NYN Media Buzz: Jan. 17, 2018

The Westchester Community Foundation has a new chairman and three new members of its board of directors. Dale Akinla II, a wealth management professional, will take the leadership role of the board he has served since 2012. Sarah Jones-Maturo, president of RM Friedland LLC, Antoinette Klatzky of the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation, and Ruth Suzman, a philanthropist, are the new members of the board of directors that oversees the foundation, a division of the New York Community Trust.

An $850,000 grant from The Rockefeller Foundation anchors a pilot program that targets formerly out-of-school and out-of-work youth. Nonprofits JobsFirstNYC and Social Finance will assume a role in the $1.5 million initiative called “CareerLift” that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Jan. 16. The project – overseen by the NYC Center for Youth Employment – will also evaluate the feasibility of a “Pay for Success” model, in which employers take on the cost of job retention if the pilot proves itself successful, according to a press release.

Yorktown Heights attorney Sal Lagonia will join the board of directors at The Justin Veatch Fund, a Westchester County-based nonprofit that funds college scholarships, music programs and counseling on the dangers of teen drug abuse. Lagonia has served on the board of directors of Student Assistance Services and appears as an aviation analyst on Fox News.

A few New York City nonprofits were among the 13 organizations that received grants from United Nations Federal Credit Union Foundation. The Floating Hospital received a grant to help urban women overcome domestic abuse. At-risk youth will receive mentoring through the Long Island City YMCA.