Advisory Boards

Eleanor M. Imperato is a freelance writer, poet, and photographer. In addition to her role as president of the Marymount Manhattan College Dance Department Advisory Board, she is an active member of the Queensborough Community College Fund Board, and a member of NOIAW (National Organization of Italian American Women).

She received a BA from Marymount Manhattan College and subsequently earned an MA in Liberal Studies from New York University. While not a dancer, her lifelong love of dance began modestly with a Modern Dance semester class with noted dancer Janet Collins. It continued for a brief period in the early 70’s with adult ballet classes at the Joffrey Ballet School on West 10^th and Sixth Avenue in New York City. During those golden years of dance and together with her MMC classmate, Mary Whitney, who eventually became Marketing Director for the Joffrey Ballet, Imperato attended countless dance performances of the best dance companies of the world. She is still an enthusiastic balletomane, but her involvement with the MMC Dance Department adds a more meaningful dimension in that it promotes dancers in the early stages of their future careers.

Her professional life has included positions at Pan American World Airways, thus traveling all over the world; in publicity at the Science Museum of Long Island; in publicity and public relations at the Manhasset Public Schools; and in fundraising at Marymount Manhattan College. While raising her three children in Manhasset, she held many volunteer leadership positions in her community including President of the Friends of the Manhasset Public Library and Executive President of the Manhasset School Community Association. She still resides in the area with her husband, Pat, and Duncan, their 12 year old cat. Her now grown children, Alison, Gavin, and Austin, have successful careers of their own.

Imperato is the author of a first collection of original poetry entitled Woman’s Work, and is currently preparing her second, Purple Sins. Her book, Doors of Memory/Porte della Memoria, a memoir of her early years in Avella, Italy, was published in conjunction with a photographic essay by the same name that was exhibited in two New York City Galleries. In her most recent book, Carving Life: Walrus Ivory Carvings from the Bering Sea, she shares her love for Alaska, her appreciation for the Alaska Inuit history and art, and her personal encounters with many of the carvers whose work was exhibited at the QCC Art Gallery in Bayside, New York.

Besides being an avid reader, Imperato also enjoys traveling to destinations in the U.S. and Europe as well as to off-the-beaten track locales. Her most memorable trips include visits to St. Lawrence Island and Shishmaref in Alaska; Timbuktu, Mali; Chichicastenango in Guatemala; and Macau, an autonomous region on the south coast of China. Who knows what other far away and unusual destinations await her in the future.

Alison Manning ’08 is the Executive Director and Co-Producer of The Yard, a 46 year old dance and performing arts organization on Martha’s Vineyard. She has been leading, in partnership with Yard Artistic Director and Executive Producer David R. White, to a reimagining of the Yard legacy for a new century and new generations of artistic and educational practice.

Manning joined The Yard in 2008, after receiving her BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. After bedbug accepted to the School at Jacob’s Pillow and working with the great Milton Myers she went on to teach the Horton technique at The Yard, Peridance Capezio Center, STEPS on Broadway, New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education, Ohio University and Wesleyan University. She dances professionally with The Bang Group and is Co-Artistic Director of DanceTheYard with Jesse Keller, The Yard’s resident staff-directed dance company. Manning has performed and toured in the past with The Peggy Spina Tap Company, Kinodance Company, Xodus Dance Collective, among others. Her own choreographic work, with collaborator Jesse Keller, continues to be presented each year as part of The Yard’s presentation series as well as at Jacob’s Pillow’s Inside/Out Stage, Gibney Dance Center, West End Theater, Triskelion Arts, ACDFA and NY Theater Lab. Mrs. Manning is a proud wife and mom of three children and is humbled to serve on the Advisory Board of the Marymount Manhattan College Dance Department.

JERE HUNT, a native of Huntsville, AL, received his BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College under the direction of Katie Langan. He has been a member of Rioult Dance New York since August 2010, and was privileged to set Rioult’s signature work, Bolero, on students at Adelphi University. Mr. Hunt has danced with Vera Huff/Veracity Dance Theater since 2012, and has also worked with SYREN Modern Dance, DeMa Dance, as well as many independent choreographers. He was an apprentice with the Alabama Ballet under the direction of Wes Chapman. Mr. Hunt is frequently seen as a guest artist with Southern New Hampshire Dance Theatre in their annual production of The Nutcracker at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH, and in the past has also been seen as a guest artist with City Center Ballet, Huntsville Ballet, Alabama Youth Ballet, and Ballet Tennessee.

Mr. Hunt has taught for the Rioult Dance NY Summer and Winter Intensives and has been on the Summer Intensive guest faculty at Ballet Tennessee and Lebanon Ballet School. He has also been a guest teacher and lecturer at Marymount Manhattan College, Curry College, Eglevsky Ballet School, Huntsville Ballet School, Alabama Youth Ballet, and Grissom High and Lee High Magnet Schools in Huntsville, AL. As a choreographer, he has created works for students at Ballet Tennesee as well as Images and Co. 2 Dance Ensembles at Grissom High School and the Dance Magnet Ensemble at Lee High Magnet School. His piece, Acceptance, won “Best Modern Piece” at the Panoply Choreography Competition in 2013. www.jerehunt.com

Jeanette Aultz ’00 is an alumnae of the BFA Dance program. She spent 7 years as Costume Designer and Costume Coordinator for Department productions. She went on to earn her MFA in Theatrical Design and Technical Production with a concentration in Costume Design from CUNY Brooklyn College in 2006, studying under Professor Rebecca Cunningham. Jeanette has since assisted Prof. Cunningham on the second edition of her book “Basic Sewing for Costume Construction” as well as the 2nd and upcoming 3rd editions of “The Magic Garment.”

In her career, Jeanette has been both a Costume Designer and a Technician, currently concentrating in her work as a Draper. Design highlights include: the world premiere of “An Appeal to the Woman of the House” with Retro Productions and “Somewhere With You” presented at the New York Musical Theater Festival with music by JT Harding.

As a Draper and Costume Technician, Jeanette has been honored to Drape at American Players Theater on their production of “All My Sons”; staff Cutter/Draper for “Rent: Off-Broadway” at New World Stages; a continuing relationship with Ballet Hispanico for their company and school productions; and Interim Draper at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Her latest project is as Cutter for Lynne Baccus assisting with costume builds for the lead actress in “Pretty Woman” on Broadway and the National Tour of “Hello Dolly.”

She is currently a Draper and Assistant Costume Shop Manager at Montclair State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance where she is in charge of costumes for Dance and Musical Theater.

Alicia Weihl received her early dance training from Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the American Academy of Ballet. She graduated summa cum laude with a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College in Dance Performance and Choreography and a minor in Arts Management and has been a member of the Dance Department Advisory Board since graduating in 2001. Alicia danced professionally for a variety of American and European ballet and modern dance companies including with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet and the New York Grand Opera. She was the dance captain and a solo vocalist in the Paris-based musical, Le Sel et le Miel, and was featured in stage, film, television, and fashion shows while living in London.

Combining her experience as a professional dancer with her passion for movement and form, Alicia has devoted the past decade to her work with Physique 57, the leader in barre-based fitness. Her mission is to create and deliver invigorating classes that instill a sense of strength, beauty, confidence, and overall wellness. She has designed and led multiple Physique 57 workout videos and has presented fitness segments internationally on TV and online. Behind the scenes Alicia is the Executive Director of Global Talent and Training, ensuring the highest level product with creatively and effectively choreographed classes, strategic class programming, and the most comprehensive instructor training program in the field.

Christina graduated summa cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College with a B.F.A. in dance in 2007. She is proudly still a passionate professional dancer, choreographer, and teacher in her own company, Living Dance. Through Living Dance (www.living-dance.com) she helps women and dancers achieve their happiest and healthiest body and weight through dancing in one-on-one dance/fitness privates, group workshops, and public speaking. She created the dance cardio class, Enliven, and hosts classes and workshops at Athleta, where she is currently an ambassador. In addition to her dance training, she is a N.A.S.M. certified personal trainer and weight loss specialist. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Christina pursued her first dream; she performed and taught worldwide with Parsons Dance and Buglisi Dance Theatre for over ten years. She considers the Marymount Dance Department her first NYC home and is honored to have a place on its board and help its continual growth.

Mondo Morales, a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, has spent his post collegiate years shaping and shifting the costume design field. His background in both dance and styling is apparent in his work; His costumes move effortlessly with their wearer and embody New York City’s style, merging urban fashion with contemporary dance-wear. He has costumed for artists such as The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Marymount Manhattan College, The Steps Ensemble, Jennifer Archibald, The Fosse Foundation, Hope Boykin, Earl Mosley, Sonya Tayeh, Pascal Rioult and Jeremy McQueen, among others. Mondo acted as The Alvin Ailey School’s Costume Coordinator/Wardrobe Supervisor from 2012-2015 and is currently on faculty at Marymount Manhattan College as their Costume Coordinator. In addition, Mondo works as a photo stylist and art director, collaborating with dance artists such as Sidra Bell, Jeremy McQueen, and Christian Von Howard, and photographers such as Jaqi Medlock, Jubal Battisti and Matthew Murphy. In 2016, Mondo had a solo exhibit, “Skinetic Moments”, presented at G Lounge Chelsea and ALOFT Hotel Harlem, showcasing a series of images exploring color and paint as dancers’ apparel. In Feb of 2018, Mondo released his first collection ONYX which was featured in a short film Directed by Angelo Soriano and Choreographer Angelica Stiskin. In April of 2018 Mondo was selected to show at Fashion Week Brooklyn and was awarded a City Citation by the Brooklyn Borough President.

When not behind his sketchpad or sewing machine, Mondo also works as a freelance Make-Up Artist for dancers, performance artists, and bridal parties. Mondo is also currently in collaboration with the legendary photographer Thomas Evans on “Femme the Man;” a photo series that challenges gender identity stereotypes.

A native of Libertyville, Illinois, she trained at Dancenter North and the Milwaukee Ballet School before joining the Milwaukee Ballet, where she danced for eight seasons. In 2003 she became a member of The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, dancing featured roles in Balanchine’s Agon, La Valse, Divertimento No. 15 and Pas de Dix, among others. She performed in honor of Ms. Farrell at the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors. While dancing professionally, Ms. Brandt began pursuing a college degree and writing extensively for several dance publications, including Pointe’s “Ask Amy” advice column. She graduated summa cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College with a BA in English and World Literatures, and has served as an associate editor for Dance Teacher and Dance Magazine.

During his time at Marymount Manhattan College, Mr. Fabricio was a member of the Sigma Tau Delta and Pi Sigma Alpha honor societies. During his senior year, Thomas was the Editor-in-Chief of Marymount’s student newspaper The Monitor. In 2008, Mr. Fabricio received the degree of Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University.  During law school, Mr. Fabricio clerked for the Third District Court of Appeal, in Miami-Dade County. Following law school, Mr. Fabricio was an associate in the Fort Lauderdale office of Walton Lantaff Schroeder and Carson, LLP where he practiced civil litigation. Thomas currently practices civil litigation with the multi-state law firm of Mintzer Sarowitz Zeris Ledva & Meyers in Miami, Florida. 

Through her work at Zillow Group, Inc., Mrs. Facer leads the Marketplace Extension team which focuses on new monetization ventures. For more than 12 years, Ruth has built and scaled successful teams focused on product, marketing and operations for digital media companies. Ruth is a student of leadership with a passion for employee experience, career development and workplace culture. At MMC, she was a founding member of the Marymount Literary Society and Sigma Tau Delta. She was published in The Marymount Manhattan Review and served as a News Editor and Staff Writer for The Monitor. Ruth graduated in 2005 with a BA in English. She lives with her husband Tom, a software engineer, and cat Witty in San Francisco.

Mary-Beth Hughes is the author of the novels, The Loved Ones, Wavemaker II, and the collection Double Happiness. Her stories have been published in A Public Space, The Georgia Review, The Mississippi Review, The St. Ann’s Review, The Paris Review, and Ploughshares, and have been collected in The Dictionary of Failed Relationships, Object Lessons: The Paris Review presents The Art of the Short Story,and 2011 Pushcart Prize XXXV. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities and Media Studies at the Pratt Institute and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Cameron’s byline has appeared in numerous publications, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, American Theatre, Time Out Philadelphia, The Asbury Park Press, Exeunt NYC and Drunken Boat, among others. He is currently the co-chief theater critic and chief opera critic for Broad Street Review, Philadelphia’s leading arts and culture website.

Cameron is an active member of the Outer Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association and Music Critics Association of North America. He recently concluded two years of service as a judge for the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, the highest honor in Philadelphia performing arts. He is a sought-after lecturer and moderator on the subjects of theater, opera, classical music and chamber music.

Cameron graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2010 with a BA in English and World Literature, with a Creative Writing minor. During his time at MMC, Cameron served as president of the Sigma Tau Delta honors society and Marymount Literary Society, and was editor-in-chief of The Marymount Manhattan Review. Following graduation, he earned a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Ohio University in Athens, OH, where he served as poetry editor of the nationally recognized literary journal Quarter After Eight.

Cameron lives in Collingswood, NJ, with his husband, Westly Mandoske, an accountant and financial planner. In his spare time, he enjoys playing bridge.

Tim Sparapani is a frequent public speaker on topics related to emerging technologies.  He has testified before Congress five times, has given more than 500 TV, radio and print interviews, and frequently writes for Forbes and other publications on these topics. Tim’s specialties are privacy, cybersecurity, technology and constitutional law with clients of a diverse mix of industry leading companies, dynamic technology startups, and thought-leading advocacy organizations. 

Tim’s SPQR Strategies clients have asked him to undertake important, ongoing responsibilities.  For example, Tim served for 3 years as the Vice President, Policy, Law & Government Affairs for the Application Developers Alliance, a trade association serving more than 30,000 application “app” developers and 200 member companies.  Tim has also served as General Counsel for several app company and tech startups.  He advises other start-up tech companies on a range of policy matters including cybersecurity, patent reform, online safety and security.

Tim was the first Director of Public Policy at Facebook. Tim was responsible for developing and implementing the company’s interaction with the federal, state, local and foreign governments and with opinion and policy makers.  He managed these roles as the company grew from 150 million to more than 900 million active users and from 350 employees to more than 3,000.  Prior to joining Facebook, Tim was Senior Legislative Counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, where he helped advance the constitutional principle of the right to privacy, representing the ACLU before Congress, the Executive Branch and the media.  For the more than four years preceding his time at the ACLU, Tim served as an associate at the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro where he helped clients navigate interconnecting constitutional, statutory, political and policy challenges.  Tim holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Leslie is a passionate champion of great people and big ideas. She thrives in collaboration with clients, suits and creatives alike; working with integrated teams to create the elusive “red thread”; brainstorming; and shepherding young talent. Leslie favors simplicity over jargon and conversation more than charts. This humanistic approach has fueled a career marked by award winning work across the brand, advertising, and media world as both hired gun and in-agency leader.

For American Express, she created a blind social experiment: in-home cocktail parties that led to a modern reinterpretation of “Membership” and a new talent strategy. This brief became the Brand’s first ever global campaign: “My Life, My Card” featuring Ellen Degeneres, Robert DeNiro and M.Night Shyamalan (Gold Effie). In home research with spouses informed a 2-year NPD path and created the ONE card, a non-travel related credit card. Trend analysis, projective techniques, and on-the-street research led to a unique point of view for Wonderbra with a target audience inspired equally by Holly Go Lightly and Seinfeld’s Elaine (Silver Effie). In 2005, she was privileged to work directly with Tribeca Film Festival founders Jane Rosenthal and Robert DeNiro to craft a new mission statement. This work inspired a Gold Effie winning campaign, new film trailer and the Brand’s iconic
logo. More importantly, the festival achieved its highest ever numbers for downtown economic recovery while increasing its industry legitimacy. For SAP she authored the brand strategy to the highly commoditized and competitive cloud category by using a strategy inspired by political campaigns. While working at Goodby Silverstein she led and won 2 major pitches for E*Trade and the best ever consumer electronic device: TiVo! She then partnered with Hoover to present and publish findings for the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) on the impact of DVR technology. In 2000 she predicted the Golden Age of Content well before the launch of WiFi, Hulu or Netflix. 

Since graduating from the University of Pennsylvania (English major), storytelling has been the common thread in Caroline Tiger’s career. She started out in book publishing, transitioned to magazine publishing, then went off on her own to work as a freelance author and journalist for more than a decade. As an independent writer, her work appeared in many publications, including Dwell, Entrepreneur and Wired. She is currently a Senior Content Strategist at Bresslergroup, a research-driven product innovation lab in Philadelphia, where she uses her journalism, editing, and content packaging skills to develop and implement the company’s communications, content, and social media strategy.

Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Central Michigan University

Writer, Director of Student Success at SUNY Orange

Writer/Producer, HBO

Associate Attorney, L.A. Tech and Media Law

General Counsel, SVP Technology; Assistant Secretary, Anti-Defamation League

Masters candidate in Media Management, The New School

Ashley Pirovano graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2013 with a B.S. in Biology. While attending Marymount Manhattan, Ashley conducted research in environmental chemistry with Dr. Leri, which sparked her interest in the sciences and convinced her to pursue a career in scientific research. After graduating, Ashley attended graduate school at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, where she studied interactions between endophytic bacteria and plants and earned a Master’s degree. Ashley found her way back to MMC after graduate school, working for two years as the Laboratory Supervisor and Instructor of the General Chemistry Laboratory. Along her career path in science, she felt dissatisfied by the lack of diversity in academia, particularly in the sciences. For this reason, in 2018 Ashley joined the nonprofit organization BioBus, where she works to bridge the gap between academic research and the community of NYC. Her overall career goals are to make science fun and accessible to all and to help girls and minority students explore and pursue science.

Radhika Balakrishnan, faculty director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, and Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University, has a Ph.D. in Economics from Rutgers University. Previously, she was Professor of Economics and International Studies at Marymount Manhattan College. She has worked at the Ford Foundation as a program officer in the Asia Regional Program. She is currently the Chair of the Board of the US Human Rights Network and on the Board of the Center for Constitutional Rights and the International Association for Feminist Economics. She is the co-editor with Diane Elson of Economic Policy and Human Rights: Holding Governments to Account (Zed Books, 2011). She is the author of Why MES with Human Rights: Integrating Macro Economic Strategies with Human Rights (Marymount Manhattan College, 2005). She edited The Hidden Assembly Line: Gender Dynamics of Subcontracted Work in a Global Economy (Kumarian Press, 2001), co-edited Good Sex: Feminist Perspectives from the World’s Religions, with Patricia Jung and Mary Hunt (Rutgers University Press, 2000), and also authored numerous articles that have appeared in books and journals. Professor Balakrishnan’s work focuses on gender and development, gender and the global economy, human rights and economic and social rights. Her research and advocacy work has sought to change the lens through which macroeconomic policy is interpreted and critiqued by applying international human rights norms to assess macroeconomic policy.

Gregg Gonsalves is an Lecturer in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases as well as a Research Scholar in Law and Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School, co-director of the Global Health Justice Partnership and a leading HIV/AIDS activist. His research focuses on the use of quantitative models for improving the response to epidemic diseases. For more than 20 years, he worked on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues with several organizations, including the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, the Treatment Action Group, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa. He was also a fellow at the Open Society Foundations and in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2011-2012. He is a 2011 graduate of Yale College and received his PhD from Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences/School of Public Health in 2016.

Dr. Adam Lupel is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the International Peace Institute. He is responsible for developing IPI’s long-term research agenda and for overseeing management and coordination among IPI’s offices in New York, Vienna, and Manama in close collaboration with the President. Between 2014 and 2016 he served as the director of research and publications for the Independent Commission on Multilateralism, a project of IPI.  Dr. Lupel also conducts research on issues related to globalization, multilateralism, and the prevention of mass atrocities. He is the author of Globalization and Popular Sovereignty: Democracy’s Transnational Dilemma (2009) and the co-editor of Peace Operations and Organized Crime: Enemies or Allies? (2011) and Responding to Genocide: The Politics of International Action (2013). Prior to 2006, when he joined IPI as Editor, he was the Managing Editor of Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory, and he taught modern and contemporary political theory at The New School’s Eugene Lang College in New York. He has a PhD in political theory and an MA in liberal studies from the New School for Social Research and a BA in international relations with a concentration in Latin America from Boston University. 

Inca A. Mohamed is an internationally recognized facilitator and consultant. From 2003-March 2011, Inca was MAG’s third Executive Director and spearheadeded MAG’s initiative to go beyond one-on-one consulting and deliver a diverse range of products and services. Inca’s clients have included: Atlantic Philanthropies, the Forum for Youth Investment, SisterSong, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Washington Greater Community Foundation, the Funders Network on Population Growth and Reproductive Health and Rights, the Asian American Justice Center, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. Before joining MAG, Inca was Program Officer for Human Development and Reproductive Health at the Ford Foundation, where she oversaw a $60 million dollar portfolio aimed at strengthening youth development domestically and abroad. Her career has included work in advocacy, training and public education, program design, and program management; she has held leadership positions at a diverse range of organizations, including the YWCA, the Door Center for Youth Alternatives, and Planned Parenthood. 

For the past seven years she has served as the Deputy Director and Campaign Director,  as well as the coordinator of Real Affordability for All, the largest affordable housing coalition in the City. During her time at ALIGN, Maritza played a critical role in the Caring Across Generations campaign, helping to secure $1.2 million in funding for undocumented and low income seniors to access home care and the Universal Pre-K campaign which brought the program to many children across New York City. She originally joined ALIGN to prevent Walmart from developing in East New York, leading a four-year fight that successfully halted the company’s plans and brought a union supermarket to the neighborhood. Previously, Maritza worked with the Long Island Progressive Coalition to coordinate the Yes, In My Back Yard (YIMBY) campaign, increasing affordable housing throughout the entire island. A native of Ecuador, Maritza earned her BA in journalism from the Central University of Ecuador and later completed a BA degree in communications from SUNY Old Westbury, where she organized with the New York Public Interest Research Group and United Students Against Sweatshops. She has also worked with Long Island Jobs with Justice on issues related to youth, labor, and immigrant rights where she combined her passion for documentaries, journalism and activism by producing short workers’ rights documentaries.

Prior to joining the ACLU-NJ, Amol was a policy advocate at the Innocence Project, where he led state-level policy campaigns nationwide to address wrongful convictions. From 2010-2015, Amol was the director of the Suffolk County Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, where he led efforts to defend and promote the constitutional rights of all Suffolk County residents, particularly around policing and criminal justice, immigrants’ rights, and education reform. At the NYCLU, Amol worked on legislation, litigation, and community-based advocacy, and gained a deep understanding of the need to work collaboratively with community members, advocates, and government officials in order to advance policy.

Amol is also an adjunct professor at Marymount Manhattan College, where he has taught courses on constitutional law, civil rights, media law, and criminal justice. Additionally, Amol is the president of the South Asian Bar Association of New York and co-chair of the public interest committee of the South Asian Bar Association of North America.

Amol holds a B.A. in journalism and economics from New York University, and a law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where he was a Public Service Scholar. Most importantly, Amol grew up in Lawrenceville, NJ, and is a proud product of Lawrence Township Public Schools. His role at the ACLU-NJ merges two central passions: advocating for constitutional rights and New Jersey.

Professor Sperling earned her M.S.W. and Ph.D. from the Columbia University School of Social Work where she taught graduate level courses in addition to teaching a doctoral level practice course. At MMC, Dr. Sperling developed and oversaw the Minor in Social Work. Her teaching and clinical work are both grounded in systems theory, a firm belief in people’s strengths and the centrality of listening to people tell their stories. She also taught elective courses in the Sociology curriculum and in Gender and Sexuality Studies. In over twenty years as a practitioner, Dr. Sperling has been a clinical supervisor in out-patient hospital, community and school- based settings. She has run programs in the Lower East Side and at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City that focused on the treatment of alcohol and substance abuse, improvement of mental health and crisis intervention for individuals and families. She has acted as Civilian Co-Coordinator of Parenting Programs at the Bedford Hills Women’s Correctional Facility. Professor Sperling also maintains a private practice in New York City. Her areas of professional knowledge and interest include: diversity, mental health, prison systems, women’s studies, human development, substance abuse, oral history and pedagogy.

A native New Yorker, Nancy attended New York City public schools and graduated from Brooklyn Tech. At Marymount Manhattan College (MMC), she focused her studies on international social movements with an emphasis on equity, inclusion, and transparency in urban planning. She spent a year observing the initiation of Participatory Budgeting (PB) in NYC, and published the first article on its initiation. Nancy graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies and Journalism, and was inducted into three Honor Societies based on Leadership, Academic Achievement, and Political Science. Nancy gained government experience in the Offices of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and then-Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. She also managed and co-authored a grant-funded impact study on the NYC Department of Education’s Special Education Reform through the Fund for Public Advocacy. After two years as Special Assistant and Chief of Staff in the DOE’s Division of Family and Community Engagement, Nancy transitioned into her current role at the Fund for Public Schools. 

Deputy Communications Director & Campaign Spokesman, Pete for DNC

Communications Director, Stoney for RVA

Deputy National Press Secretary, O’Malley for President

After she graduated from MMC, Julietta pursued her Master of Arts in Management and Urban Policy in International Affairs from the Milano School of International Affairs at the New School. Before moving to Washington, D.C. for her current role, Julietta was Senator Schumer’s Constituent Liaison here in NYC.

CUNY School of Law ’20

MMC Class of 2015, Political Science and History

Chanel Portia-Albert, CD, CLC, CHHC, is the Executive Director and Founder of Ancient Song Doula Services, a reproductive health organization focused on providing resources and full-spectrum doula services to women of color and marginalized communities. A reproductive justice and health advocate as well as speaker on birth justice and health equity, Chanel’s work within infant and maternal health is centered in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and extends to Uganda, where she has served as a maternal health strategist. Her #BeyondBirthWork initiative developed a grant-sponsored community-based doula model in collaboration with Village Birth International and Every Mother Counts in response to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2018 call to end racial disparity in maternal care. Chanel serves as a consultant for the NYC Department of Health in Mental Hygiene and serves on the advisory board at Ariadne Labs at Harvard School of Public Health and Columbia Medical School. When she is not teaching or facilitating workshops you can find her spending time with her six children.