Biography

Ronni Denes, Board of Directors

Ronni Denes is President of New Jersey SEEDS, a nonprofit organization that enables high-achieving, low-income students to excel in rigorous academic environments.SEEDS provides enriched education, cultural opportunities and life skills training, in preparation for placement, along with financial aid, in some of the nation’s leading schools and colleges.

Ms. Denes is a lifelong champion of access to education. Before joining SEEDS, she served at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, an all honors college in New York City that provides a full tuition scholarship to every admitted student. As vice president and then senior vice president for External Affairs and Strategic Planning, she contributed to a period of exceptional institutional growth, leading the college’s highly successful capital campaign and a public relations effort that significantly increased Cooper Union’s visibility.

A contributor to research and practice in education, she was chief operating officer of NACME, Inc. (National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering) before moving to Cooper Union. NACME is a not-for-profit organization that creates entrée to careers in science- and mathematics-based fields. She began her career as a teacher and curriculum specialist in the New York City Public Schools, and became a consultant to the Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education.

Ms. Denes currently serves on the on the Board of Directors of Art & Remembrance and as president of the Board of Westbeth Center for the Arts. She holds a masters degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University’s Teachers College.