Robert Dubose

Assistant Porter, Brownsville Partnership
519rockaway@brownsvillepartnership.org

Robert serves the Brownsville Partnership as the Greg Jackson Center Superintendent with 15 years of maintenance experience. Robert, a resident of the Brownsville neighborhood, joined Community Solutions as an assistant porter and served for 3 years prior to moving to his current role. He has strong ties to the Brownsville community and prides himself on lending a helping hand to a fellow residents.

David Harrington

Director, United For Brownsville dharrington@brownsvillepartnership.org

David Harrington is the Co-Director of United for Brownsville (UB), which is creating a framework to redefine the relationships between parents and service providers and improve the language and social-emotional developmental outcomes of children aged 0-3. UB is a joint venture with the SCO Family of Services, and David works alongside a Co-Director from SCO. Aside from UB, David’s most challenging work in the infant and toddler sphere is being the father to a Brooklyn baby. Prior to Community Solutions, David was an Associate Director of Analytics for the Office of District Planning at the New York City Department of Education, where he engaged in strategic planning on school rezonings and other projects that improved learning conditions for tens of thousands of students in the Bronx and Queens. He has also directed educational programs at Legal Outreach, Inc., a nonprofit college preparatory organization for students from underserved populations, and led fundraising and communications for a nonprofit bilingual school in Honduras. David hails from Hartford, CT, and has a BA in English from Grinnell College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia.

Danielle “Danny” Herring

Early Intervention Ambassador, United For Brownsville
dherring@brownsvillepartnership.org

Previously, Danny has worked as a Crisis Paraprofessional supporting children with Individual Education Plans ( IEP) in EI and CPSE. This has given her invaluable experience with a wide array of student populations ranging from general education to special education and 6:1:1 settings from Preschool to Highschool. Danny has a Master's in Guidance and Counseling, which opens the door for her to further collaborate with clinical teams to devise and implement FBAs (Functional Behaviour Assessments), BIPs (Behaviour Intervention Plans), BIP progress monitoring, and support school-wide PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System). Danny has co-chaired parent meetings in an effort to create a cohesive school/family community. She is also a mother whose son went through the EI referral process and currently receives services through CPSE. Danny witnessed firsthand how EI has helped her son's development substantially and believes it's a service that should be accessible to children with disabilities in every community. Danny was born and raised in Brooklyn and was once a resident of Brownsville. It is purposeful for Danny to pour back into a community that once poured into her. Her goal is to expand and nurture her skills as an advocate for children with disabilities and underserved communities so their voices are heard, and they have the same access and participation in Early Intervention as their counterparts.

Larissa HO

Program Manager, Community Action for Healthy Homes (CAHH) lho@brownsvillepartnership.org

A native New Yorker and a child of immigrants, Larissa has been dedicated to work that centers on social justice, our built environment, and the well-being of community members. She graduated from CUNY Hunter College with a Master's in Urban Planning and a focus on Housing and the Built Environment and has over 10+ years in public service work. Larissa has worked in a variety of fields that include the development and preservation of affordable housing, providing comprehensive care management services, and implementing waste reduction strategies for a more sustainable and cleaner environment. What drives all of her work is the purposeful engagement of people and making sure community benefit comes first. In her free time, she likes to throw down some clay and make some imperfect jars, and explore all types of cuisines.

Ruth Horry

Community Engagement Specialist, United for Brownsville rhorry@brownsvillepartnership.org

Ruth is a community advocate, member of the Family Advisory Board (FAB), and former FAB Fellow for United for Brownsville (UB). Her newest role at Community Solutions is as the Community Engagement Specialist. Her role was formed to further the creation of community and efficiency in sharing resources and services amongst the FAB, Provider Action Team (PAT), and the communities we serve.

She has dedicated the past six years to assisting the community and its members with changing the narrative of Brownsville by making their voices heard and creating a seat at the table. She is the proud mother of three beautiful girls: her oldest is going on her third year in college, her middle child is in high school, and the youngest is in kindergarten. Ruth is a small business owner and CEO of The Coco Pauline Company, a candle & body shop, where passion is creating a space for women who look like her to thrive and have a platform to shine.

Anita Luckett

Executive Director, Brownsville Partnership
aluckett@brownsvillepartnership.org

Anita Luckett is a seasoned Human Services, Education, and Community Development professional passionate about promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her life experiences have fueled her commitment to place-based partnerships that tackle systemic inequity.  Anita has served in leadership roles in social services and workforce development. As the former Borough Director for the Queens Transition and College Access Center, she collaborated with community partners and stakeholders to create education and employment pathways for students with multiple barriers. Additionally, as Director of Social Services, she supported New Yorkers facing unemployment and homelessness by creating a pipeline of training and employment opportunities aligned with their housing goals. Anita is also an Instructional Designer and has developed curricula at Laguardia Community College to include and empower learners of all backgrounds.

Noelle Meyers-Powells

Community Partnership Director nmeyers-powell@brownsvillepartnership.org

Noelle Meyers-Powell joined the Brownsville Partnership as the new Community Partnership’s Director in October 2022. Noelle started out with the Brownsville Partnership as a volunteer over 3 years ago and worked for 2 years as a part-time consultant coordinating the stakeholder engagement strategy for the Livonia 4 project. 

Noelle comes to the Brownsville Partnership with 9+ years of work building strong community-based and citywide partnerships as well as improving community capacity and access to various resources. From emergency food systems to healthcare to volunteering mobilization and community organizing, her past and current work have given me the opportunity to engage with some of New York City’s most low-income neighborhoods. For two years, she worked in and later managed the Food Bank for New York City’s TEN (Tiered Engagement Network) Program; a program set to empower food programs to go beyond distribution and connect clients to other resources that could lead to self-sufficiency. Within this role, she developed several neighborhood networks (in Brooklyn and Queens) and worked individually with 80 organizations to identify community needs, scale the process to match capacity, and integrate the program into its existing operations. After the Food Bank, she transitioned into a Program Manager role for the Community Service Society of New York’s volunteer mobilization program. In this position, she engaged, recruited, and mobilized 55 and older adult volunteers to find meaningful ways to give back to their neighborhood and support the work of 250+ local nonprofits, government, and health institutions long term.

Noelle graduated from the New York University's Wagner School of Public Service with a Master in Urban Planning and a focus on Housing and Economic Development.

Mica Rencher

Deputy Director for System Change mrencher@brownsvillepartnership.org

Mica leads UB’s portfolio of systems to change projects, in close coordination with UB’s Executive Director. She also focuses on moving the needle towards achieving racial and geographic equity in access to essential early childhood systems and services. Having attended K-12 schools in various Brooklyn neighborhoods contributes to some of the passion that she has for this work. Her background in education as well as research interests regarding economic mobility, specifically intergenerational mobility, and the way in which policies and educational institutions interact to impact mobility also serve as a motivating factor for Mica. Prior to UB, Mica served as an Assistant Dean at two universities in New York City and on Long Island where she focused on entrepreneurship as a catalyst for economic mobility as well as student academic success. She also serves as an adjunct professor where she teaches introductory and upper-level courses within the Psychology Department and helps students to understand various equity concerns within their fields. Mica holds degrees from St. John’s University, Columbia University, and Fordham University where she completed her doctorate in Educational Policy

Donna Smith

Operations Manager, Brownsville Partnership
dsmith@brownsvillepartnership.org

Donna is currently the Operations Manager for the Brownsville Partnership. Before this, Donna served Community Solutions as the Senior Operations Coordinator for HR and IT. With over ten years in the nonprofit and for-profit sector, she has worked with the Greater New York Hospital Association and United Way of New York City. While there, she was instrumental in developing the Women United in Philanthropy initiative and Young Leaders Program, which aimed to encourage the next generation of philanthropists. She has a Bachelor’s Arts in Pre-Law Political Science, an Associate in Business, and has multi-computer certifications: A+, N+ CCNA. Is a WIT “Women In Technology member.

Donna graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Master's in Information Systems and Security.

Shakeema “Keema” Wiley

Community Action for Healthy Homes, Outreach Data Manager swiley@brownsvillepartnership.org

A Brooklyn native, my fondest childhood memories and friendships were formed in Brownsville. I've recently discovered a new joy in Pilates and building Lego sets. I'm studying Public Health at Hunter College, and I'm a soldier part-time in the U.S. Army for the New York National Guard. I'll also soon be a Certified Lactation Coach, anything to make me more of an asset to my community.