SSP Staff

Dr. Margaret M. Minson
Executive Director
Dr. Margaret M. Minson became executive director of SSP in 2007. A long-time advocate of higher education, she has served as the vice president for institutional advancement at both Marymount Manhattan College and St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn, where she more than doubled annual giving and established a professional fundraising organization, respectively. Her development expertise is coupled with a commitment to academic achievement grounded firmly in the classroom – Margaret has years of teaching experience at the elementary and high school levels, and she recently completed her doctorate in education at Fordham University, with a dissertation focused on the impact of mentor satisfaction on volunteerism.

Faith Botica
Assistant to the Executive Director
Development Associate
Faith started as an intern at SSP during the summer of 2009, and transitioned into a full-time staff member in the fall.  Her volunteerism outside the office has included tutoring at Nativity Prep and interning at Big Brothers Big Sisters.  She recently graduated from Boston College with a BA in History and American Studies.

Shirah Dunphy
Director of Development
Having served previously at Marymount Manhattan College as the Director of External Affairs, Shirah joined SSP in 2008. Prior to her work at Marymount Manhattan, she promoted education-based initiatives as an account manager at the PR firms of Fleishman Hillard and Widmeyer Communications. Shirah holds a Master's Degree in media and communications from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor's Degree from Georgetown University.

Dane Huckelbridge
Manager of Corporations & Foundations
Prior to his arrival at SSP in February of 2010, Dane Huckelbridge worked in advertising as an account supervisor at Foot Cone & Belding, and in education as a teacher of English and bilingual social studies in the South Bronx. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history and a certificate in Latin American studies.

Christine Maloney
Finance Manager
Christine became part of SSP in 2008, after earning a Master’s Degree in history and a BA in political science from Iona College. Since joining SSP, Christine has served as Sponsor Recruiter, Development Associate, and most recently, Finance Manager.

Sarah McBride
Development Associate
Sarah joined SSP in 2010, after graduating in 2009 from Southern Connecticut State University with a BS in liberal studies, concentrating in business economics.

Emily Mead
Director of Sponsor Recruitment & Individual Giving
Emily worked for Merrill Lynch's Corporate Events and Global Sponsorships for three years before joining SSP in 2008. She received her BA in journalism and English literature from New York University, and she is currently working toward a Master’s Degree in Education at Fordham University.

Lisa M. Schaller
Manager of School Relations
Lisa joined SSP in 1998 as Assistant to the Director. In 2000 she became Program Associate, continuing in that role until 2006, when she assumed her current position of Associate Director of Admissions. She has taken courses in business administration at Iona College and the Grace Institute.

Liz Demers
Communications Associate

Liz graduated from Harvard University in 2009 with a degree in Social Anthropology and Health Policy. Prior to joining SSP in the summer of 2010, Liz held a marketing internship and volunteered with high school students as a rowing coach.

Grace Urena
School Relations Associate

 An SSP Alumna, Grace graduated from Columbia University in 2010 with a degree in Ethnic Studies with a special interest in Latino Studies. Prior to joining SSP, Grace worked several years with Student and Guest Housing Services at Columbia University.

Manuela Rodriguez
Student Recruiter

Prior to joining SSP as a Student Recruiter in 2010, Manuela was an Executive Assistant at Cache, Inc, a women's apparel company. Manuela attended Marymount Manhattan College, where she studied European and American History.

The SSP Mission

Student Sponsor Partners' mission is to provide as many of New York City's at-risk high school youth as possible with an opportunity to receive a quality non-public high school education, through the financial support and one-to-one guidance of a 4-year Sponsor.

In doing so, Student Sponsor Partners strives to help disadvantaged youths earn their high school diplomas, and thus make a direct and meaningful impact on their lives.