Bella Wong is the Interim Superintendent for the Public Schools of Brookline. She brings a wealth of experience to the community, having been a classroom teacher, curriculum leader, and superintendent over her 29-year career in education across Massachusetts. The Public Schools of Brookline is excited to work with Ms. Wong and her leadership team in putting students first and experiencing the joy of learning. Ms. Wong is a Brookline native, and is a proud alumnus of Brookline High School and the John D. Runkle school. 

Prior to joining Brookline, Ms. Wong served as the Interim Superintendent of Natick Public Schools, where she progressed the district's strategic plan and faced a number of challenges, including gaining approval for an elementary school renovation. Prior to that term, Ms. Wong served as Superintendent/Principal of the Lincoln Sudbury Regional School District for ten years. Ms. Wong has also served the community in Wellesley and Dedham.

Ms. Wong received her BA in Biology from Harvard College, and went on to earn her Master's from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ms. Wong has also earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California.

Dr. Susan Givens joined the Public Schools of Brookline in 2023 as its new Deputy Superintendent of Administration and Finance, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge gained during a long career in district leadership. 
 
Before joining PSB, Dr. Givens served as Superintendent of Schools for the Newmarket School District in Newmarket, NH. Her tenure there included the development of best practices in school budgeting and resource management and the successful expansion and renovation of the district’s junior/high school annex. Dr. Givens has also served for many years as Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations in the Masconomet Regional School District in Boxford, MA, where she oversaw all aspects of digital learning, technology, finances, facilities, and human resources. Her 30+ years of educational leadership also includes serving the communities of West Newbury, Beverly, and Chatham, MA. 
 
Dr. Givens has significantly contributed to the ongoing professional learning of the educational community. As the director of the LABBB Educational Collaborative, she spearheaded strategic initiatives for 21st-century teaching and learning practices.. Her skills and contributions as a school leader have been recognized through numerous awards, including the Meritorious Budget Award and the Eagle Award – Distinguished Professional from the Association of School Business Officials, International, and the President’s Award from the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials. 
 
Dr. Givens earned her Doctorate in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on Instructional, Organizational, Public, and Evidence-Based Leadership. She earned her Master's in Leadership from Northeastern University and her Bachelor's in Business Administration from Salem State University.

Dr. Karen Shmukler has a diverse and multi-layered career with experience and expertise spanning pre-K-college in the educational and human services domain in highly diverse communities. 

Karen was the Deputy Superintendent of Student Services in the Public Schools of Brookline where she worked for over a decade, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services in the Newton Public Schools and the Associate Head of School at Prospect Hill Academy. Karen was at the forefront of introducing wraparound and system of care principles in the areas of public education, mental health and child welfare in Massachusetts. She provides professional development in this area to IEP teams, special education administrators, school-based mental health personnel in developing  and facilitating inter-disciplinary systems and coordinated care approaches with families and outside providers that wrap services and support around students with complex needs in special education,  supporting students to remain in the most inclusive, least restrictive environments. 

Karen consults at the state and national level bringing her deep expertise in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and building Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) that provide and integrate culturally responsive social emotional and academic development. She has deep expertise in innovative special education program design and development, special education reviews, and building in-district programming to reduce unnecessary out of district placements.   Karen has worked across districts and presented nationally on sustainable, systemic approaches to disrupt disproportionality in special and general education at the systems, school and individual educator level. Regardless of context, her work centers and braids issues of equity, inclusion, race, belonging and culture as she strives to support and build inclusive organizations that are culturally sustaining and healing-centered. 

Karen received her Clinical Psychologist degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and her Doctorate in Education from Nova Southeastern University, Florida. Karen currently lectures at Tufts University on child mental health in the educational context.  She has taught English as a Second Language and literacy to children and adults from marginalized communities in South Africa and the USA.