Mayor de Blasio: Save NYC Urban Fellows!

Top Photo: 2019-2020 NYC Urban Fellow Cohort
Bottom Photo: 1983-1984 NYC Urban Fellow Cohort
Bottom Photo: Mayor Bill de Blasio third from right

Click here to add your name to the letter and please encourage others to do the same.

For other resources, read more about what we know about the current funding situation, why funding this year’s class matters, and some other actions you can take to help.

September 8, 2020

TO: Bill De Blasio, Mayor, City of New York
CC: Dean Fuleihan, First Deputy Mayor, City of New York
Emma Wolfe, Deputy Mayor for Administration & Chief of Staff to the Mayor
Laura Anglin, Deputy Mayor for Operations, City of New York
Melanie Hartzog, Director, NYC Office of Management and Budget
Lisette Camilo, Commissioner, NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services

Mayor de Blasio,

For 50 consecutive years, the NYC Urban Fellows Program has invited a cohort of young people to join City service each September, demonstrating New York City’s commitment to investing in and retaining the diverse set of leaders necessary to meet the challenges the city faces both now and in the future. This fall, the fate of the 2020-2021 cohort is in jeopardy due to budget cuts. We, a community of program alumni, former supervisors and other civil servants, friends of the Urban Fellows Program, and concerned New Yorkers, urge you to commit that the cohort of 25 young people selected as the 51st class of the NYC Urban Fellows Program will be able to join in City service this fall.

As one of the oldest public service fellowships in the United States, the NYC Urban Fellows Program has inspired generations of young people to seek careers serving New York City. As an alumnus of the program yourself, you know first-hand the transformative impact the Urban Fellows Program can have on a young person’s growth and trajectory. Program alumni have gone on to become Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, MacArthur Geniuses, university presidents, nonprofit and business leaders, judges, legislators, and integral members of many City administrations — including your own. In countless ways, the Urban Fellows Program and its more than 1,200 alumni have helped shape our city.

The Urban Fellows Program has spanned seven mayoral administrations and has survived numerous budget shortfalls, including the 1970s fiscal crisis. To not continue the program now — at a time of unprecedented uncertainty for the future of New York City — would send a clear signal that the city’s best days may be behind it and that the City no longer prioritizes the forward-thinking actions needed to overcome future crises. We recognize the unique logistical and budgetary challenges facing the program — and the city as a whole. But, we, the Urban Fellows community, stand ready and willing to support you and DCAS in helping the program adapt to the current circumstances. This is a moment for innovation, not resignation.

Now more than ever, we must ensure that New York City has a strong and diverse pipeline of future leaders. Urban Fellows cohorts represent the multitude of backgrounds and perspectives that has always been New York City’s strength, and the Program represents one of the City’s most prominent avenues for ensuring a future leadership that reflects the diversity of its people. Given the challenges this year’s cohort will likely need to overcome throughout their fellowship year, the 2020-2021 Urban Fellows class could very well end up being one of our best sets of leaders yet. Do not let this crisis go to waste. A just and resilient future for New York City depends on having a diverse set of leaders equipped to navigate the uncertainty in our city’s future.

We hope that you will personally intervene to renew funding for this year’s Urban Fellows cohort, re-committing to the program that jump-started your career in City service.

Signed,

Signed,

Elected Officials and Candidates for Elected Office

  • Carlos Menchaca, NYC Councilmember for District 38
  • Anthony Beckford, Candidate, New York City Council District 45
  • Michael Beltzer, Candidate, New York City Council District 18
  • Wilfredo Florentino, Candidate, New York City Council District 42
  • Emily Gallagher, Democratic Nominee, Assembly District 50
  • Zohran Mamdani, Democratic Nominee, Assembly District 36
  • Janos Marton, Candidate, Manhattan District Attorney

Program Alumni and Friends of the Urban Fellows Program

  • Jabaran A. 
  • Madelyn Adams (2020)
  • Elizabeth Adams 
  • Christa Alexander (2019)
  • David Anderson (2004), NYC Economic Development Corporation
  • Emily Apple (2015)
  • Steven Arkow (1986), Federal Prosecutor
  • Shaffiou Assoumanou 
  • Katerina Athanasiou 
  • Mira Atherton (2018), Mayor’s Office of Operations
  • Louisa Aviles (2010), Director, Group Violence Intervention at the National Network for Safe Communities
  • Daniel Backman (2016), Former Chief of Staff, NYC Kids RISE; Former Project Manager, NYC Department of Small Business Services
  • Christine Bader (1996)
  • Giacomo Bagarella (2014), Fmr. Urban Fellow, Department of Citywide Administrative Services
  • Rachel Baker (2018)
  • David Barker (2008), NYC Parks 
  • Nicole Bell (2009)
  • Connor Bell (2015)
  • PJ Berg (2009), Vice President, Real Estate Transaction Services, NYCEDC
  • Andrea Berger (1973), Senior Counsel, NYC Law Department
  • Hermanoschy Bernard (2019)
  • Tiana Betancourt, Director of Scheduling and Advance 
  • Peter Birke (2014)
  • Kiersten Blake, Environmental Justice Nonprofit Co-founder 
  • Daniel Blanco (2007)
  • Tyler Borek (2011), CEO at Literably
  • Maggie Bowman (1997)
  • Bethany (Bowyer) Khan (2011), Real Estate Development, nonprofit economic development, policy advisor
  • Tenicka Boyd 
  • Cataydra Brown (2020)
  • Lilly Brown, Manhattan College Student 
  • Jerry Bruno (2013), Strategic Project Manager, NYC Dept of Homeless Services
  • Cesay C. 
  • Kujegi Camara, Program Manager, Muslim Community Network
  • Karl Camillucci (2001)
  • Agostino Cangemi (1990)
  • Laura Capucilli (2013), Chief of Staff to the President, Sidewalk Labs
  • Alejandro Carranza (2020)
  • Joyce Chang (1987), Managing Director and Chair of Global Research, J.P. Morgan
  • Amy Chen (2013), Former DoITT Urban Fellow
  • Jennifer Ching (1997), Executive Director, North Star Fund
  • Jordan Chisolm (2011)
  • Ana Chiu (2007), Senior Manager, Corporate Responsibility, PVH
  • Mirielle Clifford 
  • Jeffrey Climans (1985), Managing Partner, Urban Counsel
  • Aaron Cohen (2010)
  • Raul Contreras, Former Deputy Press Secretary, NYC Mayor’s Office
  • Randi Cosentino (1996), President, US Naval Community College
  • Chance Craig (2015)
  • Cecilia Culverhouse (2003), UF Position: Program Manager at the Lower Manhttan Development Corp. after 9/11. Current, Head of Organizational Development at Aura Financial Corp.
  • Pamela D. 
  • Shaibya Dalal 
  • Jocelyn Dupre, Assistant Vice President, NYCEDC
  • Joe Eastman (2011)
  • David Eisenman (2012), SBS Urban Fellow 2011-12, NYCEDC 2012-15
  • Natalie Eller (2015)
  • Susan Ellison, Assistant Professor, Wellesley College
  • Elizabeth Emens (1995), Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Columbia University
  • Rentsenkhand Enkh-Amgalan (2017), Policy & Budget Officer, International Rescue Committee
  • Ryan Erickson (2012)
  • Sam Facas (2015), Graduate Student, University of California, Berkeley 
  • Katherine (Katie) Fallon (2019)
  • Amanda Farias, Former Director of Special Projects at New York City Council
  • Katrina Feldkamp (2015), Staff Attorney, Bronx Legal Services 
  • Daniel Feldman (1970), Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
  • Matthew Fischler (2011)
  • Joe Fleischman (2006), Former Senior Manager at DoITT
  • Isaiah Fleming-Klink (2020)
  • Mark Foggin (1997), Senior Advisor, US Covid Response, Vital Strategies/Resolve to Save Lives
  • Michelle Foster (Mangieri) (1987), VP, Sustainability Home Innovation Research Labs
  • Steve Fox 
  • Ola Friday (2004), Associate Commissioner, Massachusetts Dept. Early Education and Care
  • Brenda Fuller (1986), Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Sodexo
  • Judith Gallent (1986)
  • Moses Gates 
  • Francesca Gessner (1999), Deputy city attorney, San Francisco City Attorney’s Office
  • Mary Giorgio (1970), Retired attorney 
  • Rebecca Darin Goldberg (2016), JD Candidate, Columbia Law School
  • Megan Golden (1988), Co-Founder, Mission: Cure
  • Susan Goldfinger (1983), Senior Vice President NYC Economic Development Corporation
  • Amanda Gómez Feliz (2020)
  • John Gordon (2011), NYPD Analyst 
  • Eve Grassfield (2019)
  • Leslie Gruss, MD 
  • Rutvi Gupta, Fmr. the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity  
  • Hanna-Ruth Gustafsson (2009)
  • John Guzek (2015), NYC Department of Small Business Services
  • Noah Habeeb (2018)
  • Shahana Hanif 
  • Peter Hansen (1985), Professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
  • Jana Hardy Kinsey (2005), Investment Director, David Weekley Family Foundation
  • Alex Harris (1998)
  • Laurence Helfer (1988)
  • Melissa Herlitz 
  • Annel Hernandez (2011)
  • Andrea Hernandez (2017), Fmr. Urban Fellow, Board of Correction 
  • Naeema Hernandez (2007)
  • Blakely Hildebrand (2009)
  • Elijah Hitchinson (2008), Vice President, NYCEDC
  • Rodney Holcombe 
  • Daniel Hopkins (2001), Professor, University of Pennsylvania
  • Mahbuba Hossain 
  • Hannah Hoyt (2014)
  • Mark Humowiecki (1996)
  • Martha Isaacs (2019), Project Manager, NYC Department of Transportation
  • Ayesha Islam (2020), NYC Urban Fellow at SBS
  • Nadia Itani 
  • Daniel J. (2004)
  • Khadiyjah J. 
  • Iman James (2014), Teacher
  • Carl Jiang 
  • Angela Jin (2004)
  • Justine Johnson (2011)
  • Victoria Johnson (2002), CEO, ProFellow
  • Christine Johnson (1999)
  • Sean K. (2016)
  • John K. 
  • Minden K. 
  • Zainab Kahloon 
  • Alice Kamens (2010), Strategic Projects & Program Manager at Google
  • Brooke Kantor (1976)
  • Emma Rose Kantor 
  • Andrew Kaplan (2016)
  • Charles Kargman (2015), Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab
  • Craig Katerberg (2004)
  • Palak Kaushal (2018)
  • Aminata Kebbeh (2020)
  • William Keller (1979), VP for Finance & Administration, Queens College
  • Quinn Kelly (2016), Senior Project Manager, NYC DOT
  • David Kemper (2014), HPD Project Manager
  • Haris Khan (2019), Queens Borough Liaison for NYC Comptroller
  • Janie Kim (2020)
  • Sydelle Knepper (1977), CEO SKA Marin
  • Aaron Koch 
  • Annie Koo (2010), Associate Director of Housing, Sidewalk Labs; former HPD
  • Albert Kramer (2011)
  • Elliot Kramer 
  • Stella Kramer 
  • Michael Kramer, Public Member CB1 (as individual)
  • Caroline Kretz (1986), Director, NYC Regional & Community Affairs, Con Edison
  • Nicole Krishtul (2019), Special Projects Coordinator
  • Rebeca L., NYS Assembly
  • Angela LaScala-Gruenewald (2015)
  • Rachel Lauter (2007), Former Deputy Chief of Staff/Director of Appointments 
  • Rich Leimsider (1999)
  • Andrew Levine (1999)
  • Robert Levine (1982)
  • Aaron Lewis (2013), Director of Finance 
  • Roger Li (2016)
  • Jiming Liang (1998)
  • Nathaniel Little (2011)
  • Matthew LoCastro (2018), Fmr. NYC Office of Management and Budget
  • Madison Loew 
  • Jessica Lovaas (2008), Teacher
  • Waheera M. 
  • Ankur Mangalagiri Nanda (2008)
  • Abena Maranga (2017)
  • Andrew Marcus (2015)
  • Guy Margalith (2002)
  • Max Markham, Leg & Special Projects Manager, First Deputy Mayor
  • Patricio G. Martínez-Llompart (2014)
  • Kieran Micka-Maloy (2020)
  • Oksana Mironova, Housing policy analyst, CSS
  • Kristin Misner-Gutierrez (2004), KMG Consulting 
  • Anshi Moreno Jimenez (2020)
  • Erin Murphy (1994), Associate Professor of English and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Boston University and Founder and Director of the Boston University Undergraduate Public Humanities Fellows
  • Avni Nahar (2018)
  • Stefan Norgaard (2017), PhD Student in Urban Planning at Columbia University 
  • Joseph O’Brien (2016)
  • Jill Oberlander (1989), Elected Official, Greenwich, CT
  • Matthew Orama, Deputy Director of Government Affairs, Columbia University
  • Shayley (Olson) Levensalor (2001), Urban Fellow Assignment: Assistant to Deputy Mayor of Community Development and Business Services 
  • Margaret (Maggie) Osdoby Katz (1998)
  • Kai Ouye (2002)
  • Radhe P. (2015), NYC DOE
  • Risha P., Formerly at NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity
  • Monica Patel (1998), Fmr. Urban Fellow at the Mayor’s Office of Operations
  • Jonathan Peñuela (2020)
  • Sezlyn Petersen (2020)
  • Diana Petty (2010), Former NYC DoITT, Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC
  • Emma Pfohman (2013)
  • Judith Pincus (1987)
  • Charlie Tamara Piper (2006), Special Assistant to the President & CEO, Nathan Cummings Foundation
  • Dan Polster (1973), United States District Judge, ND Ohio
  • Anna Ponting (2014), Associate, Urban Investment Group, Goldman Sachs
  • Teresa Pratt (2010), Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University
  • Thomas J. Rachko, Jr. (2017), Advocacy Officer, US Program, Human Rights Watch
  • Julie Raskin (2009), Senior Advisor for Partnerships, NYC Sanitation  
  • Gavriela Reiter (2019)
  • Eve Rittenberg (1991), MD
  • Elizabeth Rodriguez (2009), Director of Operations and Special Projects, NYC DOE
  • Francine Rojas (2004)
  • Hannah Roth (2007)
  • Bethany (Rubin) Henderson (1999), Network President, America SCORES
  • Upasna S. (2020), J.D. Candidate at Yale Law School
  • Michaela S. (2020), Urban Fellows, Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment 
  • Shaquille S. (2018), Former DOT Urban Fellow
  • Katie Schaaf (2001)
  • David Schafer (2018)
  • Meg Scheding (2004)
  • Jacob Seidman (2019)
  • Judy Seiff (1987), Former New York County District Attorney 
  • David Seligman (2007)
  • Mark Shapiro (2018)
  • Jacqueline Sharry (2020)
  • Sarah Sheon Gerecke (1982), Fmr. NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development
  • Gabrielle Sigel (1979), Former Legislative Ass’t, Mayor’s Office of Management & Budget
  • Adira Siman (1999)
  • Hildy Simmons (1972), Philanthropic Advisor
  • Barbara Simmons, Former Director, NYC Urban Fellows Program
  • Kiran Singh (2004)
  • Christopher Sommerfeld (2009)
  • Isadora Spillman-Sc 
  • Rachel Squire Munson (2011), Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group
  • Aaron Stanton (2009), Former Senior Plan Manager, NYC Emergency Management
  • Jean Sternlight (1980), Professor, U. Nevada Las Vegas Boyd School of Law
  • Carter Stewart (1992), Managing Director, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
  • Michael Strauss (1995), General Counsel, EBRD
  • Matthew Sweeney, Manhattan College Student 
  • Kelly T. 
  • Rahimul Taher 
  • Konstantine Tettonis 
  • Malina Tran (2012), Software Engineer at Nava PBC
  • Andrew Troisi (2004)
  • Ferris Tseng 
  • David Ullman (2011)
  • Rachel V. 
  • Anali Valdez (2018)
  • Mariel Villere, Former NYC Parks Programs and Grants Manager; currently Academic Program Director at CUNY
  • Chau Vu (2002)
  • Isabella W. 
  • Fatoumata Waggeh, Recent Graduate 
  • Rob Walsh (1982), Sr. Advisor to Manhattan College President 
  • Sarah Wang (2020)
  • Scott Wang (2009), Director of Strategy & Partnerships 
  • Matt Waskiewicz (2018), NYC Department of City Planning
  • Adam Wasserman (1986), Managing Partner, Global Logistics Development Partners
  • Chris Weber (2002), Director, MBA Career Advising at the UCLA Anderson School of Management 
  • David Weinberger (2013)
  • Leslie Wellington (2006), Executive Director, Urban Manufacturing Alliance
  • Bob Wertheimer (1976), Former Intern at CJCC instrumental in setting my criminal justice priorities and contributions 
  • James Whalen (1985), SVP-CIO/CTO, Boston Properties
  • Clarke Wheeler (2017)
  • James Whelan (1986), President, Real Estate Board of New York
  • Carin Whint (2012), Municipal Attorney with the City of Buffalo Legislature.
  • Matt White (2008)
  • Thomas Willadsen (1987), Pastor
  • Kristine Williams (1987), University of South Florida, College of Engineering, CUTR Program Director, Planning & Corridor Management
  • Malikah Williams (2017), J.D Harvard Law School
  • Laura Wolf-Powers (1991), Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter College CUNY
  • Etan Y. (2008)
  • Philip Young (2010), Senior Counsel, New York City Law Department
  • Nathaniel Young (2010), President, Quality Branded
  • Faith Zahm (1987), former Director, Criminal Justice Operations/Capital Program in the Office of the NYC Deputy Mayor for Public Safety 1990-1992
  • Justin Zaslavsky (2020), NYC Emergency Management
  • Pablo Zevallos, Excelsior Service Fellow, NYS Homes and Community and Renewal (signing individually)
  • Andrea Zhu (2018), Project Manager, NYCEDC
  • Catherine Zinnel (2010)
  • Mohamed Zouai

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