2022 Power Players Rising

Felicia Hypolite grew up in Brooklyn, NY the daughter of a pastor and registered nurse. Felicia has a penchant for helping others and has dedicated a large portion of her time to her community, from serving as PTA president of her daughter’s middle school to her current role as community outreach liaison with Community Mediation Services. In addition to her work throughout the community, Felicia has worked on multiple political campaigns throughout New York and New Jersey. The opportunity to help elect good public servants has led her to create her firm, Vio Consulting, named after her mother Viola.

Clement “C.J.” James, Jr. is the senior advisor to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. He’s passionate about providing faith and African-American leaders access to government by building a bridge between the senator’s office and the community. C.J. is active in New York State communities providing opportunities for many New Yorkers who don’t have a voice in local, state, and federal politics. C.J. is an advocate for underserved communities in New York and has vast relationships with cross-denominational clergy and civil rights leaders across the state. 

What is your biggest accomplishment in 2022?
My biggest accomplishment in 2022 is working in the United States Senate, providing funding for many community-based organizations throughout the city and state, and meeting Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out their careers?
Meet new people every week, follow up and follow through. Don’t ever give up on your dreams and goals. Stay focused on YOU, and don’t fold under pressure.

Was there something or someone who inspired you to start your journey on your current career path?
When I have challenging days, I often think about my father’s sacrifices, which motivates me. My father is my greatest inspiration. I am a first-generation American on my father’s side. He came from Jamaica many years ago, and I saw how he made something out of nothing and provided for my family.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years, I see myself continuing to help others and serving as a resource for community stakeholders, elected officials, and faith leaders. I believe my life’s purpose is to serve underserved communities, advocate for the voiceless and continue to further my work and passion in ministry.

Kristin Jordan is the founder and CEO of Park Jordan, a commercial real estate brokerage and advisory services firm serving the cannabis industry.  Kristin’s passion for advancing cannabis reform has extended to a variety of professional and nonprofit endeavors. She is the founder of Mannada, a NYC-based cannabis professional event production company, a co-founder of the Cannabis Cultural Association, and the founder of the Asian Cannabis Roundtable. Additionally, Kristin is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Cannabis and the Minority Cannabis Business Association Policy Committee. 

What is your biggest accomplishment in 2022?
Teaching my first Regulatory Compliance course at the Business of Cannabis graduate school at LIM College this fall has been truly rewarding.  

Do you have any advice for those just starting out their careers?
Never give up.

Was there something or someone who inspired you to start your journey on your current career path?
The patients, activists, and community continue to inspire me to continue to fight for a truly inclusive industry. The cannabis industry must address the devastation suffered by under-resourced communities, families and individuals.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
My hope is that in five years, I will be fostering and supporting a new generation of progressive leaders to continue to demand social and economic justice for communities most harmed.

New York City Council Member Rita Joseph represents Council District 40 in Central Brooklyn and serves as the Chairwoman of the Council’s Education Committee. Before joining the City Council, she served as a New York City public school teacher for 22 years. In the City Council, Council Member Joseph has championed improving public schools, fighting for affordable housing, making our streets safer, and achieving real criminal and social justice reform for the people of Central Brooklyn.

What is your biggest accomplishment in 2022?
My office organized a rally and held a hearing about payment delays for early childcare centers & workers. Fast forward just two weeks, and the DOE announced that a Rapid Response Team would meet with every provider with outstanding invoices to help them get paid. The public pressure that our office was able to apply has helped to prevent countless childcare centers from closing! Additionally, we held schools harmless for enrollment declines in the mid-year adjustments, allowing our schools to hold onto millions of dollars more than they typically would.

Do you have any advice for those just getting started in their career?
Treat every single person with respect. It doesn’t matter what a person’s job title is, every single person deserves to be treated with dignity. From the janitor on up, it doesn’t hurt to be polite. Also, sometimes it’s not about what you say, but how you say it. You can criticize and call people out, but you always need to do so in a way that is respectful and doesn’t demean the other person.

Was there something or someone who inspired you to start your journey on your current career path? 
I decided to run because I saw how much my community was hurting, and how badly we needed real leadership. For years, we didn’t have representation that empowered us. I ran to make sure Central Brooklyn had a voice at the table, and a year into our term, I’m really proud of the strides we’ve made.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I’ll be in the City Council, continuing to fight for the people of Central Brooklyn!

Mitra Kalita is a veteran journalist, media executive, prolific commentator and author of two books. Recently, she launched Epicenter-NYC, a newsletter to help New Yorkers navigate the pandemic. Mitra also recently co-founded URL Media, a network of Black and Brown owned media organizations that share content, distribution, and revenues to increase their long-term sustainability. She’s on the board of the Philadelphia Inquirer and writes a weekly column for TIME Magazine. Mitra was most recently SVP at CNN Digital, overseeing the national news, breaking news, programming, opinion and features teams.

What is your biggest accomplishment in 2022?
I stopped looking for a white knight. Launching Epicenter-NYC, I felt I needed an expansive team with departments for sales, products, social media, etc. My team had a pep talk with me; they asked me to lean into myself, to get out there and sell, sell, sell while they focused on website improvement and content distribution. I did–and now we’re centering our communities with a diversified revenue model: advertising, membership, city contracts, and philanthropy.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out their careers?
Go where the opportunity is. We are in an era of great uncertainty. You need to pivot early and often. Making yourself uncomfortable—whether that’s by moving to a new borough or city, getting on TikTok—is key to your ability to survive and thrive.

Was there something or someone who inspired you to start your journey on your current career path?
George Floyd, RIP. I spent decades trying to make the media more diverse and inclusive by working within systems. After his murder and the ensuing racial justice protests, I felt compelled to change course and start anew. I never saw momentum like that before, and I often think of the sacrifice he and countless others before him made to expose how entrenched and systemic those systems were. We’ve only just begun to acknowledge this. 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I don’t make 5-year plans but I will tell you this: I was asked recently what I’d change about my life, caveating unlimited funds. My answer–besides investment in Epicenter NYC and URL Media, mortgages payoffs, and fewer F bombs lobbed at my daughter’s FAFSA forms was… nothing. I know I am living my dream because my house wouldn’t change. My neighborhood in Jackson Heights wouldn’t change. My friends wouldn’t change. I’m grateful to be here.

Simone Kanter is Congressman-elect Dan Goldman’s incoming press secretary, transitioning to his office after having served as communications director on Goldman’s insurgent campaign in one of the nation’s most competitive primary races of the 2022 midterms. Before the campaign, Kanter was a deputy press secretary in the New York State Executive Chamber for Governor Kathy Hochul. He has worked on campaigns across the country to elect democrats up and down the ticket, from City Council to President of the United States. Kanter is a native of Park Slope, Brooklyn.

As a long time activist and leader for change, Nabaraj KC has spent his life dedicated to bettering his community. KC currently serves as president of College Point Civic and Taxpayers Association; president of Rotary Club of NY “Queens” from 2019 to 2020 and is an award winning realtor. Nabaraj KC has been recognized by Schneps Media as one of the most influential movers and shakers in Queens and was named to the Queens Power List due to his continued commitment, impact and influence throughout Queens over the past year.

What is your biggest accomplishment in 2022?
The biggest accomplishment for me has been the return to regular life after the pandemic. Additionally, I have been recognized as an award winning realtor by the Long Island Board of Realtors which makes me so proud, as well as by Schneps Media as one of the most influential movers and shakers in Queens.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out their careers?
Never stop learning; Work on goals; Be organized; Be a team player; Value your network; Value your health; Focus on results; Speak up; Get to know who you really are; Start asking yourself what you really want; Where you are right now isn’t where you’ll end up; Don’t let your insecurities bug you; Study the lives of successful people; Just keep moving forward.

Was there something or someone who inspired you to start your journey on your current career path?Yes,yes,yes! I was born and raised in the remote region of Nepal where I used to see the poverty, illiteracy, and so on which inspired me to help the needy ones and community services—and here I am as a globally recognized humanitarian.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Trying to be the best dad for my two sons, 7 year old Mr Nirabh KC and 5 year old Neel KC; being honest and realistic; helping communities as I have been doing it; uplifting the emerging communities to the national level and of course helping needy ones.

Ben Kraim is the founder and CEO of Dumpling House Media and WeedFeed. His expertise ranges from digital media and brand development to content strategy and production. After 10 years designing and distributing products in partnership with studios such as WB, Cartoon Network and HBO, Ben made a professional shift and started Dumpling House Media.  Today, Dumpling House is made up of 3 divisions: Creative Studio, Advertising Agency, and Media Brand Incubator. From memes to billboards and branded tik tok campaigns to IG influencers, Ben and his team thrive by creating content and ads that get people to stop, stare, smirk and ultimately buy.

What is your biggest accomplishment in 2022?
This year has been an incredible year for Dumpling House and WeedFeed and I would say our biggest accomplishment was hosting an extremely successful event with local ice cream hot spot Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream. We had rolling activations, specialty ice cream flavors, celebrity joint rollers, and a special book signing by Noah Rubin. Across the board, it was an extremely successful event and everyone who attended had an amazing time.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out their careers?
It sounds incredibly contrived, but find what makes you passionate and keep at it. Beginnings are always the hardest, and if you push through all of the inevitable hurdles that can affect a new business you’ll quickly find that most of them can be easily surmounted with enough perseverance. 

Was there something or someone who inspired you to start your journey on your current career path?
I’ve always loved meme culture and just laughing at all of the absurd things in the world around me. So I decided to start sharing those funny little moments to the world and quickly amassed a massive following on multiple accounts. What really inspired me to start parlaying this into a business was being approached by major corporations like Coca Cola to promote their products on my pages. I realized that I could turn this into a full time business and thus Dumpling House was created.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years
I see myself running WeedFeed as a sort of Disney of the cannabis world, maybe even with a legitimate theme park themed after cannabis.

Shekar Krishnan represents Elmhurst and Jackson Heights in the New York City Council, and as the Chair of the Committee on Parks and Recreation, he negotiated the largest-ever budget for the Department of Parks and Recreation in the city’s history. He is the first Indian-American elected to any office in the New York City government. Before his election to City Council, Shekar was a civil rights lawyer fighting housing discrimination and a long-time community activist in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst.

Anthony Lemma is the president of Lemma Strategies, a government affairs and political consulting firm. With twenty years of experience working in government and politics, Anthony now represents a number of nonprofit organizations and advises many elected officials and candidates. Prior to the launch of Lemma Strategies, Anthony served as district director and senior political advisor to Congresswoman Grace Meng and general consultant on Robert Zimmerman’s 2022 run for Congress. Anthony is the co-founder of White Lotus Collective, a nonprofit organization that provides free period products to individuals in need. 

What is your biggest accomplishment in 2022?
Stepping out of my comfort zone after so many years in government to start a business. In our first year, we have been able to deliver for our clients and look forward to what the next year holds.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out their careers?
Establish a solid reputation. Engage people. It does not matter where they are from or what they look like or what you perceive their station in life to be. Network and build relationships. In business, but more importantly, in life, it means everything. And perhaps the most vital – treat everyone with respect and dignity.

Was there something or someone who inspired you to start your journey on your current career path?
My father. I have had no greater supporter in my life. He took the word “can’t” out of my vocabulary long ago. He instilled confidence in me at a very young age and I knew his support was unconditional. I have been lucky to have a few wonderful mentors in my life, but my father’s influence on me, my career and my life, is unrivaled.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Continuing to oversee the growth of Lemma Strategies.