UPCOMING MEETINGS
Board of Trustees Meeting: Wednesday, May 21 at 8:00 pm. The meeting will be held in person at FACTS (1023 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123). Please note that the meeting will start at 8:00 pm rather than the usual 6:30 pm time.
Board Agenda May 21, 2025.docx
The FACT Charter School Board of Trustees meets the third Wednesday of every month at 6:30 pm. All Board meetings are open to the public. Members of the public are invited to speak at Board Meetings during the Public Comment section of the meeting. No advanced registration is required in order to speak during the Public Comment period of Board meetings.
To request interpretation at an upcoming Board meeting, please call the FACTS front office at 215-569-2600. Please make your request at least ten days in advance if possible.
民艺特许学校（FACTS）董事会在每个月的第三个星期三下午 6点30半举行会议。所有董事会会议均向公众开放。在会议的公众评论环节，董事会邀请公众发言。在会议的公众评论环节发言无需提前登记。
如果您需要在接下来的董事会会议中为您安排翻译，请拨打215-569-2600致电FACTS前台。如果可以的话，请提前至少十天联系告知您需要口译。
Yayasan Sekolah FACTS rapat di minggu ketiga hari Rabu setiap bulan jam 6:30 pm. Rapat yayasan dibuka untuk umum. Anggota umum boleh berbicara saat rapat yayasan di bagian Public comment saat rapat berlangsung.Registrasi awal tidak dibutuhkan untuk berbicara saat Rapat yayasan di sesi komentar umum.
Untuk meminta penerjemah di rapat yayasan yang akan datang harap hubungi kantor sekolah di 215 569 2600. Harap beritahu kantor sekolah 10 hari sebelum rapat.
La Mesa Directiva de FACT Charter School se reúne el tercer miércoles de cada mes a las 6:30 pm. Todas las reuniones de la Junta están abiertas al público. Los miembros del público están invitados a hablar en las reuniones de la Junta durante la sección de comentarios públicos de la reunión. No es necesario registrarse por adelantado para hablar durante el período de comentario público de las reuniones de la Junta.
Para solicitar interpretación en una próxima reunión de la Junta, llame a la oficina principal de FACTS al 215-569-2600. Si es posible, haga su solicitud con al menos diez días de anticipación.
ABOUT OUR BOARD MEMBERS:
Pooja Agarwal, Governance Committee (Policy), Board Member since 2018
Pooja sought a role on the board of FACTS to further her support for the immigrant and refugee communities of Philadelphia who make up a large part of the FACTS family. Pooja Agarwal is an attorney in Philadelphia. While currently practicing in the corporate world, she has over 13 years of experience in immigration law, primarily working with people seeking asylum in the United States on a pro bono basis. Since 2009, Pooja has worked as volunteer attorney at HIAS PA, a local non-profit dedicated to immigration legal services and refugee resettlement in Philadelphia. She has a B.A. in economics-philosophy from Columbia University and law degrees from Brooklyn Law School and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Law.
Leana Cabral, Development Committee, Board Member since 2022
Leana is aligned with and inspired by FACTS’ mission of drawing on and uplifting student’s home and community cultures as part of the school curriculum as well as its commitment to social justice and educational equity. Leana Cabral is currently a Research Associate at Philadelphia-based education research organization, Research for Action and has extensive experience working in out-of-school settings as an educator and administrator as well as in school settings as a researcher. Additionally, she is a PhD candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University in Sociology and Education and her research interests include the racial politics of public education, K-12 educational inequality and educational program evaluation and she is committed to educational and racial justice and equity for all students. Leana is also a proud board member of Philly Student Union.
Frank Chism, Development Committee, Board Member since 2024
Frank values differences in culture, traditions, languages, viewpoints and methods of self expression, and believes strongly that students of all communities, regardless of resources, deserve high quality educational opportunities. Frank works at Vanguard and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He’s lived in Philadelphia for over 20 years, and his children attended public, charter, and private schools throughout their educational journey. Frank lives in the Mount Airy neighborhood with his wife and dog. Frank also serves as a board member for Father Joseph Network USA, a non-profit created in 2021 to raise funds and bring technical and logistical assistance to a network of non-profits in Haiti.
Jeff Koung, Development Committee, Board Member since 2022
Jeff is committed to FACTS and its mission to serve students of diverse backgrounds and build a more equitable future for everyone. As a first generation Asian American, Jeff’s experiences growing up in Philadelphia have shaped his values and passions. Jeff recognizes that everyone does not have the same opportunities – this is especially true for people of color, immigrants, and refugees due to language barriers, cultural differences, and racial biases. This difference in equity is the driving force of Jeff’s passion to help marginalized people by creating a more equitable future for everyone. Jeff is an analytics and strategy professional at PwC based in Philadelphia and has over 10 years of experience using data to drive fact-based decision making. Jeff also serves as the community impact lead for the Pan Asian Community Inclusion Network at PwC where he works to connect volunteers with local non-profits
Alison Lin, Development Committee, Board Member since 2023
Alison is committed to FACTS mission and approach to integrating arts and cultural rituals into students’ educational experience. Alison supports leaders in authentic collaborations to transform people and systems toward love, dignity and justice. She is a coach and senior consultant with Change Elemental. As a certified coach, Alison partners with clients to take values-rooted action in the direction of their dreams. Alison shares with FACTS board her skill for collaborative design and facilitation and experience in organizational development. Alison graduated with honors from Hamilton College with a BA in Chemistry and Columbia University with her Masters in Public Health. She recently completed training in neurosomatic intelligence.
Xu Lin, Board Vice Chair, Governance Committee (Nominations), Board Member since 2019
Xu Lin dreamed of a school like FACTS for his peers and himself when he immigrated to America and entered a Philadelphia public school. He experienced first hand how lack of funding and advocacy disproportionately affected immigrant and racial minority students. Following high school, Xu became a community organizer and youth organizer who worked in the Philadelphia Chinese community on a variety of issues: affordable housing, race relations, school violence, and public education. Xu is currently a business owner and a proud father of two.
Nancy Nguyen, Development Committee, Board Member since 2022
Nancy Dung Nguyen is committed to the long-term vision of FACTS as a deeply community-embedded institution that supports holistic and folk arts based learning for our students, and supporting them in understanding their role as active participants in working for a just society. Locally, Nancy is with VietLead as the Executive Director and one of its co-founders. VietLead empowers the community through youth empowerment and organizing through a lens of social justice and anti-violence, health promotion and navigation, civic engagement, and community building projects. She has 10+ years of experience as an organizer, non-profit leader in Philadelphia and Camden. Nationally, Nancy currently serves as the National Campaign Director for the Southeast Asian Freedom Network, with the mission to end Southeast Asian deportation in this generation.
Neeta Patel, Board Treasurer, Finance Committee, Board Member since 2016
As one of FACTS Founders, Neeta is deeply committed to its mission and values the role folk arts plays in fostering a caring community that encompasses multiple languages, cultures, and generations; in nurturing creativity; and in honing academic skills in service towards building a more fair and peaceful world. She also brings hands-on experience, having served as FACTS’s inaugural Operations Officer where she developed and directed FACTS non-instructional programs. Neeta currently works as a consultant and has over three decades of experience working with Philadelphia’s refugee and immigrant communities as an administrator, advocate, educator, fundraiser, and organizer in various organizations including Asian Americans United, one of FACTS founding organizations. She earned a BA from Haverford College, and an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Alan Phan, Development Committee, Board Member since 2019
Alan is a strong supporter of diversity, equity, and inclusion and FACTS’ mission to invest in the under-served Chinatown community and the students of our future. Alan Phan is an IT Professional at Chubb Insurance based in Philadelphia. He has over 15 years of experience in IT audit, security, and risk management working across various industries. Alan has served on several boards and held leadership roles on diversity and inclusion programs for multiple organizations. He currently serves as a board member for Temple University’s ITACS Masters Program advising on curriculum planning, recruiting, mentoring, and eventual placement of graduates. Additionally, Alan holds a leadership position for Chubb’s Asian Alliance employee resource group advocating for greater awareness and equity for the Asian community and their allies through training, knowledge sharing, collaborative events, and celebrations.
Thierry Elin-Saintine, Board Chair, Governance Committee (Policy), Board Member since 2020
Thierry is excited to be a member of the FACTS family and be a part of the school’s fight to make “belonging” an integral part of its mission and philosophy of education. Thierry is an assistant professor of mathematics and First-Year Studies program at Stockton University. He teaches courses on quantitative reasoning, algebraic modeling, and academic identity construction. His research focuses on identity as belonging, mathematics education, urban education, and clinical empathy. Whether learning about housing inequity from homeless Philadelphians at a public library, or studying the meaning of clinical empathy from people living with dementia, or exploring the pervasiveness and depths of institutional racism in mathematics education, I have been fortunate to be part of budding movements in educational research (and the social sciences) helping to rewrite America’s social imaginary–the range of possible identities available to certain groups in this country. I hope to continue this work as a member of the FACTS community.
Allaire Wohlgemuth, Board Secretary, Development Committee & Governance Committee (Nominations), Board Member since 2018
Allaire was a former employee of FACTS and has remained dedicated to the model of a school as a hub for community advocacy. Allaire is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and currently leads a new initiative in The School District of Philadelphia that places teams of mental health supports in select District schools. She has spent over two decades serving children and families in Philadelphia as a teacher and a social worker in school, court, outpatient and hospital settings. Allaire brings to the FACTS board her knowledge and experience around mental health, trauma informed communities and restorative practices. Allaire graduated from Swarthmore College with a dual major in Elementary Education and Sociology and also has her Masters of Social Service from Bryn Mawr College. She is currently working towards her Principal’s Certification at Drexel University.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES CONTACT INFORMATION
1023 Callowhill Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Thierry Saintine, Chair: thierry@board.factschool.org
Xu Lin, Vice Chair: xulin@board.factschool.org
Neeta Patel, Treasurer: neeta@board.factschool.org
Allaire Wohlgemuth, Secretary: allaire@board.factchool.org
Pooja Agarwal: pooja@board.factschool.org
Leana Cabral: leana@board.factschool.org
Frank Chism: frank@board.factschool.org
Jeffrey Koung: jeff@board.factschool.org
Alison Lin: alison@board.factschool.org
Nancy Nguyen: nancy@board.factschool.org
Alan Phan: alan@board.factschool.org
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING SCHEDULE, 2024-25
The Board will meet the third Wednesday of every month at 6:30 pm. Meeting dates are:
July 15, 2025 (virtual); August 20, 2025 (virtual); September 17, 2025 (in person); October 15, 2025 (virtual); November 19, 2025 (in person); December 17, 2025 (virtual); January 21, 2026 (in person); February 18, 2026 (virtual); March 18, 2026 (in person); April 15, 2026 (virtual); May 20, 2026 (in person); June 17, 2026 (virtual)
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING SCHEDULE, 2024-25
The Board will meet the third Wednesday of every month at 6:30 pm. Meeting dates are: July 17, 2024 (virtual), August 21, 2024 (virtual), September 18, 2024 (in person), October 16, 2024 (virtual), November 20, 2024 (virtual), December 18. 2024 (virtual), January 15, 2025 (in person), February 19, 2025 (virtual), March 19, 2025 (in person), April 23, 2025 (virtual. Note: not the third Wednesday due to Spring Break), May 21, 2025 (in person), June 18, 2025 (virtual)
All in person meetings will take place at 1023 Callowhill Street/Philadelphia, PA 19123.
All virtual meetings will take place on Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89509608196
Meeting ID: 895 0960 8196
One tap mobile +13092053325
Committee Meetings: Please call 215-569-2600 to get the zoom link for committee meetings and to verify that a committee meeting is occurring.
- The Policy Committee will meet on the first Wednesday of every month at 10:00 am via Zoom.
- The Nominations Committeee will meet on the third Monday of every month at 10:00 am via Zoom.
- The Development Committee will meet on the first Monday of every month at 12:00 noon via Zoom.
- The Finance Committee will meet on the Thursday of the week prior to the Board meeting at 12:30 pm via Zoom.
Members of the public are invited to attend all FACTS Board of Trustees meetings.
2024-25 BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES
10.16.24 Board Meeting Minutes
Special Board Meeting Minutes November 13, 2024.docx
11.20.24 Board Meeting Minutes
12.18.24 Board Meeting Minutes.docx (1)
2.19.25 Board Meeting Minutes.docx (3)
3.4.25 Board Meeting Minutes.docx (1)
3.19.25 Board Meeting Minutes.docx (1) (1)
4.10.25 Special Board Meeting Minutes.docx
PAST YEARS’ BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES
FACTS 2017-18 Board of Trustees Minutes
FACTS 2018-21 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR PUBLIC REVIEW:
Folk-Arts-Cultural-Treasures-CS_Comprehensive-Plan_10-28-2017