Adam Liebowitz joined North Star Fund in 2013. Adam directs Community Food Funders (CFF), a philanthropic organizing project for funders in the tri-state area to invest in the transition to an equitable, ecologically sound, and sustainable regional food system that emphasizes local growing, processing, and distribution. Adam administered and coordinated North Star Fund’s Greening Western Queens Fund and Community Fund for Sandy Recovery. In 2019, Adam led the process of the creation, design, and implementation of the Seeding Power Fellowship for food justice leaders, CFF’s newest initiative.

Adam has a rich history in the nonprofit sector and extensive experience in community outreach and development, urban farming, program design and management, youth development, and environmental justice. “My time as Education Director at a Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx provided a foundation to understand the strengths and struggles of underserved populations in New York City,” Adam says. “At The Point CDC, I worked with amazing people dedicated to undoing some of the systemic injustices in our city and culture, and learned the importance of community-based planning and grassroots activism to realize social change.”

Focusing on environmental justice and food access, Adam trained Hunts Point youth through The Point’s ACTION program as community organizers able to establish their own projects and campaigns. He created an urban agriculture and food justice program that included cooking and nutrition classes, public health outreach, the establishment of a local CSA, and vegetable gardens across multiple sites. Adam designed and organized the 2009 South Bronx Food & Film Expo, and served on the steering committee in 2011 for the first Bronx Food Summit.

Prior to joining North Star Fund, Adam worked as an independent consultant to nonprofit organizations and private firms specializing in food systems planning and food access projects in New York. He received a B.A. from Wesleyan University in 2002 and an M.S. in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from The New School in 2011.

Aiden K. Feltkamp (they/he) began their artistic life at the age of 5 playing a quarter-size cello and now they wrangle arts administrators and composers as the first-ever Director of Emerging Composers and Diversity with the American Composers Orchestra. In their artistic practice, they write in varying genre and they perform as an opera singer.

As an equity and inclusion specialist for the past 8 years, they have consulted for performing arts organizations, funders, universities, and businesses. They have worked with Johnson & Johnson, Yelp, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, OPERA America, the League of American Orchestras, and the LA Phil. In their time with the American Composers Orchestra, they have sustained and created programs that provide orchestral opportunities to composers from diverse backgrounds. Utilizing data analysis and innovative recruitment, they have increased diverse candidates by 9% each year for the past 3 years, and they have increased the diversity of early career composers granted opportunities through ACO’s flagship program, EarShot, by 37% across the board.

Mx Feltkamp’s written work spans the serious and the ridiculous, the real and the surreal. Some of their favorite projects include: an opera about Emily Dickinson’s queerness (The Homestead with Dana Kaufman), an interactive fiction experience about alien communication coded in Javascript (“Hello, Aria”), new English translations of Jewish lesbian erotic poet Marie-Madeleine’s work (The Priestess of Morphine with Rosśa Crean), and a four-part series decoupling gender and voice types. Most recently, their work has been commissioned by Cantus, Amherst College, and the International Museum of Surgical Sciences, and has been published in Crêpe & Penn, Bait/Switch, and NewMusicBox.

Before pursuing their medical transition, Mx Feltkamp performed opera professionally, specializing in Baroque opera and new music. Their most fulfilling roles include Hansel, Prince Orlofsky, Cherubino, Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea (especially in a Baroque gesture production with director Drew Minter), and Elizabeth in the World and NY premieres of Griffin Candey’s Sweets by Kate. They continue to train their new voice and have recently performed as Figaro in ChamberQUEER’s abridged Le Nozze di Figaro.

Mx Feltkamp is a Turn the Spotlight fellow (20/21 cohort) and a New York Community Trust Leadership Fellow (Fall 21 cohort). In 2019, they received the “Top 30 Professionals of the Year” award from Musical America. They graduated from Bard College Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program (under the direction of Dawn Upshaw) with a Masters of Music, and received their B.S. in Vocal Performance from Hofstra University. They hold certifications in DEI and Data Science. They currently live in Jersey City with their partner, cat, parrots, and robot dog.

Over a decade ago, Amanda Nathan made a career change to workforce development and recognizes that as one of the best decisions she’s ever made. The transition allowed her to bring her people-centered approach to support practitioners and organizations in their strategy and service delivery methods to enhance the economic stability of their program participants.

Born and raised in Westchester County, NY, Amanda is an alum of SUNY Purchase College. Her work at local nonprofits and the City of New York has shaped her professional identity. Amanda has managed small teams; provided technical assistance and coaching to national program sites; and led special projects. Throughout it all, she prioritizes relationships with people as a driver for success.

Currently, Amanda is a Senior Manager, National Coaching Practice at STRIVE based in East Harlem.

Ambrosia Kaui is the Assistant Director for Operations & Evaluation at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC), a settlement house that serves as a catalyst for positive change in the lives of NYC residents, with a particular focus on communities in upper Manhattan and the south and west Bronx. In this role she is responsible for agency-wide operations and systems development, including contracting process management, coordination between fiscal and other departments, and developing systems for new programs and initiatives. Prior to joining NMIC, she held roles in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Trinity Wall Street, and Iris House: A Center for Women, and served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia.

Born on the island of Kaua’i and raised in the town of Anahola, Hawai’i, Ambrosia is part Filipina (Ilocano/Visayan) and Kanaka ‘Oiwi (Native Hawaiian). She is deeply passionate about indigenous rights, particularly as they relate to ancestral lands and self-governance, and environmental justice.  Ambrosia is a first-generation college graduate and holds a Master of Public Administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Science from Boston University’s College of Communication.

• Amma Woods is Managing Director of Elementary Programs at LEAP, a NYC non profit that brings arts programming to NYC schools underserved in the arts. Her role includes overseeing seven school partnerships in Brooklyn and Washington Heights, strategic planning, financial management, grants management and compliance. Throughout the past 18 years, Amma’s commitment to youth development and a holistic approach to working with young people and families, continue to grow on a daily basis.

Brianne Kilpatrick is currently the Director of Major and Planned Gifts at Goddard Riverside with more than 10 years of experience in fundraising. Brianne’s work at Goddard consists of raising money, engaging potential planned givers, building a junior board, and creating volunteer opportunities for corporate volunteers. She holds a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University in Chicago and is currently a member of the Program Committee at PPGGNY.

Brianne is passionate about fundraising for marginalized communities and youth. In her free time, Brianne likes to travel, take photos, and practice judo.

Originally from Long Beach, California, and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras/Queens, New York. Derick Mendoza is a Program Manager at Voces Latinas Corp., a Non-profit organization in Queens, New York. For over 7 years, have been managing healthcare programs and affairs with government institutions, foreign consulates, community organizations, among other. Participates in local, state, and national networks, coalitions that address the National Hispanic/ Latinx Health policy agenda. Concentrates on developing campaigns and programs on HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, community mobilization, immigration, and social determinants of health. Leads advocacy efforts in Washington D.C. by developing initiatives in partnership with diverse communities and governmental agencies to improve access to healthcare, human rights, immigration policies, and education reforms that impact immigrant communities. Likes to travel to different countries, interact with people and their cultures. Holds a MA degree in Political Science/International Relations from Long Island University and BA degree in Political Science from York College of City University of New York. Is currently working on addressing Sustainable Development Programs and become a leader of the community to impact social change.

Eve Wolff joined the renowned arts education organization, Dancing Classrooms, as the new Deputy Director in February 2020. Weeks later, as schools were shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped spearhead the complete overhaul of Dancing Classrooms’ programs to be delivered virtually. As the head of the Programming team she has overseen the safe re-entry to teaching in-person again, the expansion of programs, and the integration of culturally responsive and sustaining education practices into Dancing Classrooms rich curriculum.

Prior to joining Dancing Classrooms, Eve worked with Advance NYC, a nonprofit consulting firm, as a Senior Project Director for 7 years. There she supported clients such as ArtsConnection, Harmony Program, Hellen Keller International, Hi-Arts, the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and Pilobolus. Prior to joining Advance NYC Eve spent years in the NYC performing arts and arts education sectors, including serving as the Director of Programming at Young Audiences New York. Eve currently sits on the Board of Directors of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable, and on various committees of the PS 300Q PTA. In addition, Eve previously served as a member of the School Leadership Team at early childhood school PS 242 in Queens, and on the National Guild for Community Arts Education’s members council. Eve holds a BFA in Drama from the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. She was a proud NYU Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar, and spent years bringing her stage management, performance, and educator skills to volunteer community and arts programs around the globe, including in Brazil, Ghana, Ireland, and across the US. Having grown up mostly in NYC, where she was an avid young dancer and performer, Eve is passionate about bringing the joy and freedom that can be found in the arts to each young person’s educational experience.

Hector Cuevas is the Director of Education and Youth Development Programs at CAMBA, Inc, a Brooklyn community-based organization that serves more than 65,000 individuals and families each year, citywide, including 10,000 youth. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx, Hector has worked in the non-profit field for over 17 years. He is the product of the same types of programs and services he is now responsible for managing.

Hector got his start as a summer youth employment participant and worked in a summer day camp program in the Bronx. Today he oversees four Beacon community centers, nine NYCHA Cornerstones, two Community Schools, and an anti-gun violence program in Brownsville Brooklyn. He lives in the Bronx with his partner and daughter.