Board of Directors

Mikhael Abebe is an associate of The Related Companies. His focus is on the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing affordable housing properties across the United States including everything from deal structuring and execution to development management. Prior to joining Related, Mikhael worked most recently as a real estate structured finance banker at Morgan Stanley after working for the New York City Economic Development Corporation where he structured and executed real estate transactions for the purposes of catalyzing the development of large scale, mixed use projects. He earned his MBA at the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley and his B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2024.

Mariano Agmi is a Division Director and Americas Head of Risk Surveillance at Macquarie Group.  In this role, he oversees compliance with respect to a variety of topics, including e-communications, social media, voice recording, trade surveillances, and the implementation of technology initiatives.  He earned his BA in Political Science from Amherst College and his JD from New York Law School.  Mariano joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2019 and sits on the Risk Committee.

Angel Cardoza is a General Manager of Electric Operations at Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. He spent over 21 years at Con Edison, working his way up through different roles until becoming General Manager of Gas Engineering. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the City University of New York City College, his MS in Organizational Leadership from Mercy College, and his Executive MBA from Fordham Gabelli School of Business. Angel joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2017 and sits on the Finance and Audit, Governance and Nominating, and Program Committees.

William Devaney is a partner at Baker McKenzie in the firm’s North America Litigation group in New York. He is also the Chair of the firm’s North American Government Enforcement Practice and Co-Chair of the Global Compliance and Investigations Group. His main areas of practice are white collar criminal defense, investigations, compliance, and complex civil litigation. William earned his BA from Georgetown University, his JD from Georgetown University Law Center, and his Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge. He joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2019 and sits on the Governance and Nominating Committee.

Barrett Feldman is a founding principal at PSF Projects Architecture D.P.C., an award-winning architecture and design firm. She spearheads the nonprofit, educational, and research areas of the practice and has held design and project management leadership roles on a diverse range of projects including The Austin Federal Courthouse, Lady Liberty Charter School in Newark, and Two Alliance Center in Atlanta. She earned her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University with High Honors in Studio Art, and her MA in Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Barrett joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2019 and has been an active part of the Facilities Committee, advising BronxWorks on safely re-opening and reconfiguring office spaces as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge New York City.

Nancy Felsten is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP where she leads the firm’s advertising, marketing, and promotions practice. She spends her days helping clients navigate the complicated advertising and marketing problems of our day in order to reduce risk and at the same time effectively reach their intended audiences. Nancy works with global consumer product companies, electronics, FDA-regulated OTC, and banking companies and products, as well as advertising agencies and media and telecommunications clients, providing a 360-degree practice to address all kinds of advertising, marketing, and promotions programs. Nancy helps clients create compliant marketing campaigns pursuant to FTC and FDA regulation and guidance, state consumer protection law, rights of privacy and publicity, and in light of other advertising and intellectual property issues. She is also well known for effectively representing clients in competitive challenges before the National Advertising Division and the National Advertising Review Board (BBB National Programs). Nancy is recognized year after year in Chambers USA (Band 1), Best Lawyers, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Super Lawyers and is a frequent speaker at major industry conferences. Under her leadership, DWT was named Advertising Law Firm of the Year for 2023 by U. S. News and World Reports. In addition to BronxWorks, she also sits on key advertising industry and advisory boards.

John Grudzina is EVP, General Counsel & Global Chief People Officer of Grey Group, one of the world’s premier advertising and marketing communications companies. In his roles at Grey, John oversees all of the companies’ legal matters globally in addition to managing all senior employment issues, including compensation, recruitment, and retention of the company’s executives around the world. John received his Bachelor of Arts from Manhattan College in the Bronx and his Juris Doctorate from Pace University School of Law. He joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2022.

Christian Lee has had a decorated career in the fields of finance and business operations, serving in key roles in a number of organizations around the world. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Mint House. Prior to that he was CFO of WeWork and then Managing Director of WeWork Asia. He previously served as SVP and Head of Corporate Development for Time Warner Cable and Chief Financial Officer of Transfix. Christian earned his MBA from Columbia Business School, and his B.A. from Carleton College. He joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2013. Christian was honored at the BronxWorks 2015 Annual Gala.

Kira Mendez is the Director of the Iacocca Institute at Lehigh University. She has served as a senior advisor to social sector leaders, with over 28 years of strategy consulting and management experience in both for-profit and non-profit sectors. Kira earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, as well as her MS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her BS in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University. She joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2012 and previously served as the Secretary. Kira currently sits on the Development, Program, and Strategic Planning Committees.

Bruce Phillips is a Senior Managing Director for Tishman Speyer and has been responsible for design and construction activities in the United States, Europe, Brazil, and India. He earned his BA from the Princeton University School of Architecture. Prior to joining Tishman Speyer, Bruce spent 15 years at American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. where he directed real estate development and design and construction projects, including ABC’s broadcast center and headquarters. Bruce first joined the Board of the Girls Club of NY in 1995. After the Girls Club and BronxWorks (then CAB) merged, Bruce continued to serve on the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2002 and serves as the Co-Chair of the Facilities Committee.

Julio Reyes is a Vice President in Retail Banking at Citizens Bank in New York City. He leads teams to drive business performance through acquisition, coaching, business development, and retention of customer relationships. Julio has grown his career in over a decade as a banking professional. He earned his AA in Business Administration and Management from the Borough of Manhattan Community College and his BBA in Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance from the City University of New York – Herbert H. Lehman College. He is a FINRA licensed SIE 6 & 63, as well as a life insurance licensed agent in the state of NY. Julio joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2019 and sits on the Strategic Planning Committee.

Yaron Shlesinger is a Managing Director at Atalan Capital Partners, an investment firm based in New York. Prior to joining Atalan, Yaron worked at Three Bays Capital, a Boston-based hedge fund, and Bain Capital, a multi-asset alternative investment firm. Yaron began his career as a Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. Yaron received his HBA from The Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. He joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2023.

Ren Singh is a Vice President in the Legal Department at Barclays Investment Bank. Prior to joining Barclays, he was Corporate Counsel at Canon USA and Counsel at Liberty International Underwriters. Ren earned his BA in English and Political Science at Amherst College and his JD at the Brooklyn Law School. He joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2019.

Simon Stanaway is a partner at Ernst & Young (EY) in the New York City office. He leads the Americas Mobile Talent and Workforce Enablement Group within EY’s People Advisory Services practice. Simon was born and raised in the United Kingdom. He earned is BSc from Birmingham University (UK) and his Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Newcastle University in NSW, Australia. Simon joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2014 and sits on the Program and Strategic Planning Committees. His roots to the Bronx are strong from his time living in Riverdale after marrying and starting his family there. Simon was honored at the 2019 BronxWorks Lifting Lives Building Futures Gala.

Ms. Gülden Türköz-Cosslett recently retired from the United Nations after a 30-year career in international development. Working for three UN agencies and in five countries around the world, Gülden served in a variety of leadership positions involving program management, partnerships, resource mobilization, and gender equality. Most recently, Gülden was Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director, Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York. Her earlier positions included: Director of Programmes and Head of the Transition Team for the establishment of UN Women; UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Albania; Team Leader of UNDP’s Central Asia cluster, and; Programme specialist to the UNDP Administrator. Gülden holds a Master’s of International Affairs degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York and a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She is married and has a daughter. Gülden joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2022.

Doug Tween is a partner at Linklaters LLP based in the New York office, where he serves as head of the firm’s U.S. Government Enforcement and Cartel Practice group. His work covers white collar criminal and regulatory investigations, as well as complex civil litigation and class actions. He also advises on crisis management, conducts internal investigations, and assists corporations with compliance, risk management, and governance issues. Doug earned his BA from Columbia College and his JD from Northwestern University School of Law. He joined the BronxWorks Board of Directors in 2015 and sits on the Risk Committee and the Governance and Nominating Committee. Doug is also a past Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Compliance and Ethics Committee.

Tom Watson is the president and founder of CauseWired, a consulting firm advising clients in the social sector, as well as a professor in the Nonprofit Management Master’s program at Columbia University. Tom’s career spans journalism, philanthropy, consulting, and education. Tom earned his BA in English Literature from Columbia University. He joined the Board of Directors of BronxWorks in 2013 and currently serves as the Chair of the Development Committee. He sits on the Executive and Strategic Planning Committees. Tom also serves on the Board of the Westchester Human Rights Commission.