Stefani L. Zinerman is the newly elected Assembly member representing the historic and vibrant neighborhoods of Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights in the 56th District. She is a proud member of the New York State Assembly legislature and has worked diligently to enact a budget and legislation that speaks to the values, needs and concerns of her constituents. Her primary focus is to provide resources and opportunities for the residents, nonprofits and small businesses in her district.

Dr. John Flateau is the immediate past Executive Director and co-founder of the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy, and Professor of Public Administration, at the Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. Dr. Flateau has been a leading proponent in support of the Marcus Garvey Avenue Armory feasibility study. In addition to his decades long service at Medgar Evers College, Dr. Flateau has a record of distinguished service in the public realm, including Chief of Staff to Mayor David Dinkins and Senior Vice President of the NYS Urban Development Corporation. He was recently appointed to serve as the Executive Director of the New York City Districting Commission and is a resident of Bedford Stuyvesant.

Paul T. Williams, Jr. is co-founder and Managing Director of Williams Strategy Advisors, LLC (“WSA ”). WSA works with private sector infrastructure contractors and developers to identify and secure new project opportunities, develop financing strategies, and build strategic partnerships to support and maximize participation of under-utilized minority and women owned businesses. WSA is currently a strategic advisor to One Brooklyn Health System in its delivery of a $664 million transformation grant.

James Johnson-Piett is Principal and CEO of Urbane, a social impact agency strengthening small businesses and community anchor institutions in historically disinvested communities. James has worked in 100+ communities across North America/Caribbean, with 1500 small businesses, representing 1.5M+ SF of commercial and community facility space. James has helped raise over $75M for small business and community development initiatives.

Cokie Nanka joined Urbane with a background in community and economic development, informal economies, and diaspora development. She is passionate about leveraging cultural and community assets to foster inclusive and equitable development. At Urbane, Cokie’s work focuses on community wealth-building strategies tied to community investment. Cokie recently led the charge to develop a city-wide crowdfunding engagement strategy to enable unaccredited Philadelphia residents to invest in place-based real estate assets.

Shakti Robbins-Cubas is a Housing Policy Analyst with the New York Housing Conference, a statewide affordable housing policy and advocacy organization where she focuses primarily on federal policy and budget. She previously served as the Director of Policy and Advocacy for State Senator Velmanette Montgomery where she represented the Senator in the Bedford Stuyvesant portion of her district and led efforts to get key bills signed into law to address predatory practices that lead to deed theft, require notification of adjoining construction for homeowners, raise the age that a child can be prosecuted as an adult and expand funding opportunities for School Based Health Centers.

Mr. Owunwanne is an American born Nigerian architect raised in Kuwait with over 20 years of professional experience within the fields of architecture, design and construction. He has worked on several New York City projects ranging from high rise Hotels, Affordable Residential projects, Brownstone renovations, private homes, and restaurants and bars. Anaelechi Owunwanne is the founding partner at Freeform Deform LLC and has overseen its day to day design work for the past 12 years.

Charles A. Shorter is a senior real estate advisor, specializing in Public-Private Partnerships nationally and internationally. He began his real estate career at the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation prior to becoming a Principal at Arthur Anderson and most recently with Ernst & Young. His work has been as an advisor to developers, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and public agencies (Federal, State and Local).