Nonprofit Power Players

Cal Hedigan began her work in the field of mental health in 1985 at the Richmond Fellowship in the U.K. She went on to hold a variety of positions in residential mental health programs, working as a case manager, intake coordinator, supervisor, and director roles. Prior to her tenure with Community Access, she worked as director of planning at the Bowery Residents’ Committee in New York. She has been at Community Access since 1999.

Was there something or someone that inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector?
I always knew that I wanted to pursue work with a social purpose. In my early twenties, I read Erving Goffman’s book “Asylums” and that, coupled with my exposure to mental health work, cemented my commitment to supporting civil rights and the human potential of people who were labeled with a mental health diagnosis and suffered trauma and oppression from systems of care. I wanted to make a difference in how people are treated, and still do.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
Being appointed as CEO of Community Access by our board of directors was a special moment. After having worked here for 20 years, to have the opportunity to lead this amazing organization and further its human rights-based approach to supportive housing and mental health services was a great honor.

What policy changes could be made to aid in your work within the nonprofit sector?
Moving away from expending resources on shelters and transitional housing and toward a concrete plan to end homelessness through the accelerated development of affordable and supportive housing would be a game-changer for NYC. On the mental health side, we must reject coercion and institutional care and adequately resource rights-based, peer-driven services that are available to people in the communities where they live. Paying workers a living wage in these sectors must become a priority.

Stephanie Hill Wilchfort joined the Museum of the City of New York as director and president in September 2023. Previously, as president/CEO at Brooklyn Children’s Museum, she raised $45 million in operating and capital funding, built several new additions, and strengthened relationships with Central Brooklyn communities. A native Brooklynite who still lives in the borough, Wilchfort has held senior programming, fundraising, and marketing roles at the Tenement Museum, Sesame Workshop, WNYC Radio, and WNET.  

Was there something or someone that inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector? 
My parents were CUNY professors with deep commitments to public service. That was a big source of inspiration for working in a nonprofit world.  I have also had a lifelong passion for the arts – but, admittedly, no particular artistic talent – so when I graduated from college, I was inspired to find other ways to support artists and cultural life in the city.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far? 
There have been so many wonderful moments in my career,  but one of the proudest was opening the Brower Park Library at Brooklyn Children’s Museum.  As a child growing up in Brooklyn, both the Museum and the Library were second homes for me. The Brower Park Library was the culmination of years of partnership with the Brooklyn Public Library system and countless conversations with the City of New York.  It’s truly a meaningful cultural and educational resource for families in Crown Heights and throughout the borough.  

What policy changes could be made to aid in your work within the nonprofit sector? 
The Museum of the City of New York and Brooklyn Children’s Museum are both City-owned buildings and subject to the City’s capital process. That means renovations, updates, and critical infrastructure projects can take 8-10 years — sometimes even more — to complete. Mayor Adams formed a Capital Projects Reform Task Force last year and I’ve been excited to work with that team to make recommendations, lobby State and federal agencies for change, and think about how to improve design and construction projects in municipal buildings.

Max Hollein currently serves as the Marina Kellen French director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In this role, Hollein is responsible for the leadership of the museum,  including its artistic vision and all of its programming, strategic, fiscal and institutional priorities, as well as local engagement and international relations. Hollein earned his Master of Art History degree at the University of Vienna and MBA at the Vienna University of Economics. 

Christian Huygen received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at The New School. Since 2001, he has served as the executive director of Rainbow Heights Club, a drop-in support agency for LGBTQ+ adults living with mental illness. The staff are people who have lived with and are in recovery from mental illness. They support people who face similar challenges. The agency also provides 50 LGBTQ+ trainings every year reaching 3,000 providers across the state.

Was there something or someone that inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector?
At The New School, Prof. William Hirst inspired me to study how access to supportive social networks dramatically improves the way LGBTQ+ youth understand and accept themselves. I applied that knowledge to make Rainbow Heights Club a place where marginalized, overly pathologized people can learn that they deserve dignity and respect. The model works – an average of 90% of our clients stay out of the hospital and in the community every year.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
The proudest moment of my career happens almost every day at Rainbow Heights Club: someone new comes to the agency and becomes part of our community. They recognize their own courage and dignity. They feel what it’s like to have a community that accepts and supports them. They gain a sense of worth. They realize that they’re worth taking care of – so they start taking care of themselves, and taking care of each other.

What policy changes could be made to aid in your work within the nonprofit sector?
Mental health parity is an empty expression unless we put it into practice. When an LGBTQ+ person can go into any mainstream mental health clinic, hospital, or supportive housing agency in this city and receive just as much support, acceptance, validation, encouragement, safety, and respect as anybody else, we will have achieved that goal. Until that day, Rainbow Heights Club will be here, sharing knowledge and providing support.

Michelle was appointed executive director of the Human Services Council of New York (HSC) in May 2020 and leads the #JustPay Campaign, which seeks equitable pay for human services workers, resulting in over $1 billion in funding to increase human services wages to date. In her work at HSC, Michelle coordinated HSC’s government relations strategy and has led revolutionary policy changes, including leading city and state campaigns to improve the nonprofit sector’s ability to maximize social impact in communities.

Was there something or someone that inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector?
I started my nonprofit work in California and one organization, St. Anthony’s, which serves food to thousands of people experiencing homelessness, had a banner saying, “Celebrating 50 years, hoping to not serve 50 more.” The idea that nonprofits must be involved in systems change was so clear to me then, that we work to put ourselves out of business, but are hampered by structures that perpetuate poverty. It crystallized my commitment to movement building.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
Last year, the #JustPay campaign gathered over 6,000 human services workers in front of City Hall, demanding fair wages and demonstrating the power of the sector and the movement we are building. To stand in front of a crowd that size and see the faces of those who work every day so that others can succeed was overwhelming. It was an honor to be among them.

What policy changes could be made to aid in your work within the nonprofit sector?
Both the city and state need to end government-sanctioned poverty wages for human services workers by paying equitable wages on contracts with nonprofits. Not only will this lead to better-paying jobs which lifts up our shared economy, but it lifts women and people of color out of poverty. We need COLAs (cost of living adjustments) at the city and state, and a commitment to fund equitable salaries on new contracts.

Rimas Jasin the the executive director of Presbyterian Social Services (PSS), a dynamic multiservice agency that operates the Circle of Care caregiver program, 10 senior centers, and two senior apartments. Mr. Jasin has over 30 years of nonprofit leadership experience, with an extensive background in the field of aging. He holds an M.A. in human services from John Carroll University and an MPA from Cleveland State University. 

As president of Turn 2 Foundation, Sharlee Jeter leads its mission to motivate youth to reach their full potential by fostering leadership development, academic achievement, healthy lifestyles, and social change. Since she assumed leadership of Turn 2 in 2010, Sharlee has taken the foundation to new heights, elevating its profile across the country, raising substantial funds to strengthen its programs, and changing the lives of hundreds of young people.

Was there something or someone that inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector?
Since I was young, I have been passionate about creating meaningful change and credit my parents as my biggest inspiration. When my brother Derek and I were growing up, our father, who was a drug and alcohol abuse counselor, and our mother taught us the importance of hard work, education, and giving back – principles that are at the heart of our mission at Turn 2.

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
I am so proud of Turn 2’s achievements in creating transformational change. Since our inception 27 years ago, we’ve implemented impactful social change projects that have helped to improve communities throughout the U.S., provided high school students with enriching experiences and scholarships that enabled them to pursue their dreams in college, given back more than $34 million to support our programs as well as other organizations that share our mission, and much more.

Jennifer Jones Austin is a fourth-generation leader of faith and social justice; CEO of FPWA, an anti-poverty, policy and advocacy organization; radio host; public speaker; author of Consider It Pure Joy; and editor of God in the Ghetto: A Prophetic Word Revisited. Jones Austin chaired the NYC Racial Justice Commission, where she led the development and passage of three unprecedented proposals to amend the City of New York’s constitution to dismantle structural racism and embed racial justice and equity in all government functions. 

Was there something or someone that inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector?
Advocating effectively for those made vulnerable requires connection with people and community.  As the daughter of a faith and civil rights leader, I often observed my father engaging with and learning from both people experiencing challenges and the community organizations helping them as he pressed for structural and systemic change.  I grew to appreciate that human services nonprofits not only help people who are struggling, but in their helping they develop a critical understanding of how institutions and systems can and do serve as barriers.  Working in and with the nonprofit sector as an advocate, I’m able to keep one foot on the ground, and to bring community voices to the decision making table. 

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
Leading the effort to undo structural racism in New York City government functioning! Last year, New Yorkers made history by taking the bold, unprecedented step to upend structural racism in our local government, leading the way for other cities across the nation. A whopping seven out of ten voters said “Yes!” to two ballot measures, and 81% said yes to the third measure – all proposed by the NYC Racial Justice Commission, which I chaired. With their vote, New Yorkers enshrined racial equity and justice in the city’s Charter, requiring the City government to address and overcome in perpetuity racial disparities across all government programs and services. Appreciating that programs and services often treat racism and its effects, but do not cure racism because they don’t address the root causes of racism centered in power and economic opportunity, these changes, if implemented as intended, will dismantle structural racism and serve as an example for the nation. 

What policy changes could be made to aid in your work within the nonprofit sector?
The establishment of a “true cost of living” measure, which is a policy priority of FPWA first laid out in our report, Pushed to the Precipice in 2021, and Caught in the Gaps in 2023, is now a NYC Charter mandated function, thanks to the NYC electorate who voted overwhelmingly for it in 2022.  This measure must go beyond existing measures that capture the  bare basics only and be designed to capture data evidencing the actual costs and related challenges many New Yorkers face in meeting their household needs.  And, once we have the measure, it then must be used to inform social services and economic policies and human services programs to help ensure individuals and families that struggle get by and actually get ahead.

Dr. Kelly is president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of New York (LSSNY). Programs include early childhood education, foster care, supportive housing, and immigration legal services. He speaks on issues pertaining to diversity in nonprofit organizations. Dr. Kelly is the chair of The Human Services Council, board member of Graham Windham, Citizens Committee for Children, and the Coalition of Family and Child Caring Agencies. He’s an adjunct in the doctoral program at the Wurzweiler School of Yeshiva University.

Was there something or someone that inspired you to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector?
I am a beneficiary of the programs that I now have the honor and privilege of providing. My professional life has been one of public service, serving as an assistant district attorney, a congressional staffer, and – for the past 23 years – as CEO of human services organizations. I believe that human services organizations should be purveyors of social change and not just providers of social services: “To whom much has been given much is expected.”

What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
This past year, the sector took greater notice of its value to the lives of New Yorkers and has become a more effective advocate for the issues that are important to nonprofits. I was particularly proud of the fact that more than 6,000 workers gathered in front of city hall to demand just wages. It was the first time in my experience that the sector joined together.

What policy changes could be made to aid in your work within the nonprofit sector?
Financial stability is the backbone of our sector. I would strongly advocate for greater flexibility in the management of our budgets and enhanced wages for our workers, as it creates recruiting challenges, impacting the quality of services that we provide. I would also advocate for true partnerships with the government in the administration of our contracts and recognition of the fact that the sector is a vital component of civic life.

Charles King is the chief executive officer of Housing Works, a stalwart New York City-based nonprofit founded in 1990 to find housing for the HIV+ homeless population. King helped to co-found the organization alongside fellow members of the AIDS activism group ACT UP. Mr. King is currently the co-chair of the Ending the Epidemic Subcommittee of the New York State AIDS Advisory Council, ACT Now: End AIDS, and the Visioning Committee of the National AIDS Housing Coalition.