Union Settlement’s Darlene Williams and Urban Pathways’ Frederick Shack appointed to co-chair new nonprofit advisory council

Rev. Darlene Williams, the CEO of Union Settlement, and Urban Pathways CEO Frederick Shack have been appointed to co-chair New York City’s first Nonprofit Advisory Council, a group representing more than two dozen organizations that will help better connect city government with the nonprofit sector. 

Williams and Shack, according to a press release about the council, will lead the group with Diane Mamet, interim executive director of the Mayor’s Office for Nonprofit Services,  to identify challenges organizations face and create strategies for capacity building and sustainability. Represented on the council are nonprofit organizations from across New York working in arts and culture, social services, education and advocacy.

Included on the council are:

• Yaw Appiadu, executive director, Harlem Independent Living Center, Inc.
• Tatiana M. Arguello, executive director, Nonprofit Staten Island
• Courtney Bryan, executive director, Center for Justice Innovation
• Catherine Calvo, community engagement officer, Mother Cabrini Health Foundation
• Lisa David, president and chief executive officer, Public Health Solutions
• Beatriz Diaz Taveras, executive director, Catholic Charities Community Services
• Bibi Esahack, executive director, Bay Ridge Community Development Center, Inc.
• Janelle Farris, president and chief executive officer, Brooklyn Community Services
• Tara Gardner, executive director, Day Care Council of New York
• Wayne Ho, president and chief executive officer, Chinese American Planning Council
• Michelle Jackson, executive director, Human Services Council
• Chai Jindasurat-Yasui, vice president, policy, Nonprofit New York
• Wesner Joseph Pierre, chief executive officer, Partnership with Children
• Damyn Kelly, president and chief executive officer, Lutheran Social Services of New York
• Eichakeem McClay, executive vice president, United Way of New York City
• Jonathan McLean, chief executive officer, Center for Alternative Sentencing & Employment Services
• Annie Minguez, vice president, government and community relations, Good Shepherd Services
• Frankie Miranda, president and chief executive officer, Hispanic Federation, Inc.
• Peter Quinones, chief of government contracts and compliance, New York Edge, Inc.
• Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, president and chief executive officer, Brooklyn Organization
• Mohammad Razvi, chief executive officer and co-founder, Council of Peoples Organization
• Avra Rice, president and chief executive officer, New York Urban League
• Ronald E. Richter, chief executive officer, Jewish Child Care Association
• Raysa Rodriguez, chief program and policy director, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
• Joseph Rosenberg, executive director, Catholic Community Relations Council of New York
• Ronnie Silverman Messerschmidt, chief program development officer, HELP USA
• Marlon Williams, vice president, collaboration and policy, Philanthropy New York
• Rachel Watts, executive director, ArtsConnection

 “By convening this advisory council, we are making it easier to partner with nonprofits on everything from housing to health care to education,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a press release announcing the council’s creation “Nonprofit workers are our frontline workers, and we are going to make sure they have all the resources needed to thrive in our city.”

The advisory council will meet regularly to collaborate with the Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services and give insights and recommendations regarding policies or responses to programmatic issues within city government that impact the nonprofit sector.

The Adams administration also last month announced a $741 Million cost-of-living adjustment which will boost the pay of about 80,000 human service workers. The administration also implemented the Clear the Backlog Initiative almost two years ago, which has since unlocked over $6 billion in funds that have been owed. 

“Every day, in every borough, New Yorkers are interacting with nonprofit organizations, whether you are an older adult at a community center socializing with friends, a person with a disability receiving vocational training to help secure employment, or a family receiving navigation support to access various benefit programs,” Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said in the press release

“Nonprofits play a vital role in our network of support for individuals, children, and families and they must have a seat at the table,” she added “The Nonprofit Advisory Council is an important mechanism to ensure regular and open dialogue between government and the sector, and ultimately drive towards our shared goal — to support every individual, child, and family to thrive.”