Our Team

Meet the people behind the work. Our team brings together a wide range of backgrounds, lived experiences, and expertise, but what unites us is a shared belief in the power of community.

We’re driven by purpose, grounded in neighborhoods, and committed to building a stronger, more equitable New York City from the block up.

Our Staff

  • Julie Shapiro

    Chief Executive Officer

    Julie has spent more than 25 years in the nonprofit sector, predominantly in New York City, working at the intersection of workforce development, youth development, and education. She is known for her strong track record of creative partnerships and collective impact work to advance educational and economic equity.

    Most recently, Julie served as Senior Vice President overseeing strategy, policy, community coalitions, and external affairs at The New Teacher Project. Prior to TNTP, Julie was the Chief Executive Officer of the Fund for Public Schools, where she led public-private partnerships with the philanthropic, business, and nonprofit communities and secured critical investments for education priorities that advanced the City’s Equity and Excellence for All agenda. Before her work with NYC Public Schools, Julie was Executive Director of The Door, an internationally recognized youth development agency providing a range of integrated services for 11,000 New York City youth annually. There, Julie spearheaded a decade of growth in every program area, more than tripling the operating budget. In the eight prior years, Julie held progressive leadership roles at Seedco, a national nonprofit intermediary that partners with networks of community-based organizations on workforce development and asset-building initiatives. She received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School. Julie lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their two teenage daughters.

  • Carolyn Bernal

    Director of Operations

    Carolyn has almost two decades of experience in finance, audit, and project management in financial services firms managing teams on strategic projects and finance operations. She has managed audit teams, financial controller groups, and technology projects across multinational organizations. She excels when collaborating in a team to harness their collective strengths to accomplish goals.

    Carolyn earned a Master of Science in International Management from EM Lyon Business School in Lyon, France, a Master of Science in Secondary Education from St. John’s University in New York, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.. She is excited to join CitizensNYC to help the team in rebuilding New York City.

  • Sage Cleghorn

    Development Associate

    Sage is an emerging professional with a B.A. in Political Science from Drew University and a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution & Leadership from the Casperson School of Graduate Studies. Throughout her academic journey, she was actively engaged in various non-profit organizations across NYC.

    Prior to joining CitizensNYC, Sage ran a Civic Engagement course for Commonpoint Queens’ SYEP Program, worked on various political campaigns, and served as a Programs Associate at La Colmena: Community Job Center of Staten Island. She is deeply committed to grassroots development and community building. Sage is excited to channel her passion into supporting CitizensNYC’s development team, aiding leaders across NYC in fostering positive change in their communities.

  • José Dobles

    VP of Programs

    José Dobles comes to Citizens Committee for NYC with over 20 years of leadership development and community organizing experience. Throughout his career, José has worked with young people and adults to leverage their lived experiences to examine, critique, and address the issues that matter most to them. It’s this commitment to lifting up the expertise of those closest to the problems facing our city that he brings to the Vice President of Programs position at CitizensNYC.

    José holds an M.Div from Union Theological Seminary and B.A. in Religious Studies from the College of the Holy Cross. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

  • Alison Dorsi

    Programs Manager

    Alison is an inquisitive, well-traveled, and passionate professional who seeks to improve the lives of her fellow New Yorkers. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics as well as master’s degrees in political science and public administration.

    Her past work experiences include six years at L&G Research and Evaluation Consulting, internships in the British Parliament and United Nations, and served as an AmeriCorps member at the NYCDOE. Alison is an avid baker and enjoys experimenting with new recipes

  • Nick Haynes

    VP of Development

    As VP of Development, Nick builds partnerships with the individual, foundation, corporate, and government supporters who make CitizenNYC’s impact possible. He is grateful for the opportunity to support leaders across New York City who are creating positive change in their communities.

    Prior to joining CitizensNYC, he led fundraising for two edtech nonprofits, Read to Lead and PowerMyLearning, and has also held development roles at The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and St. John’s University. Nick earned a B.A. in History from the University of Richmond and an MBA in Marketing from St. John’s University. When he’s not working, he’s most likely reading, brewing beer, or spending time with his family.

  • Michael Hickey

    Chief of Strategy and Operations

    Michael Hickey currently serves as Chief of Strategy and Operations for Citizens Committee for NYC, leading efforts to strengthen core practices, advance strategic initiatives, and deepen partnerships. 

    Michael brings more than 20 years of experience co-creating public-private-nonprofit partnerships to solve some of NYC’s most entrenched challenges.  He has been a government executive, funder, banker, advocate, management consultant, educator, and twice a non-profit founder.  His professional training is in social work, and he has served on numerous boards and advisory committees over the years.  Mike has a B.A degree in English Literature from Ohio University, and a Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

  • Isi Kirshner-Breen

    Director of Communications

    As Director of Communications, Isi is CitizensNYC’s chief storyteller, sharing opportunities with our communities, connecting partners with one another, and telling the stories of the thousands of people Citizens inspires every year.

    Originally from Minneapolis, he spent most of his career in Washington D.C., working on Capitol Hill. He served as communications director and press secretary to Representative Keith Ellison, America’s first Muslim Congressman. After Rep. Ellison left his seat to serve as Minnesota’s Attorney General, Isi worked for his successor, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, overseeing communications on her campaigns for reelection in 2020 and 2022. He’s a long-suffering fan of the Minnesota Vikings and his alma mater’s California Golden Bears, and a recently-suffering fan of kpop. He lives with his wife and daughter in Brooklyn.

  • Abril Peña

    Corporate and Foundation Partnerships Manager

    Abril serves the Citizens Committee for NYC as the Foundation and Corporate Partnerships Manager. Born and raised in Queens, Abril is proud to work with CitizensNYC’s partners to best support local leaders and neighborhood-led projects for the betterment of NYC.

    Prior to joining CitizensNYC, Abril worked at Echoing Green, JPMorgan Chase, and Virtual Enterprises International. Throughout her career, Abril has fostered strong partnerships with donors, partners, and community members; engaged hundreds of volunteers annually; and supported fundraising efforts through grant writing and reporting. Abril earned her B.A. in Corporate Communications with a minor in Sociology from Baruch College CUNY. As an alumna of Minds Matter, Abril has volunteered as a high school mentor and college coach for low-income, high-achieving students since 2020.

    Abril is a first-generation New Yorker, a proud daughter of Dominican immigrant parents, and a published essay writer through the Dominican Writers Association.

  • Carlos A. Santiago

    Programs Associate & Archivist

    Carlos works on programs, grant review, and archival projects at CitizensNYC. His experience at a genealogy nonprofit and in the public history field has equipped Carlos with the skills to bring CitizensNYC’s legacy to life, and he prioritizes bringing valuable information to communities in an accessible way so that New Yorkers know they are being heard by our team.

    As a born and bred New Yorker of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, Carlos intimately recognizes the needs of New York City in the past and present. Carlos earned a BA and MA in History at the University at Buffalo and Brooklyn College, respectively. He also earned an Advanced Certificate in Public History at the College of Staten Island in 2020.

Our Board of Directors

    Chris Ruggeri

    Chair

    Principal, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP

    Thomas C. Israel

    Vice Chair

    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ingleside Investors

    Joel Press

    Treasurer

    President, Press Management

    Jay Stark

    Secretary

    President, Slate Property Group

    Sewit Bocresion

    Managing Director, JPMorganChase

    Janet L. Burak, Esq.

    Retired

    Steven R. Burwell

    Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP

    Victoria Chu Pao

    Retired

    Daniel Crowley

    Principal, Oakland Capital Partners

    Henry P. Davison, II

    Managing Director, Chilton Trust

    Jenelle DeCoteau, Esq.

    Managing Director and General Counsel, Ziff Capital Partners LLC

    Paul H. Deutch

    Executive Vice President, Omni Agent Solutions

    Sharon King Hoge

    Media Consultant

    Steven J. Williams

    Partner, Paul | Weiss

    Eric Wu

    Senior Managing Director, Blackstone

Founders and Emeritus Directors

  • Osborn Elliott

    Founder

  • Hon. Jacob K. Javits

    Founder

  • Marietta Tree

    Founder

  • Henry Cornell

    Director Emeritus

  • Peter Duchin

    Director Emeritus

  • Frances FitzGerald

    Director Emeritus

Contact Us

The best way to reach the team at CitizensNYC is by email, and please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or ideas. 

If you have a question about our Community Leaders Grants, contact grants@citizensnyc.org.

If you have a question about our Neighborhood Business Grants, contact businessgrants@citizensnyc.org.

You can also find CitizensNYC staff emails on our People page.