Meet the Grantmakers: Coffee and Conversations about investing in New York City
Professional Advancement Panel Session
Join us to explore approaches to grantmaking with funders in New York City. Our panel of experienced leaders in philanthropy will share insights into their core commitments to the city, perspectives on collaboration and community, and strategies for assessing evaluation and impact.
LOCATION:
Scandinavia House
58 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016
AGENDA:
8:30 AM: Registration and Networking
9:00 AM: Session Start
9:45 AM: Networking
10:00 AM: Session End
PRICING:
AFP-NYC Young Professional Members: $25
AFP-NYC Member: $50
Guest of AFP-NYC Member: $40
Non-Member: $75
PANELISTS:
Alize Garcia
Director, NYC/East, Social & Community Impact
Nike, Inc.
Alize has been driven by the idea that, "to whom much is given, much is expected" and has worked over the past 12 years to ensure that her professional career and personal endeavors have always rooted back to the community.
Alize is the Director of Social and Community Impact for Nike overseeing NYC and East Coast. In this role Alize leads and guides local teams in managing a portfolio of external partnerships and engaging employees in communities across NYC and the East. Prior to joining Nike, Alize served as the External Affairs Manager for Link, the most comprehensive, free public Wi-Fi network serving millions of users in New York City, Philadelphia and Newark. She oversaw all community outreach and local partnerships to help make Link a beloved part of each community it is in. Alize also served as the Associate Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC, the nation first and the city's largest youth mentoring organization and served as the Manhattan Borough Director the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs under the Deblasio Administration.
Alize received her undergraduate degree from the illustrious Howard University and received her MPA from Metropolitan College of NYC. She served on the junior board for the Food Bank for NYC and over the last 10 years has given away over 15+ scholarships to students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities through her Puissance Scholarship Fund.
Alize resides in Bergen County with her husband and three children.
Suzy Myers Jackson
SparkYouth NYC, Inc.
Suzy Myers Jackson is thrilled to join the SparkYouth NYC team having been involved with the organization for over a decade, both as a grantee and then as a Board Member.
Suzy’s nonprofit background spans nearly 20 years and encompasses a diverse range of expertise, including: fundraising, board development, nonprofit management, strategic planning, collective impact, culture change, team effectiveness, leadership coaching, program development, and the arts.
Suzy was the longtime Executive Director of Opening Act, a theater-based youth development and social justice organization, where she grew the organization’s reach from 3 to 57 of NYC’s most high-need public schools, increased revenue by 80 fold, developed a national profile for the organization, and supported programmatic impact, becoming a leading organization in Social Emotional Learning outcomes. Suzy has developed multiple campaigns and professional development workshops that have been adopted and implemented by organizations across the country to raise funds, deepen relationships with key stakeholders, and apply the creativity and collaboration of the arts to build a thriving organizational culture. Her unique leadership style is centered around the improvisational tenet of YES AND, which encourages all members of a team to bring their best selves and most innovative ideas to the table, building off one another’s strengths to achieve a shared mission.
Suzy has been a featured speaker at Columbia and NYU, and a consultant for such organizations and corporations as Harlem Educational Activities Fund, HBO, the Center for Anti-Violence Education, Youth INC, Brandworkers, STEM From Dance, and INCLUDEnyc.
Suzy received her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her partner and young sons.
Heather Nesle
Senior Vice President and President
New York Life Foundation
Heather Nesle is president of the New York Life Foundation, the charitable foundation created by New York Life Insurance Company. In addition to her Foundation duties, she is senior vice president of New York Life’s Corporate Responsibility Department.
The New York Life Foundation devotes the majority of its funding each year to educational enhancement in middle school, childhood bereavement, and social justice. Since its founding in 1979, the Foundation has made nearly $415 million in contributions to U.S.-based non-profit organizations. New York Life Corporate Responsibility initiatives include sustainability reporting and strategy, disaster relief, and the award-winning Volunteers for Good program, which helps New York Life employees and agents nationwide volunteer within their communities.
Ms. Nesle most recently served as vice president, corporate sustainability at HSBC Bank USA. Prior to that, she served in various roles at Fannie Mae, most recently as senior capital markets manager, as well as senior communications manager, and information architect.
Ms. Nesle was the recipient of the 2018 “Charlie Award” from Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), which is given to a corporate affairs professional who demonstrates perseverance in the pursuit of societal advancement. She was a David Rockefeller Fellow through the Partnership for New York City in 2020. Ms. Nesle serves on the Board of Directors of the Afterschool Alliance, Philanthropy New York, and Monumental Women. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association.
Ms. Nesle earned a Master of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and human services from George Washington University. She currently resides in New York, NY with her husband, Steve, son, Benjamin, and daughter, Paige.
MODERATOR:
Leah Burke
Director of Development, New York Metro
American Technion Society (ATS)
Leah Burke is Director of Development, New York Metro, at the American Technion Society (ATS). ATS is a nonprofit fundraising organization that supports the growth and success of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology - a global innovation powerhouse. Leah works with donors, leaders, and alumni in the New York metro area to raise funds to support research, labs, and facilities that have helped the university produce world-changing contributions for over a century.
In her previous role, Leah worked as Major Gifts Officer at The New Jewish Home, a nonprofit, comprehensive health care system for older adults. Her other past experience includes serving as Northeast Regional Director at MedShare, a global health organization, as well as other development and special events roles at several New York City-based organizations, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Tuesday’s Children and City Harvest.
A passionate fundraiser with cross-functional background, Leah spent the first decade of her career working in corporate social responsibility and special events. This included roles with the National Basketball Association and UBS Financial Services. Leah enjoys working in the philanthropic community to make a global impact. Her favorite part of this work is connecting people and resources around the world.
In 2019, Leah co-founded Here to Sing, LLC, a New York City-based community choir dedicated to inclusivity. The choir, now boasting over 100 members, gathers weekly to sing rock and pop songs. Leah volunteers as the operations director, passionately supporting the arts in New York City.
Additionally, Leah actively engages with the AFP-NY Emerging Leaders and has participated as a seven-time charity rider in the Five Boro Bike Tour for Team Planned Parenthood of Greater New York. When she's not immersed in music, cycling, or enjoying Broadway shows, Leah can be found strolling the Upper East Side with her rescue dog, Teddy.
Leah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Journalism from Northeastern University, and she proudly earned her Executive MPA degree from CUNY Baruch College's Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.