Alexander (Alex) Joseph is an Education Coordinator at the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (AAIUH) located at and partnered with SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. As AAIUH’s Education Coordinator for its STEM pipeline program, the Health Science Academy (HSA), Alex oversees a health science centered STEM curriculum used to promote career exploration among middle school students in Brooklyn. As Education Coordinator, he develops engaging interactive lessons used to captivate students, as well as training and supervising other HSA staff and Activity Specialists (often HSA alumni) to teach the modules. Alex teaches the introduction to anatomy and physiology curriculum during HSA’s spring semester’s 9th Grade Bridge Program for freshmen who apply for AAIUH’s three-year HSA high school program.  He also teaches the health disparities classes during the summer institute. He is responsible for training and supervising a group of 6-10 interns and volunteers. His previous work experiences included youth development in afterschool programs.

Alex is currently working on the HSA alumni engagement project and is analyzing over 300 alumni enrollment and graduation records obtained from the National Student Clearinghouse, in addition to other data, to document HSA’s impact. This project also includes outreaching to the alumni to assess their interest in creating an Alumni Association.

Alex received his B.A. from CUNY Brooklyn College in Health Sciences and is currently pursuing his M.A. in Community Health Education, also at Brooklyn College.

Angela Attanasio is the Associate Vice President of Harm Reduction and Addiction Services at Community Health Action of Staten Island, Inc. As a member of the senior management team, Angela is a key advisor to the Executive Director, COO and Senior Vice President, overseeing all of the harm reduction and addiction treatment services of the organization.  Angela has worked for the past 27 years in the behavioral health sector for non-profit agencies within the five boroughs and outer counties of New York State.  She is the Co-Chairperson for the Staten Island Council of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and Co-Chairperson for Continuum of Care work group for Tackling Youth Substance Abuse and a Member of the Coalition of Behavioral health Agencies, Inc. .  She  is also a member of the Italian American Women Organization of New York.  She has spent countless hours educating the Staten Island Community on the dangers of addiction. In addition, she has informed the public of essential resources available via media and public forums.

Angela received a B.S. in Human Services from Empire State College from the State University of New York. She also holds a State Certification as a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor.  Angela will be pursuing a Masters in Public Health/Administration.

Anthonine Pierre is committed to building powerful communities to transform the world we live in into one sustained by justice, equity and dignity for all people. She loves developing meaningful relationships, strategizing, and winning. Since 2011, Anthonine has been the Lead Organizer for the Brooklyn Movement Center, developing the capacity of Central Brooklynites to drive social change through education, anti-street harassment and police accountability campaigns.

Prior to working at BMC, Anthonine was at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office where she was the community liaison responsible for Central and West Harlem. She has also held youth organizing positions with the Children’s Defense Fund and Prospect Park Alliance. Anthonine currently sits on the boards of Families for Freedom, the Advocacy Institute and the New York Social Justice Political Action Committee, and is a member of the 2015 cohort of Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD).

Anthonine studied Urban Studies at Hunter College and she is a lifelong Brooklynite, foodie and enthusiasm enthusiast.

Anthony Fortenberry has been with Callen-Lorde Community Health Center for over four years.  In his current role as Director of Nursing, Anthony coordinates clinical operations and oversees the implementation of clinical quality initiatives.  Callen-Lorde is a federally qualified health center that provides primary care and specialty services for over 15,000 New Yorkers.

Anthony has created a robust health education program at Callen-Lorde that includes monthly workshops lead by Registered Nurses on topics including Living with HIV, Women’s Health, Transgender Safe Hormone Self-Injection, and Job Readiness.  He has also increased capacity for providing trainings to external health organizations on LGBTQ sensitivity and best healthcare practices.

Prior to joining the team at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, Anthony worked as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department at St. Vincent’s Hospital, and as a consultant for New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation providing training and assisting with quality initiatives during electronic health record upgrades.

Cathleen Carr serves as the Program Director for Opening Act, an arts education non-profit that brings free, after-school theater programming to New York City’s most under-resourced high schools. Cathleen began as a Teaching Artist with Opening Act in 2008 at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn where she still teaches today.   Prior to becoming Program Director for Opening Act, Cathleen facilitated the creation of 3T, an after-school creative writing program produced by Naked Angels Theater Company. Cathleen has taught Leadership and Managerial Improvisation at the Duke Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School with Business Improvisations. As a performer specializing in improvisation, Cathleen has appeared Off-Broadway and on television.

Dorella Walters is the Senior Director of Program Services at God’s Love We Deliver, the only agency in the New York City metropolitan area that provides medically-tailored, home-delivered meals to meet the individual needs of men and women living with over 200 life-altering illnesses including HIV/AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and more.  Dorella currently oversees establishing and maintaining partnerships with Managed Long-Term Care agencies, client enrollment, care management, contract management and agency outreach efforts. She is responsible for the planning and evaluation of services for all current and potential clients.  She has worked in the non-profit arena of nutrition services for over 17 years.  Dorella is currently on several advisory boards including the Science-based Translation of Effective Program Strategies to Care (STEPS to Care) a project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and led by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, a program led by the NYC Ryan White Care Coordination Program and funded by the National Institutes of Health called “HIV Care Coordination: Comparative Effectiveness, Outcome Determinants and Costs”, and the advisory team of  Research to Inform Advocacy Advisory Group for the CHAIN Study, a longitudinal study of people living with HIV/AIDS in New York City.  She was also previously the Community Co-Chair of the HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council of New York City and has previously served as chair of its Rules and Membership, Policy and Executive committees as well.

Dorella received her B.S from Long Island University, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Baruch College.

Doug Becht is a Senior Program Director at Common Ground.  In this current capacity he oversees the Street to Home: Brooklyn/Queens and Street to Home: Manhattan programs at Common Ground which provides outreach and case management services to the street homeless in Brooklyn, Queens and Midtown Manhattan.   These two programs have found permanent housing for over 140 chronically street homeless individuals for each of the past 4 years.   Doug has been working with the chronically street homeless population for the last 8 years.

Doug earned his MSW at Columbia School of Social Work and his BA at Manhattan College.

Gilberto Agosto, Jr. is the Assistant Director of the Youth Services Division at Union Settlement Association, which is the largest department at Union Settlement.  The Youth Services division provides after-school services to various elementary and middle schools, work force development to young adults ages 18 to 24, GED preparatory classes, and college readiness to high school students from within the East Harlem community and various other high schools outside of East Harlem as needed.  Previously, he held the position of Program Director for a national pregnancy prevention program with The Children’s Aid Society, and is a trainer in Adolescent Development and Sexuality Education.

Gilberto received a BA from the College of New Rochelle with a concentration on Psychology, and an MPA from Walden University.  He also participated in the New York City Comptroller’s Office Task Force on Teen Pregnancy Prevention.

Irfan Ahmed is the Financial Literacy Coordinator at the Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC), which is a non-profit organization that provides holistic, culturally-competent, and trauma-informed services to recently arrived immigrants. Irfan joined AAFSC in 2014 as a Development Assistant, where he composed grant proposals for the Adult Education and Literacy, Legal, Youth and Anti-Violence programs. He also successfully fundraised and designed the first-ever financial literacy initiative called, the Financial Revitalization through Economic Empowerment (FREE) project, which provides coaching and personal economic planning courses for immigrants and survivors of domestic violence. Irfan is currently spearheading the FREE project and will continue to work closely with the development team. Previously, Irfan worked for a variety of non-profit organizations that specialize in areas of global peace and security, interfaith relations, and international education.

Irfan has a B.A. in International Relations and Economics from Manhattan College.

Jasmin Heatley serves as the Administrative Coordinator for the Harlem Arts Alliance working alongside the director to coordinate strategy development and implementation. As the Administrative Coordinator, one of Jasmin’s primary responsibilities is to act as the liaison between the Alliance and its partners, both internally and externally. Working closely with the Director, Jasmin also manages the daily operations and oversees the coordination and integration of institutional partnerships with organizations such as the American Museum of Natural History, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, National Jazz Museum in Harlem, and The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce. 


Jasmin has been an active advocate for the arts for over 10 years. Her past endeavors have included work in arts administration, event production, marketing, communications, audience development, and community outreach.

Jasmin has studied Liberal Arts at the State University of New York at Purchase.

Jenny Yang is the Program Associate for the Partner Sustainability Program, manages several programs that build the capacity of affordable housing organizations to successfully steward their housing portfolios. Jenny manages the Enterprise training series which focuses on building the strength and capacity of affordable housing owners to further their ability to create and preserve affordable housing. Under her leadership, the training series has grown to more than 10 annual trainings to build the capacity of more than 300 affordable housing professionals each year.  Jenny additionally provides program management support to the various initiatives under the New York Partner Sustainability Program, including Enterprise’s grant funding, supporting between 15 and 20 affordable housing organizations annually. As a project manager for the New York City Build it Back Multifamily Loan Program, Jenny shepherded over five million in loans to property owners and helped develop the template for resiliency upgrades in affordable housing buildings.

Prior to joining Enterprise, Jenny worked with the State of New York Mortgage Agency, the New York City Department of City Planning and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

Jenny holds a Masters of Urban Planning (MUP), specializing in community development and urban management and economic and international development, as well as a BA in Sociology and Urban and Public Policy from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

Jeso O’Neill has been cultivating a career in the performing arts community of New York City for the past 10 years as a performer and arts manager. Jeso has worked with various dance and theater organizations including Dancewave, Half Straddle, the National Theater of the United States of America and the Paper Industry to name a few. She currently works with Performance Space 122, a contemporary performance hub in the East Village. In her role as Communications & Branding Manager, she works within the External Affairs Department to oversee and implement all communications, including the creation and distribution of all marketing and media materials, as well as working collaboratively to establish a community based program focused around integrating an arts organization into the neighborhood.

Jeso graduated with honors from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies and minor in Business Administration. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Business Administration at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.

Karyn Krampitz is the Director of the Coalition’s Professional Learning Center where she organizes trainings for community providers in areas such as compliance, motivational interviewing, cultural competency, and State/Federal regulations.  Many of the courses have gained CEU accreditation much needed by clinicians providing mental health and substance use services.  She also provides technical assistance to Coalition members in the areas of billing and compliance; staffs the agency’s Compliance Committee; advocates for policy changes in Albany and NYC on behalf of members; manages a small group of consultants; and maintains the agency website. Karyn participates in state and city advisory boards in areas related to clinic reform, Medicaid reform and provider adoption of electronic health records.

Karyn’s previous career was an IT Director for a several large NYC based refugee resettlement organizations.  She is very happy to have become an IT “user”!

Karyn received her B.A. in Art from SUNY Plattsburgh.

Kristen Weeden is the Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives at Child Care Council of Nassau (CCCN). At CCCN, Kristen works closely with the Executive Director to coordinate activities related to advancing the agency’s mission and strategic plan while also overseeing NASSAU THRIVES, a Superstorm Sandy Block Grant funded initiative that offers assistance to early care and education settings impacted by Superstorm Sandy. Kristen has worked in the non-profit sector for eight years and has extensive experience developing systems that track constituent outcomes and ensure compliance with funding guidelines. Prior to joining CCCN Kristen has worked in the fields of women’s health and institutional giving. She holds a B.S. in Political Science from Sacred Heart University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Long Island University.

Larry Anderson is the Director of Performing Arts & Public Programs for Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden. Larry Anderson is a native Staten Islander and 25 year veteran of the live entertainment industry.  Larry’s involvement with Snug Harbor began many years before he worked there. Prior to working at Snug Harbor Larry provided pro-bono theatrical management consultation, produced two shows, Life Long Islander and Wrestling Porcelain, volunteered at many festivals and served on several fundraising committees. For the past six years, Larry has served as the Director of Performing Arts and Public Programs at Snug Harbor. During this time, Larry has managed 2 theaters 2 outdoor performance spaces, 373 events including theatrical performances, concerts, festivals and public programs which collectively brought over 77,000 people to Snug Harbor.

Landing on Broadway in 1990, Larry began his career working administratively for Dodger Productions on shows like A Prelude to a Kiss starring Alec Baldwin and Mary Louise Parker, The Secret Garden starring Mandy Patinkin and the Rock n Roll Opera hit Tommy. In later years Larry moved from Broadway Productions to touring Broadway Productions first working for PACE Theatrical Group as their New York Office Manager and then Columbia Artists as their Director of Tour Management and Booking Agent for touring; concert, dance and theatrical attractions. Throughout his career he has represented over100 touring productions including: Annie Get Your Gun, Bring in da’ Noise, Bring in da’ Funk starring Savion Glover, Cats, Chicago, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, Ragtime, Stomp, Sunset Blvd and Tap Dogs to name a few.

Larry is proud to live and work in his hometown community and play an active role in bringing first class live entertainment to the people of Staten Island.

Latisha Millard is the Senior Director of Housing for The Fortune Society (Fortune), a 48-year-old reentry organization that provides holistic wrap-around services to and advocacy on behalf of criminal justice-involved New Yorkers. As a member of Fortune’s senior management team, Latisha oversees permanent supportive congregate and scatter-site housing programs, which currently serve 252 formally incarcerated men and women throughout New York City. Latisha has been instrumental in expanding Fortune’s scatter-site supportive housing program, which targets singles and families touched by the criminal justice system and other life-debilitating conditions, including chronic substance use and other health issues. Since her arrival in 2013, Latisha has grown Fortune’s scatter-site program from 94 to 252 units. Notably, the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) have recognized Fortune’s housing programs as Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) on six consecutive occasions. Latisha is passionate about connecting formerly incarcerated New Yorkers to quality, supportive housing – thereby stabilizing their lives, reducing recidivism, and bettering the communities in which they live.

Latisha received her B.A. in Political Science from Bethune Cookman College and her Master’s in Public Administration from Long Island University.

Michael Gillen is the Director of Technology and Communications for the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC). In this capacity, Michael helps entrepreneurs by teaching classes on the effective use of technology for their businesses, runs the Queens StartUP! Business Plan Competition (now in its tenth year), designs pro bono websites for small businesses, and promotes QEDC’s business services through its semimonthly newsletter and social media. Before working for QEDC, Michael worked for a startup social media marketing company with clients such as Catchafire, Build a Better Burb, and Voices Against Brain Cancer.

Michael received a B.A. in English with a minor in Japanese from Vassar College an M.A. in Corporate Communications from Baruch College, City University of New York.

Michelle Perez is Director of Administration & Institutional Giving for Community Voices Heard (CVH), a member-led multi-racial community organizing group, principally comprised of women of color and low-income families in New York State, building power to secure social, economic and racial justice for all.   As part of the Senior Staff team, Michelle manages all of CVH’s financial, operations and institutional giving functions, overseeing the bulk of the organization’s $1.3 million budget.  Working closely with the Executive Director, Michelle has played a major role in securing and maintaining the organization’s financial stability over several years.  She has also participated in two major organizational strategic planning processes and worked with CVH’s Board of Directors to manage the organization’s transition from its founding Executive Director to new leadership.  Prior to joining CVH, Michelle worked in arts administration, primarily fundraising, for the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Meet The Composer (now New Music USA), the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and The Joffrey Ballet. She was also an Arts Administration Fellow at the National Endowment for the Arts.  Michelle also pursues her keen interests in technology and in music.

Michelle has a B.A. degree in Economics/Political Economy from Barnard College, Columbia University and has done graduate study in business administration at New York University.

Monica Duque ATR-BC, LCAT is an art therapist, supervisor, artist, entrepreneur and educator. She is part of the Senior Management team at the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services and has been a part of the graduate art therapy faculty at the School of Visual Arts and New York University. Monica’s personal and professional work reinforces her strong beliefs in the importance for family, community and culture. Monica has been working in the art therapy field since 1995 where she worked extensively across diverse populations including children, adults and families predominantly in at risk and impoverished communities.

The emphasis of her clinical work has had a focus on family systems, social services, child welfare and program development of art therapy as a therapeutic model. She has been working at the Coalition for Hispanic Family services under different roles for the last 11 years, where she introduced and developed a first of its kind art therapy component to the agency. Since then, it has grown to be included in 5 of the agencies’ programs that include ten art therapists on staff and twenty- two art therapy interns. In her current role as the Director of Student Placements and Internships, Monica has developed the internship component of the agency overseeing the collaboration and quality assurance of over forty student placements throughout all the programs.

Monica’s other current projects include conceptualizing, planning and running international social action Art Therapy trips for graduate level art therapy students and professionals  from the New York City area. She was also a presenter at the 2013 Expressive Therapies Summit in New York City, the American Art Therapy Association 2014 Annual Conference, Adelphi University School of Social Work’s 2015 International Interdisciplinary Conference in Clinical Supervision and was a panelist for the 2015 School of Visual Arts MPS Art Therapy’s 31st Annual Conference.

Monica Duque received an MA in Art Therapy from New York University and a BA in Fine Arts and Illustration from the School of Visual Arts.

Naila Moore is the Program and Policy Manager at Pratt Area Community Council. PACC is a comprehensive Community Development Corporation serving Brooklyn for over 50 years. Naila works to strengthen the organization’s government relations and coordinates PACC’s policy agenda across four key programmatic areas – Community Organizing, Economic Development, Home Services and Social Services. She is also a part of the resource development team, where she is responsible for oversight of government contracts, budget advocacy and strategic collaborations with partner organizations and elected officials.

When Naila started at PACC, she demonstrated passion for community organizing, serving as the Community Outreach Coordinator, including work in Hurricane Sandy-hit Canarsie, after which she was promoted to her current position. Naila continues to produce change at the neighborhood level while expanding her capacity as a nonprofit professional.

Naila has a B.S. in Management from University of the West Indies and a B.A in Anthropology from Hunter College. She is an alumna of Public Allies New York (PANY) and the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development– Center for Neighborhood Leadership Apprenticeship.

Renee McWilliams is the Director of the Education, Employment & Career Development Services at the Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation is working diligently in the Rockaway communities to fulfill the Organization’s mission of “assisting its residents in securing an improved quality of life”.  She is doing this by actively engaging youth, adults and families by ensuring that the EECDS, Division provides above par level of services in work force development, work readiness, assisting high school youth in preparing for College, Careers and beyond, performing arts and more.

Ms. McWilliams, fondly called “Ms. Mac by students, stresses to students the importance of self- branding via this mantra, “People will treat you how they perceive you, how do you want to be treated?”  McWilliams has taken a special interest in assisting families identify their strengths and work interdependent with systems that support the familial goals – holistically.

McWilliams’ history in working with families spans beyond non-profit to Corporate America, via the United States Trust Company, Dean Witter Reynolds, where she has worked over 25 years managing assets and conducting performance reviews of relationships in excess of $50 million annually.  She served as a corporate mentor for Big Brothers, Big Sisters Program sponsored by USTrust, and under the auspices of Bishop, Dr. Douglas Woodall, and Pastor Selena Woodall, she continues to empower families through counseling and religious instruction.  She is the Worship and Praise Leader for the ministry’s praise team, “Pure Worship” and the ministry mentor/choreographer for the ministry’s dance team “Worship”.   Ms. McWilliams has been the forerunner of ministry leading the people of God in worship for over 20 years.  She has traveled as a singer with Dr. Richard Hartley and the Haven House Choir, as well as the Orrin and Medina Pullings’ Ministries.  Ms. McWilliams has been a featured opening artist for Ms. Melba Moore as well.  She serves on the advisory board of, Divine Dance Ministry and is currently fulfilling her personal mission in establishing a performing arts ministry entitled “Dancing With My Father”

 Ms. McWilliams holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Christian Education from Pleroma Bible College and a Family Development Credential from Cornell University along with a plethora of certifications for youth and family development.

Tashaka Wynter is the Assistant Department Director for Early Childhood and School Aged Programs at BronxWorks. In this capacity, she is responsible for the overall design, implementation, and management of all the programs within the Early Childhood and School Aged Program portfolio. Tashaka has worked with low-income families and other marginalized populations in the Bronx in a number of different capacities since 2007, when she started at BronxWorks performing intensive case management services for persons living with HIV/AIDS. She later transitioned to preventive case management services where she served as a supervisor for case managers who were responsible for providing services to families in order to prevent foster care placement. In 2013, Tashaka shifted her focus and began providing educational, preventive, recreational and supportive services for children and high-risk youth populations throughout the Bronx under the Children and Youth Programs.

In addition to her management of programs, Tashaka also currently serves as a Field Instructor for MSW students completing their MSW internships at BronxWorks.

Tashaka obtained her Masters Degree in Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work and is a LMSW.

Yamileth Martinez is a bilingual public health advocate and health promotion professional with broad experience in community health education, health promotion and global health. Yamileth Martinez is a Site Director at Urban Health Plan, Inc. As a Site Director, Yamileth is responsible for the on-going administration and operation of a health center, monitoring and implementing of processes and assuring innovation and quality of services. Yamileth also supports the CEO by attending meetings on behalf of the CEO, forming workgroups, and participating on various committees throughout the organization.

Yamileth currently serves as the Chair for the American Diabetes Association, Committee for Mission Deliver, Latino Initiatives. Yamileth also holds a position on the Board for Rain, Inc., a non-profit serving communities in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, and serves treasurer and on their Finance and Audit Committee.

Yamileth, who is fluent in English and Spanish, received her Master of Public Health degree in Behavioral Sciences and Health Promotion from New York Medical College and BA in Biological Sciences and Political Science from Rutgers University.

Yoon Ji Kim is the Director of Social Services at the MinKwon Center for Community Action, which is an immigrant rights organization dedicated to achieving social justice, economic empowerment, and civic engagement for the Korean American and Asian American communities of greater New York. In her capacity, Yoon Ji manages the legal and social services programs, provides direct services for low-income clients seeking public benefits and tax filing assistance, oversees contracts, and engages in outreach with outside organizations and city agencies.

Yoon Ji received her B.A. in Political Science and English from the University of Michigan.