Poly Prep Search Committee

Search Committee Co-Chair Robert Sabbagh ’87, P’27 also serves as Co-Chair of the Poly Prep Board of Trustees, and Co-Chair of the Building and Grounds committee. Prior to joining the Board of Trustees, Rob served on Poly’s Board of Governors. He is Vice President of Bay Ridge Auto Group, and President of the Board for the TriHonda Auto Dealers Advertising Association. Rob is a graduate of Ithaca College, and resides in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, with his family.

Search Committee Co-Chair Irwin Simon P’18 is Founder, President, CEO and Chairman of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. As the parent of four children in four different schools, he also has deep familiarity with academic institutions. Currently, he serves on the Boards of Directors of Jarden Corporation and MDC Partners, as well as Tulane University. Irwin is former Chairman of the New York City Gotham Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. He and his wife reside in New York City and are involved in numerous community activities and philanthropic causes.

Jeanne Cloppse ’84 is a proud Poly Prep and Williams College alum. She has served on the Poly Prep Board of Trustees since 2013, and is a member of the Audit, Development and Enrollment/Admissions/Diversity committees. Jeanne has spent her career in marketing and advertising. She also has been an active Board member for several small nonprofit organizations on the east end of Long Island.

Michael Corerra ’87 is Vice Chair of the Poly Prep Board of Trustees and has served on the Board since 2002. He is a business owner in Brooklyn Heights and a trustee of Kingsborough Community College. For the past 15 years, Michael has been the owner of Michael Towne Wine and Spirits in Brooklyn Heights. He also is Executive Director of the Metropolitan Package Association, an 80-year old trade association representing wine and liquor retailers in New York State.

Susanna Furfaro P’13, ’15 joined the Poly Prep Board in 2004 and this year serves as Co- Chair. Previously, she Co-Chaired the Co-Curricular Committee and was a member of Building and Grounds and Education Committees. Susanna is the proud parent of two Poly lifers who started in the nursery program. She earned her medical degree from McGill University, did postgraduate research in pulmonary medicine at Boston University, and is Board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Pulmonology.

Michal Hershkovitz P’16, ’18 has been Poly Prep’s History Department Chair since 2011. Michal has more than 15 years of teaching experience both at the college and high-school levels, including at Hunter College High School and the Calhoun School. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and earned her M.A. in International Relations at Yale and M. Phil. in Political Science from Columbia University. Francesca Leibowitz ’95, P’29 is Poly Prep’s Diversity Coordinator for the Middle School, where she has been a teacher for the past seven years and prior to that taught in NYC public high schools for eight years. She is a graduate of Georgetown University, with an MEd from Brooklyn College in secondary English education.

Michael Liburd P’21, ’24 is co-Founder and a Principal of Griffin Ward, LLC, a marketing firm in Manhattan. He serves on the Boards of several nonprofits, including the Brooklyn Public Library, BRIC Arts Media and Big Future Group. In addition to his children, who are current students of Poly Prep, Michael’s wife Jeanine is also a Poly graduate.

Cassandra Williams Metz P’21, ’26 has been an active member of the Poly Prep community for the past nine years, and has served on the Poly Prep Board of Trustees since 2014. She is a member of the Enrollment/Admissions/Diversity and Nominating committees. With nearly 20 years of experience in the legal field, Cassandra honed her management and negotiating skills at MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. Prior to that, Cassandra was a corporate attorney with the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.

Patricia Morris has been a teacher for nearly 40 years and has worked at independent schools in New York and New Jersey. She is a fourth grade teacher and a distinguished member of the faculty of Poly Prep Lower School for 29 years. Ms. Morris has dedicated herself to trying to change the world by “changing lives, one student at a time.”

John Regan ’86 chairs the Investment and Development Committees of Poly’s Board of Trustees. He is Chief Investment Officer and founding partner of Permanens Capital, an asset management firm in New York. He serves on the Tufts University Board of Athletics, and is a member of the Advisory Board of The Salvation Army of Greater New York, where he also serves on the Investment Committee. John is a graduate of Tufts University, and received his MBA from NYU.

Robin Bramwell-Stewart ’86, P’16 has been an active supporter of Poly Prep for many years, having served on the Board of Governors prior to joining the Board of Trustees in 2009. She is a member of the Education and Finance committees, and chairs the Communications committee. Robin leads business and strategic planning for the Port of New York & New Jersey, and previously was in Public Finance at JPMorgan. She has served on the boards of charter schools in NYC and Washington, DC, and on the advisory board for the Urban Assembly School for Global Commerce in Manhattan. She is a graduate of Howard University and Brooklyn Law School and resides in Brooklyn.

Vincent J. Vigorita M.D. ’68 is the recipient of the Trustee Award for Distinguished Service and has served on the Poly Board of Trustees for over 25 years (Chairman, 2005-11) and as President of the Alumni Society (1985-89). He has been a Professor of Pathology and Orthopedic Surgery at SUNY Downstate Medical Center; Medical Director of Lutheran Medical Center and is a graduate of Williams College and New York Medical College. He served on the Amagansett School Board from 2005-11.