Brooklyn Book Bodega was founded in 2019 to provide access to and ownership of books, build community, and create a passion for learning in Brooklyn. Their mission is to increase the number of 100+ book homes for kids 0-18 in NYC. They bring neighbors together through free events and literacy-based community programming. The organization partners with volunteers who bring books to places where they live and work and play. Brooklyn Book Bodega collaborates with local educators, city officials, and community-based organizations to ensure that literacy is layered into social and family services.

The Brownsville Community Culinary Center (BCCC) was founded in 2015 to increase access to healthy food, nutritional education, and career and personal development opportunities. The Center provides free, culinary vocational training to Brownsville residents through its culinary training program. The Center’s multi-week culinary workshops provide neighborhood youth with the opportunity to learn culinary skills alongside industry professionals. And it provides a safe, comfortable space where neighbors can access fresh, healthy, affordable, culturally relevant foods.

Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS) was founded in 1971 as a literal “soup kitchen” serving hot soup to vulnerable residents of Park Slope/Gowanus out of a storefront on Sixth Avenue in Brooklyn. Since 1976, CHiPS has been providing a welcoming space for people experiencing food insecurity by serving hot meals at its current location on Fourth Avenue. In addition, CHiPS launched a a pantry program in 2008, and a breakfast program in 2016. All CHiPS food services maintain a policy of feeding “anyone who comes to our door”, without asking for any form of identification or “proof of need”. In 1999, CHiPS’ services expanded with the establishment of the Frances Residence, which provides fully furnished studio apartments to single, expectant and new mothers and their young children.

Good Call was founded in 2016 with the aim of leveraging technology to address the challenges faced by low-income New Yorkers in the criminal justice system. Born from extensive research and collaboration with communities heavily affected by policing, especially in Brooklyn, Good Call has become a pivotal resource. Good Call has provided access to early legal intervention for more than 10,000 individuals from marginalized communities facing excessive and unnecessary arrests and unfair treatment by the criminal justice system, dramatically impacting the trajectory of their cases and disrupting the cycle of mass incarceration.

In 2013, Shadan Deleveaux and Nigel Frankson co-founded Technology for Families in Need (TechFIN) with a vision to close the digital divide. Growing up without home computers, both experienced the challenges of limited access to technology. Later, while working in corporate environments, they saw companies upgrading employee computers every two to three years, leaving perfectly functional devices unused. This stark contrast inspired the creation of TechFIN, which has since provided thousands of refurbished computers to low-income families across New York City, empowering them with the tools needed to succeed in today’s digital age.

• The Alex House Project
• Brooklyn Rescue Mission Urban Harvest Center
• Brooklyn Queens Land Trust
• Extreme Kids and Crew
• Footsteps
• I Am Caribbeing
• Little Essentials
• The Marcy Lab School
• Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
• ¡Oye! Group
• Red Hook Art Project
• Reel Works
• RETI Center
• Sakhi for South Asian Survivors
• Street Vendor Project

Ashima Aggarwal

Corporate VP and Associate General Counsel, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Daisy Auger-Domínguez

President, Auger-Dominguez Ventures

Julia Bator

Executive Director, J.M. Kaplan Fund

Martin Bell

Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Tom Bettridge

Board Chair, NY Congregational Community Services Congregational Home Legacy Fund

Lisa C. Cohen

Founding Partner, Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP

Brooke Safford Cohen

Owner + Founder, BES Dwellings

Isabel Cristo

Writer and Journalist

Kenneth Ebie

Executive Director & Chief Development Officer, Black Entrepreneurs NYC (BE NYC)

Adina Erwin

EVP, Business Operations/General Manager, Barclays Center

Janeisha Farquharson

Financial Services Professional, New York Life Insurance Company

Sophie Ferrer

Program Officer, PCLB Foundation

Marcella Gay

Founding Principal, The Brooklyn Green Magnet School for Eco-Activism

Teresa Gonzalez

Partner, Bolton-St.Johns

Erica Hamilton

CEO & Founder, The Memo I Never Got (MING)

Gary P. Jenkins

Managing Director, Oaktree Solutions

Lori Luis

CEO & President, LoriLu Consulting

Deitra Mara

Strategy & Operations Consultant

Alison Maschmeyer

Managing Director, Americas Pinnacle Investment Management

Tamika Matheson

Founding Principal, Frederick Douglass Academy VII High School

Gregorio Mayers

Professor, Medgar Evers College

Lindsay McCann

Nonprofit Consultant

Morgan Monaco

President & Park Administrator, Prospect Park Alliance

Audrey Moore

Community Member

Salvador Muñoz

Artist

Robyne Walker Murphy

Arts and Cultural Strategist

John Paul (JP) Napleton

Account Supervisor, Mother New York

Angela Outlaw-Matheny

Director of Diverse Manager Equity, Crewcial Partners LLC

Lindsay Pizzi

Community Member

Melissa J. Prober

Nonprofit & Small Business Attorney

Arcola Robinson

Community Member

Esmeralda Simmons

Civil and Human Rights Attorney

Cary Stathopoulos

Principal, Warburg Pincus

Alexa Suskin

Executive Director, The Robert & Mercedes Eichholz Foundation

Laurie Tamis

Nonprofit Consultant

André Taylor

Professor, New York University Tandon School of Engineering

Nancy Webster

Executive Director, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy

Jackie Wilson

Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, BSE

Jessica Yager

Project Director, Red Hook Community Justice Center

Selin Zalma

Managing Director and Partner, BCG