Ellen E. Chen
Ellen Chen is a member of PDS Development Corporation a real estate company that focuses on urban, mixed-use developments in moderate-income, transitioning neighborhoods to preserve industrial and commercial space for manufacturers and artisans. Ms. Chen was previously an institutional lender as a community program officer, developing and managing business and real estate loan portfolios for JP Morgan/Chase and HSBC Bank which focused on affordable housing, investments in national intermediaries and commercial and community development loans. Ms. Chen previously held leadership positions at Asian Americans for Equality, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, the Renaissance Economic Development Corporation, and the Manhattan Borough Development Corporation, and was a member of the Urban Poverty Program at The Ford Foundation.

Raymond Codrington
Raymond Codrington manages the Racial Equity Seminars at the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change. In addition, he is currently developing a youth focused curriculum around structural racism. Before joining the Roundtable, Codrington held positions at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County as the Founding Director of the Julian C. Dixon Institute for Cultural Studies and Curator in the Department of Anthropology. Before joining the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Codrington taught Anthropology at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase. Prior to teaching at SUNY, he was the Sandy Boyd Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Cultural Understanding and Change (CCUC) at the Field Museum in Chicago. He holds a BA in Government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. His research interests include race, diaspora and popular culture.

Richard F. McKeon, Chair
Rich McKeon is a Program Director of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.  He oversees a diverse portfolio of grants which includes Education, Conservation and Health & Medical Research.  Prior to joining the Trust, Rich was a Director at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors where he helped private foundations and corporate foundations develop and implement grantmaking programs in areas including education reform, youth development, healthcare and conservation.  During this time, he advised on over $70 million in giving.  He also developed and implemented strategic plans for foundations during the start-up and transition phases.  Prior to joining Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Rich spent five years overseeing the FleetBoston Financial Foundation's (now the Bank of America Foundation) grant program in the Metro New York market. In this role, he funded hundreds of nonprofit organizations working in community and economic development, youth development, education and arts and culture. He also managed a program for Seedco, a nonprofit community development financial institution, which helps small businesses in New York City in the areas of financing, marketing and business planning. In addition, he spent ten years in management positions for The Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) and Fleet.  Rich was appointed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to Chair the New York City Youth Board of the Department of Youth and Community Development, the largest after-school funder in the U.S. In addition to serving as the Youth Board Chair, he currently serves as a board member of Youth Represent, a nonprofit which provides free legal representation to youth in New York City and as a trustee for the Berkeley Heights Education Foundation. He is an advisory board member of The Children’s Support Foundation.  He previously served on the boards of Teach for America New York and Lehman Center for the Performing Arts. He received his B.A. from Fairfield University, his M.B.A. from Fordham University and also completed the Educational Grantmakers Institute at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Milga Morales Nadal, Ph.D.
Dr. Morales Nadal is the Dean of Student Life at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, where she previously held multiple leadership positions in the School of Education. Her academic research centers around English language acquisition among Hispanics, multicultural education, and the education of Puerto Ricans in the United States. Dr. Morales Nadal has developed many curricula for the education of elementary school children and non-English speakers. Dr. Morales Nadal received her Ph.D. from Yeshiva University, writing her dissertation on “Contributing Factors to English Language Acquisition Among Hispanics in Basic Education Programs.”

Jane Reiss
Jane Reiss, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Partnerships, for NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York, is responsible for overseeing all of the organization’s domestic and international marketing efforts, including the development and implementation of marketing strategies and advertising campaigns for NYC & Company, the brand’s revolutionary website (nycgo.com) and the state-of-the-art, high-tech Official NYC Information Center, which opened in January 2009.  In her position, Jane manages all aspects of NYC & Company’s local and global tourism marketing outreach; high-profile retail, dining and entertainment marketing initiatives; and those that encompass diversity, volunteerism and cause marketing. Jane also oversees the business development teams for corporate partnerships, which to date include blue-chip clients such as American Express, American Airlines, Google, AT&T, JetBlue, Travelocity, Red Bull and Coca-Cola, to name a few.  A veteran of the advertising industry for more than 20 years, Jane was most recently Managing Director/Partner at Margeotes Fertitta and Partners, a $450-million full-service advertising/marketing agency, where she headed up Strategic Development and Client Services for upscale and Fortune 500 clients such as AT&T Wireless, Coca-Cola, MediaOne Broadband and Campbell Soup Company. Her experience is proven in all areas of strategic and mission planning, brand stewardship, business development alliances and team-building across multiple disciplines.

Susan H. Royer
Susan Royer is an independent research consultant providing research design, implementation and analysis to both corporations and not for profits. Previously, Ms. Royer was the Vice President for Education and Research at the Sesame Workshop, the producers of Sesame Street. She managed the development, operation, and strategic application of research to inform the educational philosophy underlying the Workshop's products and services. To create media to address children's developmental needs, Ms. Royer has designed and conducted multiple research projects, on topics such as: children's attitudes towards media and technology and children's perceptions of the world around them, before and after September 11th. Ms. Royer previously held leadership positions at the Advertising Council, Young and Rubicam, and Colgate-Palmolive.

Kurt Sonnenfeld, Ed.D.
Dr. Sonnenfeld is a retired career employee of the New York City Department of Youth Services, one of the agencies merged to form the Department of Youth and Community Development in 1996. Dr. Sonnenfeld received his Doctorate of Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College, writing his dissertation on “Changing Perspectives on Youth Services as Seen Through the Historical Development of the New York City Youth Board.” Over the course of his 45-year career, Dr. Sonnenfeld held multiple positions at the Department of Youth Services, including Director of Training. He has also served on the Board of Directors of numerous community-based organizations in NYC.

Erana M. Stennett
Ms. Stennett joined Bloomberg LP in April 2001 as a member of the Company’s corporate communications team. Previously, Ms. Stennett served as Director for Government and Community Relations for Central Park for the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and the Central Park Conservancy. Ms. Stennett’s prior positions include: Vice President of the Central Park Conservancy, Community Liaison for the New York City Comptroller, and Assistant District Manager and Community Assistant for two Manhattan Community Boards. Currently, Ms. Stennett serves as a board member of the following organizations: the Central Park Conservancy, the Public Art Fund, and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Lena O. Townsend
Ms. Townsend is the Executive Director of the Robert Bowne Foundation. In that role, her responsibilities include grantmaking oversight in the area of literacy-based afterschool and youth programming. She previously served as Director of Community Initiatives at the Institute for Literacy Studies, Lehman College, City University of New York. She has extensive experience in developing and directing professional development projects for youth practitioners, adult educators, and teachers; and in evaluation methodology and literacy practices.

Nancy Wackstein
Ms. Wackstein serves as the Executive Director of the United Neighborhood Houses of New York, the federation of the City's thirty-seven settlement houses and neighborhood centers. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, a 108 year-old settlement house. In the Administration of Mayor David N. Dinkins, Ms. Wackstein served as Director of the Mayor's Office on Homelessness and SRO Housing, and she was the Senior Policy Advisor for Human Services to Mayor Dinkins when he was Manhattan Borough President. Ms. Wackstein serves on the boards of directors of several community-based organizations.

Youth Representatives

Ikra Rao Ahmad
Ikra Ahmad is enrolled in Brooklyn Technical High School. She is an active and outspoken young person.  She hopes to one day have a career as a successful neurosurgeon, and volunteers at the medical Intensive Care Unit of Coney Island Hospital. Ikra believes herself to be fortunate to be a youth representative for DYCD's youth board because she feels it is a way to give back to her community and her peers. She hopes to one day open a hospital that offers free health care facilities to individuals in need. 

Manuel Leyva
Manuel Leyva is a student at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies. He was recognized by NY1 as a “New Yorker of the Week”, for his leadership among his peers – he cofounded the student group “Students Together for Empowerment and Peace” (STEP), which is a forum for students to discuss issues of importance to their lives and development.

City Council Recommended Appointees 

Ana Isabel Garcia Reyes
Ana Isabel Garcia Reyes is the Special Assistant to the President for Community Relations and the Director of International Programs at Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College of the City University of New York. Previously, Ms. Garcia Reyes served as a Program Director for Aspira of New Yew York and as Director of Student Support Services at City College. Ms. Garcia Reyes serves on numerous boards, including the Dominican American National Roundtable, the Association of Equality and Excellence in Education, Dominican Educators, and the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her dedication to public service and education.

Kimberley Ann Hayes
After having spent 24 years in the field of mental health and social service delivery with some of the most effective and prestigious New York City agencies such as The Door, Bellevue Hospital, The Hudson Guild, Columbia University Research Department, Harlem Interfaith Counseling Service and New York City Mission Society among others, Kimberley Hayes launched her consulting business, Social Systems Strategies which embodies her extensive expertise in developing and implementing programs for families and children of all ages. During her career, Ms. Hayes has held leadership and executive positions which allowed for the expansion of her skill set in the areas of facilities management, supervision of interdisciplinary teams, staff training and development, community relations, budget development and contract management, systems services integration, development of outcome measurement tools, and protocols, procedures and standards development. She has broad experience in the provision, supervision and design of a host of program areas including education, mental health, workforce development, recreation, and health and wellness programs. As a result, she has developed a holistic approach to serving constituents of all ages. Ms. Hayes currently provides consultative services and intervention program design focused on youth aging out of foster care and gun violence prevention through youth empowerment. Recently, Ms. Hayes was invited to join a team of technical assistance providers at Cornell University.  She holds a Masters of Education with a specialization in Vocational Rehabilitation and a Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology, both from Teachers College, Columbia University. She sits on the following Boards: New York City Youth Board; Neighborhood Technical Assistance Clinic, Board Secretary; Solomon Mentors, Board Secretary; Renaissance Health Care Network; and Body Sculpt New York.

Victoria Sammartino
Victoria Sammartino is the Founder & Executive Director of Voices UnBroken, a Bronx-based non-profit organization that is dedicated to making high quality creative writing workshops accessible to vulnerable youth, with a focus on young people who are incarcerated/detained or in the foster care system.  Victoria (Tory) is a Bronx native who attended Townsend Harris High School and participated in a number of youth programs as a teenager, including CityKids and The Ella Baker Academy (run by the NYS Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission and Institute for NonViolence).  She began keeping a journal as a child and has traveled around the country performing her poetry and facilitating poetry workshops, including a nine-year poetry workshop at Island Academy/Rosewood High School on Rikers Island.  She holds a BA in Community Arts from Bennington College and in 2001 she was awarded a Union Square Award for the work of Voices UnBroken.  In 2005, she received a Robert Bowne Foundation Practitioner-Research Fellowship; from 2009-2010 she participated in the We Are The Bronx Fellowship, a program of CAUSE-NY; and in October of 2010 she will be attending the 2010 Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Multi-System Integration Certificate Program for Private Sector Leaders run by Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. Tory is a member of the Community Justice Network for Youth (a program of the W. Hayward Burns Institute), the Juvenile Justice Coalition (a program of the Correctional Association of New York), and the Prison Arts Coalition.  She is also a member of the NYC Department of Juvenile Justice’s Resident Advocacy Program Committee.

Sibyl T. Silberstein, Ph.D.
Dr. Silberstein has devoted much of her adult life to educating children, supporting the arts, and improving the quality of life in her home borough of Queens. Dr. Silberstein co-founded NYC’s first President’s Council and served as a member of the Community School Board in District 30 from 1970-1983. More recently, she developed an acclaimed curriculum about the Holocaust. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Queens Council on the Arts since 1988. She helped to found and served as chair of the Jackson Heights Local Development Corporation. She has served as a member of the Jackson Heights Civic Association and of Queens Community Board 3 and serves as education liaison for Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.

Anthony Sumpter, Sr.
Anthony Sumpter, Sr. works for the City of New York as a Deputy Director of Eligibility Determination for HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA). HASA is the primary mechanism within the Human Resources Administration that expedites access to essential benefits and social services needed by persons living with AIDS or advanced HIV illnesses and their families.  Mr. Sumpter is also the President and Founder of Optimum Achievers Take Hold (OATH-Inc.). OATH-Inc. was established in 2003 to meet the needs and concerns of youth and the communities in which they live. OATH-Inc.’s primary focus is helping youth and families develop life skills and healthy lifestyles. OATH-Inc.'s positive environment affords young people and their families a place to share their perspectives, concerns and learn more about improving their community.  Mr. Sumpter is an active participant of Community Board Three, in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He serves as a member of the Black Brooklyn Empowerment Coalition, whose mission is to bring together individuals from across the city and of different age groups who are of African American, Caribbean, African, Afro-Latino descent for the purpose of building a collective Black policy Agenda that encompasses critical issues and concerns.  Mr. Sumpter has a Bachelor of Arts from New Rochelle, a Masters in Urban Affairs from Queens College, and a Masters in Public Administration from Long Island University.

Lynette C. Velasco
Lynette Velasco is an author and journalist who encourages young people to build their self-esteem by reading. Ms. Velasco is the author of Zinzi, a family values-based children’s book. She is the President of Black Americans In Publishing and a member of the New York Association of Black Journalists. Ms. Velasco’s prior public sector career includes serving as: Energy Coordinator for the NYS Alliance of Community Action Programs, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Support System, and Chief of Staff to Assemblywoman Geraldine L. Daniels. Ms. Velasco specializes in the design, implementation, and production of marketing strategies for general and specialty markets. She is a consultant to the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College (CUNY).