes to the First Program!

Wendy teaches the Senior Leaders class at First Program. She started as a part-time teacher’s assistant during high school in 2016 and has since loved educating children on various subjects such as art, business, and science. She recently graduated from Hunter College with a Biology major and plans to go to medical school and become a pediatrician. Aside from studying, her hobbies include weightlifting, reading, and gaming. It is a pleasure to work with Dalton and inspire the younger generation to explore their leadership.