Allison Sesso has served as the Executive Director of the Human Services Council of New York (HSC) since March 2014 and previously served for many years as the Deputy Executive Director. During her tenure at HSC she has led negotiations with the City and State government around the provision of Cost of Living Adjustments for nonprofit workers, and partnered with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services on the development and implementation of a range of policy and procedural changes aimed at streamlining the relationship between nonprofits and government—including the Health and Human Services ( HHS) Accelerator, HHS Accelerator Data, HHS Connect, Group Purchasing, audit reform, and more. Allison’s past professional experiences include working at a prominent investment bank, at the New York Public Interest Research Group, and as the coordinator of a program for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. She holds an MPA from Baruch-City University of New York’s School of Public Affairs. 

Anim Steel is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Real Food Challenge, a campaign to re-direct $1 billion of college food purchases towards local, fair, and sustainable sources within 10 years. Prior to Real Food Challenge, Anim led national initiatives at The Food Project in Boston, consulted with Economic Development Assistance Consortium, and developed employment training programs at the Bowery Residents Committee. Anim holds a B.A. in Astrophysics and History from Williams College and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is the recipient of a Prime Mover Fellowship for movement-building and an Echoing Green award for social entrepreneurship.

Bobby Watts is the former Executive Director of Care for the Homeless. Care for the Homeless is a Federally Qualified Health Center with clinics in four boroughs and also operates a shelter for women who are mentally ill and/or medically frail. Care for the Homeless also advocates for policies to end homelessness. During his tenure as Executive Director, CFH has added major new programs and tripled in size. Bobby serves on governmental councils and on the boards of Homeless Services United, Black Agency Executives, the Human Services Council, the NonProfit Coordinating Committee, and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.  He is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Benjamin Dulchin is the Executive Director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), a membership association of one hundred neighborhood-based community development groups in New York City committed to the preservation and production of affordable housing, and to equitable economic development. ANHD supports the activist community development movement with high-impact policy research, strategic advocacy, and capacity building for the full range of community development activities, including grassroots policy organizing and bricks-and-mortar development. Benjamin began working at ANHD in 2003 and became Executive Director in 2009. He has been a housing activist and community organizer for 23 years, and was previously Director of Organizing at the Fifth Avenue Committee.

Daniel Gross is the Founder and Executive Director of Brandworkers, the first nonprofit organization to assist the low-wage workers behind the local food production industry. Daniel supports local food-making workers organizing for dignified jobs, promoting food produced close to home, and developing a new model of worker association for the 21st century. Prior to Brandworkers, Daniel was employed as a bookseller at Borders and a barista at Starbucks. At Starbucks, he helped launch one of the first fast food unions in the United States, which challenged the inevitability of degrading working conditions in the industry and went on to impact the broader workers' movement. Daniel subsequently received his law degree from Fordham Law School, where he served as a Stein Scholar for Public Interest Law and Ethics.

Dianne Morales is Executive Director and CEO of Phipps Neighborhoods. She has led the organization through a change process that has resulted in growth from a $17 million to a $24 million multi-service agency, helping almost 10,000 children, youth, and families overcome poverty. Prior to Phipps Neighborhoods, Dianne served as Executive Director of The Door, a premier youth development organization. Dianne has more than 20 years of experience in program start-up. Dianne earned graduate degrees at Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York in Stony Brook.

Erica Hamilton is currently the Executive Director and Vice President of City Year New York. Throughout her career in the nonprofit and private sectors, Erica has always found a way to commit her time to causes that help individuals improve their access to educational, professional, or leadership development opportunities. Prior to her current role, Erica spent over a decade managing and designing educational, professional, and leadership development programs at several high-impact nonprofit organizations including Prep for Prep, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, the Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship and iMentor. In addition to leading City Year, Erica also currently serves on the Board of Directors for Community Roots Charter School in Brooklyn and the Arbor Brothers Foundation. Erica received her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an MPA from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, and a B.A. from Harvard University.  

Jill Eisenhard is the Founder and Executive Director of Red Hook Initiative (RHI) in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Under her leadership RHI has developed a model for social change and youth development that empowers community members to become agents of change in their own lives and neighborhoods. Prior to starting RHI, Jill worked for five years with Long Island College Hospital and for three years with the Children’s Aid Society. Jill and RHI received a Union Square Award, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce “Building Brooklyn Award,” and the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York Gold Medal for Excellence in Nonprofit Management. In 2012 she received the Coro Alumni Leadership Award and was featured in More Magazine in their “Job Genius” series. In 2014 Jill was named to Crain’s New York Business’ “40 Under 40” list and was a City & State Above and Beyond honoree. She holds a B.S. degree from Cornell University.

Jo-Ann Yoo is the Executive Director of the Asian American Federation, a membership organization that works with the over sixty nonprofits that represent and support the Pan-Asian community in the Northeast.  Jo-Ann’s professional experiences include program management and operations, fundraising, and advocacy in the fields of community development and immigrant rights. She serves on the board of directors of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, an umbrella organization representing and serving some 1,500-member nonprofit organizations throughout New York City, Long Island, and Westchester. Additionally, she serves on the New York State AARP’s Diversity Council. For ten years, she served on the board of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, the first national advocacy organization dedicated to addressing the community development needs of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. She was also a member of the first cohort of Coro’s New American Leaders Program and served on the Alumni Advisory Board of Coro New York.

Ken Jockers joined Hudson Guild as Executive Director in November 2008. Previously, he served as Executive Director of two other community agencies, including the only borough-wide free legal services program in Brooklyn. As a lawyer, Ken worked in the administrations of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger. For three years, he coordinated child abuse investigations in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Ken started his career as a youth counselor at City Volunteer Corps. Ken holds a B.A. from Connecticut College, and earned a law degree from Brooklyn Law School. He serves on the board of the Human Services Council.

Sandra Lobo currently serves as the Executive Director of the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), a 42-year-old organization that unites diverse people and institutions to fight for racial and economic justice through intergenerational organizing. The NWBCCC organizes around health justice, energy democracy, school to prison pipeline, equitable economic development, safe and affordable housing, and environmental sustainability by building strong grassroots youth and adult leadership. Sandra's areas of focus are developing leadership among people of color, creating long-term organizational sustainability, and building community-shared wealth and ownership and collective governance over local assets. Before this role, Sandra served as Director of the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice at Fordham University for 17 years, working to shift the focus of the Center's efforts from a charity to a justice model. Sandra has served on the Simon Bolivar Foundation Advisory Council since its inception in 2009 and is currently Vice President for the Board of Directors at the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative.

Steven Choi is the Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, a pan-immigrant umbrella group in New York State with nearly 200 member organizations. He was formerly the Executive Director of the MinKwon Center for Community Action in Flushing, Queens. He served as the Program Director for the Korean Immigrant Workers Rights Project and with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), protecting low-wage Korean immigrants from employers. Mr. Choi has extensive experience in working with Korean and Asian American organizations, such as the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), the Korean Youth and Community Center (KYCC), and has served as co-chair of the 9th Annual National Asian Pacific American Conference on Law & Public Policy.  Mr. Choi received a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.A. from the University of Hawai’i, and a B.A. from Stanford University in History with Honors.