Archives: Board of directors

Charles S. Warren, chair of the Environmental practice at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, LLP, is recognized as one of the pre-eminent lawyers in his field, and counsels and represents clients in a comprehensive range of environmental law matters. A former regional administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chuck brings more than 35 years of knowledge and experience in environmental law, both in government and private practice, to his work on behalf of clients.

Chuck advises public and privately held corporations as well as other organizations on compliance under state and federal environmental statutes and regulations, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, solid waste and brownfield laws, the Superfund law and other hazardous waste statutes, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Act. He also provides environmental auditing, environmental impact review and due diligence for these corporate clients, and represents them in permitting and enforcement procedures and litigation. Chuck’s clients have included major real estate developers with environmental problems such as hazardous waste issues; industrial companies with air pollution, water pollution and hazardous waste issues; and creditors’ committees in bankruptcies involving major environmental issues.

As a member of interdisciplinary teams, Chuck also performs critical environmental review and due diligence in the context of corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and bankruptcies and restructurings as well as in some of the largest and most wellknown real estate transactions and developments in New York.

Chuck serves as a member of the Policy Committee of the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program. He previously served as regional administrator for Region II (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) of the EPA, as director of the EPA’s Office of Legislation and as chief legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Jacob K. Javits of New York.

Chuck is a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Chambers, Best Lawyers and the Guide to the World’s Leading Environmental Lawyers have repeatedly ranked him as a leading practitioner. Best Lawyers named him New York’s Best Environmental Lawyer of the Year 2014, and in 2011 he received the Global Award for the New York Environmental Attorney of the Year from Corporate INTL magazine.

Bryan’s expertise in providing financial services customized to meet the needs of nonprofit organizations will be a strong asset to our organization as we work to expand our programs and further our mission to reach more members of the Bronx community.

Mr. Fryer brings with him over 18 years of experience in public accounting and financial advisory. Over the course of his career, he has overseen all aspects of the accounting function, including payroll, account receivables and collections, disbursements, taxes, revenue recognition and reporting. His expertise also includes risk and reputation management, vendor management, data-driven management, and KPI reporting, nonprofit attestation, internal controls, and budgeting and cash flow forecasting.

Rachel Grossman has been Director of Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital since October 2007, where she manages bond-financed affordable housing production at the Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac lender/servicer. She is also Wells’ in-house expert on affordable housing regulations. Previous to that, she was the Senior Vice President for Development at the New York City Housing Development Corporation, where she led the Development Department during HDC’s largest period of growth from 1998-2007, issuing $4.3 billion in multifamily bonds. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and International Studies from Yale University and a Master of Public Policy in Housing and Urban Development from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government

Judy is Settlement Housing Fund’s chief executive. She initially joined Settlement Housing Fund as Director of Housing Development in 2017, and served as Vice President of Real Estate from 2022 to 2024. Prior to joining SHF, she worked as a Project Manager at Douglaston Development, where she was responsible for managing the process to design, finance, and construct new low- and moderate-income housing in New York City. She previously worked in Washington, DC at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Office of Community Planning and Development. She has an AB from Harvard University, an MPA from New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. At Settlement Housing Fund, Judy is responsible for the housing development portfolio.

Latoya Joyner is a proud resident of the Bronx and has dedicated her life to serving her community. She currently serves as Senior Labor Advisor at Montefiore Health System. Previously, Latoya represented the 77th Assembly District, which includes the Bronx neighborhoods of Claremont, Concourse, Highbridge, Mount Eden, and Morris Heights. During Latoya’s tenure in the New York State Assembly, her work as a legislator brought real change to areas such as affordable housing, education, healthcare access, and workers’ rights. Under her leadership, the Labor Committee saw the historic passage of New York’s most robust wage theft protection, the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, and the successful increase of New York’s minimum wage. Latoya played a key role in establishing New York’s Maternal Mortality Review Board, dedicated to protecting the health and rights of mothers of color throughout the state.

Committed to education, Latoya supported programs like the New York Legal Educational Opportunity Program, which opens pathways for underrepresented students to enter the legal profession. She is a proud graduate of the SUNY system, attending Stony Brook University and the University at Buffalo Law School. Latoya’s career reflects her deep-seated belief in justice, equity, and the transformative power of public service.

D.J. is the head of Equity Products Trading, managing director, and co-head of Equities in the Markets division within Wells Fargo’s Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB). CIB delivers a comprehensive suite of capital markets, banking, and financial products and services to corporate, commercial real estate, government, and institutional clients across the globe. The Markets division includes Equities, Structured Products, Credit Sales & Trading, Foreign Exchange, Municipal Products, Rates, Commodities, and CVA. As head of Equity Products Trading, D.J. leads the execution of trading and risk management processes for all the trading businesses in Equities, including Cash, Derivatives, Equity Finance, and FCM. Before assuming his current role, he was the head of Cash and Derivatives Flow Trading and, formerly, the co-head of Equity Derivatives Trading in Equities. D.J. joined Wells Fargo in May 2007 to run Institutional Convertible Bond Trading. He then went on to manage the Global Convertible Bond team. A twenty-five-year industry veteran, D.J. was a partner at TQA investors, a multi-strategy hedge fund, before joining Wells Fargo. He spent seven years at the firm, where he led their U.S. Convertible Bond team and also co-managed their Long/Short Credit fund. From 1997 to 2000, D.J. held several roles at Citigroup, including U.S. Institutional Convertible Sales, where he helped build Citigroup’s International Convertible bond effort. D.J. began his career in 1990 at Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) in Boston, where he was a Certified Public Accountant. He then spent two years in Zurich, Switzerland, with PWC working with multinational corporations on U.S. GAAP/IAS and M&A accounting matters. D.J. earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Harvard College and his master’s of Business Administration from the Kellogg GSM at Northwestern University. He is based in New York City.

Waheera Hadiyah Mardah is a Senior Consultant at FSG, a global social impact consulting firm, where she leads a team of consultants to develop data-driven strategy solutions for private sector clients that are working to bring positive social change. At FSG, Waheera has worked with several family, private, and corporate foundations with varying asset levels to advance their philanthropic endeavors and maximize their impact in the community. In particular, she has worked on strategies for clients that supported communities such as Greater St. Louis, Memphis, Rochester, Buffalo, Houston, Minneapolis/St Paul, New Orleans, and Fresno.

Waheera’s background includes several roles in government, policy, and community advocacy. She previously served as the Bronx & Upper Manhattan Borough Director on the Government & Community Relations team at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. There, she led the external strategies for the Bronx and Upper Manhattan Portfolios, prioritizing equity and collective impact strategies in the agency’s Economic Development work.

She also served as the District Manager for the 77th Assembly District and as the Bronx Liaison for the Office of the New City Comptroller, where she worked directly with constituents to address quality of life issues, find strategic ways to develop policy around these issues, and encourage civic engagement on the state and local levels. In her free time, she engages in community service efforts through her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., an over 100-year-old historically black organization. Born and raised in the Highbridge section of the Bronx and a product of the NYC public school system, Waheera graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in History and Political Science from the College of Saint Rose. She received her Master’s degree in Public Administration and Policy from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University as a Bohnett Fellow.

Patricia is a dedicated advocate for education reform and expanding opportunities for underserved communities. As the Director of Strategic Impact at Zeta Charter Schools, she leads Marketing, Communications, Development, and Board Management. With a strong background in strategy from McKinsey & Company and degrees from MIT Sloan and Cornell, Patricia brings a wealth of expertise and passion to New Settlement’s mission and programs.  

Chi Nguyễn (she/her/hers) leads narrative change, storytelling, and communications at Einhorn Collaborative, a non-profit foundation working to address the crisis of connection in the U.S.

Previously, she was the Managing Director of Strategic Communications at The Bronx Defenders. During her tenure in New York City government, Chi served as a Senior Advisor at the NYC Racial Justice Commission working to dismantle structural racism within the NYC Charter and advance racial equity for New Yorkers. While at the NYC Mayor’s Office, she worked on key Mayoral policies and programs, civic engagement to combat environmental racism, digital accessibility for people with disabilities, and language access for immigrant New Yorkers. She co-founded the first annual NYC Digital Inclusion Conference to provide hands-on workshops and networking opportunities for digital workers in public and private sectors on internet human rights, digital accessibility, and inclusion by design.

Chi has worked extensively with brands, non-profit organizations, and the NYC government to shift mindsets on tough issues, galvanize national and international audiences to take action, and advocate for equity and justice in and outside the workplace.

Chi is also a practicing and teaching artist in The Bronx who uses weaving and community-based art projects to talk about racial justice, immigrants’ rights, reproductive justice, and economic justice.