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 MONIQUE ACHUEducation Associate machu@CommonCents.org Originally from Dallas, Texas, Monique’s love for youth, education, and philanthropy brought her to Common Cents in September 2007. Prior to joining their team, Monique worked for Urban Assembly, where she cultivated and sustained partnerships for an all girl math and science school in Brooklyn. No rookie to the non-profit world, she also provided logistical and programming support to an organization in Boston working to eliminate family homelessness in Massachusetts. Monique is a small business owner whose interests include acting, reading and writing short stories. She obtained her bachelors from Southern Methodist University and her master’s degree from Boston University.  LASHON ALLENPersonnel and Administration Associate lallen@CommonCents.org Lashon, a recent graduate of St. Joseph's College, started at Common Cents as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer. She has worked with Penny Harvesting schools and Student Roundtables in Queens and Brooklyn. Currently, she is a part of the administration team and helps with daily office management. She is thrilled to see the continuous growth of the program, while it maintains its mission to empower students to help their community.  CHRISTOPHER BAEZDirector of Finance and Administration cbaez@CommonCents.org Christopher joined Common Cents New York in November 2005. He was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Murry Bergtraum High School for business careers, specializing in Accounting. Chris is a graduate of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico with a BA in accounting. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard where he got his MBA in accounting. Over the past 12 years Chris has worked in the non-profit field at organizations with missions ranging from student empowerment to social services. Chris is a Certified Non-Profit Accounting Professional and registered with the Not-For-Profit Services Association. He has two children in the New York City Public schools and is excited to be leading the Finance and Administration team at Common Cents as they grow and move forward to the future.  JAMILA BAUCOMDevelopment Manager
Jamila joined Common Cents in December 2007. Born and raised in New York City, she has worked in various social justice, education, and youth oriented non-profit organizations. Having worked in fundraising and external affairs the past six years, she brings experience from organizations such as the Legal Aid Society, Inwood House and Seedco, where she has been involved in event planning, donor database management, working with individual donors and communications . She has a BA in Political Science and Health & Society from the University of Rochester and a Masters in Public Administration from NYU.
 ANTHONY BERTHELIT Manager aberthel@CommonCents.org Anthony has worked for Common Cents since August 2002. Prior to that, he was an IT assistant for Leadership for Environment and Development International, a program run by the Rockefeller Foundation. His expertise includes Network management, PC repairs, software and hardware installation and upgrades, and many other computer related skills.  SETH COHENNational Director of Programs and Operations scohen@CommonCents.org Seth has worked extensively in the youth development field directing and designing a variety of summer camping programs, year-round leadership opportunities and international trips. Before joining Common Cents in the summer of 2002, Seth co-founded a small independent film company called The Gravity Collaborative, and helped to produce its first feature length film. As the National Director of Programs and Operations, Seth is working to spread the Penny Harvest, originally a successful NYC based program, to school systems nation-wide. Seth is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned his master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Social Work. Development and External Relations Associate
Andi Dube joined the Development and External Relations team at Common Cents in December 2007. He is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University where he studied communications and business administration. A gifted writer and photographer, Andi has an uncanny ability to craft and weave together strong visual and written narratives. Prior to joining Common Cents, he worked in communications for a national disaster response non-profit organisation. In his spare time he volunteers for Big Brothers/ Big Sisters and explores ways to connect with whatever community he is living in. Andi was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
 JOANNA GELLERSenior Community Development Fellow jgeller@CommonCents.org Joanna joined Common Cents in August 2006 after graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Sociology. At Michigan, she recognized the power of school/community partnerships while participating in a project to improve parent involvement in Detroit public schools. During her college years, she developed an appreciation for the many learning experiences that occur outside of the actual classroom working with Pathways to Literacy, an ongoing study measuring the environmental and cognitive factors on early childhood literacy. Joanna is excited to apply her experience and interests in community organizing, education-related research, and democracy building to an organization that so boldly encompasses each.  TEDDY GROSSExecutive Director tgross@CommonCents.org Teddy is the Founder and Executive Director of Common Cents. In 1991, he and his daughter Nora conducted the first Penny Harvest in an effort to collect money to feed and clothe New York City's homeless. Sixteen years later, Common Cents has integrated the Penny Harvest program in over 800 schools throughout the country. Teddy's interest in innovating service-learning and social justice programs is the natural outgrowth of a lifetime's work as a journalist, newspaper editor, author of children's books, and playwright.  KYLIE GURSKYSenior National Fellow kgursky@CommonCents.org Kylie, new to New York, joined Common Cents after working with Penny Harvest Seattle/King County as an AmeriCorps VISTA member. Through that, and a year as an AmeriCorps literacy tutor in Mt. Vernon, Washington, she developed her passion for service-learning and youth empowerment. She received her BA at Western Washington University in 2005 where she studied philosophy, political science and economics.
 SANDRA HENRYSenior Operations Fellow shenry@CommonCents.org Sandra joined Common Cents in January 2006. Growing up she has experienced various schools systems from urban, suburban and rural. She graduated from Kenyon College in May 2005 with a degree in Sociology. Inspired by her various sociology courses and a seminar titled “Education and Difference,” Sandra soon realized how much she wanted to make a change and decided that the non-profit world was for her. Fueled by her passion for education and social change, she hopes to help enrich the lives of New York City children through her hard work at Common Cents and the Penny Harvest.  NUR IBRAHIMExecutive Administrative Assistant nibrahim@CommonCents.org Nur first worked at Common Cents in 2003 as a school support intern while obtaining her B.F.A in Dramatic Writing from New York University. After completing that degree, she decided to pursue a master's degree in Non-Profit Management from New School University. She returned to Common Cents in 2007 and is expected to earn her master’s in May 2008. Nur is excited to be reconnecting with the organization as it expands its program base.  MAGGIE JACOBYExternal Relations Manager mjacoby@CommonCents.org Maggie joined Common Cents after freelancing at Edelman Public Relations in their Corporate Social Responsibility Practice. Prior to that, she spent a year in Rajasthan, India, working with a local NGO, Astha Sansthan. Her primary responsibility was to streamline the organization's communications function. While on assignment, she developed and implemented a study that examined how widows were able to meet their survival needs in the face of oppressive socio-cultural restrictions. Previously, she worked at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the development department where she helped identify and develop strategies to increase donor support, aided in event management and contributed to the grant-writing process. Maggie earned a degree in Urban Studies and Community Health from Rutgers University in 2001. .JPG) GRACIE RIFINOYouth Leadership Fellow grifino@CommonCents.org Gracie joined Common Cents in August 2007. She graduated in the fall of 2006 from Binghamton University with a B.S. in Human Development and minors in Spanish and International Studies. Gracie was drawn to Common Cents by her desire to help youth discover their full potential. Gracie obtained experience in the human services field while working in several youth centers during her college career, where she facilitated lessons to youth ranging from ages 5 to 21. In addition, she has had experience in the daily operations of youth-serving agencies; both in government and community based. Her hopes for the upcoming year are for her students to have a memorable and successful Penny Harvest!  MELISSA ROZONSchool Partnership Fellow mrozon@CommonCents.org Melissa was born and raised in New York City and is a former Penny Harvester herself. She joined Common Cents in August 2007 after graduating from NYU with a degree in psychology. At NYU, she assisted a team of researchers at the Center for Research on Culture, Development and Education in a project on adolescent perspectives at public middle schools in New York City. For the past year, she has been working as an after-school program counselor for Manhattan Youth to provide educational and recreational activities for students. She plans to pursue a career in school psychology and is committed to enriching the lives of children by helping them realize their sense of self-worth both at school and in life. She is excited to be part of an organization that values every child’s potential to make a difference.  ADAM SEIDELNYC/Metro NY Program Director aseidel@CommonCents.org Since his involvement in youth development programs as a teenager, Adam has sought to create similar opportunities for others. He’s worked directly with middle and high school students and has extensive experience supervising various youth programs. Adam joined Common Cents in January 2004 as the Community Development Fellow. After a year and a half in this position, he took over the oversight and operations of the NYC/Metro NY Penny Harvest. He is a graduate of Oberlin College.  ERIN SHAKESPEAREDeputy Executive Director, Development and External Relations shakespeare@CommonCents.org Erin’s colorful experience includes management consulting for Andersen Consulting, and leading a start-up team to create social services and education programming for a new community center at a Bronx based community organization. She joined Common Cents in 2002 and has served as the organization’s NYC Program Director and National Program Director before becoming the Deputy Executive Director for Development and External Relations in 2007. Erin was graduated cum laude from Pennsylvania State University and has since completed the Executive Level program at the Institute for Non-Profit Management at Columbia University’s Business School. She is currently (slowly!) working on her Masters of Public Administration at the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College concentrating in Policy Analysis and Evaluation. .JPG) AVANTI TANEJAProgram Associate ataneja@CommonCents.org Avantika Taneja graduated with a B.A. from Tufts University where she pursued majors in child development and anthropology. She is treating the next decade as her "vocational shopping" period to consolidate her varied interests in youth development, including program evaluation, multicultural curriculum development, humanitarian assistance, and ethnic identity development in children. Her academic background and experience with youth in multiple capacities have demonstrated the mutually reinforcing relationship between positive youth development and service learning opportunities for youth, a foundational belief of Common Cents. In the long-term, she is interested in pursuing youth-related international development work at home in Indonesia. |
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