Ten Years of Spark: Meet the Brooklynites Selecting The Next Prize

Jul 21, 2026

Two women embrace outdoors while another woman smiles nearby. Buildings and greenery are visible in the background on a sunny day.

For 10 years, the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize has backed the nonprofits building a stronger, more fair and just Brooklyn for all. Along the way, Brooklyn Org has invested millions of dollars in organizations taking on our borough’s biggest challenges, while trusting Brooklynites themselves to help decide where that support can make the greatest difference.

That community-led approach has been at the heart of the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize since the beginning.

As we approach the prize’s 10th anniversary, we’re excited to introduce the 2026-2027 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee: 36 Brooklyn leaders bringing their experience, perspective, and love for this borough to one of our most important grantmaking processes.

This year’s committee includes organizers, advocates, artists, attorneys, nonprofit leaders, healthcare professionals, and entrepreneurs from across Brooklyn. Among them are actor, director, and producer Joanne Tucker; journalist Grace Bastidas; BYKlyn Studios founder and CEO Amy Glosser; Soze CEO Michael Skolnik; Chariot Head of Strategy Mitch Stein; and RiseBoro’s Ashleigh Eubanks, alongside many more Brooklyn leaders bringing deep expertise and a shared commitment to our borough.

A group of women, some wearing name tags, stand and interact at an outdoor event; one woman in patterned attire is shaking hands and smiling.

A group of people converse outdoors at a social event; one man in a blue shirt holds a drink and wears a name tag.

Together, they will review applications, meet with finalists, and help select five outstanding nonprofits to each receive the $100,000 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize.

The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize recognizes organizations advancing racial justice and creating lasting change across Brooklyn. But it is also about how those decisions get made. By putting Brooklyn residents at the center of the process, we draw on the knowledge of people who understand this borough, believe in its communities, and know that the strongest ideas often come from those closest to the work.

Meet the 2026–2027 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee below.