Our Team

Tracey Weiss, LCSW, Program Director
Tracey Weiss, LCSW, is currently the Program Director for the Hunter College Liberty Partnership Program, where she oversees the daily programming at both partner high schools, creates partnerships with other organizations, handles all fiscal matters and liaises with the NY State Education Department to ensure success of the program. Mrs. Weiss began her tenure with the Hunter College Liberty Partnership Program as a Social Work Coordinator at Vanguard High School, where she provided direct services to students facing a variety of challenges. Mrs. Weiss came to HCLPP after working as the Assistant Director at a residential summer camp for boys in Massachusetts where she worked closely with staff, caregivers and children to ensure the safety and well being of kids throughout the summer. Mrs. Weiss earned her Bachelors in Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she majored in Psychology; she then attended Columbia University School of Social work where she gained her Masters degree in Social Work with a concentration in Family, Youth and Children.

Olivia Merrick-Haight, LMSW, Program Social Work Coordinator
Olivia Merrick-Haight, LMSW, works in collaboration with Vanguard High School and is responsible for providing individual and group counseling to High School students, implementing programming for academic and cultural enrichment, and task supervising three MSW students as well as several undergraduate and graduate students serving as mentors and tutors in our afterschool program. Mrs. Merrick-Haight received her MSW degree from New York University's Silver School of Social Work and has extensive experience providing counseling and advocacy services to at-risk youth, especially in school-based settings. Prior to joining Hunter College's Liberty Partnership Program, Mrs. Merrick-Haight was employed as a Career Manager and Director of Educational Programs at Getting Out & Staying Out (GOSO), where she provided educational, employment, and supportive counseling to justice-involved young men in East Harlem as well as on Riker's Island. In addition, she completed her first field placement at The Point CDC, which is an agency geared towards youth development and the revitalization of the South Bronx, and worked as an Intake Coordinator and Counselor at Daytop
Village.

Brittany McCutcheon, LMSW, Program Social Work Coordinator
Brittany McCutcheon is the current Program Social Work Coordinator at Harlem Renaissance High School. She joined the Hunter College Liberty Partnership Program in January 2015 after working as a therapist at Four Winds Hospital with adolescents and adults in the Partial Hospitalization Program. While working at the hospital, Brittany cultivated a strong foundation of clinical skills, largely due to teaching dialectical behavioral therapy to individuals, groups, and families. Ms. McCutcheon graduated from Columbia University with a Masters in Social Work in 2012. She graduated from Ithaca College in 2007 with a major in English and minor in Psychology, and subsequently worked as a teacher’s aide in a special education school for several years, a position that confirmed Brittany’s desire to become a social worker.


Margaret Riche- Garden & Nutrition Program Coordinator
Margaret Riche coordinates the HCLPP Garden and Nutrition Program, utilizing service learning as a tool for school engagement and career readiness. Working at both Harlem Renaissance and Vanguard High School, Ms. Riche leads student Green Teams to design and execute school and community wide campaigns to promote urban gardening, nutrition, and sustainability. Ms.Riche is an advocate for environmentalism, sustainable agriculture, and social justice and received her Baccalaureate degree from Hunter College, graduating with an interdisciplinary honors degree in English and Public Service.