SOH News

Meet Amber Cartwright

JUNE 2024 - Summer on the Hill is proud to announce the appointment of Amber Cartwright as our new Executive Director.

Amber has served The Bronx and Harlem for 15 years. Prior to her appointment at Summer on the Hill, she was the Vice President of Teaching Matters, where she led strategic growth, impact, and expansion initiatives. Before joining Teaching Matters, Amber was the Senior Executive Director of Family Empowerment and Community Partnerships and the Director of Professional Learning, Policy, and Implementation for the Division of Early Childhood Education in the New York City Department of Education.

Amber is a Diane Trister Dodge Scholar, a recipient of the Building Legacy Leader award, a UCLA/Johnson and Johnson Head Start 2016 Fellow, and has received a citation from the Honorable Ruben Diaz for her commitment to early care and education. She is also the founder of the Center for Applied Practice, Teaching, and Research. She holds two master’s degrees in education and psychology.

“The Board of Trustees is thrilled to welcome Amber to Summer on the Hill,” said Board President Ginger McKnight-Chavers. “A dynamic, innovative and experienced leader, her successful track record throughout her career will enable Summer on the Hill to continue the great legacy left by her predecessors and expand our ability to improve the educational experience and performance of public school students in The Bronx and Upper Manhattan.” Amber assumes her official duties on July 1. Markell Parker will continue to work for Summer on the Hill on an as-needed basis during the 2024-25 program year to ensure a smooth transition. 

2024 Letter from the Executive Director

SPRING 2024 - Not many organizations last for 30 years. On its own, that is a cause for celebration. Thirty Summer on the Hill years means about 1,200 students and families that can say they passed through our doors; about 1,200 families who will all say that SOH changed their lives. That kind of impact cannot be measured in dollars and can’t be fully quantified by any statistic.

Meanwhile, I am excited about SOH’s future. Although I will be stepping down as Executive Director at the end of June, I will be around for the next year helping the new ED transition into the role. For my part, it’s been an incredible ride marked by growth, learning, and a commitment to nurturing young minds into their fullest potential.

The SOH Board of Trustees, the people who volunteer to further our mission and make sure we reach our goals, is a larger and more diverse group than it has ever been. They come from neighborhoods all over NYC and beyond, spanning different industries, expertise, ages, races and genders. And they are all dedicated to our mission of serving the brightest students from The Bronx, Harlem and Washington Heights.

Our project-based curriculum lets our students solve real world problems and equips them with the practical skills we all wished we had learned in school. Financial literacy isn’t just about numbers – it’s about giving our kids the tools to make smart decisions about their money and their futures. Most importantly, we are teaching SOH students to be engaged citizens. That means giving them the information and the tools to communicate what they believe and to make a real impact in their communities.

I want to thank everyone who has been a part of SOH since its inception. Thank you to the foundations, corporations, local government organizations and individuals that support us financially year after year because they believe. Thank you to the public and charter schools that enthusiastically nominate students to be a part of our program because they believe. Thank you to my predecessor and founder of SOH, John McIvor, and so many others that helped him build this program from an idea into a life-changing organism, because they believed. Thank you to the teachers who give up their Saturdays and Summers to teach our curriculum to this exceptional group of students because you believe. Thank you to the staff that has shed literal blood, sweat and tears by my side because you believe.

And most of all, I want to thank the parents of SOH, past and present, that voluntarily made a huge commitment to make SOH a part of their lives. I can only imagine that you did so because you believed. You believed in the staff, the teachers, and the program. And even though you come from a place that doesn’t offer many opportunities, you believed that your child or children deserved this chance; not a gift or a handout, just a chance to prove themselves. They have proven and continue to prove themselves powerful and deserving. They have proven that diamonds shine because they have been buried and under pressure. Pearls have such a smooth exterior because they have been trapped and hidden. But once these diamonds and pearls see the light of day, they shine brighter because they are grateful for the sunlight.

I hope you enjoy revisiting our history in our spring newsletter and hearing from some of the alumni who have shared the SOH journey, a journey you have taken with us. If you are reading this, you are part of the SOH story – past, present, future. I sincerely thank you for the part you have played in our growth. I am proud, honored and grateful to have played mine.

30th Anniversary Sneaker Ball

OCTOBER 2023 - What a great evening! SOH board, staff, donors, and friends gathered at HK Hall in Manhattan on October 16th to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Thanks to everyone who supported the Sneaker Ball and helped us raise more than $125,000 for our programs!

30th Anniversary Kick-Off

JUNE 2023 - More than 200 people attended our June 3rd barbecue to celebrate the end of our 2022-23 academic year and the beginning of our 30th year of service. SOH students and alumni, SOH parents and families, plus faculty, staff and trustees all gathered on the patio of Fisher Hall to share good food and good memories!

A Fond Farewell

After 30 years with Summer on the Hill, Dr. John McIvor has retired.

He began his service in 1993 when he was assistant to Gary Miller, then Horace Mann’s Director of Admissions (and later SOH’s board chairman). Along with Headmaster Phil Foote, the three men discussed how Horace Mann could do more for public school students. From their conversation a vision emerged: an intensive summer program with accelerated instruction in math, science, and language arts for students from low-income families who had been identified as academically talented and highly motivated.

In 1994, Summer on the Hill launched a five-week summer program under John’s direction and with seed money from founding benefactor Bruce Brickman (HM ’70). Subsequent years saw the addition of a Saturday program during the academic year, test prep for middle graders, and college prep workshops and campus visits for high school students.

In 2004, Summer on the Hill became an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization with John as executive director and Bruce as board chairman. John passed the leadership baton to Markell Parker in 2016 and joined the board. With his retirement, he plans to spend more time traveling with his wife Carole and volunteering in his local parish.

“Nothing gives me more pleasure and pride than to talk with one of our graduates who is now going to college or embarking on a fulfilling career, realizing the dream they had as children.”

SOH is forever indebted to the visionaries who conceived the idea for our program and changed so many lives – especially John McIvor, who dedicated so many years to guiding our program.