Rocco
Basile
Rocco Basile is a second-generation real estate developer in New York City, having constructed over 150 buildings. He is the owner of Avo Construction, a construction development firm which focuses on high-end interior renovation and ground-up building construction for real estate developers in NYC. Rocco is a proud husband and father of two.
Rocco has served on the Board of Directors of Children of the City, a non-profit organization, for seven years, serving as chair for the last four years of his tenure. Based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Children of the City has been responding to the critical needs of families coping with trauma, academic frustration, drug abuse, delinquency and despair since 1981.
Dr. Divya
Chhabra
Dr. Divya Chhabra is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and therapist, writer, media consultant, tech leader, policymaker, and former teacher. Currently, she works in children’s policy for the New York State Office of Mental Health, where she helps lead the dissemination of new statewide children’s programs and is spearheading curriculum for pre-k children on intersectionality. Divya serves as an SEL & DEI advisor for Noggin, an educational app by Nick Jr and she is the Medical Director for My Wellbeing, a behavioral health tech company. She sees children and educates residents as assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU and will be teaching an undergraduate class on children and inequality for NYU undergrads. Passionate about bridging disparities affecting children, she has been involved in advocacy efforts ranging from working with undocumented minors and their legal teams to organizing and training teams on anti-racism to global humanitarian work in East Africa. She began writing when she taught poetry on Death Row, and since, her writing has been featured in book chapters, the NEJM, Teen Vogue, The Huffington Post, Good Morning America, and ABC News. She serves on the UN Committee for Migration and is Editorial Director of Me With Power, a creative collective for BIPOC folx. In her spare time, she loves fostering pups, playing piano, hiking, art, and fashion.
Lora
Cooperman
Lora Cooperman is an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley Lora spent 12 years at JPMorgan where she advised highly successful entrepreneurs, founders, and executives of public companies on all aspects of their personal balance sheets and wealth planning. She previously worked for CLSA, an Asian brokerage firm, and Keating & Co, a boutique consulting company.
Lora was born and raised in Surry, Maine and graduated from Bowdoin College in 2004 with a BA in Government and Legal Studies. During college Lora received numerous athletic honors some of which include being named a three-time NCAA All-American and Division III National Champion Finalist in women’s basketball. She was recently inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and Bowdoin College Athletic Hall of Honor. She is an active supporter of philanthropic organizations that focus on educating children, protecting the environment, and empowering communities of women around the world. She resides in New York City with her husband and twin girls, Dylan and Harper.
Travis
Johnson
Co-President
Travis Montez Johnson is a writer, poet, professor and juvenile rights attorney, representing children in the Family Court system of New York City. Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Travis came to New York City in the late 90s to attend New York University where he pursued degrees in Journalism and Africana Studies. He graduated to NYU Law School in 2003 and is currently an attorney supervisor with the Legal Aid Society, Juvenile Rights Practice.
Deena
Hanna
Deena Hanna is the Head of Capital One’s Commercial Bank and Finance Early Career Programs. Her passion for creating access to these programs for all students drives her to challenge the status quo and work with her clients to think differently to allow students with non-traditional backgrounds to pursue careers in Commercial Banking and Finance. Prior to joining Capital One in 2014, Deena held a variety of Finance and Banking roles including financial consulting, residential lending, and retail banking management. She has always been committed to creating opportunities for underserved communities and throughout her career, has led multiple initiatives to provide professional and financial expertise to those in need while creating a sense of belonging for all.
Deena graduated from Boston University in 2004 with a degree in sociology. Recently, Deena completed a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Certificate from Northwestern University and strives to apply her learnings to her professional and personal life. Deena is a first generation Palestinian American who currently resides in NYC.
Gilleyan J.
Hargrove
Gilleyan has been an educator for 30 years, beginning her journey as a teacher at Mount Olivet Christian School and Community School 21. She became an assistant principal at the High School Program for Pregnant Students and then a principal at Middle School 584. Currently, Gilleyan works as an Educational Administrator/Student Service Manager in Staten Island/District 31. She received a Bachelors in Sociology/African American Studies from Syracuse University, a Masters in Education from SUNY Binghamton and her administration and supervision license from the College of Saint Rose/CITE. Gilleyan is currently a Seminarian at Nyack College/ATS studying for her Masters of Arts in Biblical Literature/Old Testament/Hebrew. She is passionate about education and being a part of initiatives and programs that impact the lives of young people because “it’s all about the children.” Gilleyan served on the NYSED Advisory Panel for the Culturally Responsive Sustaining Education Framework. She also served as a contributor to the Blueprint for Excellence and Equity in the Education of Black Children and Youths. Gilleyan also has a sincere heart for women, young and seasoned. This passion led Gilleyan to birth “Heal Her Heart.” The vision of Heal Her Heart community is to create a safe, sacred, and intimate space where women can experience restoration and healing of the heart by releasing themselves from the burdens and challenges of past life experiences, and become empowered women who blossom into who God predestined them to be. One of Gilleyan’s greatest joys is being married to her love connection Eric Hargrove. They are honored to be the parents of two phenomenal blessings, Brianne and Tyler. Gilleyan is also a proud Diamond Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc
Kristeen
Mehta
Kristeen Mehta is an executive director at Mizuho Securities USA. She manages all the equity operations and prior to Mizuho she was at Credit Suisse for 18 years building and leading the support for the Equity Derivatives business. Kristeen was brought in at Mizuho to roll out an Equity Derivatives platform, she played an integral role in bringing together all the stakeholders front to back and implemented two new risk systems to manage the new product scope. Kristeen takes pride in her ability to manage and organize major initiatives and uses the strong relationships she built through the firm to be successful in the project. Kristeen is a big promoter of building automation to reduce operational risk and pushing her team to always think outside the box. She also loves to manage which not many people do not enjoy. She always says her success is attributed to the strength of her team, her team’s happiness brings her happiness. Kristeen is also an active participant in many charity initiatives the bank offers. Her favorite one so far was a program called Tutor Mate where she was able to spend the year tutoring a young student to improve their reading skills, they worked together to create their own storybook and at the end of the year, she was able to visit the school and meet her student. It was truly an amazing and touching experience for her.
Kristeen was born in New Jersey and graduated from Pace University with her bachelor’s in Business Management with a minor in Accounting. Kristeen lives in NJ with her husband and her son Mason.
Karen
Miner-Romanoff
Co-President
Karen Miner-Romanoff is the Law and Society Fellow at New York University and teaches law and society, juvenile justice and criminology, is a Fellow at Bard High School Early College, and works with underserved youth as a nonprofit consultant and researcher. Prior, she held the position of Assistant Dean for Academic Excellence at NYU and led the Center for Academic Excellence and Support. She holds a Ph.D. and Master’s in Public Policy and Administration, emphasis in criminology. An attorney, she clerked for the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals, worked with a major law firm, and acted as a Special Assistant to the Ohio Attorney General. Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Miner-Romanoff served as the Associate Provost for Academic Quality and Executive Director for the International Institute for Innovative Instruction at Franklin University. She is certified as an Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences peer reviewer and served as the Executive Counselor of the ACJS section for Teaching and Education. She has received numerous awards and grants in the fields of criminal justice, criminology, leadership and teaching and learning. A Fulbright Scholar, she served with the Human Science Research Council in South Africa and is an NSF Data Consortium Fellow. She chaired the American Education Research Association SIG for Faculty Development, Teaching and Evaluation and sits on multiple educational advisory, editorial boards, nonprofit, and criminal justice commissions. She was also selected as a 2016 Learning Champion by E-Learning Magazine and honored for her research with the Franklin County human trafficking court as the 2017 Ohio Council of Criminal Justice Education Professional Practitioner. Selected conference presentations include the Online Learning Consortium, NYU Tech Summit, E-Learning, Innovation & Social Justice, International Conference of Social Science Research, the American Society of Criminology, International Conference on Justice, Police and Law, and the ACJS. Selected publications include articles in her major research interests, such as International Journal of Online Pedagogy and Course Design, Justice Policy Journal, Criminologists, American Journal of Criminal Justice, International Journal of Restorative Justice, Journal of Correctional Education, Journal of Human Trafficking, Journal of Criminal Justice Education, American Journal of Distance Learning, and South African Journal of Higher Education. Recently recognized for her work in innovative curriculum at the 2017 International E-Learning conference, she received the Outstanding E-Learning Award and was chosen as a 2018 and 2019 Reimagine Education finalist for her team’s Experiential, Problem-Based model of learning.
Liz
Murray
Co-Founder
There’s a whole lot to learn about Liz Murray but let’s simply start with this: she knows why stable relationships matter to at-risk kids because she was one herself. Her life was transformed for the better by mentors who refused to look the other way. Her conviction that these kind of relationships can change other kids’ lives, as they did her own, underpins everything we do at The Arthur Project.
Liz is an inspirational speaker who is notable for having been accepted by Harvard University despite being homeless in her high school years. She was born in the Bronx, New York to poor and drug-addicted parents, both of whom would later contract HIV. She became homeless just after turning 15, when her mother died of AIDS in 1996 and her father moved to a homeless shelter.
Despite her late high school start and lack of a stable home, Murray began attending an alternative high school, graduating in two years. She was awarded a New York Times scholarship for needy students and was accepted into Harvard University. A made-for-TV film about Murray’s life, Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, was released in 2003. Liz’s bestselling memoir Breaking Night was published in 2010. Liz credits two key mentors in her youth as the needed support and foundation in transforming her life.
Jeff
Muti
Co-Founder
Jeff describes himself as the “boring business guy” and Liz, “the soul” of The Arthur Project. Jeff has a keen understanding that for a not-for-profit organization to be successful, it needs to be run like a business and he has a wealth of expertise to help make that happen.
Jeff is Founder, CEO and CFO of Sigma Worldwide, an engineering-services company and manufacturer of accessory products for various industries. He brings significant business expertise to The Arthur Project, having served in senior management and financial leadership roles. Jeff has been actively involved in charitable activities and served on the Board of Storefront Academy, a tuition-free, private school in Harlem and the South Bronx educating underserved children.
His primary role with the Storefront Academy was to assist in fundraising efforts. Jeff attended Duke University for undergraduate studies, received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Antoinette, have two wonderful children: Isabella and Connor.
May
Nazareno
May Nazareno is the Northeast Director for Major Gifts at IGNITE, a national nonpartisan organization building a movement of political power in every young woman. As a native New Yorker, May has a long and successful track-record developing resources for a wide range of non-profits and civically-minded organizations in New York City. May’s fundraising career began at Stanford University’s Medical School and then continued in the arts, education and social services in New York. May spearheaded development efforts at the National Organization for Women, New York City, and their charitable partner, Women’s Justice NOW. Prior to that, she worked with the Population Council, where she kickstarted significant support for their latest contraceptive technologies. Today, May mobilizes communities across the east coast, making it possible for a new generation of young women to change the face of our democracy.
May is passionate about helping young people navigate systems in order to gain access to opportunities and believes in a holistic approach that centers around community needs and data-driven solutions. In her free time, she and her partner enjoy their neighborhood in Harlem with their rescue dog, Tato.
David
Raymond
David Raymond is a technology professional working at the intersection of analytics, advertising, and online commerce. He has spent his career at some of the largest technology organizations including Adobe, AOL, and Verizon. Currently, David oversees AdTech partnerships for Amazon Advertising.
He found a passion for youth mentoring through The Brooklyn Boulders foundation when he mentored a high-school student for over three years. David attended Boston College and received his MBA from NYU Stern. He currently lives in Manhattan and can be found riding his bike around Central Park or Rockland County when not otherwise occupied.
Steve
Schnall
Steve is founder, chief executive officer and chairman of Quontic Bank. A serial entrepreneur, Steve has a passion for business startups and focuses on serving the communities where his businesses reside. He has a proven track record of founding several successful private and public companies across a variety of industries, including community banking, mortgage finance, health and fitness, and early stage dot-com era ventures.
Steve is also an active real estate investor/developer and co-chairman of Fit Athletic Holdings. He is a founding director of, and primary contributor to, Urban Angels, a nonprofit that provides food to the homeless, serving more than 100,000 meals per year. He also serves on the advisory board of the New York League of Independent Bankers. He received a bachelor’s degree in accounting, cum laude, from the University of Florida.
David
Silverman
Mr. Silverman has lead a successful career in the alternative investment industry. Since 2005, he has been at Blue Harbour Group, a concentrated alternative equity investment manager. As a managing director, his responsibilities have included leading investments in a variety of industries and overseeing the firm wide effort to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations into investments and engagements. He is a member of the ICGN Board Governance Committee and the former Chair of the NYSSA’s Corporate Governance Committee. Earlier in his career, he worked at the Huff Alternative Fund at WR Huff Asset Management.
Mr. Silverman holds an AB from Princeton University and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. At Princeton, he was a championship debater and has coached debate in a variety of capacities. He lives with his wife and two daughters in New York City.
