Poly’s Alumni Association Board of Governors (BOG) leads in developing strategies for engaging and growing a vibrant alumni community. Here are five questions for its president, Qadir Forbes ’11.

Please tell us a little about yourself.

I am from Brooklyn, NY, and attended Williams College, a liberal arts school in Williamstown, MA. I currently work as a Vice President at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in its corporate & investment bank division, Treasury Services Sales segment. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in January 2019, I worked for The Walt Disney Company in its live entertainment division. I am a New York Giants fan, avid theater-goer, and I live in Jersey City, NJ, with my wife, Imani (who was my prom date and is a graduate of Packer Collegiate Institute).

What motivated you to become BOG president?

I love the Poly community and have been in service to Poly since my days as a student. At Poly, I was the captain of the varsity football and wrestling teams, and was the recipient of the Poly Prep School Service Award for the Class of 2011. I have been serving on the BOG for the past 10 years, starting as a student member, then college member, secretary, Networking & Mentoring Committee chair, and most recently vice president.

What’s your vision for the BOG?

My vision for the BOG is for us to invigorate, connect, and serve the Poly alumni community. Our mission on the BOG is to further meaningful and ongoing relationships between alumni and Poly, represent the interests of the members of the Poly Prep Alumni Association, and build closer bonds among alumni. We have an amazing team on the BOG representing alumni across the decades and a great Executive Committee in Jared Hedglin ’09 as the BOG vice president and Ayisha McHugh ’12 as the BOG secretary, who are all instrumental in helping us to achieve the vision and goals of the BOG.

How do you plan to bring alumni from different Poly eras together?

One of the goals of the BOG is to create more networking opportunities and implement a mentorship program. We all have the shared experience of attending Poly and are all members of the Poly alumni community. When you succeed as an alumnus, Poly succeeds and vice versa. Ultimately, we want the very best for Poly and the members of the Poly alumni community.

Favorite Poly story?

I was a huge fan of the Bearns Public Speaking Competition for Poly’s Upper School. I am proud to say that I won two of the first place awards during my time at Poly with speeches from Denzel Washington in the movie John Q and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Drum Major Instinct speech.