Foundation Academies Welcomes Four New Board Members, Appoints New School Board President
Four new board members, each with deep ties to Mercer County and a belief in the power of public education, will be adding their energy, experience and knowledge to the Foundation Academies community. Additionally, Foundation Academies announced the appointment of Kimme Carlos as the new President of the Board of Trustees. Carlos, who joined the board in 2019, succeeds Jacqueline Griffith, who has served since 2017 and will continue to serve as a Trustee.
The Trenton public charter school’s Board of Trustees welcomed Mr. Al-Lateef Farmer, Pastor Karen Hernandez-Granzen, and Mr. Carl Seiden to the Board under the leadership of the new Board President, Ms. Kimme Carlos. The Friends of Foundation Academies welcomed Ms. Joanna Herrera to the Board of Directors in July.
“Our Boards are comprised of dedicated community leaders committed to providing educational excellence and access to opportunity for the students of Foundation Academies,” said Graig Weiss, CEO. “We are excited to channel their talent, expertise, and energy into furthering our mission.”
Ms. Kimme Carlos, President, FA Board of Trustees

Kimme is a graduate of Regent University with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and a minor in Psychology. She is the co-Founder and Lead Facilitator of Sister Wellness Retreats; a certified health and wellness coach with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition; a certified instructor for Mental Health First Aid; and author of the published book The Window of Grace: Living in Recovery through Christian Faith.
Mr. Al-Lateef Farmer, FA Board of Trustees

Al-Lateef Farmer has over 15 years of experience with New Jersey’s Educational Opportunity Fund at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, New Jersey. His primary areas of emphasis are leadership development, minority male achievement, identity exploration, and community outreach. Al-Lateef is also a freelance writer and contributor to numerous websites and publications.
Pastor Karen Hernandez-Granzen, FA Board of Trustees

Rev. Karen Hernandez-Granzen has been the pastor at Westminster since 1995. She earned her A.A.S. from New York City College of Technology in 1982, her B.A. from California State University Los Angeles in 1988, and in 1994, her M.Div from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. She was a PCUSA delegate to the Jubilee World Council of Churches in 1998, in Zimbabwe. She was the 2017 Community Partner-in-Residence, of the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, Princeton University. Currently, she is the vice-chair of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Chaplain of the Bethany House of Hospitality: a Young Adult Intentional Community, and the Co-Moderator of United Mercer Interfaith Organization. She is a respected teacher and mentor for seminary interns and for clergy training and specializes in intercultural and urban ministry. She is a member of Princeton Theological Seminary’s Urban Ministry Initiative Cabinet. She is married to the Rev. Dr. Michael Granzen, and the mother of Mikaella and Olivia.
Mr. Carl Seiden, FA Board of Trustees

For the last thirty years, Carl and his wife Vanessa Sandom have lived in Hopewell Township, NJ, where they raised their two sons. In 2007, Carl founded Seiden Pharmaceutical Strategies, LLC, which primarily provides business strategy consulting services to biopharmaceutical companies and investment banks, as well as investment analysis to institutional investors. From 1992 to 2006, Carl was a highly-regarded pharmaceutical industry securities analyst employed by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., JPMorgan Equity Research, and UBS Securities. Prior to that, Carl was an executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb and General Electric. Carl earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in biology from Union College.
Ms. Joanna Herrera, Friends of Foundation Academies Board

Joanna Herrera is a Trenton native and first-generation college student. She graduated as the Valedictorian of Trenton Central High School’s Class of 2011 and was a scholar in the Princeton University Program. In 2015, she earned her B.S. in Business Administration degree from the University of Richmond. Joanna started her Marketing career at the world’s largest money manager, BlackRock, where they aimed to solve a global crisis: retirement readiness. Since then, she’s been helping support user growth for an AI-based search engine start-up, AlphaSense. She has over 6 years of experience in Digital and Growth Marketing. Joanna now lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and Yorkie. In her free time, she enjoys dog walking, swimming, hiking, and traveling. She is passionate about staying connected with her hometown community, family, and friends.
About Foundation Academies
Foundation Academies is a top-performing public K-12 charter school in Trenton, NJ. Founded in 2007, Foundation Academies is currently serving more than 1,000 students across two campuses. With markedly less funding than Trenton district schools (approx. $6,000 less per pupil), Foundation Academies’ dedicated teachers and scholars are proving that all children, irrespective of race, gender, or socioeconomic background can succeed at a great public school. On state exams, all grades at Foundation Academies are outperforming not just their Trenton peers, but NJ statewide averages as well.
About the Friends of Foundation Academies
The Friends of Foundation Academies, a separate 501c3 nonprofit organization, was founded in 2010 to encourage community support of FA. It supports, enhances, and promotes the work of FA by raising funds and delivering services, programs, acquisitions, and partnerships that equitably serve the best interests of our school community.