Non-Profit Prophets with Emmanuel Daudu Emmanuel Daudu

Captain Neekenson Fils Aime is a Captain in the Salvation Army, the renowned, international Christian organization known for its impressive track record of uplifting the most underserved communities around the world. Captain Neek leads the Harlem Temple Corps of the Salvation Army which oversees the Salvation Army’s work throughout Harlem, NYC. Come learn about the most pressing challenges facing the Harlem community and the solutions being employed by Captain Neek alongside his wife Captain Jeanne Elie.

Dr. Sarah Bennison is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Mattering Movement. The Mattering Movement is a New York incorporated non-profit that teaches students, teachers, and parents what it means to matter by providing tools to identify needs in local communities and the skills to make a positive impact on the world. The Matter Movement seeks to combat the pandemic of loneliness and despair that are harming America’s youth. The Mattering Movement provides practical toolkits of curriculum in order to support teachers and parents in creating environments that make students feel like they matter.

Dr. Bennison is an educational leader, activist and founder of Trinity School (NYC) Office of Public Service, where she led service learning initiatives engaging students, faculty, families and alumni in ongoing, meaningful community engagement work with social impact curriculum. She started her career in New York City public schools in the South Bronx and has more than twenty-five years of teaching and leadership experience.

Ramón Javier is the Head of School at George Jackson Academy. George Jackson Academy (GJA) is a selective, need-blind, all-boys middle school located in the East Village of Manhattan. GJA educates high-achieving boys, regardless of their families’ economic means, with some of the best independent school education around. The school’s tuition is $25,000 per year, but 100% of the families receive financial aid, some families pay as little as $50 a month. The school truly believes that if you have the ability to thrive academically, then the education that will push you should be available regardless of your economic status. Ramon has two decades of leadership experience at some of the most pre-eminent independent schools and educational access programs in New York City such as Prep for Prep, The Trinity School, TEAK, and Packer Collegiate. He graduated from Williams College and then earned a Masters of Education (Ed.M.) and M.A. in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Roslyn Rivas is the Public Programs Manager at NYC Audubon, a grassroots non-profit that has been working for the protection of wild birds and habitat in New York City for over 40 years. If you want to know how urban conservationists have saved millions of birds, changed major construction like the Javits Center to be more environmentally friendly, and have brought together the NYC community around an appreciation of birds, this episode is for you. Roslyn is a Bronx, New York native and grew up right next to the iconic Bronx Zoo. Her early love of environment and animals propelled her to Yale where she graduated undergrad with a degree in ecology & evolutionary biology and then earned a wildlife management certificate from Oregon State University. Roslyn has worked for the New York Botanical Garden and the National Audubon Foundation before bringing her talents to NYC Audubon. Get ready to learn about practical ways urban living folks can be just a little bit more environmentally conscious.

Josh Benitez is the Co-Director of Common Ground Relief, a New Orleans, Louisiana non-profit committed to working for environmental and disaster justice. Common Ground Relief performs the essential work of planting native marshes and trees into the shoreline of Louisiana which provide the state with natural defenses against the devastation of hurricanes. Due to a combination of natural and man-made causes the protective shoreline of Louisiana has seen severe erosion. A strong shoreline serves as an invaluable defense in lessening the severity of hurricanes. In one year alone, Common Ground Relief has restored over 23 miles of shoreline and 17 acres of forest. Common Ground does this on top of organizing a “Free Pantry” that provides fresh food to all members of the Southeast Louisiana community for free. Josh is a New Orleans native and has spent years working in urban reforestation, hurricane relief, and all forms of environmental protection advocacy in the State of Louisiana. On top of that Josh is a phenomenal musician who frequents New Orleans’ world-famous Bourbon Street on guitar. Come learn about an organization working to stop natural disasters from becoming human devastation and doing it all while keeping bellies full.   

Emily Talentino is the Executive Director of Give and Surf. Give and Surf is a grassroots organization based in the island community of Bocas del Toro, Panama. Give & Surf has built 8 classrooms for local schools, 3 community centers, and several other projects in the Bocas region. Give & Surf now runs 5 year-round educational centers whose programs are led by a team of local teachers and supported by international volunteers. Emily first joined the team as a volunteer in 2013 while living in Massachusetts and working at the YMCA. Eventually, she moved to Panama in 2015 and committed herself full time to supporting the indigenous community of Bocas. Come and learn of Give and Surf’s unique strategy of not seeking to have a small impact on the greatest number of people possible, but instead, having a deep, long-lasting, sustainable impact within the small communities that they serve.