Board & Advisors

INDEPENDENT ADVISOR

Andrew Friedman is Senior Director of Strategy and co-founder of The Action Lab. He is also the Director of the Initiative for Community Power at NYU School of Law. He founded the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), the largest federated network of community organizing groups in the United States, in 2012 and co-lead the organization for 10 years. Andrew previously co-founded and spent 15 years building Make the Road New York into the leading democratically run, immigrant-led community organization in New York State. Andrew helped found Local Progress, a national network of progressive municipal elected officials. Andrew has taught at the NYU School of Law, Cardozo School of Law, the New School for Social Research and Columbia Law School. He is on the Board of Directors of Make the Road Action, Hester Street, the Action Lab and Local Progress, as well as the Editorial Advisory Board of The Forge. Andrew is a magna cum laude graduate of Columbia College and a cum laude graduate of the New York University School of Law. Most importantly, Andrew is the overjoyed and proud father of three beautiful boys.

INDEPENDENT ADVISOR

A Wall Street veteran and entrepreneur, Charlotte Beyer has been identifying changes in the culture and dynamics of wealth management since 1992. Beyer founded the Institute for Private Investors (IPI) to help improve the relationship between wealthy investors and their financial advisors and is co-creator of the first Private Wealth Management curriculum for ultra-high-net-worth investors at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Named an Aresty Fellow at Wharton in 2016, Beyer is also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from Family Wealth Report and the J. Richard Joyner Wealth Management Impact Award from the Investments & Wealth Institute™. Her 2nd edition of Wealth Management Unwrapped was published by Wiley Finance in 2017. Relationship Alpha was published by the CFA Institute Research Foundation in 2019.

Upon retiring as CEO of IPI in 2012, Beyer founded the Principle Quest Foundation, a private foundation whose mission is to support innovative education and mentoring programs with a focus on gender equity and racial justice. Beyer was featured in the Wall Street Journal Donor of the Day column in 2011 for her early philanthropic activity in support of scholarships at Westover School.

INDEPENDENT ADVISOR

Chelsea Ettlinger is a lifelong New Yorker, and dedicated social impact professional with a proven track record of building and expanding impactful partnerships. She has over 5 years of experience in managing targeted fundraising campaigns, partnering with corporate groups and leadership teams across industries, and securing support for crucial programmatic work. Most recently, she has supported City Harvest from the Business Partnerships team. Chelsea is committed to increasing access to food, health, education, and cultural resources for communities across New York City.

BOARD MEMBER

David currently serves as Head of Internal Audit at Zinnia, a leading insurance firm with over $175 billion assets under administration. Throughout his career, David has excelled in various aspects of public administration and corporate leadership. As the Global Vice President at a financial services firm, he led policy development and implementation, orchestrating operations across international offices Including, Hong Kong, London, Dublin, and Canada. His dynamic leadership streamlined operations, achieving a 10% reduction in costs while maintaining optimal service quality. David's commitment to fiscal responsibility was evident in his consistent management of budgets within 98% of approved limits.

INDEPENDENT ADVISOR

Daniel Coates is the Director of Public Affairs at Make the Road New York. Daniel has over 17 years of community organizing and campaign experience. Before returning to MRNY, Daniel worked at The Action Lab, and before that as the Interim Director of Immigration at Community Change where he managed the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a network of 37 of the country's premier immigrant rights organizations. Daniel has also worked for the Riders Alliance in New York City, the NYC Council, and in multiple roles for the Make the Road family of organizations, including as a Lead Organizer in New York, and leading the founding of a new Make the Road in Nevada. Daniel has worked on issues and electoral campaigns on the local, state and federal levels. He holds a Masters Degree from NYU Wagner and an Undergraduate Degree from the University of Virginia. Daniel lives in Brooklyn with his three children. 

BOARD MEMBER

Ivie is the Housing Resource Specialist at the NYS Office of the Attorney General Leticia James (OAG). Originally from the Bahamas, descendant of Haitian immigrant parents, Ivie speaks Haitian Kreyol fluently and has lived in Brooklyn for 45+ years. She holds a BA in Psychology from the College of New Rochelle and a MA in Educational Leadership, Politics and Advocacy (ELPA) from NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

Linetta J. Gilbert serves as Managing Partner of Gilbert & Associates. A respected leader in the philanthropic community, Linetta provides consulting, coaching, and network-building support to foundations, large and small non-profits, and emerging thought leaders. Her areas of practice include strategy development/planning and technical assistance for advancing organizational and community-wide racial equity outcomes; board development; strategic planning; leadership development; and group facilitation.

Linetta has held leadership positions with several notable foundations. She served as Senior Program Officer for Social Justice Philanthropy with The Ford Foundation, where, over nearly a decade, she invested, monitored, and leveraged $1 billion in resources dedicated to transforming and strengthening community-based philanthropic organizations worldwide. A significant portion of her career has focused on influencing the reach into Black and other communities of color as donors and leveraging their leadership on critical national and global issues.

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Linetta helped guide decisions on philanthropic investments that would help to rebuild infrastructure and increase capacity in government, resident leadership, non-profit organizations, and the business community, transitioning the region from recovery to transformation. She served as a place-based consultant in New Orleans to the Annie E. Casey Foundation for its Neighborhood Transformation Initiative. As the former Vice President of Programs for the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Linetta designed and implemented grant-making and programs for this regional foundation, expanding its programmatic reach to include critical issues such as housing and community development, workforce development, violence prevention, neighborhood resident engagement, faith-based economic development, and rural development initiatives. She has also served as a national consultant on public policies in the fields of early learning/education, health, housing, and child welfare services.

Linetta actively uses her years of development experience to help improve her community and currently serves on the boards of Agenda for Children, the Amistad Research Center, and the Old Algiers Main Street Corporation (Vice Chair), The Solutions Project. She is the immediate past Chairman and founding member of the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Louisiana, a statewide public charity that invests in people and practices working to reduce vulnerability and build stronger, more sustainable communities.

In 2019, she was recognized for her achievements in philanthropy by being selected as the 29th James A. Joseph Lecturer by the Association of Black Foundation Executives. In that same year, the Community Investment Network, a group of young adult community donors, established a service award in Linetta’s name, to be awarded annually to persons with distinguished service to and financial contributions in their community.

INDEPENDENT ADVISOR

Moschell (Mo) Coffey is passionate about developing the capacities of the public service sector. As the founder and principal of Challenges and Solutions LLC, Mo uses a culturally competent, anti-bias, and strengths-based approach to help mission-driven organizations identify challenges and formulate solutions to achieve organizational efficiency, strengthen board and staff relationships, enable strategic growth, and define program outcomes. She also enjoys helping emerging and established leaders in public service develop their leadership capabilities, explore their professional passions, chart career paths, and search for meaningful opportunities. 

Furthering her commitment to leadership and professional development, for over sixteen years Mo has directed the Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service (FELPS), a program of the NYU Changemaker Center. FELPS provides professional development support for leaders early in their public service careers to establish and support a pipeline of committed and diverse public service leaders. She oversees the professional development of the undergraduate participants in NYU’s Presidential Internship Program, a program she co-founded in 2017.

She currently serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Service at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service where she teaches the year-long capstone class on Social Impact, Innovation, and Investment to Master of Public Administration students. She also teaches the Public Management II and Practice of Work courses to students in the Master of Science in Public Policy program. 

Previously, Mo worked as the managing director for The Good Dog Foundation, the national leader in therapy dog training, certification, visit coordination, research, and awareness. She was also the coordinator at the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law at NYU School of Law.

Mo earned her Master of Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy from NYU Wagner. She is a former Trustee of Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, where she earned an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in International Relations with a minor in Spanish.

BOARD MEMBER

Nicole Wilett is an executive leader with over two decades of experience in international affairs, programs, and operations. Currently she provides strategic consulting services to major global philanthropies. Previously she served as chief of staff to two sequential presidents at the Open Society Foundations, the largest private funder of human rights and democracy groups worldwide. She led and supported the strategic planning, coordination, and execution of the foundation's multi-billion dollar global grantmaking and advocacy agenda, working closely with the president and board as a member of the senior leadership team. She also oversaw the foundation's internal communications, operations, and governance, ensuring alignment and accountability across the organization.

Prior to joining the Open Society Foundations, Nicole held senior positions at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Albright Stonebridge Group, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the National Security Council at the White House, and the U.S. Department of State, including several overseas tours. She has a proven track record of advancing international human rights, democracy, development, gender equality, global health, and security issues through effective advocacy, program, and operations management, policy analysis, and partnership building. She has a strong background in African affairs, having served in various diplomatic and advisory roles in the region. She holds an M.P.A. from Indiana University and a B.A. from Syracuse University, both with a focus on international studies.

BOARD MEMBER

She is a distinguished consultant bridging the corporate and non-profit sectors. As the President of The Peli Firm, LLC since July 2011, she oversees the firm's business and entertainment management services, playing a pivotal role in shaping business policies and strategic planning. Under her leadership, The Peli Firm has been instrumental in guiding entrepreneurs towards successful career paths. Previously, Norine served as Vice President at Bear, Stearns, & Co. Inc., managing staff, budgeting, and software research for commercial loan due diligence.

INDEPENDENT ADVISOR

Rachel is the senior director of research at Think of Us, where she oversees research that centers the lived experience of people impacted by foster care to help transform the child welfare system. She is the former senior director of research and policy at the Center for Justice Innovation, where she led a department doing local, national, and global research and evaluation projects related to decarceration, violence prevention, community well-being, and youth development. She was previously a researcher at the Harlem Children’s Zone, where she evaluated social, educational, and health programs for children and youth. She has been a professor at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service since 2007, where she teaches classes on Participatory Policymaking, Program Evaluation, and Research Methods. She is on the advisory board for the Participatory Budgeting Project. Rachel received her PhD in Sociology from the CUNY Graduate Center, and her Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Administration from New York University.