If you are just joining us, our moderator for tonight is Qian Julie Wang. Wang is an attorney with nearly a decade of experience representing Fortune 500 companies, governmental entities, and individuals in complex civil litigation across the nation. She is now managing partner of Gottlieb & Wang LLP, a firm dedicated to advocating for the education and anti-discrimination rights of special needs children, the immigrant community, and communities of color. A graduate of Yale Law School and Swarthmore College, Julie is also a sought-after author and speaker whose writings have appeared in major publications such as the New York Times and Bloomberg. Her first book, Beautiful Country, is a literary memoir about her experiences living as an undocumented child in New York City. It will be published as a lead title with Penguin Random House this September.

Our first speaker of the evening is David Garza. David Garza began his Henry Street Settlement career as a member of the Workforce Development Center team in 2001 and has been President & CEO since 2010. A graduate of Harvard College and the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management at Columbia Business School, David serves on several boards including the New York City Employment and Training Coalition, Betances Health Center, Citizens Committee for Children, Human Services Council, United Neighborhood Houses, the New York City Regional Economic Development Council; and in May 2020, David was appointed to two mayoral Sector Advisory Councils, for Non-Profit and Social Services and for Arts, Culture, and Entertainment.

If you are just joining us, our next speaker is Karen Pearl. Karen Pearl has been President & CEO of God’s Love We Deliver since 2006. God’s Love addresses food insecurity and illness by providing medically tailored meals and medical nutrition therapy to people living with severe illness in the NYC metro area. During her tenure, the services at God’s Love have more than tripled, with 2.5 million meals cooked and home-delivered each year, with the support of 17,000 volunteers annually. God’s Love operates with an annual budget of $25 million, of which 65% is raised through private philanthropy.

Karen is the Chairperson of the Food Is Medicine Coalition, a national association of nonprofit, medically tailored food and nutrition services providers advocating for the integration of these services into healthcare for the critically and/or chronically ill.Under Karen’s leadership, God’s Love was the winner of a New York Times Nonprofit Excellence award in 2010, and a winner of the New York State Department of Health Social Determinants of Health Innovation Award in 2018. During COVID-19, God’s Love was recognized as an Essential Services Provider, never missing a delivery.In 2018, Karen received a City/State Women’s Leadership Award, and in 2019, was named one of Crain’s Notable Women in Health Care.

Our third speaker is Jessica Chait. Jessica Chait is the Managing Director of Food Programs at Met Council, responsible for the Kosher Food Network, the largest free kosher food distribution system in the world and for bringing greater visibility to food insecurity within the Jewish community. At Met Council, Jessica has overseen dramatic growth in the food program – doubling warehouse capacity, initiating a home delivery program, and expanding pantry access online. Prior to joining Met Council, Jessica worked for UJA-Federation of New York, in roles of increasing responsibility, culminating as Chief of Staff, responsible for strategic initiatives, including UJA’s year long centennial celebration. Jessica is passionate about helping the vulnerable and, prior to her move to New York, worked for non-profits in Poland and Zambia.

Our final speaker is Beth Shapiro. Beth Shapiro has been Executive Director of Citymeals on Wheels since 2011. She spearheaded efforts to help meal recipients access SNAP benefits and expanded the organization’s Mobile Food Pantry, providing supplemental meals to those elderly most at risk of malnutrition. She has also enhanced their readiness for emergencies, which two years ago culminated in the opening of the Joan & Bob Tisch Emergency Meal Distribution Center — the hub of Citymeals’ response during the Covid-19 pandemic. Beth was appointed to the mayor’s Non-Profit Advisory Council in the spring and most recently, the City’s new 75+ Vaccine Working Group.

I currently do wellness calls to 2 City Meals clients- it is such a wonderful fulfilling service!!!

haberh@censyn.org

Thank you Laurie.

Tomorrow, everyone who registered for this town hall will receive an email with information and special opportunities to work with each these incredible organizations!

Thank you so much

Thank you. Looking forward to the email tomorrow.