
Meet Our Spark Prize Committee!
Last night we welcomed members of our inaugural Spark Prize Committee to Crown Heights to celebrate the exciting launch of this first-of-its-kind honor for Brooklyn nonprofits. The 32-member committee will be responsible for reviewing and scoring applications to narrow down the highly competitive applicant pool to 20 finalists and 5 winners, who will collectively receive up to $600,000 in Prize funds.
The Committee is a diverse mix of distinguished neighborhood, nonprofit, civic and business leaders. It includes representatives from three city agencies, 10 nonprofit organizations (including five private foundations), and six entrepreneurs who have started businesses in Brooklyn. We're proud to say that all 32 members call Brooklyn home!
Pictured, clockwise: Committee Members Aletha Maybank, Nicola Fabens, Mamie Kanfer Stewart, Diana Reyna, Tupper Thomas, Jeanne Masel, Noa Meyer, Andrew MacArthur, Lizanne Fontaine.
2016 Spark Prize Committee
Nisha Agarwal
Commissioner
NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
Alexa Aviles
Program Director
Scherman Foundation
Rabbi Andy Bachman
Director of Jewish Content & Community Ritual
92Y
Ingrid Benedict
Director
Daphne Foundation
Jonathan Butler
Co-Founder
Brooklyn Flea & Smorgasburg
Nina Collins
Writer, Coach, & Narrative Medicine Consultant
Rufus Collins
Actor
Ashley Cotton
Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff
Forest City Ratner Companies
Gaia DiLoreto
Entrepreneur
Martin Dunn
President
Dunn Development Corporation
Sarah Durham
President
Big Duck
Nicola Fabens
Communications Professional
Lizanne Fontaine
Counsel & Compliance Officer
Morris Heights Health Center
Mamie Kanfer Stewart
Founder & CEO
Meeteor
Andrew MacArthur
Managing Director
CWCapital
Leslie Marshall
Partner
Cornell Marshall Team, Corcoran
Jeanne Masel
President
Jeanne & Dennis Masel Foundation
Aletha Maybank
Associate Commissioner
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Merle McGee
Chief Program Officer
YWCA of the City of New York
Noa Meyer
Managing Director
Goldman Sachs
C. Zawadi Morris
Publisher
The Brooklyn Reader
Erika Nijenhuis
Partner
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Judilee Reed
Director of Thriving Cultures
Surdna Foundation
Diana Reyna
Deputy Borough President
Office of the Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams
Jennifer Rodgers
Executive Director
Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity, Columbia Law School
Shaheen Rushd
Retired Attorney & Activist
Diane Steinberg
Trustee
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Matthew Stinchcomb
Executive Director
Etsy.org
Tupper W. Thomas
Executive Director
New Yorkers for Parks
Stephen Warnke
Partner
Ropes & Gray
Jonathan Weld
Of Counsel
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Keith White
Principal
Free Integrated Media
Committee Advisers
Amani A. Martin
Board of Directors
Brooklyn Community Foundation
Hildy J. Simmons
Board of Directors
Brooklyn Community Foundation