CoroNY

Our Staff

Our staff work to advance positive social change by enabling diverse leaders to reflect, grow, learn, collaborate, and most importantly lead.

Adem Bunkeddeko

Executive Director, Coro New York

Adem is the Executive Director of Coro New York. He is tasked with leading a civic leadership organization that believes meaningful change comes from collaboration: people in business and communities, schools and unions, government and nonprofits, working together to find creative solutions and strengthen our democracy. Adem brings a unique combination of vision, energy, experience, and local expertise. Prior to Coro, he worked in a variety of managerial roles across the private, public, and social sectors and is a two-time candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Most recently, Adem served as senior advisor to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s (LISC) Project 10x—an initiative designed to upend the racial and opportunity gaps in America. Adem’s parents are war refugees who fled Uganda’s turbulent civil war to seek sanctuary and opportunity in the United States. They settled down and successfully reared their New York City-born children in a modest one-bedroom apartment. Adem’s parents turned what had been a nightmare in Uganda into their version of the American Dream. A product of the New York City public school system, Adem was fortunate enough to earn scholarships for high school and college. Adem is one of the first members of his family to graduate from college and earn a graduate degree. He received a B.A. from Haverford College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Garrett J. Lucien

Vice President of Programs & Training

Garrett@coro.nyc

Garrett (he/him) is Coro’s Vice President of Programs & Training. Garrett is a Neighborhood Leadership 2012 Alumni who joined the Coro team in 2013 with more than 16 years of community and economic development experience. Before coming to Coro, Garrett worked with SoBRO for eight years, most recently as the Senior Director of Economic Development and Financial Services. While working at SoBRO, he specialized in assisting immigrant entrepreneurs establish new businesses throughout the Bronx. He also brings a wealth of experience in facilitating groups and leading retreats and workshops. Garrett holds a B.A. from SUNY New Paltz and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Business in New York. Garrett is a second generation New Yorker who is passionate about helping people to develop skills to create positive change within themselves and their communities.

Midori Valdivia

Chief Operating Officer

Midori@coro.nyc

Midori (she/her) is an urban planner, a transportation professional, and the Chief Operating Officer for Coro New York. Her prior roles included Chief of Staff to the Chair & CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Deputy Commissioner for Finance & Administration at the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission, and Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Midori immigrated to the United States as a young girl. She received her degrees from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and Penn State University. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Micco Sarno

Special Assistant to the Executive Director

Micco@coro.nyc

Micco (he/him) is the special assistant to the Executive Director. Prior to joining Coro in the summer of 2021, Micco worked on the Adem for Congress campaign as the field organizer. He worked on volunteer management and also helped create and direct the campaign’s in-house fellowship program. Micco has also previously worked with the NYC Department of Education’s Office of Youth Safety and Development. Micco was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2019.

Gladys Sosa

Development and Communications Manager

Gladys@coro.nyc

Prior to joining Coro New York at the start of 2021, Gladys (she/her) served as founding Director of Alumni Affairs at The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School, a middle school the New York Times called ‘The country’s most closely watched educational experiment’. She successfully established six support programs, three annual events, and two scholarships along with success metrics, data tracking systems, and communications platforms. More importantly, over the six years at TEP she established a community for a growing network of young alumni to lean on in years to come. Gladys’ interest in leadership development really took off during the Summer of 2012, as Dean of Students at Sadie Nash Leadership Project, a program which has successfully promoted leadership and activism among young women in New York City. Gladys was born and raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. She attained her B.A in Socioloy & Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Wesleyan University. She is also a proud and active alumna of Legal Outreach, a four-year comprehensive program that equips participants for college success.

Densia Wray

Program Manager of Leadership New York

Densia@coro.nyc
Densia (she/her) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. As a child of Jamaican immigrants, her upbringing sparked her passion for empowering and uplifting marginalized communities. This passion led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in Community Change Studies at the City College of New York. After attaining her degree, she completed a year of service with AmeriCorps to continue her work in social justice as a Community Outreach Coordinator at Neighbors Together, a soup kitchen in Brooklyn. There, she supported city and state-wide campaigns for affordable housing.

Taylor Snider

Senior Program Manager of Workforce Systems Leadership Program and Immigrant Civic Leadership Program

Taylor@coro.nyc

Taylor (she/her) joined Coro in 2022 as the Sr. Program Manager for the Immigrant Civic Leadership Program (ICLP) and the Workforce Systems Leadership Program (WSLP). Prior to Coro Taylor worked in Miami as a Leadership Program Manager overseeing a portfolio of programs across justice based subject areas to develop leadership in students and working professionals. Taylor has completed Americorps service as of 2020. Before working on the programmatic side of nonprofits Taylor was a Legal Assistant for a Legal Aid office and completed a volunteer service with the same organization during college. Taylor attended the University of Central Florida and received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American & Caribbean Studies. While there she participated in numerous civic engagement organizations and clubs and completed a semester abroad in Cusco, Peru doing research on indigenous education in the Andes.

Patricia S. Ureña

Director of the Fellows in Public Affairs Program

Patricia@coro.nyc

Patricia (she/her) joined Coro in the Fall of 2022 as the Fellows Program Director, overseeing the full-time cohort program for aspiring leaders in public affairs. Prior to Coro, Patricia served as a senior community engagement manager at NationSwell where she supported social impact leaders across different industries. Her prior roles include Membership & Program Manager at The New York Junior League and Administrative Manager at TEP Charter School. She has extensive experience in community building, leadership support, member relations, program / project management, and nonprofit administration. She obtained her BA from Boston University in International Relations. She believes deeply in creating systems and spaces that center people and promote an equitable and inclusive society. Patricia enjoys fitness, sports, romance languages, Dystopian literature, traveling, and spending quality time with family and friends. She grew up in Upper Manhattan and is the daughter of Dominican immigrants. She currently lives in Westchester County, NY. Patricia is passionate about supporting leaders and building community.

Gila Ward Menda

Director of Leadership New York

Gila@coro.nyc

Gila (she/her) is the Director of the Leadership New York (LNY) Program at Coro New York, and is originally from Haifa, Israel, and Denver, Colorado. Her professional background is in global nonprofit leadership development, learning and development, and facilitation. Prior to Coro, she held roles at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a leading global humanitarian assistance organization, and at HOW Institute for Society, a nonprofit think tank. Passionate about cross-cultural learning, coaching, and social change, Gila has served in long-term field service placements in India, Zimbabwe, Honduras, and Ukraine. She has held board leadership roles in her local neighborhood, is a coach in-training with Conspiring Women Coaching Co-op, and is honored to be a New York 92Y Women inPower Fellow. She holds a B.A. from Brandeis University, an M.P.A. from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service, and lives in Manhattan with her family.

David Rivera

Assistant Director of the Neighborhood Leadership and REBNY Programs

David@coro.nyc

As Assistant Director of Coro’s Neighborhood Leadership and REBNY programs, David (he/him) is responsible for assisting in key areas of program management, operations, communications, and relationship management. Before joining Coro, David served as a Community Engagement and Training Specialist for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). While there, he facilitated training for over 200,000 New Yorkers on Mental Health and Covid-19 and built partnerships with community and faith-based organizations across New York City. David was also a liaison between DOHMH and the Department of Education which led to training over 10,000 teachers and school administrators. He is a native New Yorker and received his Bachelor’s degree from SUNY New Paltz.

Board of Directors

Our dedicated board includes leaders from the private, social, and public sectors—including many Coro alumni—with the insight and experience to help guide the growth and sustainability of Coro.

Fatima Shama

Coro Chair | Head of Diversity and Inclusion in the Americas, Bloomberg Philanthropies

Gregg Bishop

Coro Vice Chair | Executive Director, Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation's Social Justice Fund

Achaibar (Dan) Sawh

Coro Treasurer | Founder & President, Haydan Consultants Inc.

Aaron Koffman

Coro Secretary | Managing Principal, The Hudson Companies Inc.

Board

Susanna Aaron

Sandra Altine

VP, Diversity and Inclusion, Meta

Richard A. Caccappolo

Chief Operating Officer, MailOnline

Andrew Cantor

Executive Vice President, Related Companies

Wellington Chen

Executive Director, Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation

Darrell Gay

Partner, Arent Fox LLP

Tal Golomb

Partner, Fried Frank LLP

Andrea Hagelgans

Managing Director, NY Corporate and Public Affairs Edelman

Alison Hirsh

Assistant Comptroller for Pensions and Senior Adviser, Office of the Comptroller

Wayne Ho

President/CEO Chinese American Planning Council

LaAsia Hundley

Vice President, Facilities & Field Services, Con Edison

Patrick B. Jenkins

President, Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates

Angie Kamath

Dean at School of Professional Studies, New York University

Sarah Lewis

Vice President, Health Equity Hartford Healthcare

Arlenis Morel

Co-Executive Director, Make the Road New York

David I. Moskovitz

Senior Managing Director, Accenture

Monisha Nariani

Director, Global Business Practices and Reg. Affairs, Citi

Mehul J. Patel

Head of Commercial Office, Rudin Management Company

Jeffrey Plaut

Founding Partner, Global Strategy Group

Melissa Roman Burch

Chief Operating Officer, NYC Economic Development Corporation

William F. Squadron

Assistant Professor, Elon University

Angelene Superable

Communications Advisor and Deputy Press Secretary, NYC Office of the Mayor

Travis Terry

President, Capalino+Company

Jamie Torres-Springer

President, MTA Construction & Development

Nancy Youman

– Coro Alumni

Board Emeritus

Anne Pollack

Peter Neger