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Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr. was born on June 26, 1956, the son of Mrs. Gussie H. Burgess, and Mr. Bernard A. Harris, Sr. A native of Temple, Texas, he graduated from Sam Houston High School, San Antonio, in 1974. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from University of Houston in 1978 before following that up with a doctorate in medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine in 1982.

Maria Quail began her teaching career in Brooklyn as an elementary school teacher and later transferred to the Bronx. She went on to become a certified Reading Recovery teacher working with at risk students. In time she became an Assistant Principal and eventually the Principal of Public School 8 in the Bronx. Later she served as a mentor to new principals in her district under a Project Lead Grant in District 10 in the Bronx. For the following 8 years, Maria served as a Network Leader in the Empowerment Organization of the Department of Education in the City of New York, initially leading a team of 4 who supported 26 NYC schools. Under her leadership the network quickly grew in school numbers and became one of the first in the city of New York to pilot a Children First Network (CFN) and Phase One of the Special Education Initiative. Selecting a team of 14 experts in operations and instruction, CFN 109 was formed which supported 36 schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn instructionally and operationally. She has also served as an adjunct instructor for graduate students at Manhattan College. Maria joined Generation Ready in 2016 and is currently Generation Ready’s Chief Executive Officer.