Speaker Bios – Power Shift: Casting off racism to create transformative change

Prior to joining FPWA, Ms. Jones Austin served as Senior Vice President of United Way NYC, Family Services Coordinator for Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Commissioner for the NYC Administration for Children's Services; Civil Rights Deputy Bureau Chief for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and Vice President for LearnNow/Edison Schools Inc. Ms. Jones Austin has chaired and served on several influential boards and commissions, including serving as Co-Chair of NYC Mayor de Blasio's Transition, Chair of the NYC Procurement Policy Board, and Co-Chair of the New York State Supermarket Commission. She currently is a Board Member of the National Action Network, the New York Blood Center, the NYC Board of Correction, and the Fund for Public Housing.

Additionally, his agency portfolio includes the Department of Youth and Community Development; the Department of Small Business Services; the Commission on Human Rights; the Department of Veterans’ Services; the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities; and the NYC Public Engagement Unit. Prior to joining the de Blasio administration, Thompson was an Associate Professor of Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of Double Trouble: Black Mayors, Black Communities and the Struggle for Deep Democracy published in 2006 by Oxford University Press. He has also written and worked extensively on community health planning, race and community development, and the politics of black economic advancement. Thompson also has an extensive background in New York City Government. He previously served in the Dinkins Administration as the Deputy General Manager for Operations and Development, and before that served in the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. He received a B.A. in Sociology from Harvard University in 1977, a Masters in Urban Planning from Hunter College in 1986, and a PhD from the City University of New York Graduate Center in 1990.

Previously, she was Interim Executive Director of Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families, Executive Director of Children’s Defense Fund – New York, Executive Director of Girls Inc. of NYC and Executive Vice President of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation.

She also is a member of the Board of Directors of Philanthropy New York. Ana has held key roles as a CEO of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and Vice President of Programs at Osborne Association and Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center Substance Abuse Clinic. Ana attained her M.A. in Medical Anthropology and a PhD. (hon) from the New School for Social Research. She was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and resides in Manhattan.

Richter was appointed to the Family Court bench twice by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and sat in a child protective part (January 2009 – August 2011) and family violence/custody part (January 2014 - May 2015) in Queens County, meting out justice for New Yorkers in the City’s most diverse borough, with a dense population of new immigrants who face myriad challenges. In this court alone, over 50 languages are interpreted daily in order for litigants to participate fully in matters that affect the most intimate and important details of their lives, including their relationships with their children.Between 2011 and 2013, Richter led NYC’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), the $2.8B public agency at the heart of child and youth safety, permanency and well-being – encompassing child welfare, juvenile justice and early care and education. During his tenure at ACS, Richter introduced evidence-based, foster care practice models for the first time, and helped secure flexibility in Federal IV-E funding; led the introduction of evidence-based practice in the child welfare preventive arena; was deeply involved in drafting and implementing Close to Home, the landmark 2011 law that ensures young people remain in their communities, near their families when they have delinquency cases; ensured that parents are offered an advocate prior to the agency deciding whether to remove their children, a national first. The agency experienced a 60% reduction in foster care entries among children who entered care for 10 days or less during his tenure. While at ACS between 2005 and 2007 as a deputy commissioner, Richter led the development of the City’s largest, evidence-based program to divert young people from out-of-home placement on delinquency cases, the Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI). This program resulted in a 200% reduction in the use of out-of-home placement between 2006 and 2013, a trend that continues today. Prior to working as a judge and for the City, Richter was a lawyer for thirteen years with The Legal Aid Society, serving between 2002 and 2005 as the Deputy Attorney-in-Charge of the Juvenile Rights Practice. He began his career as a staff lawyer with Bedford Stuyvesant Community Legal Services in 1990. Richter earned his B.A. from Tufts University, his Master of Science in Mass Communication from Boston University College of Communications and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

In her previous post, as the organization’s chief operating officer, she oversaw all the programs in its cradle-through-college pipeline, including Promise Academy I and II; led a staff of more than 2,000; and strengthened the organization’s use of data to improve services and outcomes for its 25,000 children and families. Williams-Isom earned a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, after which she began working in community affairs for the New York Police Department. As a student at Columbia Law School, she discovered her passion for advocacy work and came to appreciate the critical role played by communities in finding lasting solutions to social problems. After receiving her J.D., she practiced law for five years at two prestigious firms in New York before joining the city’s Administration for Children’s Services, concluding her 13-year tenure there as deputy commissioner of the Division of Community and Government Affairs. Williams-Isom serves on the advisory council of the recently created My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, inspired by former President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, as well as on Fordham University’s President’s Council. In 2016, she was appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to his Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board and was selected to be a member of the spring 2016 cohort of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship. She serves on the board of directors of Child Trends, a nonprofit research organization, and the board of trustees of the Central Park Conservancy. Regularly sought after for her expert guidance on child welfare and community development, Williams-Isom has been featured in The New York Times, Barron’s, Crain’s New York, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and Essence, as well as on WABC’s Here and Now and CUNY-TV’s Black America.

Mr. Dannhauser earned his MSW at University of California, Berkeley and his BA at Duke University. He is married to the Rev. Adrian Dannhauser. Adrian and Jess are the proud parents of their lovely daughter, Callaway.

ACS led the full implementation of the Raise the Age legislation where all 16 and 17 year olds were moved out of Riker’s Island. Under Deputy Commissioner Franco’s direction the NYC Close to Home program has become a national and international juvenile justice model by demonstrating that it is possible to safely support youth in the community. Prior to overseeing juvenile justice in New York City Franco served as Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Juvenile Justice and Opportunities for Youth at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services where he oversaw the full juvenile justice continuum of care and implemented reforms that lead to the closure of 26 youth prisons. Previously, Felipe served as Director of Juvenile Justice at the Children’s Aid Society; taught at New York University; worked at the NYPD as Coordinator of Community Police Partnerships; served as a Research Associate at the Vera Institute of Justice; and provided clinical services to youth and families at the Gouverneur Hospital, Roberto Clemente Family Guidance Center.

Keith joins SCO from his recent position as Executive Director at Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families, where he was credited with building organizational capacity, external collaborations, and financial sustainability. He has held senior organizational and program leadership positions at the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) for two decades. He last served as Associate Commissioner and Deputy Director at OMH, where he was responsible for the direction and oversight of State Operations, including 13 statewide child and adolescent psychiatric centers/units; the coordination of state-local services via regional OMH field offices; and oversight of Division State Operations budget and spending plans. His vast experience includes posts at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services and the New York City Department of Health. Keith earned an MPA from Baruch College, City University of New York, and a bachelor’s degree from University of Bridgeport. He currently sits on the Boards of Directors of COFCCA and the Collaboration of Children and Families (CCF), the Priority and Strategy Council for the Human Services Council, and is a lead member of the Black Agency Executives.

She was appointed by Mayor DeBlasio to New York City’s Commission on Gender Equity and serves on the Board of Directors of The New York Women’s Foundation. Her contributions to education and the social sector have been recognized by the New York State Education Department and The New York City Comptroller’s Office, among others. In 2015 The Network Journal named her one of the 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business. In the summer of 2016, she was featured in The New York Times’ Corner Office column and in Crain’s New York. Dr. Moss has contributed to The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Edutopia, The Amsterdam News, and City Limits Magazine. Her 2018 TED Talk on student potential has garnered over 1.9M views. She holds M.A. and Ed.M. degrees from Teachers College Columbia University, where she also completed her Doctorate in Organization and Leadership with a focus on Education Administration. She received her B.A. from Swarthmore College with a degree in both English Literature and History with a concentration in Black Studies.

Before coming to GOSO, Dr. Rainey was Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), leading workforce development, administration, security and human resource strategies for the organization. She established impactful partnerships in order to connect the underserved community in Brooklyn with career opportunities in the Yard’s growing industries, eliminating barriers to employment for disadvantaged populations and increased placements of formerly incarcerated individuals to 20 percent and total workforce placements from 100 to over 500 in eight years. Prior to her tenure at BNYDC, she was the Human Resources Director for specialty food retailer Agata and Valentina. Dr. Rainey also has held senior positions at Independent Living Association, Home Depot and Boar’s Head. A graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, Dr. Rainey holds a master’s in administration from Metropolitan College and a doctorate in Leadership from St. John Fisher College. She is a member of the New York City Workforce Development Board, a trustee of the New York College of Technology Foundation Board and trustee of the Brooklyn Children Museum Board. Dr, Rainey is the recipient of several prestigious honors including being named one Network Journal’s 25 Influential Black Women in Businesses in 2016.Dr. Rainey resides in Brooklyn with her husband Dr. Perry Rainey, a high school principal, and has two adult sons.