2024 Nonprofit Power Players

Na’ilah Amaru is a nationally recognized advocacy and policy strategist with over 20 years of impact across government and nonprofits. She has led transformative campaigns and held executive roles that empower underserved communities, amplifying their voices in policy and budget conversations. A champion for racial equity and gender justice, Na’ilah works tirelessly from local neighborhoods to Capitol Hill to turn ideas into action, build cross-sector and community-led coalitions, and drive systemic change.

What is your favorite thing about working in the nonprofit sector?
Working in the nonprofit sector gives me the chance to make real change happen from the ground up. I started as a front-line direct service worker and have since taken on roles as a nonprofit executive, consultant, and legislative advocate for both local and national organizations. This range of experience has only strengthened my commitment to elevating community voices, building coalitions that support underserved communities, and advocating for policies that truly reflect their needs.

How can policymakers support your organization?
Taking an intersectional approach to policy-making means recognizing and addressing the overlapping challenges of race, gender, and economic status that underserved women face. By crafting policies that reflect these realities, we create a community where all women – especially those who are often marginalized – are represented and empowered. This vision aligns with Women Creating Change’s mission to build an inclusive, equitable society where women have a strong voice in shaping their communities.

What was your organization’s biggest accomplishment in 2024?
Women Creating Change expanded its reach into grassroots and political spaces by partnering with local organizations across New York City, creating pathways for women to actively participate in civic decision-making. WCC also released several data-driven reports that offered valuable insights to elected officials and advocates, helping them address the needs of underserved communities. These efforts reflect WCC’s commitment to equipping women with the tools for meaningful political engagement and driving policy change through informed advocacy.

Dr. Tarika Barrett is the CEO of Girls Who Code, an international nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology that has served 670,000 students to date. A champion for education and equity, Tarika started her career as an educator and has spent two decades building educational pathways for young people at organizations like iMentor, the NYCDOE, New Visions for Public Schools, and New York University’s Center for Research on Teaching and Learning.

What is your favorite thing about working in the nonprofit sector?
The students in the Girls Who Code community inspire me to continue my life’s work in education equity. They are some of our country’s most powerful changemakers and leaders, and they are already using their technical skills to solve real-world problems and serve their communities. Their commitment to creating a better future for themselves and for others makes every day worthwhile.

How can policymakers support your organization?
Anyone looking to support Girls Who Code can head to our website to donate or learn more about how to help underrepresented students get access to free technical education.

What was your organization’s biggest accomplishment in 2024?
In 2024, Girls Who Code was the leading organization working to bring AI education to underrepresented communities, through programming for students from 3rd grade all the way to college and early career. I also served as the co-chair of Governor Hochul’s Emerging Technology Advisory Board, which works to turn New York into a hub for equitable AI innovation.

Rich Baum is the president and CEO of Educational Alliance. He has deep experience leading large, complex organizations in the educational, nonprofit, and government sectors, including at the largest private university in the United States and the state government of New York.

What is your favorite thing about working in the nonprofit sector?
My favorite part about working in the nonprofit sector is getting to serve the community and meet people who share my passion for our mission. At Educational Alliance, we serve New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds across Lower Manhattan. We provide New Yorkers with high-quality, transformational programs that enhance their well-being and socio-economic opportunities, reflecting our belief that everyone in our city should be given the tools to thrive.

How can policymakers support your organization?
At Educational Alliance, we have direct insight into the needs of people in our community. We want to share those insights with policymakers so that they can most effectively assist the populations we serve. Examples include our recent testimony on issues including asylum seekers, afterschool enrichment, and elder care.

What was your organization’s biggest accomplishment in 2024?
In 2024, we organized Work Authorization Clinics to assist asylum seekers in filling out their work authorization forms, allowing them to work legally and make important progress toward financial independence.

Susan Birnbaum has dedicated her decades-long career to raising hundreds of millions of dollars for nonprofits and has been the president and CEO of the New York City Police Foundation since 2011. She leads the Foundation’s mission to advance NYPD programs that prevent crime and terrorism; strengthen neighborhoods by building relationships between police and the communities they serve; and enhance the wellness and training of members of the NYPD to make New York City safer.

What is your favorite thing about working in the nonprofit sector?
My favorite part of working in the nonprofit sector is being able to connect people from all walks of life to a shared purpose. It is incredibly fulfilling to play a role in inspiring others to be part of a larger effort for the common good of New York City. I feel grateful to be able to facilitate opportunities for others to make a meaningful difference.

Grace, president and CEO of United Way of New York City, leads efforts to drive lasting, systemic change to empower all New Yorkers with access to resources needed to thrive. She joined UWNYC in 2022, and under her leadership, UWNYC distributed more than 14 million pounds of food to families, provided more than 230,000 books to students, expanded preventative healthcare access for over 100K New Yorkers, and partnered to launch a community violence intervention.

What is your favorite thing about working in the nonprofit sector?
Born and raised in Queens, I witnessed firsthand the pressing needs in our communities and experienced it with my parents when they moved from Ecuador. Nonprofits like UWNYC operate with a focused mission, providing vital support where it’s needed most. UWNYC unites stakeholders to back programs achieving real results.

How can policymakers support your organization?
We believe in the power of collective action, and partnership between nonprofits, government, and philanthropic organizations to improve the lives of New Yorkers. We support the passage of an improved Farm Bill, a strengthened and more inclusive food benefits program, and deeper investment from city and state-level government in the evidence-based community solutions that we know work. New Yorkers also need more resources to go toward education, specifically for childhood literacy. 

What was your organization’s biggest accomplishment in 2024?
We have so much to share, including: launching Connect2Care, a digital platform for under or uninsured New Yorkers to access health care services; building six new community and school libraries and providing 2,000 students with backpacks through our Build-A-Backpack initiative; launching Atlas HOPE to address community violence; advocating to Congress to strengthen and protect SNAP in the Farm Bill; and continuing to support 700 CBO partners as a backbone for the nonprofit sector at large.

Phoebe Boyer has spent a decade as the president and CEO of Children’s Aid, where she has worked diligently to strengthen the organization’s programming for children facing poverty in high-risk neighborhoods across New York City. In addition to bolstering the organization’s various academic, health and community programming, Boyer has remained an outspoken advocate for the importance of nonprofits and the 2022 Nonprofit Sector Strength and Partnership Act, which would allow nonprofits to impact policy creation.

Throughout her career, Courtney Bryan has served in all parts of the criminal justice reform movement. Prior to being named CEO at the Center for Justice Innovation, Courtney served as a public defender for the Legal Aid Society, a staff attorney at the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, an executive at JP Morgan Chase Foundation, and director of the Midtown Community Court. Bryan is also a member of the Council on Criminal Justice.

What is your favorite thing about working in the nonprofit sector?
I’ve always been drawn to the nonprofit sector because of the powerful combination of purpose and belonging. Our work matters and we do it in community with the smartest, funniest, most creative, and most compassionate people in the world.

How can policymakers support your organization?
Policymakers have always had our back, but we could use more help:

1. Increase nonprofit wages for the lowest paid staff to ensure the nonprofit workforce (mostly women and people of color – particularly women of color) serve others while making a living wage.
2. Timely payment for government-contracted work and access to operating capital when government is slow so we aren’t paying interest to big banks
3. Invest in Community Justice citywide

What was your organization’s biggest accomplishment in 2024?
Even as we served a record number of participants across our more than 30 projects and programs this year, we worked with key stakeholders at all levels – from mental health providers to Governor Hochul’s office – to help ensure a significant funding boost for mental health care and the courts while also working with the state court system to speed up case delays that were needlessly keeping too many people on Rikers Island.

Richard Buery is the CEO of Robin Hood, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting philanthropy. A first-generation Panamanian American from East New York, Brooklyn, he has held leadership roles in education and government, including as New York City’s deputy mayor for strategic policy initiatives. Richard launched initiatives like Pre-K for All and ThriveNYC, founded iMentor and Groundwork, and serves on several boards. A husband and father, Richard lives in Manhattan with his wife and sons.

Kenny Burgos is the inaugural CEO of the New York Apartment Association (NYAA), whose diverse membership owns and manages nearly 1 million affordable housing units in the NYC metropolitan area, making him the head of the largest trade organization representing private multifamily building owners in the country. With a deep-rooted passion for serving his community and a rich history of legislative leadership, his tenure, which began in August 2024, marks a new chapter in a distinguished career dedicated to ensuring affordable and equitable housing solutions across New York.

Kevin Carey joined YAI as chief financial officer in 2016 and became chief executive officer in June 2023. As CEO, Carey led the development of YAI’s latest strategic plan, which outlines the organization’s blueprint for navigating the changing I/DD landscape through 2026. He has prioritized YAI’s expansion, particularly in California and New Jersey. Carey serves on multiple nonprofit boards including Care Design New York and Partnerships for Health Care and Solutions Inc., among others. 

What is your favorite thing about working in the nonprofit sector?
The best part of working in the nonprofit sector is the people. YAI is a human services organization and I get to connect with the inspiring individuals we support, their families, and our dedicated staff. It’s a joy to see the people we support achieving their goals, both big and small, every day. The sense of community and shared purpose here is truly special, making my job not just fulfilling but also exciting and uplifting. 

How can policymakers support your organization?
Policymakers can support YAI by increasing Medicaid funding to improve rates for our services and raise wages for our dedicated direct care staff, addressing our dire workforce crisis. In 2024, we hosted 23 site tours for politicians across New York and California, totaling 67 site tours in the last three years. These opportunities provide politicians with firsthand insight into YAI’s real-time impact, highlighting the essential work on the frontline.

What was your organization’s biggest accomplishment in 2024?
In 2024, NYS launched the Community Transition Initiative to move people with disabilities out of long-term hospitals and intensive care settings. Within a few months, YAI successfully placed 20 of the 80 people on the statewide hospital list, and three who had aged out of residential schools. Now, all 23 have appropriate permanent homes in the community where they can increase their independence and pursue their interests, marking a significant step toward empowerment and well-being.