Fran Barrett , Executive Director
For four decades, Fran Barrett has dedicated herself to improving lives and providing opportunities for poor New Yorkers. Fran founded CRE in 1979 to give the leadership of small neighborhood groups in New York greater access to the training, resources and support they needed to sustain excellent services, and to build strong and effective infrastructures to position their organizations to affect poverty. Fran has served on the Boards of FoodChange, the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee, the Community Service Society, and the Campaign for Human Development. She sits on the selection committee for the New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Awards. Fran plays a leadership role in Gray Matters NYC and the Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies Initiative. She has a Masters in Politics and Education from Columbia University. Fran’s work has been honored by a number of community institutions, including the Amethyst Women’s Program, Andrew Glover Youth Program, Asian Americans for Equality, Flatbush Development Corporation, and the Industrial Areas Foundation. In 2005, Fran was inducted into Thirteen/WNET’s Community Hall of Fame, and in 2006 she received the Brooke Russell Astor Award to honor her as “an outstanding individual whose dedication and perseverance have made an important contribution toward improving the quality of life in New York City.”

Esther Alix , Manager of Individual Giving
Esther joined CRE on a full-time basis in September 2006, after years of making herself indispensable to CRE as an events and development specialist. Prior to coming to CRE, Esther produced fundraising events for CRE Board Chair and philanthropist Anne Hess for over ten years. Esther is a native New Yorker, an accomplished writer, screenwriter and producer, and a founding member of the writing group Voxvocis. She attended Hunter College.

Nevita Bailey , Senior Assistant for Programs
Prior to joining CRE in 2006, Nevita Bailey worked on the final stages of the Hudson Yards redevelopment/2012 Olympic campaign. She has also interned at Adult Protective Service, an agency within the Human Resource Administration for NYC, and other nonprofits in the New York area. Nevita holds a bachelor's degree in Applied Psychology with a minor in Management from Pace University. After gaining more insight into the public sector, Nevita intends to pursue her Masters in Public Administration or a Law Degree.

Jeff Ballow , Senior Consultant
Prior to joining CRE in May 2006, Jeff served in senior financial management positions at Women in Need and MOUSE. Jeff also served as Project Director at Cause Effective, where he focused largely on fundraising. Other professional experiences include direct service work in Chicago (around homelessness and HIV/AIDS) and magazine journalism in California. Jeff holds a Masters in Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and has completed additional coursework in accounting, human resources management, and counseling. At CRE, Jeff consults on a variety of areas, including financial management, fundraising, human resources management, planning, and board development. He is currently treasurer of the board of the Brooklyn-based Red Hook Initiative.

Barbara Blumenthal , Director of Applied Research and Senior Consultant
Barbara joined CRE in January 2005 and brings 17 years of consulting experience to our work with community groups. Her client work is often focused on organization development, leadership coaching, strategic planning, data driven management and board development topics. In addition to direct client work, Barbara leads the CRE Institute for Applied Research, a new effort to consolidate a growing number of research initiatives at CRE, from a longitudinal study of CRE’s work with clients to funded research on capacity building strategies and nonprofit management topics. In 1999 Barbara began a study to compare approaches to capacity building offered by funders and intermediaries, and identified several problems common to traditional technical assistance. This work resulted in a book, Investing in Capacity Building: A Guide to High Impact Approaches, published by the Foundation Center in 2003, that highlights two alternative approaches to the delivery of management support to nonprofits that promise greater impact, and features CRE as an example. Barbara has a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Michigan and has taught at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University since 1998, and brings extensive private sector experience.

Christina Bottego , Executive Office Project Leader
Christina rejoined CRE as Executive Office Project Leader in November, 2007, after working with Common Cause New York as Manager of Grants and Programs. Before that she worked for CRE as a Senior Assistant For Programs, having previously served in various capacities for nonprofit agencies, including collaboration on the 2005 Clinton Global Initiative, correspondence work at The William J. Clinton Foundation in Harlem, NY, and other agency work in NYC and upstate New York. Christina received her BA in writing with a minor in literature and women's studies through the State University of New York at Potsdam, and an MPA, concentrating in non-profit management and policy analysis, from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. Christina is particularly interested in the intersection of poverty and gender/race, and is a music (and art) enthusiast.

Lissette Resto Brooks , Senior Consultant
Lissette is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hermanas SOL, a citywide network established to strengthen and support the personal and professional development of Latinas in New York City. In addition, Mrs. Resto Brooks brings a wealth of experience and knowledge as an independent consultant. In this capacity, she provided technical assistance around issues of program development and management, strategic planning, resource development, as well as, professional development in the areas of Developmental Assets, Kidzlit, Kidzmath, Financial Literacy and Child Development. Prior to Hermanas SOL, Mrs. Resto Brooks was the Co-Director of the Professional Development Institute at the Partnership for After School Education (PASE). In this capacity, she developed collaborative relationships, coordinated PASE’s citywide training efforts and served as a member of the senior management team. In January 1999, Mrs. Resto Brooks successfully completed a certificate program at the Columbia University School of Business, Institute for Non-for-Profit Management Program. She holds a Masters of Social Work from Hunter College and is a New York State Licensed Certified Social Worker.

Caren Brown , Office Manager
Caren joined Community Resource Exchange in October 1998. Immediately prior to joining CRE, Caren served as the receptionist for both Community Food Resource Center and Community Resource Exchange, handling a switchboard for a staff of 50. As a receptionist she got to know the ins and outs of both organizations. Two years later, after learning various computer software applications, she was promoted to Program Assistant at CRE. She is seeking her BA at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and is looking forward to a career in nonprofit management.

Patricia Matthews Canning , Project Manager
Patricia rejoined CRE in August 2006 in the position of Project Manager for Community and Sector Initiatives (CSI). Patricia has over 15 years experience in consulting with depth in operations design and project management. Her experience spans various industries including health care and financial services and focuses on building organizational strength through efficient processes and systems. Most recently, Patricia worked as a manager for Deloitte Consulting in their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practice where she helped clients consider how to effectively engage their customers. Patricia received her undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Simon School at the University of Rochester.

Chien-Li Chung , Chief Information Officer
Chien-Li joined CRE in April 2004. For the past 15 years, he has worked with government, for-profit and nonprofit organizations in education, management consulting and information technology. Prior to CRE, he worked as a manager in the Data Warehousing practice at Deloitte Consulting LLP and as an education planning and statistics consultant for the Academy for Educational Development and the United States Agency for International Development. Chien-Li has been actively involved in various community initiatives in the areas of education and food nutrition in New York City. Chien-Li served in the Republic of Namibia as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He graduated from Columbia University with a BA in History and a BSc in Computer Science. He has also earned a MBA with a focus on Operations Management from Columbia Business School.

Holly Delany Cole , Deputy Director (Programs)
Holly joined the staff in 1995. She is a social worker and has worked in a variety of human service settings. Immediately before CRE, she was a freelance consultant for human services and grant-making organizations, with an emphasis on program evaluation, program development and proposal writing. Holly was a member of the program staff at the New York Community Trust from 1983 through 1989, managing several grant programs. Holly sits on the Boards of Educational Equity Concepts and Computers for Youth. She holds a master's degree from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.

Lisa P. Cowan , Project Director
Lisa joined CRE in January 2002. She has more than fifteen years of experience in the nonprofit field, both in New York City and Boston. Prior to coming to CRE, Lisa had her own consulting practice, which served primarily youth development and community health organizations in New York City. In Boston, Lisa managed a school-based health clinic in a public high school and worked as an educator and fundraiser for several community organizations. She has a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Sociology from Wesleyan University and completed a year-long fellowship program in Public Affairs at the Coro Foundation for Leadership.

Jessica David , Fiscal Coordinator
Jessica joined CRE's Fiscal team in December 2005, before which she attended Long Island University's Southampton campus and worked with the Colleges' Higher Education Opportunity Program to help secure state funding for post secondary education to economically and educationally disadvantaged New York students. She holds a BS in Accounting from Long Island University and is looking forward to a career in nonprofit financial management.

Karen Erdos , Director of Development
Karen joined CRE in January 2008 as a Senior Consultant and became Director of Development three months later. She has 20 years' experience in the corporate and nonprofit sectors, including eleven years as a Program Officer at JP Morgan working in the areas of public education, youth, and health and human services. She also has experience in human resources, fundraising, financial analysis and auditing, having worked with such organizations as the St. Barnabas Healthcare System and Price Waterhouse. Karen holds a BS in Accounting from Fairfield University and an MBA in Human Resource Management and Strategic Planning from Wharton.

Anna Gorenman , Fiscal Associate
Anna has been part of CRE's fiscal team since 2000, and has more than 30 years experience in fiscal systems for both nonprofit and for-profit firms. She has a bachelor's degree from Odessa Polytechnic University.

Ero Gray , IT Specialist
Ero began providing technical support to CRE staff and clients in March 2006, after a varied background that includes work designing and building websites, staffing a dot-com help desk center, building custom databases, editing and proofreading nonprofit publications, working as a recording engineer, composing music for television commercials, and a lifetime of tinkering with computers. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of California San Diego.

Megan Guzman , Executive Assistant
Megan joined CRE in August 2006. Her previous professional experience includes work as a finance deputy for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, and later for the political action committee Democracy for America. Megan spent five summers as teacher and administrator at Aim High, a tuition-free academic program for public school students of color in the Bay Area. Additionally, she has served as the chair of the Sisterhood Fund, a program that trains young women in philanthropy and grant-making. A native of Oakland, California, Megan earned a bachelor's degree from McGill University. In the future she hopes to pursue a Masters degree in public health.

Louisa Hackett , Managing Director
Louisa joined CRE in 1994. She has more than 18 years of consulting experience with New York City nonprofit organizations in the areas of evaluation, fiscal management and planning. Louisa serves as a peer mentor for CRE staff providing financial management assistance. She recently led an effort to improve CRE services and document our impact with clients in this area. Prior to CRE, she worked at Victim Services Agency (now known as Safe Horizon), Community Service Society, Massachusetts Fair Share and the Museum of the Moving Image. Louisa holds a master's degree in Public Administration from New York University.

Evelyne Heriveaux , Controller
Evelyne joined CRE in 1990 as our Finance and Benefits Manager and has 20 years experience in financial management for for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Evelyne is active in the fiscal management and women ministry departments in her church and has a history of activism in the Haitian community. She holds an associate degree in accounting and in secretarial science and has completed the Nonprofit Management Program at Marymount College.

Pamela Kalish , Contract Coordinator
Pamela joined CRE's fiscal team in 2005. Before coming to CRE she worked for McKinsey & Company in their recruiting department and for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art.

Christie Kramer , Manager of Corporate Relations
Christie joined CRE’s development team in the spring of 2008, bringing 15 years of experience in banking with Chase, Citibank and CCR. Having returned to New York City after 17 years of living abroad, her ambition was to enter the nonprofit world in a capacity which enabled her to draw on her corporate experience. Christie studied at NYU’s Heyman Center for Philanthopy and Fundraising and graduated from Smith College with a degree in Economics and Math.

Valyrie K. Laedlein , Deputy Director (Operations and Research and Evaluation)
Valyrie joined CRE in 1990, before which she consulted with community groups in Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Connecticut. She has worked as a volunteer, trainer, and program coordinator with the Peace Corps in Senegal, and as an economist for the U.S. Department of Labor. Valyrie is currently spearheading an ambitious, 6-year evaluation study of CRE's effectiveness with community organizations. She holds a master's in Business Administration from the School of Management at Yale University.

Kyoung Lee , Senior Consultant
Kyoung has eight years of professional experience in human resources and organizational effectiveness within both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Her experience includes having served as the Managing Director in the Human Assets group at Teach For America where she contributed to the launch of a new Learning & Development team focused on supporting the onboarding and leadership development of over 800 staff members. Prior to this, Kyoung worked as an internal organizational development consultant at Pfizer where she designed and implemented innovative learning interventions to support key business and organizational imperatives. In this capacity, Kyoung strategized and advised senior leaders around key human resources issues, and helped strengthen management competencies around retaining talent, boosting employee engagement, creating high performing teams, and providing effective coaching and feedback. Kyoung’s experience also includes five years at Sibson Consulting, a division of The Segal Company, serving as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies on talent management, performance management, organizational design, and change management. Kyoung is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and American Society for Training & Development (ASTD). Kyoung Lee earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

Jean Lobell , Managing Director
Jean started at CRE in January 2002. She brings with her over 15 years of experience in human resources and organizational development. Jean has consulted mostly with Fortune 500 companies, and has worked with governmental and nonprofit organizations as well, at times on a pro bono basis. Before her independent consulting practice, she was Human Resources Manager for an international line of business at Chase (now JPMorganChase) and Vice President for Training and Executive Development at Bankers Trust (now Deutsche Bank). Jean sits on several Boards including the United Way of New York. She has a master's degree in social psychology from the University of Minnesota and a doctorate in organizational psychology from Columbia University.

Richard Magat , Senior Fellow
Dick began volunteering at CRE in 2000. He is the former president of the Edward W. Hazen Foundation and was communications director of the Ford Foundation. He has published widely on philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and human rights. His most recent book is Unlikely Partners: Philanthropic Foundations and the Labor Movement (Cornell University Press). He initiated a fourteen-volume series of new editors of "classics in philanthropy" (Transaction, 1986-1992), and for twelve years was book editor of Foundation News & Commentary. Before his service in philanthropy, Dick worked for newspapers, a publisher, and a newsreel. He sits on the boards of the Small Press Center and the National Coalition of Independent Scholars.

Pavitra Menon , Senior Consultant
Pavitra joined CRE in 2004 and works on a variety of Human Resources projects, partnering with management teams to help them think about personnel planning and organization structure, helping groups develop personnel policies and performance appraisal systems, and collaborating with clients to address recruitment needs. Pavitra has also led, managed and worked in teams on other project areas like strategic planning and board development. Pavitra sits on the Board of Manavi, an organization for South Asian women who are victims of violence. She began her career with Ernst & Young, India in their HR Consulting practice, and holds a bachelor's degree in commerce and an MBA in International Business from École Nationale des Ponts et Chausseés, Paris.

David K. Mensah , Senior Fellow
For over two decades, David K. Mensah has utilized his skills as a leader, teacher, counselor and public speaker in the service of youth and families, people living with HIV/AIDS, victims of crime and abuse, and organizations committed to change. In addition to his Senior Fellow role at CRE, he runs Wave Training and Consulting, providing transformational leadership and management training to individuals and businesses committed to deepening their individual and cultural leadership practice. David’s employment career includes decades of service: as the Executive Director of the Hetrick-Martin Institute and the Connecticut AIDS Residence Program, as Vice President of Safe Horizon's Community Programs Division, and as adjunct faculty at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and at The University of Bridgeport. He secured his Masters from Yale Divinity School in 1989, and is a noted public speaker and trainer.

Camille Morrison , Senior Assistant for Programs
Camille joined CRE in 2006. She came to us after working for some time in the public school system through a contract from the Department of Education. Before that, she spent five years in the social services field providing direct services to locate affordable housing for the homeless population living with HIV/AIDS and recently released ex-offenders who are also living with HIV/AIDS. She holds a bachelor's in criminal justice and a master's in Public Administration both from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Randall Quan , Managing Director
Randall started with CRE in April 2001, before which he served as the vice president for corporate responsibility and business development at a health-related Internet company. He has nine years of consulting and training experience with community and youth development groups. He also served as an Americorps Program Officer for the State of Massachusetts during the first years of national service, and as the coordinator of service-learning programs at a college in New England. Randall has a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, and a master's in business administration from Columbia University.

Dawn Reel , Consultant
Dawn joined CRE in 1998, before which she worked for several years providing database development and administration, software training for staff and clients and technical support to a large AIDS service organization. Previously, she worked with other nonprofit housing organizations. Dawn's talents can be seen on the websites and in the marketing and AIDS education materials of many of CRE's clients. Dawn holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Rutgers University and is currently enrolled in a certificate program at Pratt Institute for Interactive Multimedia.

Melinda Rodriguez , Senior Assistant for Programs
Melinda joined CRE in August 2007, with a background in administration and a previous role as an elementary school teacher in the New York City schools. She graduated from Long Island University/ Southampton Campus in May 2005 with a B.A. in Elementary Education, and hopes to make a difference in society by helping young, opportunity-limited people to realize their full potential.

Ximena Rua-Merkin , Senior Consultant
Ximena joined CRE's team after a twelve year career as a nonprofit manager and public relations and fundraising professional. Ximena held senior-level positions at Covenant House New York and the American Red Cross, and has served as an advisor to grassroots, national and international organizations in areas of board development, planning, fundraising, and volunteer management. Ximena received a bachelor's degree in Communications from Queens College, CUNY and has completed graduate studies at NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Studies with a concentration in Public Administration, International Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility. Ximena is fluent in Spanish and French.

Kimberly Sanders , Consultant
Kim, who joined CRE's staff in December 2003, brings more than seven years of research and evaluation experience to her position. Her background includes working on several projects at the National Development and Research Institute, a social science research organization. She has also worked on independent research projects and most recently completed an evaluation of a Bronx based after-school program. Kim has a master's degree in Nonprofit Management from The New School University and a master's degree in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University's Teachers College.

Mohan Sikka , Senior Project Director
Mohan joined CRE in June 2002 after several years of consulting experience with New York City and national nonprofits and community based organizations. Mohan specialized in working with minority, immigrant, and underrepresented populations, advising groups on growth, business planning, fund development, and board development issues. As an independent consultant, Mohan served as adjunct trainer for Bailey House, Inc.'s management consulting program for HIV/AIDS organizations, and also for the NYC Coalition against Hunger's Emergency Food Action Center. From 1998 to 2000, he was awarded a community fellowship by the Open Society Institute-New York to develop a multi-tiered resource development plan for The Audre Lorde Project in Brooklyn. Mohan has a Ph.D. in science from the University of Minnesota, and has also completed graduate/continuing education courses in group dynamics and nonprofit management.

Arnaldo Simó , Consultant
Arnaldo joined CRE in February 2004. For the past 11 years, he has worked with nonprofit organizations as a volunteer, staff, and Board member. Prior to CRE, he worked as a Program Director in a holistic learning institution focused on youth development in Brooklyn. Arnaldo has been actively involved in various community initiatives in the areas of education, health and wellness, environmental justice, and affordable housing in New York City . He graduated from John Jay College earning a degree in political science and has completed graduate courses in nonprofit management and fundraising.

Barbara Turk , Senior Fellow
Barbara Turk has worked as a leader in government and non-profit agencies, an organizational consultant and executive coach, non-profit board member, educator and trainer, policy advocate, journalist, and community activist. Prior to joining CRE in April 2007, Barbara was the Executive Director of the YWCA of Brooklyn. She spent several years in city government, including as Deputy Director for Health and Human Services in the New York City Office of Management and Budget in the administration of Mayor David N. Dinkins. She was also the Director of HIV CARE Services for the Medical and Health Research Association, where she and her colleagues administered federal grant funds to New York City for services for people living with HIV and AIDS. Barbara has served on the boards of SAGE, Community Resource Exchange, and the Hetrick-Martin Institute, and on the national funding panel of the Astraea Foundation. She has been an visiting professor at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and Hunter College. She is a graduate of Goddard College and holds a Masters Degree in Divinity from Union Theological Seminary.

Robbie Welch , Senior Assistant for Programs
Robbie Welch joined CRE in February 2006 after working in a program support role in a Harlem-based nonprofit organization that focused on providing technical assistance to minority groups throughout New York State. He has experience working in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention, social justice and youth development. In addition to his nonprofit experience, Robbie has also worked in the entertainment industry. Robbie has completed course work in Psychology at Valencia College and Florida Memorial College.