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Common Denominator Announces Non-Profit Leader Angela Williams To Join as Executive Director
[September 17, 2020]

Common Denominator Announces Non-Profit Leader Angela Williams To Join as Executive Director


Common Denominator (formerly known as Top Honors), a New York City-based non-profit that provides free 1:1 math tutoring to middle-schoolers from the city's underserved communities, has announced the hire of Angela Williams as the organization's new Executive Director.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200917005093/en/

Angela Williams, Executive Director (Photo: Business Wire)

Angela Williams, Executive Director (Photo: Business Wire)

Ms. Williams was most recently the Executive Director for "I Have a Dream" Foundation in New York. In this capacity, Ms. Williams worked to ensure college-bound youth had equal access to education and career opportunities. Previously, Ms. Williams served as the Chief Program Officer at Dress for Success Worldwide. Andrew Goffe, Co-Chair of the Common Denominator Board, said "We are excited that Angela has joined the team. She is a proven leader who will help grow the organization and ensure that we make a difference in more children's lives."

The Common Denominator (C/D) mission resonated with Ms. Williams, who herself is a native of the Bronx. Ms. Williams's career has been dedicated to empowering people so that they can move from poverty to prosperity, and her commitment to this work can be traced back to her own personal experience in the Bronx. Ms. Williams grew up in public housing with her mother, a teacher. Ms. Williams's mother made significant sacrifices topave the way for the future success of her daughter. These real-life experiences, coupled with her undergraduate and graduate studies, provided Ms. Williams with the opportunity to learn about the value of commitment to education, the benefits of coaching and mentorship, and the importance of the lifelong relationships that are forged in academic environments.



"Common Denominator is creating an ecosystem of sustainable learning for fragile communities in order to promote social mobility and economic independence. This work is at the core of my professional focus on education equity for youth," says Ms. Williams. "I am thrilled to be tackling new challenges at Common Denominator, ensuring that middle school students learn to love math, build self-confidence and self-efficacy through tutoring and mentorship, and that tutors and coaches are provided with life-changing experiences through their support of our mission."

Ms. Williams has served as a contributor for various thought leadership conferences including the Aspen Institute and the Clinton Global Initiative. She holds her Bachelor of Science and a Masters in Education from Lehman College in the Bronx, where she was born and raised.


The C/D Board also acknowledges the remarkable impact and efforts of the departing Executive Director, Julia Kang. Ms. Kang's 11-year oversight of and dedication to Common Denominator has resulted in significant growth in students served, new locations and partnerships throughout New York City, and a stronger organizational backbone from which we will continue to grow. On behalf of all the students, staff, and volunteers whose lives were changed by Julia's tireless efforts, we thank her.

Founded in 2002, Common Denominator is committed to tackling the math literacy gap in NYC's public schools. Over 2/3rds of eighth grade students do not meet required proficiency levels, with a devastating ripple effect on high-school graduation and college attendance rates. Most families lack the resources to remedy these learning challenges at home. Some 73% of public school students come from low-income households; they are also overwhelmingly people of color and immigrants who face significant structural barriers. C/D's student body reflects these realities; 82% qualify for federally-subsidized school lunches, and 83% are students of color. Focusing on core math skills, confidence-building and mentorship, the program's results have been dramatic. Its students have a 97% high-school graduation rate, and 60% of C/D students show a full letter-grade increase in math. C/D has adopted a virtual tutoring delivery model in response to COVID-19. The program is actively welcoming students and volunteers for the current school year.

Common Denominator is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Please direct all media enquiries to Angela Williams via [email protected] or 212-662-0573. More information is available at www.cdmath.org or @cdmathorg.


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