Board of Directors
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Steven Kohn
Cushman & Wakefield, Vice Chairman & President
President
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Ed Adler
Lubert Adler Real Estate Funds, Managing Partner
Vice President
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Greta Guggenheim
TPG, Chief Executive Officer
Vice President
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Robert Lapidus
L&L Holding Company, LLC President and Chief Investment Officer
Vice President
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Matt Lazar
TPG Angelo Gordon, Director, U.S. Real Estate
Treasurer
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Kyle Bolden
EY, US-East Region Market Segment Leader – Real Estate, Hospitality and Construction Sector
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Marty Burger
Silverstein Properties, Inc., Former Chief Executive Officer
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Gisele Castro
Exalt, Executive Director
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Anar Chudgar
Artemis Real Estate, Co-President
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Kevin Faxon
Shadow Hill Partners, Principal
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Baaba Halm
Enterprise Community Partners, Vice President, New York Market
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Suzy Myers Jackson
SparkYouth NYC, Executive Director
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Sonny Kalsi
BentallGreenOak, Founder and Partner
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Richard Kessler
Benenson Capital Partners, Chief Operating Officer
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Steven Lichtenfeld
Proskauer, Partner
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Eric Mulkowsky
Robin Hood Foundation, Senior Management Consultant
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Michael Nash
Blackstone, Senior Managing Director
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James Nelson
Avison Young, Principal Head of Tri-State Investment Sales
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Bethany Logan Ropa
UBS, Managing Director
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Neha Santiago
Cerberus Capital Management, Head of Real Estate Private Credit and Managing Director
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Adam Schwartz
TPG Angelo Gordon, Co-Managing Partner & Head of Global Real Estate
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Shiva Viswanathan
Northwood Investors, Co-Head of U.S. Acquisitions & Senior Managing Director
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Rhea Wong
Nonprofit Consultant
Board Member Emeriti
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Kenneth Horn
Alchemy Properties Inc., President
Vice President
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David Schulman
Bear Wagner Specialists, LLC (retired)
Legacy Members
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Sally Berg, Co-Founder
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Barbara Kohn Welsh
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Barbara Kronman, Co-Founder
SparkYouth NYC Staff
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Suzy Myers Jackson, SparkYouth NYC, Executive Director
Suzy’s nonprofit background spans nearly 20 years and encompasses a diverse range of expertise, including: fundraising, board development, nonprofit management, strategic planning, leadership coaching, and program development.
Suzy was the longtime Executive Director of Opening Act, where she grew the organization’s reach from 3 to 57 of NYC’s most high-need public schools and increased revenue by 80 fold. Under her leadership the organization became a leader in Social Emotional Learning outcomes.
Suzy has also been a consultant for such organizations and corporations as Harlem Educational Activities Fund, HBO, the Center for Anti-Violence Education, Youth INC, Brandworkers, STEM From Dance, and INCLUDEnyc. She has developed multiple campaigns and professional development workshops that have been implemented by organizations to raise funds, deepen relationships with key stakeholders, and build a thriving organizational culture.
Suzy received her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her partner and young sons.
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Kelley Cunningham, Deputy Director
Kelley joined SparkYouth NYC in 2014. Before SparkYouth, Kelley served in a variety of fundraising and operations roles at a number of nonprofit organizations including Oceana, Waterfront Alliance, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and Reading Partners NY. During her time in these roles Kelley garnered extensive experience in event planning; corporate and foundation fundraising; and the management and administration of major gift programs. Kelley earned her A.B. from Mount Holyoke College.
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Rachael Abbick, Associate Director of Operations and Development
Rachael has spent the last five years working in direct service non-profits, most recently as Opening Act's Manager of External Communications and previously as Opening Act's Executive Assistant as well as the Summer Camp and Marketing Coordinator at Kids Creative. Rachael is delighted to join the SparkYouth NYC team, and she looks forward to using her fundraising, board development, communications, and operations skills to help provide resources and opportunities for thousands of young people to find their spark and ignite their confidence.