UNIQUE PEOPLE SERVICES - Key Persons
Aziza E. Anderson serves as Chief of Staff at Unique People Services. Aziza brings experience leading and implementing strategic initiatives, managing programs and performing organizational oversight in the private, federal and nonprofit sectors. Aziza collaborates closely with the Executive Director and key stakeholders in support of greater impact and positive change making for our most vulnerable individuals and families.
As the Chief of Staff and a member of the Executive Leadership team, she ensures organizational priorities align with the achievement towards the UPS strategic plan. Her organizational and project management skills support UPS expansion of its housing development and health services portfolio.
Aziza is a proud Bronxite and global citizen that has lived, worked and served in five continents. She values reflective life-long learning, quality health and education access, the arts, travel, nature, humor and enjoys spending time with her family.
Aziza is a Williams J. Clinton Scholar and National Urban Fellow, one of the country's top leadership development programs. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations and International Studies with honors from SUNY Fredonia and Masters of Public Administration from the Marxe School of Public Affairs, CUNY Baruch.
Christina Lui is truly a "gift" to all who know and meet her and that is why she was chosen as our December Individual of the Month. Christina currently resides in one of our Individual Residential Alternatives (IRAs) in Queens for people with Developmental Disabilities. She came to Unique People Services in 2010 at the age of 30, after living with her parents, so that she could progress toward more independent living.
Christina is very family oriented. She looks forward to her weekly Sunday visits at her parents home as well as spending the holidays with them. At the residence, she is always willing to assist staff or her peers and can usually be found welcoming visitors, helping around the house with chores like cooking and cleaning and oftentimes is willing to go far and beyond her individual goals. She is the unofficial greeter and gatekeeper, keeping mental notes of each visitor and their purpose for being there.
Prior to coming to UPS, Christina did exhibit some aggression and behavioral problems. Staff has seen positive changes and have noted her courage when taking on new tasks on her own that previously would have prevented her from even attempting.
Christina has shown precise knowledge of time management. One could call her the house calendar as Christina will often remind her peers of their scheduled doctor's appointments, birthdays and current events. Her keen sense of observation and ability to recall persons, places and things serve her well as she utilizes this skill to personalize each individual and her experiences as it relates to them.
Christina is also an avid reader and enjoys taking journeys through the stories that she reads. She gets excited and looks forward to reading the various books brought in by staff from time to time as she is always looking forward to her next adventure through the pages. Her favorite thing to read is the newspaper as she insists upon keeping up with current events. Christina enjoys listening to her portable radio and getting lost in the music.
Christina has also displayed a keen awareness of other's emotions and seasonal affective disorder. She shows sincere empathy towards her peers, especially if they may be feeling under the weather and tries to find outlets to get them back thinking positively and feeling good again. This includes sharing her thoughts and own tried and true home remedies for wellness like tea with honey for the common cold in order to make the individual feel better.
When it comes to community integration and travel, Christina is the person to depend on. She has a great sense of direction and assists staff by reading signs and retracing steps to ensure everyone arrives to the destination. Christina is learning money management and used her allowance and/or money she has saved to purchase some tangible items such as clothes and make up as she loves to look her best.
Christina is a very independent and determined women and staff look forward to working with her as she continues striding through her set goals.
Christine is a veteran of NBCUniversal with over two decades of progressive financial and operational experience, across diverse business units including Sales, Broadcast Operations and News. Her most recent role there was as CFO of Peacock and a key member of the management team that launched the service.
She began her career at Price Waterhouse where she earned her CPA license as an auditor in the financial service industry practice.
Christine earned a B.S. in accounting from Binghamton University and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.
She lives in New York with her daughter where she practices yoga and is still trying to play tennis.
She is currently an independent contractor for the State of New York and provides in-home support to autistic children. She focuses on their cognitive, communication and social-emotional skills. She is skilled at adapting the content, teaching methodology, and delivery instruction to meet the appropriate needs of each child.
The strides she has made have been acknowledged through her numerous awards and growing responsibilities at the schools in which she taught. Ms. Downing has held a number of professional positions throughout her career. During her years as an educator, she worked as a crisis intervention teacher, an inclusion teacher, a school-based coach, and a parent coordinator.
Crystal E. Ward lives by her personal motto: "To Inspire, To Motivate and To Connect"
She currently serves as the Executive Pastor for the Spencerville Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. In addition to the traditional pastoral responsibilities of preaching and shepherding the congregation, she oversees the church's operations, strategic planning, administration, finances, and human resources to achieve its mission and vision.
She has a wealth of leadership experience in the corporate, not for profit and religious sector. Prior to God's calling on her life to full time ministry, Crystal spent almost 20 years in the corporate sector. She was a Senior Vice President at Citibank managing an extensive portfolio of Not-For-Profit Clients. She also worked for JPMorgan as a Vice President in the Government and Not For Profit Group and managed a portfolio consisting of large NGO's, Religious Organizations, Foundations and Academic Institutions in New York, New Jersey and Washington, DC.
Crystal believes in living a life of impact and has always balanced her career with service to the community. She previously served as a board member and finance committee member for the Aids Service Center of NYC, former board Chair For Unique People Services and currently serves on the board of New Majority Capital, an organization dedicated to helping underrepresented business owners by forging partnerships with investors.
As a pastor and certified life coach, Crystal believes in empowering others to live to their full potential and has coached and mentored many individuals. She has served as a keynote for several conferences and conducts workshops on leadership, finding your purpose, financial literacy and so much more.
Crystal holds a Masters of Divinity from Andrews Theological Seminary, a Masters in Public Administration, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from CUNY Baruch, Zicklin School of Business and a certificate in Executive Management from Columbia University Business School. She is also a National Urban Fellow and certified Life Coach through the CAPP Institute.
Dawn Rodriguez came to Unique People Services (UPS) nearly one year ago, exhibiting behavioral challenges, a strong need for structure and a guiding hand to lead her in the right direction. Over the last several months, UPS staff have worked with Dawn to set goals and help her improve socialization skills which have increased dramatically.
If Dawn encounters an obstacle, she is encouraged to communicate her feelings so she can talk out her issues and resolve the situation. Through the support of program supervisors, she has grown more confident when it comes to successfully achieving her goals. She is no longer afraid to challenge herself and feels comforted knowing that staff are available 24/7 to help rectify any issues she may be having.
One such area is travel training. Instead of boarding a city bus, Dawn used to try to run away, requiring intense supervision. UPS staff helped Dawn conquer her fear of public transportation. She has ridden the bus on several occasions, easing her trepidation and advancing her to less intense supervision. Dawn's next goal: to overcome her fear of elevated subway platforms and stairs. With staff by her side, she has already showed signs of success, carefully navigating any set of stairs she encounters with increased self-assurance and determination.
As she continues to successfully integrate into the community, Dawn is enjoying a variety of outings. Like many women, she likes a bit of pampering, especially manicures. When Dawn visits the local nail salon, she appreciates the ability to make choices and select her own nail color preference. Whether she's at program or out in the community, Dawn has become more aware of the decision-making process and how to make the best choices to achieve appropriate outcomes.
Dawn's math and reading skills have also improved, as well as her perception skills. She is able to remember streets and landmarks when traveling in the community. When visiting the library, her enhanced interpersonal skills are frequently on display. She loves mingling with others and is proud of her ability to check out CDs and DVDs on her own.
Future goals include mastering money management, which Dawn has already kick-started. She recently saved four weeks of her allowance so she can purchase different items, exhibiting a sense of responsibility and will power that many shoppers do not have!
As Dawn's skillsets increase each day, so have additional opportunities for growth. Staff recently helped Dawn complete an application to participate in a volunteer companionship program for the elderly. She also helps to deliver mail to UPS sites every Wednesday.
Knowing she's helping to make a difference gives Dawn a strong sense of pride which carries over to her demeanor. She exhibits a great spirit and often spreads positivity to her peers, greeting everyone she meets and cheering up anyone who may be feeling down. And if you ask Dawn how she's feeling, she'll most likely answer, "I'm great, thanks for asking!"
Yes, Dawn, you are doing great and your wonderful progress continues to make us proud!
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Member of the Board
- Retired Special Education Teacher
Deborah is also a passionate civic leader, who helps to foster innovation and lasting organizational change, with organization such as the Metropolitan Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc., where she has served as a Teen Advisor and Co-Chair of their very successful Annual Gala, and a member of the Rainbow Yacht Club. She has also volunteered on campaigns for both judicial and political candidates.
Ellen was a Manager at Verizon Wireless in Business Development - Mergers & Acquisitions from 2004-2015. She worked on sourcing and executing small wireless company acquisitions. She also worked in auditing services.
Prior to Verizon Wireless, Ellen was a management consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton, where she supported Fortune 500 client engagements. Her client engagements included business strategy, industry analysis, market sizing and new business plan assessments. Ellen also held a brief position at Salomon Smith Barney in investment banking. She started her career at Ameritech and later at Sprint PCS in engineering roles.
She received an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University in 1994 and a MBA in Finance and Accounting from University of Chicago's Booth School of Business in 2000. She is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. From 2017-2019, Ellen served as a Board member of Unique People Services. Also, Ellen was previously a member of Northwestern University's Greater New York Alumni Board.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Program Officer
- UPS' Administrative Director of Quality Assurance and Human Resources
From 1987-1996, Everson served as Group Home Director at the Edwin Gould Services for Children, overseeing administrative functions, social services staff and a program budget of $5,000,000. He was later promoted to Deputy Executive Director (after serving as Interim Executive Director), where he was responsible for oversight of the Quality Assurance Department and corporate compliance. Everson worked closely with the Chief Fiscal Officer to maximum revenues and was instrumental in the development of new programs, which helped to expand the agency.
As UPS' Administrative Director of Quality Assurance and Human Resources, Everson monitors the quality of programs and services, while providing strategic plan analysis, audit implementation, incident risk assessments and budget management. He also serves as UPS' Corporate Compliance Officer and HIPAA Security and Privacy Officer, ensuring the agency meets all industry standards and objectives.
Everson holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Brooklyn College.
"Your beginning doesn't have to be your end."- Gerald Digilio
Unique People Services (UPS) program recipient Gerald Digilio has embraced the opportunity to start life anew. With the support of UPS, Mr. Digilio has been able to achieve a positive life transformation…that is why he is the UPS January 2019 Individual of the Month.
From an early age, Gerald Digilio experienced adversities that would change the course of his life. By five years old, his father abandoned his mother and four siblings. By eight years old, Gerald took his first alcoholic drink. His mother also gave him his first valium to help quell the undiagnosed ADHD and youth mental illness (disorders, which produced severe anxiety, depression, and inattentiveness). By 11 years old, Gerald was hooked on drugs, alcohol, and the leader of a gang. "At a very young age I was very aware that I had a compulsive personality, but I confused my compulsiveness and undiagnosed mental illness, with being fearless. Consequently, I participated in reckless activities." shared Gerald.
By seventeen, Gerald was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Witnessing his self-destruction, family members persuaded him to attend an AA (Alcoholics/Addicts Anonymous) meeting. However, his path to sobriety was short lived. "I couldn't relate to the concept and principles of AA and I couldn't figure out my own sobriety" Mr. Digilio shared. As a result, his behaviors did not change-they only got worse. "I figured out ways to hide my addiction. I was a functioning drug addict. As life went on, I was able to get a job, marry, and have children" Mr. Digilio further shared. To compound troubles, personal tragedies were a chief part of his life. He witnessed the death of his best friend, lived in a car with his wife and two sons, and in 1999, he buried his wife due to drugs and alcohol.
Mr. Digilio shared "After I lost my wife, I also lost my kids. I enrolled briefly in AA to get them back. Once I got them back, I reverted to my destructive habits. Once my sons were with me, instead of parenting, I became their friend and could only teach them what I knew-which was the drug lifestyle. Nevertheless, with all of these heartbreaking events, I never stopped getting high. I lost my children again and I became chronically homeless. As I figured ways to feed my addictions, my home became the streets. I admit that much of this time I do not remember. But what I do know is that I had a $70 a day alcohol and drug habit and finally realized, I had to make a change" He further shared.
The catalyst for change finally arrived with the persistence support of an ex-girlfriend and the realization, "that I was born sober and wanted to leave the earth sober" Mr. Digilio thoughtfully shared.
Regrettably, during his first month of sobriety, his 26-year-old son was hospitalized with complications related to substance abuse and was in and out of a coma. Daily Mr. Digilio would spend time at the hospital with his ailing son. Every day he would whisper his recovery progress in his son ear. "I'm sober 40 days. This is day 41", he would utter. On the 47th day of his sobriety, Mr. Digilio, whispered proudly to his son, "I'm 47 days clean!" Mr. Digilio also recalls, upon hearing this-his son briefly opened his eyes and raised his hand in approval. With a tremor in his voice, Mr. Digilio sadly shared, "The next day he died. This is what truly catapulted me in a new direction. Shortly after, I enroll in a program that directed me to UPS."
Prior to arriving at UPS, Mr. Digilio was homeless for 11 years and in the shelter system for two years. In 2017, he arrived at UPS and fondly recalls the day he met UPS director Eunice Gooding. "What a day it was! I was on my way to a new life and all I could think about was, the words my grandmother use to share with me. When I was at my lowest, I would ask her where God was in my life. Grandmother use to say, "God is in the most beautiful place, as she would place her hand on my heart. On that day my heart was full." he said, as he pointed to the center of his chest. "However, the next three months was the longest time of my life, knowing that I was getting my own apartment in a new building and warm people. Once, I moved in it's been a life changing experience since." I wake up in awe every day in this peaceful apartment, ‘he shares.
When asked about Mr. Digilio's progress, he is described as a model client and tenant. "In the past, Mr. Digilio suffered from undiagnosed issues related to mild schizophrenia, separation, and depression. With the help of another service provider and UPS, he now has the correct medication and is able to properly manage his mental health. His UPS case manager also smiles and then says, He is such a motivating, caring, and humble individual. His spirit is uplifting and after every meeting with him, I feel empowered. He truly is a vessel of hope and love. Mr. Digilio leaves a mark on your heart" she further states.
In his spare time, Mr. Digilio is an avid reader and writes moving poetry about his life experiences. He is also a much sort after motivational speaker. He is requested weekly to speak at different recovery organizations. "You teach what you want to learn, my grandmother once told me. To see people rise from where they were is encouraging. I share my testimony, with the goal of giving recovering addicts, the hope they need. I share that you can fall, but you can also rise. I guide them on how to get over the failure and setbacks." Mr. Digilio shared. He further shares, that he is grateful to be a part of the process and immerses himself in this new lifestyle because it is rewarding, helps him maintain his own recovery, and uplifts him.
"In my sobriety I have learned to surrender, admit defeat, and start over again from the bottom with love and care. I didn't know if I was going to make it past 30 years old, yet alone ever image myself at 60 years old, sober and in a brand new apartment. It was a long road, yet I am honored to be sober and able to have a home because of UPS" Mr. Dilgilio beams.
He concludes with, "UPS gave me a fresh start when no one believed in me. Even when I did not believe in himself. It is so gratifying to know that people do this for a living, to help others stabilize, and get to a better place. I believe that my success is UPS' success- and shared success is the true triumph." I am blessed to have a home and a new beginning… and UPS is a great big part of it all."
Mr. Gregory worked in New York City as a psychiatric social worker for more than 35 years. This included many years working with the severely mentally ill in hospital, residential and shelter settings; most of this work also included treating and managing the complications of concurrent substance abuse. Several years working with latency aged boys in a residential treatment center helped reinforce for him the overwhelming importance of timely care for people whose painfully deprived life circumstances render them at great risk for severe emotional difficulties, mental illness, substance use, incarceration and homelessness.
He developed housing programs for the chronically homeless, which serve both people who are street homeless and people who are frequent users of jail and shelter. He also developed the clinical program for a low income residence serving homeless special-needs families. Although he has retired from Social Work, he will always feel privileged to have spent his professional life getting to know and help our society's least cared for members.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Associate at the Law Firm of Gibson
Justine Goeke is a senior litigation associate at the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Justine represents multinational companies and senior executives in a variety of industries (healthcare, technology, banking/finance, law, and transportation) in regulatory and criminal actions/investigations, and in complex commercial litigation. Justine also maintains an active pro bono practice.
Prior to her current role at Gibson Dunn, Justine served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ann M. Donnelly in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and as a law clerk to the Honorable D. Brock Hornby in the United States District Court for the District of Maine.
Justine holds a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.
Job Titles:
- Director of Quality Assurance
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Real Estate and Development
Marya Riche serves as Chief of Staff at Unique People Services. Marya brings experience leading and implementing strategic initiatives, performing organizational oversight in the private sectors.
She collaborates closely with the Executive Director and key stakeholders in support of greater impact and positive change making for our most vulnerable individuals and families. As the Chief of Staff and a member of the Executive Leadership team, she ensures organizational priorities align with the achievement towards the UPS strategic plan. Her organizational and project management skills support UPS expansion of its housing development and health services portfolio. Marya is a proud New Yorker who enjoys the arts, travel, and spending time with family.
Mohamed graduated from The School of Physical Therapy at Cairo University in 2002. Upon graduation he worked for 7 years at the Police Hospitals Health System in Cairo, where he was a key member of the team responsible for building a $30 million state-of-art rehabilitation facility. In that function, Mohamed's main role included serving as a liaison for negotiations between senior leadership and vendors for $10 million in equipment-purchasing contracts, hiring/training staff, and preparing for meetings and presentations with national and international vendors. After moving to the United States, Mohammed received his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Dominican College and MBA in healthcare administration from Baruch College. Mohamed currently works as a Post-Acute Care Physical Therapist at Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
Ms. Joyce Richardson is a 60 year old single African American female. She was born in New York and lived with both parents and two sisters. Ms. Richardson never married but has one adult daughter that she is very close to and grandchildren who she loves dearly. Ms. Richardson is very family oriented and makes time to visit regularly and shows a great deal of concern for her family. Ms. Richardson appreciates the help and support from staff of Unique People Services. Ms. Richardson is a very responsible person where she keeps all scheduled appointments and always maintains the up keep of her apartment. She continues to have a pleasant smile each day with a little joke here and there where she appreciates her housing here at Hunter Apartments.
Ms. Richardson graduated from High School in New York. She stated she went to school and pursued studies in Home Health Aide services after her mother died. Also, Ms. Richardson has experience working as an office aide at the Department of Social Services but states that due to her mental illness and substance use these jobs were short-lived. At this time Ms. Richardson is not involved in any vocational program. However, Ms. Richardson has matured into a very responsible and religious woman. She has learned to put God first and is very involved in church, attending daily bible studies and regular masses on a consistent basis, and being a support and advocate to help others like herself through the ministry of her church.
Ms. Richardson has been able to maintain her sobriety and looks forward to her integration into the community on an independent level. Due to her substance use she use to have seizures but that have subsided. During Ms. Richardson's stay here at our UPS program, the staff has been able to assist and give her support in accomplishing many of her goals. She describes how being a resident of Unique People Services has really helped her nourish to have a better life, a life that is free, fruitful and worth living. Ms. Richardson states how she feels safe being in the hands of Unique People Services but knows it's time for her to move on to independent living.
Nathaniel Montgomery serves a Chief Housing Development Officer for Brisa Builders Development LLC. As Chief Housing Development Officer he is responsible for developing and managing relationships with local economic development partners including community-based organizations, other mission-driven developers, impact investors, financial institutions, and local/state agencies to manage the organization's pipeline of real estate projects that foster inclusive economic development. Assess project feasibility, underwrite, develop finance strategies, advise on the selection and coordination of third-party consultants, and access financing via public subsidies and conventional sources. Conduct financial modeling for all types of real estate transactions and identify potential sources of financing including pre-development loans, construction and permanent loans, tax-exempt bonds, IDA bonds and New Market Tax Credits.
Mr. Montgomery's has secured over $100 million dollars in financing for both residential and commercial development projects. Over the years he has been tremendously successful in coordinating, negotiating, planning, constructing, and managing residential and commercial development projects. He has experience in developing special needs, low-moderate, middle, and market rate residential development projects. Mr. Montgomery is proficient in the use of bond financing, government subsidies, New York State and Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
Mr. Montgomery has held several professional positions throughout his real estate development career. He has served as Senior Vice President for the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SOBRO); Director of Real Estate Development for Brand New Day, Inc.; Director of Real Estate Development for VOCM; and Senior Project Manager for Isles, Inc. He holds certifications in Real Estate Development Finance and Economic Development Finance from the National Development Corporation (NDC). Mr. Montgomery holds a Master's Degree in Urban and Regional Planning (MA) and a Master's Degree in Public Administration (MPA). Mr. Montgomery is also a graduate of the National Urban Fellows leadership program.
Job Titles:
- Fellow at New School University
Lisa Downing has spent over 25 years developing her expertise in urban development on local, national and international levels. Ms. Downing's work has spanned the areas of education, youth and community development in academic and philanthropic settings; and, executive leadership, organizational management, real estate and economic development in the business sector.
Ms. Downing has worked for esteemed non profit organizations such as: New School University, the Academy for Educational Development, the Annie E Casey and Ford Foundations and Africare. At Africare/Nigeria she lived and worked abroad in Kaduna State, Nigeria where she was the Program Administrator for a Women's Economic Development initiative that focused on teaching health, financial literacy and income generating skills to urban and rural women. At the corporate, Fortune 100 level, Ms. Downing has worked in Executive Leadership and Succession Planning targeting the top 400 executives at American Express and, in Global Real Estate Operations at Citi which managed a real estate portfolio of 73M sq ft.
For the last 15 years Ms. Downing has spent her time in real estate in brokerage (residential and commercial), Marketing, Sales and Leasing capacities at Warburg Realty Partnership and also in Real Estate Development: Sales, Marketing and Project Management at Cogswell Realty Group and Jerome Stone Development; the latter, was an affordable housing initiative conjunction with NYC's Housing and Preservation and Development (HPD). In 2010, Ms. Downing launched Connections Real Estate Services Inc. a boutique real estate brokerage and consulting firm. She has sold and leased over $27MM of realty spanning over $80,000 sq ft.
Currently, Ms. Downing serves on Manhattan's Community Board 10 where she has held leadership roles serving as the Chair of Land Use and Vice Chair for Historic Preservation and Landmarks. Ms. Downing also serves on the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone's (UMEZ) Economic and Physical Development, Workforce Development and Small Business (BRISC) committees. To date, UMEZ has made investments of up to $242M in support of urban infrastructure in Upper Manhattan.
Ms. Downing was a Patricia Roberts Harris fellow at New School University and an International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH) Fellow for her exemplary leadership in public service; she was bestowed the James Kuhn Diversity in Real Estate award at New York University. She holds a Master of Science degree in Urban Policy Analysis in Management from New School University and, a Master of Science degree in Real Estate Finance and Investments from New York University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Founder and Principal of MBT
Ralph Declet is the founder and principal of MBT, a mission and community driven real estate development consulting firm. The company is engaged in affordable, supportive and market rate multifamily housing development in the New York City area.
MBT collaborates and partners with organizations that have similar missions, including not-for-profit organizations, other MBE developers and public/private property owners. In addition to his role as the managing member, Mr. Declet is engaged in new business development and scaling the operations of MBT.
Rosemarie Gooden, CPA joined Unique People Services (UPS) in August 2013, as the Chief Financial Officer, with direct responsibilities for the Finance, Purchasing, Human Resources, and Information Technology functions of the company. With diverse expertise in finance, budgeting and financial analysis, she manages the organization's budget.
Prior to joining UPS, in her capacity as Director of Finance, she was directly responsible for financial analysis, budgeting and statements preparation for the Board of Directors and other Committees within the organization. Rosemarie also served as Senior Audit Manager with responsibilities of OMB A-133 audits, government auditing standards, budgets and statement analysis, internal controls, and review of consolidated fiscal reports.
A CPA, licensed in the states of New York and New Hampshire, and a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, she holds a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and Economics from the University of the West Indies.
Bringing her wealth of experience gained as an Audit Manager in not-for-profit accounting to Unique People Services, Rosemarie aims to improve the financial operations, and technological processes of the company, to ensure it remains current in today's robust economic and informational age.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director at S & P
Stephen Lynch is a Director at S&P Global Ratings. At S&P Global, Stephen manages a team that covers the credit ratings for financial institutions. Prior to S&P Global, Stephen was an equity analyst at Piper Jaffray in San Francisco. Stephen also worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice at KPMG LLP and the federal tax practice at Deloitte, both in San Francisco.
Stephen holds a Masters of Business Administration from UCLA's Anderson School of Management. He also completed his undergraduate work at UCLA where he double majored in Business Economics and Political Science, and minored in Accounting.
He resides in New York City with his wife who works as a mental health therapist.
Yvette joined Unique People Services (UPS) in 2008. She oversees the organization's budget of $36 million and a staff of over 300 employees. She is responsible for executive planning, contract management and real estate negotiations. Her expertise includes over 20 years of experience in the areas of finance and budgeting, program development, contract negotiation, low-income housing development and proposal writing. Yvette ensures that the agency's programs are well funded and operate at effective levels of service.
Yvette Brissett-André brings to Unique People Services a wealth of knowledge regarding federal and state funding regulations through her work with the New York State Office of Mental Health, New York City Department of Homeless Services, Office for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, among many other government funding sources.
Her quest and success in acquiring awards of new contracts for the agency has proven to be one of her hallmarks, thus establishing a position of creating opportunities with a continuum of care for the benefit of individuals with special needs. Under her leadership, UPS has grown from a $16 million company to the present $20.6 million and has received several contract awards as a result of winning grant proposals. These include funding from New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, additional funding through Human Resources Administration HASA Scatter Site, a Broadway Cares National Grant to assist individuals with emergency support services at Crown Residence and a Community Revitalization Program grant that allows UPS to buy foreclosed properties.
Over the years Yvette has worked with community officials and boards in the agency's program service areas throughout the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens. She is a member of the executive team of Fortune Society, serving as the Treasurer for the board and past treasurer of Adolescent and Family Comprehensive Services in the Bronx.
Yvette is instrumental in initiating the agency's first major fundraising strategy and public relations campaign. With full support and leadership from the Board of Directors, she is at the forefront of the development and implementation of these two ambitious achievements. Under the fearless leadership of Yvette, in 2015, UPS opened Lynn's Place their first development for low-income New Yorkers.
Yvette holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from CUNY/Baruch and a Bachelor's of Science from SUNY/Plattsburgh. She is a National Urban Fellow and was one of the first participants in their America's Leaders of Change program.