Our Team.

Charles Ortiz joined the founding team of WHIN in late 2015 and was instrumental in writing the final version of the WHIN charter application. Prior to joining the leadership team of WHIN he served as the Director of Academics at the Harlem Children’s Zone for three years where he oversaw HCZ’s afterschool elementary, middle, and high school academic programs.

Prior to HCZ Charles spent seven years teaching in public and charter schools in Brooklyn, Harlem, and his hometown of Philadelphia. While teaching Charles was asked to be Village Lead, served on school leadership teams working on such things as creating policies for a restorative school culture, interdisciplinary curriculum development, conducted Professional Development sessions for fellow teachers, and was a teacher mentor. Additionally, he created and maintained a contemporary band program growing it from serving twenty students in one grade to serving over 100 students in 6th-12th grade. The program enjoyed large parental involvement, performances at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and provided scholarships to students for additional study.

Charles recently completed the Leadership New York fellowship at Coro where he received training in Adaptive Leadership, Intersectionality, and group leadership and uses these skills to fulfill his commitment to create educational equity for the students and families of New York City.  Reporting directly to the WHIN Board of Directors, Charles is responsible for establishing and maintaining all aspects of WHIN Music Community Charter School.

Annie Huynh joined the founding staff of WHIN in the spring of 2017 as the Founding Director of Curriculum and Instruction-ELA and has been in the field of education for fourteen years. Previously, she served as the Founding Director of Curriculum and Assessment at an all boys charter school in the Bronx for two years where she oversaw the elementary academic and assessment programs.

Prior to school administration, Annie taught elementary students at a high-performing K-8 Blue Ribbon independent charter school in Philadelphia where she was also asked to be the Literacy Coordinator, served on the Curriculum Council, and led professional development on integrated literacy, anti-bias education, and Responsive Classroom. In addition, Annie was an active teacher leader who served on the founding Board of Teachers Lead Philly, the Mayor’s Teacher Advisory Council in Philadelphia, and was nationally selected to join the Emerging Leader cohort of the ASCD in 2014. Moreover, she enjoys writing and has been published in ASCD Express, Schools: Studies in Education Journal, and Teaching Tolerance. She holds a Masters in Elementary Education from Temple University.

As Principal of WHIN, Annie has a passion for empowering all students and teachers to fulfill their potential and use their learning for authentic purposes and advancing social justice. In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family.