TEAM
Founders and Staff
Our team includes many staff, partners, and volunteers who are dedicated to creating positive change for young people in New York City and beyond. As the saying goes, it takes a village—and we are all in this together.
Anne Desmond, Co-Founder and Executive Director
Anne is the co-creator of Bent On Learning’s curriculum and training for middle and high school students. After many years of teaching yoga to teens in New York City classrooms, she currently serves as Executive Director, overseeing all aspects of the organization and ensuring excellence in the organization’s operations and program.
Anne received a Bachelor of Science degree from Drexel University.Prior to Bent On Learning, she worked in technology as a ‘woman who codes’. She has been practicing yoga since 1995.
Jennifer Ford, Co-Founder
In addition to 200-hour RYT certification, Jennifer holds teaching certificates for pre- and post-natal yoga, yoga for labor and delivery, and Yoga for the Special Child™, which focuses on yoga for children with autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome. She has been practicing yoga since 1995.
Jennifer holds a Master’s degree in Education from The New School for Social Research and for many years taught in the New York City public school system. It was her experimentation with yoga in the classroom that convinced her that yoga was a powerful, positive tool for young people, especially those with learning disabilities. She fully believes that yoga’s physical and philosophical framework is a natural complement to today’s conventional education system. She is combining her life passions: kids, yoga… and FUN!
Jasmine Cintron, Program Manager
Jazy has extensive training and experience in teaching yoga to all ages and is dedicated to making yoga and wellness practices accessible to everybody regardless of age, ability, gender, race or income. She is a 200-hour RYT and studied anatomy and therapeutic movement for 3 years with Amy Matthews and Leslie Kaminoff at The Breathing Project. She went on to complete two children’s yoga teacher training certifications with Karma Kids and Bent On Learning, as well as an apprenticeship with the Lineage Project to bring mindfulness programs to incarcerated and homeless youth. Jazy has also served as an after-school coach with “Kids in the Game” (KinG).
As a Bronx native and Latina, her background and experience enable her to introduce the concepts of yoga, health and wellness to New York City students in a way that they can relate to.
Board of Directors
Andrea Carter
Principal/Partner, Consulting, Ernst & Young
Kathy Chang
Director, Private Market Operations at KKR
Gianna Kesicki
Vice President, Commercial Real Estate, TD Bank, N.A.
Paul Kesicki
Vice President, Commercial Real Estate, TD Bank, N.A.
Panagiota Mahendru, Board Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer, Center for Employment Opportunities
Jennifer Moore, Board Chair
Senior Vice President and Head of Talent, Standard Industries
Jessie Van Arman
Head of Marketing, Meta
Associate Board
Kendall Harrell
Enterprise Account Executive, Squarespace
Julia Kaback
Development Assistant, Education Alliance
Piyush Ranjan Satapathy
Product Management Executive
Shaival Shah
Research Data & Analytics at Ashler Capital
For information about becoming a member of our Board of Directors or Associate Board, please email us at info@bentonlearning.org.
