Launching the Greater NY Class of 2018

In 2015, after five years as a program of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, Greater NY became a stand-alone nonprofit and moved out of City Hall. The program continues with the same mission to match leaders from the nonprofit and private sectors to meet an hour a month for two years.

Greater NY Founders Cheryl Cohen Effron and Jamie Rubin welcomed the new partnerships and thanked the Bloomberg administration, the DeBlasio administration, Greater NY’s Board and alumni for the vital role they had played in growing Greater NY from a post-crisis response to a full-fledged civic initiative.

Michael Schlein, GNY ‘12, recalled, “Greater NY drew so many of us in with the idea that getting through the crisis would require real and personal conversations and relationships between leaders in the government, private and nonprofit sectors. At the time, I said ‘yes’ because Cheryl asked me to do it. But what I learned in my partnership with Linda Bryant of Inwood House is how important a trusted thought partner can be, and how unique it is when this thought partner comes out of a different sector.”

“Getting through the crisis would require real conversations and relationships between leaders
in the government, private
and nonprofit sectors.”

Joe Hall, GNY ‘12, founder and president of Ghetto Film School, returned to encourage new partners to take every advantage of the Greater NY opportunity. Of the launch event he said, “What an incredible group of folks who actually give a damn, and then make good things happen.” His sentiments were echoed by Danny Boockvar, GNY ‘18, CEO of New York Cruise Lines: "I signed up for Greater NY because I thought it had the potential to be something. Tonight made me believe it IS something.”

“What an incredible group of folks who actually give a damn, and then make good things happen.”

For a full list of the class of 2018, click here.

Greater NY matches partnerships on a rolling basis and launches a new class every April