The Team

The people who answer for the work.

Academic Capital Foundation is led by its board of directors. Half of the board is young by design, so the people the foundation serves help govern it.

• Founder

  Nadav Zeimer

  Nadav Zeimer (“Principal Z”) is a former Silicon Valley engineer, award-winning physics teacher, and New York Times front-page turnaround principal. He built HSCred on the model he proved in a Harlem high school.

• Executive Director

  Razelle Townsend

  Razelle Townsend leads the foundation day to day. A development professional and founder of RazTown Consulting, she helps mission-driven organizations grow, with a focus on social justice and community-centered work. She holds a degree from Binghamton University and a master of public administration from John Jay College.

• Director

  Jed Cohen

  Jed Cohen is an operations and fintech executive, co-founder and chief operating officer of Fiduciary In A Box. He has held leadership roles at Venture For America, Outcome Health, and RocketHub. He is a graduate of Harvard University.

• Director

  Darion Allen

  Darion Allen is a filmmaker and media producer at Connect with Kids Network, a nonprofit that makes educational content for youth and families. He studied at Loyola Marymount University and is pursuing a master's in developmental psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University.

• Youth Representative

  Natalie Viderman

  Natalie Viderman joined the board as its youth representative and is rebuilding its youth half. She is an incoming student at Cornell University, pursuing a path at the intersection of medicine, policy, and journalism, with a focus on how communication shapes public health outcomes, patient care, and health equity. As a Student Leader at the Youth Journalism Coalition, she works to expand educational opportunities for students and has helped draft citywide legislation to give students access to journalism programs. She is passionate about science communication and has researched rare diseases and veteran health with Mount Sinai and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In college and beyond, she looks forward to contributing to public policy and to improving education.

The board is supported by an advisory board of longtime champions of the work, in Harlem and across the field.