Richard Barasch Named Chairman of The Board of Directors of Turnaround

Richard Barasch is the new Chairman of the Board at Turnaround for Children, Pamela Cantor, M.D., President and CEO of the leading public education nonprofit announced today. Turnaround for Children partners with public schools in New York, Newark and Washington, D.C., to address the obstacles to teaching and learning that stem from the stress of poverty. Over the past 12 years in over 85 schools, Turnaround has implemented a targeted intervention program based in neuroscience and knowledge of child development to mitigate the way this stress impacts student readiness to learn and set the stage for significant academic improvement and student growth. In each partner school, Turnaround works simultaneously to create systems of support for the highest-need students, trains teachers in strategies that create safe, supportive and productive classrooms, and works with school leaders to build a high-performing culture – a strategy increasingly looked upon by leading education experts and policymakers as a path to success for lower-income students.

Richard Barasch is Chairman and CEO of Universal American, a nationally recognized leader in healthcare, and is already an active Turnaround board member. He has a philanthropic track record demonstrating a deep and diverse commitment to education. In addition to serving on Turnaround for Children’s Board of Directors, Richard is Chairman of The Friends of the Bronx Leadership Academy and a member of the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College. Richard replaces Trey Beck at the helm of Turnaround for Children’s board; Beck will continue to serve on the board, which also boasts a new member, J. Christopher Kojima, a Partner and Managing Director of Goldman, Sachs & Co.

“Richard has had a distinguished career in the health care industry,” said Dr. Pamela M. Cantor, MD, President and CEO of Turnaround for Children. “He brings a very relevant and unique knowledge of public system reform to Turnaround’s Board of Directors as well as a longstanding passion for equity and quality in those systems. We feel very, very fortunate to have him as our new chair at this moment in Turnaround’s history.”

“I believe that education is the most important lever to lift people out of poverty,” said Richard Barasch, incoming Chairman of the Board of Directors at Turnaround for Children. “Turnaround is pioneering an innovative effort, based in science, to transform our struggling schools and give all children the opportunities we would want for our own. I am happy to support Turnaround’s work on behalf of teachers and children in our high-poverty communities.”