Citizens Committee for New York City Names Neuroscientist Turned CEO Frida Polli, Ph.D. as “New Yorker for New York” Honoree
Nonprofit to host annual fundraiser showcase virtually on June 22nd to help New Yorkers get back on their feet
NEW YORK – Citizens Committee for New York City (CitizensNYC), one of the nation’s oldest micro-funding organizations, has a longstanding history of celebrating and supporting civic leaders. This month, CitizensNYC will honor Entrepreneur Frida Polli, Ph.D.
Frida Polli is an award-winning Harvard and MIT neuroscientist turned CEO. She was named one of Inc.’s Top 100 Female Founders in 2019, one of Entrepreneur's Top 100 Powerful Women in 2020 and has received the MIT 100K, and Harvard Business School’s Kaplan Life Science Fellowship Award, and a NARSAD Young Investigator Award. Frida is the CEO and cofounder of pymetrics, a company leveraging soft skill science and AI to make workforce decisions more accurate and fair. Dr. Polli’s mission is to help everyone realize their true potential at work.
“New York has always been on the forefront of many things. What attracted me to NYC initially is that it is just so diverse. There are so many different types of people from all walks of life, from all parts of the world, different ethnicities. I just feel so at home, in diversity,” said Polli whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Italy. She adds, “the human brain has an inherent flaw called unconscious bias, and unfortunately, we unwittingly continue to discriminate against people that are not like us. Technology has to be a part of the solution. We have to use technology as a tool that at a bare minimum will not perpetuate the problem but will instead help solve the problem.”
Frida, along with her husband Conor Bastable, Partner at Davidson Kempner Capital Management, further demonstrate their love for NYC as active supporters of Robin Hood Foundation, The Urban League, Prep for Prep, and The Bowery Mission.
“At the onset of the pandemic we took the crucial step to establish a new grant program to support entrepreneurs and small businesses, which we know are vital to the fabric of NYC neighborhoods. We are proud that the majority of our grantees come from BIPOC communities, are women, and come from immigrant families. We feel that it is only right to highlight Frida, especially during immigrant heritage month, as one of the city’s leading businesswomen, as she comes from an immigrant background herself,” said Dr. Rahsaan Harris, CEO of CitizensNYC.
In lieu of the organization’s in person gala fundraising event, and to raise awareness about the $1M in funds that is currently available to the public, CitizensNYC has been hosting a five-month-long virtual fundraising campaign – The New Yorkers for New York. The campaign Showcase Event will take place on Tuesday, June 22 and feature all five honorees including one of it’s grantee partners, Nicole Lee, as well as Susan Cullman, Frida Polli, Ph.D., Sue Suh and TIME, and Rhina Valentin.
To support the work of the organization and its grantee partners as they work to rebuild New York City, RSVP to this year’s The New Yorker for New York Showcase Event HERE.
About Citizen Committee for New York City:
Citizens Committee for New York City’s mission is to help New Yorkers - especially those in low-income areas - come together and improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Residents are uniquely situated to define and act on the issues affecting their communities. When provided with modest support, neighborhood and school groups can effectively mobilize with the assistance of grants, skills-building workshops, project planning assistance and an equipment share library. In 2020, CitizensNYC provided 402 projects with nearly $1.2M in direct cash grants, impacting more than 87,685 residents in 122 neighborhoods across all five boroughs. Since 1975, we have promoted the spirit of volunteerism, local engagement, and social justice that drives our work. Go to citizensnyc.org to learn more.
Additional Information:
Webpage: https://www.citizensnyc.org
Social Media: Twitter @citizensnyc | Instagram @citizenscommittee | Facebook.com/citizensnyc