Richard A. Berlin

Richard Berlin, founding Chair of DREAM Charter School, served as DREAM’s Executive Director since 1997 and became co-Chief Executive Officer alongside Eve Colavito in 2021. Mr. Berlin began his journey with DREAM as a volunteer baseball coach in 1994. During his tenure, DREAM has grown from a summer recreation program with one staff member to a thriving community-based organization recognized locally and nationally with numerous awards for programmatic and operational excellence. DREAM now serves over 2,000 youth from Pre-K to pre-college across East Harlem and the South Bronx through a growing network of inclusive, extended-day, extended-year charter schools, and community sports-based youth development programs.

Mr. Berlin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and attended a Master’s Program in Political Theory at the London School of Economics and Political Science in London, England. Additionally, he has completed certificate programs at Columbia University’s Institute for Not-for-Profit Management in both Nonprofit Management and Leadership Development.