Staff

 

RODNEY WILSON - Board Member
Born and raised in Bayonne, Rodney is a graduate of Bayonne High School and has a master's degree in School Counseling from NJCU. He serves as a guidance counselor at Bayonne High School and as an Assistant Basketball Coach

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MORREASE LEFTWICH - Board Member
Raised in Jersey City, Morrease is a graduate of McNair High School and Temple University and is a current law student at Columbia University. Morrease led his first political campaign - for Jersey City Board of Education - at 18. He has been a major contributor to Haven's youth voice since its founding serving on its inaugural Community Advisory Board,

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MARK BUNBURY ESQ - Board Member
Born in Jersey City, Mark is a lawyer and community advocate who served as President of the Farms in the Heights for almost nine years. He has practiced employment law in the public and private sectors serving as the Director of Human Resources for the City of Jersey City. He currently serves as Associate Director of Human Resources at Proskauer Rose LLP.

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DENNIS FEBO - Board Member
Dennis is the Founder of Guazabara Insights which provides health and educational services with a mission to raise social consciousness and uplift communities. He serves as an adjunct professor at NJCU and as a lead organizer in the New Jersey Campaign to amend the 13th Amendment. He is the father of five and has deep ties to Jersey City.

 

KIMBERLY GOYCOCHEA - Board Member
Kimberly, 20, is a lifelong Jersey City resident and community activist who partnered with Mussab in a race for Jersey City School Board. She is a graduate of Snyder High School and currently attends Saint Peter’s University. She is involved in a range of campus and community based efforts to create social change. She is a powerful advocate within youth and Latino communities in Jersey City. She brings compassion, grace and strength to her work on behalf of Haven’s youth and families.

 

ATIF QADIR - Board Member
Atif owns his own real estate investment company which controls eight properties in Hoboken, Jersey City and Newark. He is an architect by trade and an expert in property accrual and management. Atif was born in Pakistan and is proud of his history as an immigrant and child of immigrants. He has been involved in a wide array of progressive political and policy initiatives. He practices social impact investing. Atif is very pleased to bring his experience and passion as a young professional to the work of Haven.

 

AMY ALBERT - Founder and Board Chair
Amy has represented young people in a variety of settings since graduating from law school in 2002. While at Brooklyn Defender Services, her role has also included fundraising and designing a state-of-the-art representation team for older adolescents, age 16 to 24. She raised more than six hundred thousand dollars for adolescent representation while at BDS. In each of her positions, Amy has been witness to the ways in which current systems fail families with older teens challenged by a range of issues from teen pregnancy, to family conflict caused by mental illness, drug addiction, generational divides due to recent immigration, and homophobia. Haven represents an opportunity for Amy to be part of the solution to this deep fissure in existing support systems. Amy is thrilled to be serving young people in her home, Jersey City.

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DR. VAIBHAVEE R. AGASKAR - Board Member
Vaibhavee is a counselor educator with more than 14 years of experience in the mental health field in the United States and India. She serves as an assistant professor of counselor education and clinical coordinator for mental health counseling at NJCU where she teaches, mentors and advises graduate students in school counseling and mental health counseling. She has experience working in residential facilities for youth and in providing a variety of assessments for young people. She has generously agreed to apply her skills to Haven’s work. She is a Jersey City resident and is honored to serve her community.

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GABRIELLE D. RAMOS-SOLOMON - Board Treasurer
Gabrielle Ramos-Solomon currently serves as the Executive Director of School Choice & Student Enrollment for Newark Public Schools in Newark, New Jersey. She has also worked for the Connecticut State Department of Education in district and school turnaround, consulted for Chelsea Public Schools in Chelsea, MA, on the development of a branding, marketing and customer service strategy as an Education Pioneers graduate fellow, and was a Teach For America Corp Member in East Harlem, New York, where she taught middle school.   She was a senior analyst at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital where she worked on business and marketing strategy for several financial products.  Gaby holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Columbia University, a Masters in Teaching from Pace University, and a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She brings a rich and varied operational and business background to Haven and a passion for supporting young people. She is a Jersey City resident and is deeply committed to serving her community.

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