About
As the Director of the Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished New York City Principals at Teachers College, Columbia University, Krista Dunbar works closely with College faculty, board members, education organizations and school principals to recognize, support, and promote experienced and aspiring public school. With faculty board members, staff and committees she has designed and implemented the recruitment and selection process, fellowship curriculum, program evaluation as well as launched the Cahn Alumni Network and the program's fundraising campaign. She focuses her efforts to meet the program's objectives: to prepare the next generation of leaders, increase retention of successful leaders, improve schools and student learning, and inform education policy.
Prior to joining the Cahn Fellows Program, Krista worked as a Marketing Research Analyst at Whitman Insight Strategies, the issue advocacy, corporate image and brand strategy consulting firm that advised Michael Bloomberg on his mayoral campaign. She also worked as a marketing consultant for the Friends of Van Cortlandt Park to develop a strategic campaign to increase awareness and participation in park and school-based programs and has authored business plans for education and consumer goods start-up companies. Additionally, she worked with education leaders to develop the strategic plan for a large urban school district re-design.
Krista taught high school English in East Brunswick, New Jersey and later, at the Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem. As an Advanced Placement English teacher, she dramatically increased student participation and the number of students earning college credit. Additionally, she directed the Breakfast with Professionals program to recognize dedicated students and provide them with the opportunity to meet and learn from industry leaders including Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl and author Arthur Golden. Krista was selected to be on the team to pilot the Gilder Lerhman Saturday Humanities Academy and she designed the "Experiencing the Harlem Renaissance" curriculum for high school students.
Krista was the captain and a top-ranked, record-holding Division I Track & Field athlete at Rutgers University, where she received her B.A. in English Literature and her M.Ed. in English Language Arts. Among eleven others at the University she received the Big East scholar-athlete award for academic excellence in 1995. She also holds an M.B.A. from Baruch College, where she received the Dean's Merit Scholarship. Krista has a deep commitment to social activism and has proudly volunteered for the Housing Works Bookstore Café for over three years and serves on the board of Housing Works Inc.