Larry Melamed has been an educator in New York City Public Schools for 28 years. He began his career at a large high school in Brooklyn in 1998, as a teacher of English Literature. Throughout his twenty years at Madison, he was a teacher, dean, mentor to new teachers, advisor to several clubs, grant writer and public relations officer, and a LEAP apprentice to the principal, working with school administration and the Brooklyn South HS Superintendent to build capacity in partnering high schools. He joined the CSA in 2018, when he became an assistant principal at a middle school in Queens. As an administrator and CSA member, he bolstered student achievement in his community so that for the first time in several years, his school was no longer on a list for targeted support and improvement. He also worked extensively to enhance arts offerings in his community, and expanded capacity to support ENL students, as the ENL population increased from 6% to over 20% in his school, given the migrant crisis that flooded local shelters that many of his students call their temporary homes.

He was part of the founding family of the AJA of the CSA, and served as its Sergeant-at-Arms from 2022 to 2025. He believes that Jewish educators and education leaders of NYC, in general, should ensure that the Jewish people, their culture and history, and current events are reflected with accuracy in our schools, and that all schools (whether they have Jewish students or not) are Jewish-inclusive and affirming spaces. To that end, his goals as the 2nd president of the AJA are to continue building this strong and engaging network of professionals who support one another by: celebrating our shared culture and history; sharing beneficial educational and leadership resources; working together as think-tanks and soundboards for one another; and connecting socially.