ADMINISTRATIVE

Loren Miller, Director

Loren joined IMPACT in 2006 with 15 years of advocacy, training, program, research and policy experience in the fields of human rights and social justice. She worked for over 2 years at Agenda for Children Tomorrow developing programs and analyzing City Policy, focusing much of her efforts on IMPACT’s early phases. Prior to joining ACT, she ran an advocacy program for immigrant women in Spanish Harlem, conducted research on social power and domestic violence with women in Ecuador, monitored human rights for the United Nations in Haiti, and provided technical assistance to a women’s rural gardening cooperative in Senegal. Loren speaks French, Spanish and Haitian Kreyol, received her BA from Brown University and has completed coursework towards her PhD in Cultural Anthropology. Loren is the proud mother of an 8 year-old son.

Frank Cohn, Associate Director

Frank holds his MSW from Columbia University, specializing in Social Enterprise Administration and International Social Development. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, he has 10 years of managerial and supervisory experience with Community Service and Development programs, having worked extensively in the field designing, managing, and evaluating programs with youth, women's groups, children, and communities. Frank has previously worked as the Director of an NGO in Central America, the Founding Director of the Columbia University Partnership for International Development, with the United Nations Division of Social Policy and Development, and with numerous Community Based Organizations in both urban and rural areas. He has work experience in 11 countries, and speaks fluent French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, and intermediate Hindi.

PROGRAM TEAM

Nishanna Ramoutar, Program Manager

Nishanna hold her MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work and her MS Ed in infant-toddler and parent development from Bank Street College of Education. Nishanna specializes in counseling families around child development issues, child parent connections and improving family systems. Prior to joining IMPACT, Nishanna worked with SCO Family Dynamics in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Bureau of community Services East New York Family Center as a social worker in a Preventive Services program, Helping families to stay together and avoiding foster care placement. Nishanna has also worked with SCO Parent Child Home Program and Baby and Me organizing and facilitating groups and home visiting sessions that focused on family mutual aid, literacy, parent-child relationships, and play and music therapy. Nishanna participates in community building coalitions in East New York and Bushwick focusing on access to childcare, head start and family wellness. Nishanna is happy to finally practise her spanish daily with hopes of becoming fluent.              

Sylvia Piedad-Cruz, Parent Advocate

Sylvia became a Parent Advocate in September 2007, after nearly a year of participation in IMPACT’s Family Literacy Activities and Parenting & Child Development Workshop series. Sylvia’s advocacy efforts started when her own children were young, when she figured out how to navigate the city systems and advocate for the special educational services she felt her children needed. At IMPACT, Sylvia is known for her great hospitality to all visitors, as well as her success with increasing our outreach to Mexican families. Sylvia has taken over IMPACT’s monthly Books and Cooks program, charming families with her humor and warmth as she helps build a love of learning through reading and food. Sylvia has over 10 years of office experience, and in addition to her Parent Advocate duties, provides administrative and operational support to IMPACT. She has completed two years of her BA in Education and Psychology at the City University of New York, is bilingual in Spanish and English, and is the proud mother of two.

Luz Rosario, Parent Advocate

Luz became a Parent Advocate in January 2007, after graduating from IMPACT’s Parent Voices Advocacy Training Program where, as she says, “I found my voice.” Luz brings boundless energy and non-stop enthusiasm to her work, helping even the shyest of parents to feel welcome at IMPACT. Luz credits her experiences at IMPACT with empowering her to navigate the Department of Education and enroll each of her children into programs well-suited to their learning needs. In turn, Luz is passionate about her work as a Parent Advocate, and sees her role as helping other parents find their voice to advocate for themselves and their families, particularly with regard to children’s special needs. Luz is a mother of three children and volunteers in a Pre-Kindergarten class as a Learning Leader at their elementary school, PS 274. Luz has completed two years of college and is now working towards her Child Development Associates degree in Early Childhood Education. Lucy is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Chloe Bass, Literacy ActivitiesFacilitator

Chloe first came to IMPACT through her work at Arts in Bushwick, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to communication and neighborhood sustainability through art education and creative accessibility. Chloe is a practicing artist and community organizer with a background in theatrical direction, writing, and performance. She has worked previously as an environmental educator at Yale University,and for the NYC Department of Sanitation, as well as holding numerous positions as a teaching artist. After forgetting much of the Spanish she studied in college, Chloe is excited about re-learning while at IMPACT.

Luz Marina Arias, Children’s Activities Facilitator

Luz guides IMPACT in the development, oversight and coordination of children’s activities. Luz hails from Mexico, where she taught for 8 years as an elementary school teacher. For the past 10 years in Bushwick she has been a family day care provider and become well known throughout the Bushwick community for her gift with children. Luz participated in IMPACT’s family provider support networks through which she received training and has been certified in children’s CPR. Luz provides general training for IMPACT interns and volunteers who assist her with literacy and other activities with children. Luz is the mother of two teenage daughters.

Maritza Villa, Office Manager

Maritza joined IMPACT in 2007 from another Agenda for Children Tomorrow Project, One City/One Community in Bedford Stuyvesant. As One City/One Community’s Administrative Assistant since 2005, Maritza was instrumental in ensuring that this New York City Commissioner Level Case Conferencing project ran smoothly. Maritza has more than 8 years of work experience in the customer service industry and has completed half of her course work towards her BA in Early Childhood Education at Brooklyn College. Her goals include completing her college education and educating young children. When Maritza is not coordinating IMPACT’s administrative and operational functions, she is the busy mother of an 19 year-old son and 15 month old daughter.

Genesis Mendoza, Office Assistant,

Genesis came to IMPACT in the summer of 2006 as one of five DYCD Summer Youth Employment Project Interns. Her hard work and enthusiasm endeared her to all IMPACT staff and she has since continued working at IMPACT in the afternoons and weekends, providing administrative and operational support, and helping engage children and families in various activities. Genesis is bilingual in English and Spanish. She has recently been accepted into Florida State University for College.

Anthony Salas, IT Manager, High School Senior

OUTREACH Team

Elsa Ramroop, CPI Parent Advocate Consultant

Beatriz Diz, CPI Parent Advocate Consultant

Beatriz has been a Parent Advocate at Bushwick IMPACT since July 2003 and is a mother of two daughters. Born and raised in Argentina, Beatriz is hearing impaired, but speaks Spanish and English and communicates by lip reading. She has been actively involved in her daughters’ educations since they entered Head Start, serving as Chair of the Head Start Parent Committee and Treasurer of the Parent Teacher Association, at PS145. In December 2005, Beatriz participated in a letter writing campaign in which the FCC passed a regulation to make captioned telephone services available to all hearing impaired residents of New York State. Beatriz is an active member of her church where she is taking leadership classes and hopes to earn credits towards an Associates Degree. She is passionate about quality early education as a right for all children.

Cheryl-Ann Hodge, CPI Parent Advocate Consultant

Cheryl-Ann has been a Parent Advocate since 2003, and is a model of what IMPACT’s Parent Advocacy training is designed to do. Though she describes herself as shy prior to her involvement with IMPACT, local families and organizational partners know her as anything but. Cheryl-Ann has become a compelling speaker, inspiring hope and well wishes to those she touches. She is active in her children’s school: a regular member of the school’s PTA, a volunteer on various committees and a participant in leadership trainings. Cheryl-Ann coordinates IMPACT’s outreach activities throughout Bushwick, and is also active in the church community, keeping immigrant families connected to resources and information. Cheryl-Ann is committed to being a Parent Advocate because it allows her to help other parents reach a level of confidence that they might have once thought impossible. Cheryl-Ann is the mother of two children, ages 10 and 8.