Below are names and background information for people that make up the two boards for that run Governors Island – the The Trust for Governors Island and The Governors Island Foundation. (previously ‘The Friends of Governors Island’)
The Trust has included a Wall Street who’s who, many with real estate and development firms, one with ties to the Hudson Yards over-development. Others have current and past work with McKinsey and Company, the people who gave us the 2007 Enron scandal, the Purdue Opioid death epidemic, ICE scandals, and ties to authoritarian regimes, etc. Several are Goldman Sachs alumni. More recently It seems that there has been an increase in members with environmental and urban planning backgrounds.
The Trust for Governors Island
Alicia Glen, Chair Real Estate Developer
Former Deputy Mayor overseeing housing and economic development
Previously Goldman Sachs, Director of Urban Investment Group
Now owns real estate development company (MSquared)
“Alicia Glen is a nationally recognized expert in urban development, infrastructure finance, job creation and housing policy.”
Alice Blank, Architect and an urban planner and Manhattan Community Board 1 member.
Christian Braneon, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Climate, Columbia Climate School . Served as Head of Climate Justice at Carbon Direct, Inc and as Co-Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s inaugural Environmental Justice Academy for community leaders.
Wendy Brawer, An eco-designer, community planner, and environmental activist. Founding Director of https://greenmap.org. Appointed by Councilmember Chris Marte.
Tim Cawley, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Consolidated Edison
Richard Corman, President of the Downtown Independent Democrats. Former Executive Director of The River Project. Serves on Manhattan Community Board 1.
Carolee Fink, Real Estate Executive
Gaurav Kapadia, Private Investment
Also member of pro-development Friends of Hudson River Park that attempted to place 400,000 square foot office building on Hudson River Pier 40
EB Kelly, Senior Managing Director, Tishman Speyer (Chair)
Ben Lawsky, Wall Street Lawyer
Runs legal and consulting firm
New York State‘s first Superintendent of Financial Services[2] serving through June, 2015, and former Acting Superintendent of Banks[3] serving through 2011.
Susan Mercandetti, VP Business Development and Partnerships at ABC News
Daniel Neidich, “Real estate mogul”
President River2River Realty “top tier real estate firm”
Brokerage, landlord, property manager and developer
Marc Norman, Associate Dean at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate. He is also the founder of Ideas and Action, a real estate and urban planning consulting firm.
Michael Oppenheimer, Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University and Director of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs.
Tokumbo Shobowale, Exec VP for Business and Operations at New School
Former Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Economic Development
Previously with McKinsey as Deputy Manager for Environment
Carl Weisbrod, Former Wall Street Real Estate Developer
Currently a senior advisor to HR&A Advisors and a Senior Fellow at the New York University Marron Institute of Urban Management.
Weisbrod most recently served as Chairman of the New York City Planning Commission and Director of the New York City Department of City Planning.[2]
He is a former member of the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority[3][4] and was the founding President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Weisbrod has also served as the President of the New York City Downtown Alliance, as an executive vice president of Trinity Church and President of Trinity Real Estate, the $6 billion the real estate development arm of the church.[5][6] Weisbrod served as one of the chairs of Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s transition team,[7] as President of the 42nd Street Development Corporation he is credited with the redevelopment of New York City’s Times Square area.[8]
Governors Island Foundation (previously ‘The Friends of Governors Island’)
Board of Directors
EB Kelly, Senior Managing Director, Tishman Speyer (Chair)
Daniel C. Reynolds, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (Vice Chair)
Justin Ginsburgh, Managing Director of Infrastructure, Properties & Development, JetBlue (Treasurer)
Hannah Blumenthal, Founder & Principal, Studio Olivine (Secretary)
Betty Chen, Principal, BYC Projects LLC
Sean Cort, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone
Jesse Damashek, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Whiskey Portfolio, Diageo
Carrie Denning Jackson, Director of Tech & Innovation, Jamestown LLP
Janis Foo, General Counsel, Traba
Laura Fox, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Streetlife Ventures
Adam Freed, Principal, Bloomberg Associates
Alizeh Gangji, Vice President, Operations, Thirty Madison
David Gilford, Managing Partner, PolicyAlpha
Chris Grosso, CEO, Intersection Co.
Melanie Katzman, Founder, Katzman Consulting
Justine Lee, President & CEO, ClimateHaven
Robert Levine, Chairman & CEO, RAL Companies & Affiliates LLC
Xiao Linda Liu, Partner, McKinsey & Co.
Rachel Morrison Montoya, Director, Oxford Properties Group
Phil Norman, Executive Vice President, American Express
Kimberly Pirtle, Founder & Principal, Gabriel Advisory Group
Konstantinos Rizakos, General Manager, Compliance, NiCE Systems, Inc.
Darren Schluter
Hilary Spann, Executive Vice President, BXP
Marc Treviño, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Kevin Vallès, Managing Director, J.F. Lehman & Company
Carl Weisbrod, Senior Advisor, HR&A Advisors
Lauren Wolf, Senior Vice President, NYC Economic Development Corporation
Ex Officio
Patti Davis, Executive Director, Governors Island Foundation
Clare Newman, President & CEO, The Trust for Governors Island
Willa Padgett, Chief Financial Officer, The Trust for Governors Island