Schuyler Center recently welcomed four new members to the Board of Trustees. We are grateful for their leadership, expertise, and service while we work to create a New York State where all children and families can thrive.
Learn more about our newest board members:
Damyn Kelly is a recognized leader in the nonprofit sector. As a strategic thinker and planner, he combines experience, data, evidence-based practices, and strong ties to the community to lead organizations seeking to enhance the quality of life for the marginalized and underserved in New York City. Damyn currently serves as the President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of NY, an $85 million social services organization, employing 660 human services professionals across 39 sites. Programs of LSSNY include: immigration legal services, foster care, supportive housing, family shelters, early childhood education, prevention services and food pantries.
Hope Lesane is an experienced policy leader specializing in early childhood education and advocacy. As Senior Policy Advisor at the CUNY Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, Hope works with statewide leaders to advance early childhood initiatives. Her work centers on workforce development, compensation, and advocacy efforts impacting New York State’s early childhood professionals.
Previously, as Associate Director for Early Childhood at The Education Trust-NY, Hope led a prenatal-to-three advocacy coalition and cultivated extensive community relationships across New York State. She drafted influential policy reports and represented the organization before the NYS Childcare Availability Task Force and the NYS Board of Regents.
In her former role as Director of Early Childhood Initiatives at Teach For America-New York, Hope developed a specialized training institute and successfully secured scholarship funding for early childhood corps members. She additionally possesses deep experience in instructional coaching and classroom teaching, having served at both the Manhattan Charter School and the Grand Street Settlement Head Start Program.
Hope holds a Master of Science in Early Childhood Education and Students with Disabilities from Touro College and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Nyack College. A resident of Brooklyn, she lives with her husband, Jamaal, and her two children, Mia and Theo.
Rev. West McNeill is the NYS Labor-Religion Coalition Program Director. They are ordained in the United Church of Christ and have over a decade of experience organizing with community, faith, and labor organizations across New York State. They were named to City & State’s “Faith Power 100” list of New York’s most influential religious leaders. West holds an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, a B.A. in journalism from Ithaca College, and is a graduate of the Union Leadership Institute of the NYS AFL-CIO and Cornell.
B Panchanadeswaran (Panch) is a senior Finance Executive with over 40 years of global experience across the Financial Services Industry, with a strong track record leading companies through startup, growth, and turnaround phases.
Currently Head of Monetization at Pagaya Technologies (NASDAQ: PGY), a global technology company enabling financial products accessible to more customers nationwide. Panch has served as CFO of Caliber Home Loans, Consumer and Commercial Banking at Santander Bank N.A., Citi Mortgage, and Citi Financial. His expertise spans Capital Markets, Pricing, and Portfolio Management.
A seasoned Risk Management leader, Panch served as COO of Global Consumer Risk at Citi during the Financial Crisis, interfacing with regulators, redesigning the bank’s Risk architecture, and leading its first Stress Testing exercise. Throughout his career, Panch has managed diverse lending programs — Cards, Personal Loans, Auto, and Mortgages — across large banks, regional banks, and nonbank finance companies, serving the full credit spectrum in varied regulatory environments.
His global experience living and working in India, Turkey, Belgium, Dubai, and the USA has shaped a dynamic, flexible management style marked by strong communication skills and an analytical, results-oriented approach.
Panch holds a CPA from India and a degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. A New York City resident for 20 years, he actively contributes to numerous NGOs.
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