Leadership

Staff

Willis Elkins – Executive Director 

Willis began working at NCA in 2013 and has since developed and overseen a number of the key organizational programs relating to public programming, water quality monitoring, restoration, and community access. Willis is co-chair of the Newtown Creek Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG), a former member of Brooklyn’s Community Board 1 (including the Environmental Protection, Transportation and Parks/Waterfront committees), and a founding member of the North Brooklyn Community Boathouse where he serves on the board and actively volunteers. Before joining NCA, Willis worked in administrative capacities for various non-profit organizations and studied psychology and urban studies at New York University.

Brenda Suchilt – Horticulturist

Brenda manages the maintenance and health of various green spaces around the Watershed that NCA has established or helps maintain – including street end sites, pollinator meadows, Kingsland Wildflowers, and most recently, the care of NYC Rain Gardens in Bushwick and Sunnyside. Since 2015, Brenda has overseen and maintained various private, residential and gallery gardens throughout New York City. Brenda enjoys involving her personal work in creative projects that can incorporate the use of repurposed material in spiritual aspects that help others connect and see the beauty of rehabilitation in the urban landscape.

Tess Wenstrup – Environmental Education Coordinator

Tess is a youth development professional with a background in outdoor, environmental, and art education. She is passionate about creating a space for individuals to learn, thrive, and connect with their communities. She is experienced in program development, community partnerships, public speaking, and working in a variety of artistic media. Before joining NCA, Tess was an environmental educator at other institutions such as New York Restoration Project and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Gus Perry – Greenspace Steward

Gus is a wildlife and waterway enthusiast with experience in landscaping, woodworking, and bicycle maintenance. Through his passion for hyperlocal history and urban-environmental intersections, Gus has volunteered with numerous community-centered endeavors – including shellfish biotoxin research, and non-native plant removal. As our Greenspace Steward, Gus helps run our volunteer events and conduct regular maintenance at various street-end sites, pollinator gardens, and green infrastructure assets around Newtown Creek. Gus studied Journalism and Environmental Studies at Eugene Lang College and lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Krista Starrett – Administrative and Development Manager

Krista is a development professional with a background in writing, editing, and the literary arts community. Always a fan of wildlife and the outdoors, she was especially grateful for the completion of the Newtown Creek Nature Walk. She enjoys learning about the history, ecology, and restoration efforts of the Creek. As a Greenpoint resident, living in such close proximity to superfund sites and brownfields has forced her to confront the real consequences of environmental abuse and its long-term effects on the health and wellbeing of our community, including the flora and fauna. In her role at NCA, Krista supports the organization’s overall operations and development initiatives. She has an MFA in creative writing from The New School and studied English and creative writing at The University of Kansas.

Hart Mankin – Environmental Educator

Hart is a passionate city educator with experience in outdoor learning and field trips focusing on environmental stewardship. He’s worked with groups across ages and grade levels and is committed to reconnecting New Yorkers to their urban waterways. Hart believes in a multidisciplinary approach to teaching lessons, fostering curiosity and critical thinking skills in students to empower them as future environmental leaders. Before joining the team Hart taught school programs at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Hudson River Park’s River Project.

Shangtong (Sandy) Li – Community Engagement Coordinator

Sandy is an environmental justice advocate with a background in climate science, design, art, and education. They have been working with environmental organizations across New York to engage and inform communities on water quality, parkland alienation, and climate legislation through accessible and creative storytelling. They aim to connect people with Newtown Creek to show the life, hope, and resilience that exists in a Superfund site. Shangtong has a MA from the Columbia Climate School and a BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Board of Directors

Mike Dulong (Secretary) is a senior attorney at Riverkeeper. His work focuses on a range of watershed and community protection issues, such as advancing sustainable animal farming practices, investigating pollution violations, and promoting strict drinking water protections for nine million New York City and Hudson Valley residents while minimizing the impact of those measures on local ecosystems and municipalities. Mr. Dulong received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2011. Prior to law school, Michael received his B.A., cum laude, from The University of Massachusetts and his M.A. in British and American literature from New York University.

Rafael Espinal is the Executive Director of Freelancers Union. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Rafael Espinal became New York’s youngest elected official when he joined the State Assembly at age 26. Rafael became a leader fighting on behalf of workers, small businesses, low-income communities, and the environment. In 2013, he was elected to the New York City Council, representing Brooklyn’s diverse 37th District. Rafael’s legislative accomplishments on the City Council include negotiating a $250 million comprehensive investment plan for his district, one of New York’s most underserved. In 2019 Espinal passed legislation requiring all New York City buildings to install solar panels or green roofs as part of New York City’s “Green New Deal” to decrease carbon emissions and build green infrastructure. He also led a movement to ban single use plastics in NYC as an effort to reduce waste and clean our waterways. In 2019 The NY Times recognized Rafael’s work by noting, “In a 51-member body, Mr. Espinal has been a standout.”

Annel Hernandez (Vice Chair) is the Associate Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. Annel works on city and statewide climate policy issues, focusing on local advocacy and research that further equitable investments in coastal resiliency, green infrastructure, and renewable energy. She also works on various coalition campaigns to push for more aggressive climate legislation – with equity as a central focus. She previously worked with the Urban Climate Change Research Network at the Earth Institute, collaborating with scholars, experts, and advocates on pushing forward new climate change resources for cities. Annel also worked in the NYC Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity as Social Innovation Fund Advisor managing the program implementation of a multi-city initiative focused on economic opportunity programs, and was also a NYC Urban Fellow. She also worked as a Teaching Assistant at the Earth Institute and a Research Assistant at the Institute of Latin American Studies. Annel received an MPA in Energy and Environment from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and her BA in Political Science and Latino Studies from Fordham University. Annel is a lifelong New Yorker currently residing in Bushwick, Brooklyn within the Newtown Creek sewershed.

Jay Kaplan studied environmental science and marine ecology from Long Island University.  He has worked for Waste Management as an environmental protection professional for 19 years in New York City.   He has focused on the development of solid waste transportation infrastructure projects that have taken thousands of diesel powered trucks off the road.  He sits on the Board of the North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and is an active leader in environmental and community improvement projects in New York City in addition to being a passionate environmentalist.      

Ray Laszczych (Treasurer) is a lifetime resident of Greenpoint. He and his family reside in a long-held family home on Green Street with the East River and Newtown Creek nearby. Ray was educated in local parochial schools and earned a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and a master’s in social work from Columbia University. Professionally, Ray enjoyed a successful 20-year career as a Program Developer and Director of Development for the Harlem Children’s Zone, helping to grow the organization into one of the most highly respected children’s providers in the country. Ray later served as primary fundraiser for a variety of well-respected New York City non-profits, culminating in joining the leadership team at St. Nicks Alliance in Williamsburg in 2015. Ray retired from St. Nick’s in January 2020. In addition to joining the NCA Board, Ray serves as Board member and Treasurer of DREAM, a Bronx-based non-profit that works to dismantle the school to prison pipeline by providing arts-based peer mediation and conflict resolution training to teachers and students in public middle schools and high schools throughout NYC. 

Moe Magali is a Senior Manager and Head of Business Development for Public Works Partners, a WBE/DBE certified planning and consulting firm. In this role, he develops sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges facing mission-driven organizations and local communities by leveraging Public Works’ methods, tools, and expertise. Before assuming his current role, Moe led strategic planning, program design and implementation, and performance improvement projects for government and nonprofit clients. Moe joined Public Works in 2015 and was named Senior Manager in 2018. Previously, Moe worked at the NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity, where he launched and evaluated a $20 million portfolio of evidence-based strategies tailored to the City’s vulnerable populations. He also held policy and government relations roles at the NYC Department of Small Business Services and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Moe holds an MPA from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and an undergraduate degree in government from St. John’s University. He currently serves as the Youth Coordinator for Surfrider NYC and maintains an adjunct appointment teaching graduate-level performance measurement and management courses at NYU Wagner.

Tom Mituzas is Vice President of Human Resources for Highgate Hotels, the industry-leading hotel management, investment, technology, and development firm, with a diverse portfolio of hotels across North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe. Mr. Mituzas’ experience in the fields of Hospitality and Human Resources spans 40 years, previously working for such companies as ITT Sheraton, Starwood Hotels, Marriott, and MCR. Mr. Mituzas is a longtime member of the negotiating committee for the Hotel Association of New York and served as a Trustee for the New York Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of New York City Inc Employee Benefit Funds. Mr. Mituzas received his BA in Psychology from Hunter College, CUNY and an MS in Counseling and Human Resource Development from Bridgeport University. Tom lives in the Blissville section of Long Island City in the home his family has lived in since 1907. He is an active member of the community serving as a member of Community Board 2 of Queens and volunteering his time serving as Secretary with the Blissville Civic Association.  

Jan Mun is a media artist that creates social sculptures working with digital and living media. The landscape has become her framework to unfold stories about others and herself by using a combination of artistic and scientific processes that manifest in the form of interactive installations, photography, performance, and bio-art. Working with communities she innovates ideas to be realized through research, chance, and collaboration. Mun received a MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and BFA from SUNY New Paltz. Her work has been in exhibitions at The Cathedral at Saint John the Divine, NY; Battery Park, NY; Wave Hill, Bronx; as well as at the ExxonMobil Greenpoint Remediation Project, Brooklyn. She has had residencies at MacDowell Colony, International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York Hall of Science, and Newtown Creek Alliance. She is the recipient of awards and grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, A Blade of Grass, the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund, Harpo Foundation and the Headlands Center for the Arts. She teaches at Parsons School of Design.

Natalie Vichnevsky (Chair) is the Manager of Entrepreneurship Services at Evergreen, a non-profit Industrial Economic Development Corporation based not far from the Newtown Creek’s English Kills tributary. Evergreen provides business services to and advocates for Brooklyn’s industrial and manufacturing community with the underlying mission of retaining and growing good quality jobs at all skill levels for the residents of North Brooklyn. Natalie has lived in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint area for just shy of 20 years and was a local small business owner prior to her economic development days. Natalie has a Bachelor’s in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia and MS in City and Regional Planning from the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.  

Former NCA Board Members:
Sean Dixon
Bernard Ente
Michael Heimbinder
Laura Hofmann
Christine Holowacz
Steve Lang
Dorothy Morehead
Philip Musegaas
Tom Outerbridge
Paul Parkhill
Kathleen Schmidt
Bill Schuck
Basil Seggos
Evan Thies
Dewey Thompson
Mitch Waxman
Kate Zidar