Our Mission

As a regional affiliate of Horizons National, our mission is to promote educational equity in the New York metropolitan area by implementing critical summer and out-of-school programs that serve systemically under-resourced communities. We focus on a sustained commitment to our students to ensure they have the opportunities, skills, and confidence to fulfill their potential in both school, and life.

Our Impact

By inspiring learning, building community, and nurturing joy, Horizons encourages students to discover a love of learning and reach their goals! While academic success is key, it’s only one aspect of their growth.

As a national network, Horizons has a long history of program evaluation, demonstrating that our programs not only mitigate learning loss but also empower students to have…

+ Higher scores on elementary math and science testing

+ Higher GPAs during transitional years into high school

+ More course credits earned in 9th and 10th grade

+ Increased high school graduation rates

+ Lower rates of chronic absenteeism

+ Fewer incidents of repeating a grade

+ Fewer disciplinary referrals

+ Increased self-confidence and motivation

+ A greater willingness to try new things

Program Model

The hallmark of Horizons is our six-week, tuition-free summer program that goes far beyond a typical summer camp experience. In partnership with host schools, we implement a culturally-responsive curriculum and data-driven methods to combat summer learning loss while fostering social-emotional growth.

Each summer, K-8th grade students attend the Horizons program and return year after year to build on their progress. Through year-round family engagement events, students and families are able to sustain the strong community networks they create each summer, ensuring ongoing support and connection.

  • A typical summer program day begins with students learning together in 15:2 classes led by professional faculty, who follow a project-based learning curriculum. Students spend the morning focusing on literacy and mathematics, and the afternoons rotating between enrichment subjects such as swimming, art, dance, drumming, science, chorus, and movement. Weekly, students participate in a field trip to a local destination!

  • Both a core tenet of the Horizons model and a student favorite is learning to swim! For many students, summers at Horizons are their first experiences in the water, and as they return each year they steadily progress swimming levels. Swimming is not only a fun way to be active –  it is a critical life-saving skill that everyone should have access to learning. Participating in an unfamiliar, and sometimes daunting, activity like swimming helps students build confidence and encourages a growth-mindset that will last a lifetime.

  • Students come to Horizons with a broad range of academic skills. Classes typically include one-third of students learning at or above grade level, and two-thirds learning below grade level. Prioritizing a classroom of diverse learners fosters peer-to-peer support in an encouraging environment that ultimately results in academic success for every student.

  • All Horizons programs utilize Renaissance Learning’s STAR test to evaluate literacy and math levels of each student pre- and post-program. Learning specialists at each Horizons program then use pre-program results to implement specific learning targets for students who need the most support, and post-program results reveal an average 8.8 weeks of learning gains across all students.

Our Students

Horizons students come from diverse backgrounds and academic levels, but one thing remains common: discovering the joys of learning together! With our emphasis on annual participation, learning gains cumulate year after year and ultimately set every student up for long-term success.

Horizons students…

+ Qualify for free/reduced school lunches based on Federal guidelines

+ Have just completed grades Kindergarten - 8th

+ Have parents/guardians who understand the annual commitment

+ Learn at various academic levels

Staff & Leadership

  • A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Macy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Centenary College of Louisiana and her Masters of Social Work degree from Fordham University. With former experience at Advocates for Children of New York and Options Center at Goddard Riverside, Macy is excited to lead HNYC in the next phases of regional growth. Macy currently serves as an adjunct professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service, and resides in Brooklyn with her husband and son. Macy’s career has been dedicated to ensuring that all students in New York City have equitable access to education.

    mstockton@horizonsnewyorkcity.org

  • Emily joined Horizons in 2019 as an AmeriCorps VISTA and has since transitioned into the role of Assistant Director. With a background in Political Science and Philosophy from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, Emily brings a passion for civil and human rights to her work. Drawing from her upbringing in a family deeply connected to education, Emily is dedicated to fostering a more equitable society for all. Her role involves direct engagement with students and staff, empowering them to create meaningful change within their communities.

    emilypritzl@horizonsnewyorkcity.org

Board of Directors

  • Jane’s career spans media and nonprofit leadership, focused on education and creating opportunity. She combined these passions to produce and host Bloomberg EDU, the first national radio program on K-12 education. She herself was a faculty scholarship student at New Canaan Country School, where the first Horizons Program was founded. She later served as Board Chair of the school and the New Canaan Horizons program and went on to chair the Board of Horizons National, leading program expansion nationwide. Jane is now dedicated to building the Horizons Program in NYC.

  • Joe oversees the YMCA of Greater New York's Real Estate Portfolio, encompassing 1.6 million sq. feet across 24 locations. He leads facility design & construction, and organization-wide property management. Joe has spent 20+ years in community & economic development serving as Executive VP, Real Estate and Public/Private Partnerships at Empire State Development (ESD), as Founding President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and as Sr. Policy Advisor to NYC Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff during the Bloomberg administration. Joe holds Masters and Bachelors degrees from NYU, is an alumni of Horizons New Canaan Country School and affiliated with Horizons for over 40 years.

  • Emme Deland is Strategy Advisor at NewYork-Presbyterian. She primarily works with the Dalio Center for Health Justice, which works to understand and address root causes of health inequity. She additionally leads special projects in technology. Prior, Emme was Sr. VP  & Chief Strategy Officer for NewYork-Presbyterian. She is Sr. Lecturer of Health Policy & Management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. In addition to Horizons NYC, she serves on the Boards of the Kornfeld and Zeitz Foundations, American Memorial Hospital in Rheims, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Clear Scientific and is advisor to Belle.ai.

  • Amy’s life was transformed by enrolling in the first Horizons program at New Canaan Country Day School.  She has been dedicated to Horizons since, serving on the Horizons New Canaan Board for 15 years, and subsequently as a founding board member for Horizons National for 25 years, including as Chair for each of these Boards. She joined the Horizons NYC board in 2022. Amy has also been a member of the Boards of Stamford Health System, Stamford Hospital Foundation, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation,The Fund for Women & Girls and New Canaan Country School.

  • Urvashi’s 20+ year career spans the management consulting, technology, startup and nonprofit sectors across Novartis, Deloitte, Microsoft, and PennPAC Pro Bono Consulting. At PennPAC, she leads engagements with nonprofits to address their strategic business challenges. She has received the City of New York Mayoral Service Recognition Certificate for her work. A dedicated STEM advocate, she has chaired the STEM Committee across her school district PTA and is passionate about growing Horizons NYC’s program. Urvashi received her MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

  • America has 9+ years of experience in management consulting at Deloitte where she specializes in human capital, mergers and acquisitions and strategy. Born in Mexico and raised in Denver, she is a first-generation college student and has experienced firsthand the impact of Horizons programs in Colorado, which provided invaluable support to her family. In America’s own words: “I'm privileged to give back and thrilled to contribute to the growth of Horizons NYC.” America received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and MBA from Columbia University.

  • Robin brings a wealth of experience from a career that has spanned human capital, strategic planning, organizational development and career coaching.  She currently is the Chief Administrative Officer for True North Management  Group.  She had held executive positions at Lehman Brothers and Bankers Trust Company. Robin has additionally served on not for profit and advisory boards including The Jewish Foundation for the Education of Women, Barnard College, Blair Academy, The Horizons Student Enrichment Program, Bottom Line, Prep for Prep and the parents council at Williams College. She earned her undergraduate degree in economics  at Union College and a master’s degree in organizational psychology  from Columbia University.

  • Lisa is currently Sr. Director of Independent School Placement at ESM Prep. She was previously Director of Secondary School Placement at New Canaan Country School and prior, worked at the Admissions Office at Brunswick School. A graduate of Greenwich Academy and Colgate University, Lisa also holds certificates from UCLA and Columbia Teachers College. Having served as Board member for several Horizons programs, at New Canaan Country School, at Norwalk Community College and at Horizons National, she brings a wealth of understanding to support Horizon’s NYC growth.

  • Azibo Smith serves as CAO of Cash Equity Trading at Citigroup. Prior, Azibo was CFO of LavaFlow. He has worked in finance and risk management for over 24 years across corporate governance, strategic planning and financial operations. A Brown University graduate in Business Economics, he was Tri-Captain of his 1999 Ivy championship football team.  He is delighted to bring his leadership and financial expertise to Horizons NYC, in support of its mission of expanding educational equity.

  • A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Macy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Centenary College of Louisiana and her Masters of Social Work degree from Fordham University. With former experience at Advocates for Children of New York and Options Center at Goddard Riverside, Macy is excited to lead HNYC in the next phases of regional growth. Macy currently serves as an adjunct professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service, and resides in Brooklyn with her husband and son. Macy’s career has been dedicated to ensuring that all students in New York City have equitable access to education.

  • Jane has been a Board member of Horizons at Saint David’s School, a Horizons New York City affiliate, for 10 years. She is passionate about Horizons' mission to advance educational equity, prevent summer learning loss and engage students in a well designed program of academics, physical activity and social-emotional learning. Jane worked for Standard & Poor’s for over 30 years, focused on ratings evaluations of sovereign and local governments in Latin America.

Board of Advisors

Carmen Fariña, Director Emerita

Michael Nill

David O’Hallaran

Howard Schragin

Rachel Webber