Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Queens, Leslie-Bernard Joseph is an award-winning educator, attorney, and social impact leader, with nearly twenty years of experience leading and managing complex change in the public, private, and social sector. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Coney Island Prep, a non-profit, K-12 public charter school in New York serving over 1,300 scholars across four campuses.

Prior to rejoining Coney Island Prep, Leslie served as a managing director at the Harlem Children’s Zone, where he led a portfolio of 8 programs serving over 4,000 students across HCZ’s K-12 pipeline. His private sector experience includes corporate associate practice at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and management consulting at McKinsey & Company. Leslie began his career teaching fifth grade in the Bronx through Teach For America, before joining the founding team at Coney Island Prep as the school’s first Dean of Students. 

Leslie received his A.B. in Politics and African-American Studies from Princeton, where he served as both student body and Black Student Union president. He holds a law degree with distinction from Stanford Law School and a master’s in education from Stanford Graduate School of Education. While at Stanford, Leslie was a 2013 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow. He is an alumnus and former trustee of Prep for Prep, a non-profit organization in New York City; a Black Voices for Black Justice award recipient; and a Pahara Institute Fellow.