Mary Jo Jacobs

President

Mary Jo Jacobs, long-time New Rochelle resident, brings her work experience in Insurance Brokerage, Human Resources and Facilities Management ito support the BGCNR mission. She has held numerous board positions on the New Rochelle Parent Teacher Association (PTA) as well as the New Rochelle Day Nursey. She also served as Co-Chair for various special education PTA fundraisers and the New Rochelle Community Service and Open Space Committee. Mary Jo is on the Remington Reconstruction and Human Resources Committees.

Lisa Louis Burton

Vice President

Lisa Louis Burton joined the Board of the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle in the spring of 2018. She is the Board Chair of the Safety Committee for BGCNR. Ms. Burton retired in 2015 from an international law firm where she was a Practice Group Manager overseeing the development of business strategies, staffing and departmental budgets. Currently working part-time as a legislative aide for a local county legislator. Ms. Burton is an active member of numerous organizations including Zonta International, My Brother's Keeper New Rochelle and New Rochelle Against Racism. Ms. Burton holds a B.A. in Political Science and English from Bryn Mawr College.

Nicole Bell-Simon

Treasurer

Nicole Bell-Simon is an accomplished finance executive and very active member of her community. She holds degrees from the Wharton School of Business and Harvard Business School. Nicole started her career in public accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant. She has held numerous positions in finance and accounting and currently serves as a Managing Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis for Gartner, Inc. Nicole has been a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated for over 30 years. She is a member of the Westchester Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc and is a past president of the Westchester Chapter of Mocha Moms, Inc. and continues to serve on the board. She was the Co-Chair of Alumni Affairs for the Harvard Business School African American Alumni Association and currently serves as the Board of the Boys & Girls Club on New Rochelle in the role of Treasurer. Nicole provides pro bono financial literacy seminars for teen girls. Nicole’s passion is to help our children achieve financial flexibility and dream beyond their wildest dream. Nicole has been married to her wonderful husband, Steven, for 23 years and is the proud mother of Tyler and Sydney.

Alisa Cohen Barney

Secretary

Alisa Cohen Barney comes from the world of publishing. She is the senior copy editor at Esquire and Men's Health magazines and spent a long stretch at Entertainment Weekly. In her off-hours, she is a champion of the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, having worked to bring the organization to the Larchmont/Mamaroneck school district in 2018. For her efforts, Alisa was awarded the Blue Door award along with her collaborator, Lauren Roth. The Buffalo native, a graduate of Binghamton University, lives in Larchmont with her husband, Glenn, and two children, Jonah and Eliana, both of whom have enjoyed many, many hours at the club.

Michael Boatman

Michael Boatman currently co-stars in The Good Fight, for Paramount Plus. He's also co-starred in Instant Mom, Spin City, China Beach, and ARLISS; and guest-starred on Law and Order, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Madam Secretary, Scrubs, and Criminal Minds. By night, he's the author of several darkly comedic novels, Last God Standing, Who Wants To Be The Prince of Darkness? (Angry Robot Books), and Revenant Road (Crossroad Press). His stories have appeared in Apex Magazine; Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora; and in publications such as Weird Tales and Horror Garage. Many of his works have been compiled into two collections: 13: A Collection of Horror and Weird Fiction, and God Laughs When You Die.

Michael is the proud father of four miraculous human beings and three wacky dogs.

Rinku Bhattacharya

Rinku Bhattacharya has more than 25 years of financial and administrative experience in areas of financial management, information technology, strategy and infrastructure building with a specialty in the non-profit sector.

Rinku has worked in various dimensions of the non-profit sector managing budgets ranging from $5 to $75M, currently serving as the CFO for the Lutheran Social Services of New York. Rinku is also an adjunct professor of Accounting at Manhattanville College.

Rinku serves on the Global board of the Institute of Management Accountants, and also on the boards of City Living, NY and the First Lego League of Hudson Valley.

Ms. Bhattacharya has a doctoral degree in Accounting (DPS) from Pace University, an MBA in Finance from the University of Bridgeport, and an MS in Non-Profit Management from the New School University. Rinku is an avid cook, and particularly enjoys cooking for and with her two children.

Joseph Bodden-Godoy

Joseph Bodden-Godoy is a vice president at Peduto Construction Corp., responsible for the firm’s daily operations and winning bid work ranging from $5 to $10 million per year. Born in Honduras, Joe and his family undertook a long journey to the U.S. when he was eight, after Hurricane Mitch destroyed their home. They traveled through Belize, then Mexico, and continued north until eventually settling in Bronx, New York. Soon after beginning elementary school, Joe joined the local Boys & Girls Club, which provided help with homework and access to sports, allowing him to “stay healthy and out of trouble.” Excelling both in academics and sports, he went on to attend Lehman College and City Tech simultaneously, majoring in construction management. Joe also holds a master’s degree in the same discipline from New York University. Understanding that his journey may serve as an example to others facing similar challenges, he continually works to make positive contributions in his community. As someone who has seen his share of destruction during his lifetime, Joe is driven by a strong desire to rebuild and nurture growth, whether it’s supporting the development of new pedestrian bridges in New Rochelle, keeping his company’s employees working, or expanding local youth development opportunities as BGCNR’s newest board member.

C. Douglas Dixon

Charles Douglas Dixon, Esq. attended Mayflower Elementary School (now an Iona College dorm), Albert Leonard Junior High School and New Rochelle High School. After graduating from high school, he attended University of Cincinnati and Georgetown University Law School, where he received a B.A. and J.D. degree respectively. Professionally, he has specialized in business, corporate and real estate law, holding legal positions at the New York Stock Exchange, J.C. Penney Co. Inc., and Sterling Drug, Inc. After leaving the private sector, Doug established his own law firm and served as Counsel to the national law firm, Adorno and Yoss, and General Counsel to the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the largest minority business development organization in the world. Throughout his legal career, Mr. Dixon has shown a strong commitment to the Westchester community through his service on the African-American Advisory Board, the African American Men of Westchester, and the Association of Black Lawyers of Westchester County. He has also served as General Counsel to the African American Men of Westchester, Hillside Development Corporation, Cadiz Capital, LLC, and secretary and member of the Board of Directors of the Beta Zeta Boule Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle. Since his retirement from the practice of law, Mr. Dixon currently serves as Chairman of the Arthur S. Dixon Family Foundation, which provides scholarships and funds for youth programs primarily in the Westchester Community. He is a member of the Beta Zeta Boule, the Manhattan Guardsmen and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

Millie Guzman

Millie Guzman is an Executive Director and the Head of Communications and Training for Wealth Management Compliance at Morgan Stanley. She currently co-chairs the Firm’s Latino Employee Network. Since joining the Firm in 2013, Millie leads a team committed to commercially aligning business objectives with regulatory expectations. In her role, Millie is responsible for the development and delivery of compliance training engagements to approximately 22,000 licensed employees in the Wealth Management Division.

Millie began her career at Bear Stearns, where she held various leadership roles within the Fixed Income business and Marketing before transitioning to Compliance as the Global Head of Compliance Training. She then joined MF Global as a Global Compliance Officer. Before joining Morgan Stanley, she was with RBS and responsible for the Americas Policies and Training team.

Millie currently, serves on various industry roundtables and sits on the FINRA Continuing Education Committee. She is a board member for the Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle. Millie often speaks on diversity and inclusion initiatives, professional development and community engagement.

Millie is committed to empowering the next generation of Latino leaders. She is passionate about sponsoring, mentoring and coaching Latinos to maximize their potential. Millie enjoys providing career guidance to young professionals of diverse backgrounds. She co-chaired the Morgan Stanley Legal and Compliance Division, Diversity and Inclusion Leaders Subcommittee.

Millie received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business from SUNY’s Empire State College. She is fluent in Spanish.

Millie resides in New Rochelle, NY with her husband Liv and is the proud mother of Laura who is a freshman in college. She enjoys skiing, cooking, gardening and reading.

Sheldon Pride

Sheldon Pride is a professor at Monroe College’s King Graduate School and School of Business and Accounting; teaching courses in business data analytics, operations, and logistics. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a PhD in Chemical Engineering, he spent over 20 years working for a variety of corporations and pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities. He currently lives in New Rochelle with his wife, Mica. He can be found most weekend mornings on a golf course.

Jasmine Rice

After growing up in the South Bronx, Jasmine Rice moved to New Rochelle where she graduated from New Rochelle High School. Subsequently, Jasmine graduated from Westchester Community College, and then CUNY Lehman College. She then entered the real estate industry as a licensed real estate agent wherein she specialized in rentals in New York City. Jasmine then moved back to New Rochelle and transitioned to the luxury rental market as a Senior Leasing Consultant with Avalon Bay Communities in New Rochelle. Her responsibilities at these properties consisted of leasing a 1000 unit portfolio and connecting the residents to the community; additionally, she trained other leasing consultants and developed rental pricing strategies.

Afterwards, Jasmine entered the residential sales market as an agent where she successfully assisted her clients with both selling and purchasing residential real estate properties. With several transactions under her belt, Jasmine developed an expertise in navigating her clients through the complex process of selling and buying a home. Currently, Jasmine works in the non- profit sector with Westhab as a property manager for affordable housing units. Despite her busy career, Jasmine gives back as a volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle where she mentors young women. She also is a board member on the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence, a member of her local PTA, and as a vocalist in the band of her church. Jasmine and her husband Jared have two young children, Jocelyn and Jayden.

Michael Smith

Michael is a Head of Industry at Google where he leads a team of strategic planning and business development professionals servicing large Apps advertisers. Michael is also the founder and Principal of E&I Advisors, a boutique management consulting firm focused on delivering operating and go-to-market strategy to small and medium-sized companies that are struggling to meet their revenue goals. Prior to the founding of E&I Advisors, Michael was a Director of Strategy and Business Planning at American Express based in New York. In this role, Michael worked in the Global Corporate Payments business unit focusing on innovation and target growth development. Michael also lived and worked in Seoul, South Korea as a Global Strategist for the Samsung organization. While at Samsung, Michael advised c-suite members of the company on market entry, competition, and mergers & acquisitions. Michael also spent several years on Wall Street as an investor and business developer.

Michael was the first City Councilmember to represent District 4 in Redwood City, sworn-in in 2020. Prior to City Council, Michael served as a Planning Commissioner in Redwood City, where he advocated for affordable housing and multigenerational families. Michael is a director on the Peninsula Clean Energy Community Choice Power Aggregator and Commute.org, both organizations are based In Silicon Valley, CA. Michael began his public sector work mentoring at the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. He would go on to chair the board of the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, serve on the board of the Filoli museum, and work as an adjunct business professor at Menlo College.

Michael holds an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business. He also holds a BA in Political Economy from Yale University. Michael lives in New Rochelle.

Mark Steffensen

Mark A. Steffensen, serves as a Senior Executive Vice President and the General Counsel of HSBC North America Holdings, HSBC USA and HSBC Bank USA. Mr. Steffensen previously served in various roles within HSBC North America, including Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Banking and Markets (Americas), Co-Head of Commercial Banking, Legal (US), and General Counsel of Wholesale Banking. Prior to joining HSBC, Mr. Steffensen served as an Executive Director and Counsel for Morgan Stanley. Mr. Steffensen previously was associated with the law firms of Davis Polk in New York and Vedder Price in Chicago. In addition, Mr. Steffensen served as Special Counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Market Regulation (f/k/a Trading & Markets), where he focused on the creation, implementation and enforcement of rules that govern broker-dealers and other regulated entities. Mr. Steffensen serves as a SIFMA Board member and formerly chaired each of the SIFMA General Counsels Committee and Government Legal Advisory Committee. He also is a Board member of The Clearing House Association. Mr. Steffensen graduated from The University of Iowa College of Law (with distinction), where he was a member of the Law Review, and holds an MBA from the University of Iowa, College of Business, where he was a lecturer.

Gina Summa Egan

Gina Summa Egan was born, raised, and resides in New Rochelle with her husband Joseph, and two children Matthew and Mikayla. Gina was an active member of the Boys & Girls Club as a child; she and her sisters were introduced to the organization through her father, Michael Summa, who attended programs and participated in sports at the Mascaro Clubhouse in his youth. Her father considered BGCNR a second home and was committed to give back to his community, and Gina has continued his unwavering support for local youth. Now serving as a strong advocate for all children, she currently works as an elementary school teacher in the City School District of New Rochelle and recently was inducted into the Child Care Council of Westchester’s Early Education Hall of Heroes. Gina also served as president of the New Rochelle Special Education Parent-Teacher Association for four years and was recognized by Westchester County Executive George Latimer with a Certificate of Recognition of Service in 2020. She holds a master’s degree in TESOL from The College of New Rochelle and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood/elementary education from Manhattanville College, and is a certified Reiki practitioner.

Michele Washington

Michele R. Washington grew up in the Bronx and has been a New Rochelle resident for over 20+ years. She has been an early childhood educator for over 40 years, owned and operated child care programs in Larchmont and the Bronx and has been an instructor of Early Childhood Education at Lehman College for 30 years. She is and has always been an advocate for quality educational programs for ALL children and families.