Groundwork Co-Founder Joins The Center for After-School Excellence

Groundwork provides high-quality educational programs and support services, including after-school programs, to families in high-poverty neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Mr. Buery grew up in East New York and is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

"The professionalization of the after-school workforce is one of the most pressing issues facing our field today," Mr. Beury said, explaining why he’s joined the Center. "At Groundwork, many of our staff are young and work here part-time; they often attend school, work multiple jobs, and have extensive familial responsibilities. Their job is extremely challenging, but their wages are modest. Ultimately, the ability of after-school programs to develop the next generation of citizens, scholars, and leaders will depend on our ability to recruit, train, and retain talented staff, and this won’t be possible until we find a way to improve staff training and increase wages and benefits in our sector."

Prior to co-founding Groundwork, Mr. Buery helped to found iMentor, a technology education and mentoring program that connects middle and high school students with professional mentors. Mr. Buery also serves on the Board of Directors of City Project, a New York City budget watchdog organization; the Beginning With Children Foundation, a supporter of charter schools; iMentor, and the Pratt Area Community Council.

The governing committee of the Center is chaired by Stanley S. Litow, president of the IBM International Foundation. Other members include Mimi Corcoran, executive director of the Beginning with Children Foundation, Inc.; Robert D. Joffe, presiding partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; Pedro A. Noguera, executive director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education; Jennifer J. Raab, president of Hunter College; Herbert Sturz, a trustee of the Open Society Institute; and Deborah Lowe Vandell, chair of the Department of Education at the University of California, Irvine.

Contact: Susan Brenna; sbrenna@tascorp.org