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Staff
 MONIQUE ACHUEducation Manager machu@CommonCents.org Originally from Dallas, Texas, Monique’s love for youth, education, and philanthropy brought her to Common Cents in September 2007. Prior to joining their team, Monique worked for Urban Assembly, where she cultivated and sustained partnerships for an all girl math and science school in Brooklyn. No rookie to the non-profit world, she also provided logistical and programming support to an organization in Boston working to eliminate family homelessness in Massachusetts. Monique is a small business owner whose interests include acting, reading and writing short stories. She obtained her bachelors from Southern Methodist University and her master’s degree from Boston University.  SHARON ALEXANDERDirector of Finance and Administration salexander@CommonCents.org Sharon joined Common Cents in September 2008 with extensive years in non-profit financial management. She has years of service with top non-profits such as the Boys and Girls Club, Flowers Day Care and several other youth programs funded by FEGS, the New York State Agency for Children's Services and the NYC Department for Youth and Community Development. This, along with other types of non-profit management experience, housing, education and multi-generational programs, has cultured a sense of financial and developmental insight. Sharon earned her degree at Columbia University where she studied economics and political science. She has developed a passion for child and youth development with a focus on social enrichment and financial literacy.  LASHON ALLENPersonnel and Administration Associate lallen@CommonCents.org Lashon, a recent graduate of St. Joseph's College, started at Common Cents as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer. She has worked with Penny Harvesting schools and Student Roundtables in Queens and Brooklyn. Currently, she is a part of the administration team and helps with daily office management. She is thrilled to see the continuous growth of the program, while it maintains its mission to empower students to help their community.  ANTHONY BERTHELIT Manager aberthel@CommonCents.org Anthony has worked for Common Cents since August 2002. Prior to that, he was an IT assistant for Leadership for Environment and Development International, a program run by the Rockefeller Foundation. His expertise includes Network management, PC repairs, software and hardware installation and upgrades, and many other computer related skills.  MARIANNE R. CABECommon Cents Fellow/ New York City Civic Corps mcabe@CommonCents.org Marianne R. Cabe joined Common Cents as a NYC Civic Corps member in the summer of 2009. Prior to becoming an Americorps VISTA for NYC Service, she has volunteered for numerous organizations, ranging from Circle K to local shelters, in her belief that even the smallest humanitarian action can make a major difference. Through her previous involvement in service projects and in her months working as an English teacher in China, she came to the realization that she wanted to continue empowering youth and strengthening communities, but this time through the effective catalyst of education. She graduated from Binghamton University in 2008.  ANDI DUBEManager of Web and Communications
Andi Dube joined Common Cents in December 2007 after working in disaster response across North America. He is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University where he studied communications and business administration. His focus is on weaving together rich visual and written narratives to further Common Cents' mission. He is currently a graduate student in the Media Studies program at The New School University. In his spare time he volunteers and explores ways to connect with whatever community he is living in.
 MICAH GIBBENSCommon Cents Fellow/ New York City Civic Corps mgibbens@CommonCents.org Micah has been actively pursuing alternative routes into education after receiving his B.A. in English from Western Washington University in 2007. He moved to New York City in 2008 to begin working for AmeriCorps as a literacy tutor and social advocacy mentor for elementary and middle school children in the South Bronx. Intrigued and inspired by curriculum development and delivery, Micah joined Common Cents in the summer of 2009 as an AmeriCorps VISTA member.  TEDDY GROSSExecutive Director tgross@CommonCents.org Teddy Gross is the founder and executive director of Common Cents, a national not-for-profit educational organization, which specializes in designing citizenship programs for children and young people, and supporting their work in schools throughout the country and across all demographic divides. The organization started in 1991, and grew out of the desire of a four-year-old child to help a homeless man in New York City. As the girl’s father, Teddy responded by developing the Penny Harvest, which has continued to evolve over 17 years, and is now a robust year-long program that uses philanthropy the service-learning to teach the skills of democratic participation, moral reasoning, and community building to children during their first decade of school. Under his leadership, a lab at Common Cents continues to pilot new models and programs in civic development. Teddy's interest in innovating social justice programs is the natural outgrowth of a lifetime's work as a journalist, newspaper editor, children's book author, and playwright. He has served as the editor in chief of The Phoenix, a Boston weekly paper. His career as a playwright began at the prestigious Eugene O’Neill National Playwright Conference, where he was a resident for two summers, and continued with many plays and productions, both in regional theatres across the country and off-Broadway. He is also the author of a children’s book, and a frequent speaker at national and international conferences on service-learning and civic engagement. Under Teddy’s leadership, the Penny Harvest has become the largest child-philanthropy program in the United States, helping to nurture a new generation of caring, informed and capable young people.  NUR IBRAHIMManager of Research, Policy and Development nibrahim@CommonCents.org Nur first worked at Common Cents in 2003 as a school support intern while obtaining her B.F.A in Dramatic Writing from New York University. After completing that degree, she decided to pursue a master's degree from Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy. She received her M.S. degree in Non-Profit management in May 2008. Nur is excited to be reconnecting with the organization as it expands its program base.  LAYLA CHRISTINE MALAVETCommon Cents Fellow/ New York City Civic Corps lmalavet@CommonCents.org Layla Christine Malavet was born in Angeles City, Republic of the Philippines and immigrated to the United States of America at the age of ten. She has lived in multiple locations throughout the country to include: North Carolina, Arizona, Rhode Island, Virginia and Hawaii. Layla received her BA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006, and studied Psychology and Anthropology. After graduation, Layla worked as an Account Manager for the "Strategic Accounts" division of the Corporate Executive Board in Washington, D.C.. Passionate about giving back to America and the communities within which she has lived; Layla volunteered as an ESL Teacher for Arlington, VA for two years - teaching Language and Life-skills to new American immigrants. Layla's life is characterized by her passion for volunteerism and service to America. She has volunteered through multiple organizations with great empathy and respect for those she serves. Layla is very proud to join Common Cents as part of the New York City Civic Corps, and is committed to serve this extraordinary organization with pride, passion and purpose!  MAGDALENA POLECCommon Cents Fellow/ New York City Civic Corps mpolec@CommonCents.org Magdalena, raised in Poland but a New Yorker for fifteen years, joined Common Cents in August 2009 as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with the newly founded NYC CIVIC Corps service. After a few years dealing in the area of visual arts such as film production and photography, she found herself wondering how she can use these mediums to spread messages about the environment, education, poverty and health awareness. She gained her initial experiences via service learning that lead to her interests in civic engagement at Brooklyn College where she received her B.A. in Psychology. Through the Brooklyn College Community Partnership (BCCP) Magdalena began to realize the impact of service learning toward youth development. She performed direct service with NYCares to find ways to interact with youth in the city and joined her current position with NYC Service to continue to develop her interests with youth development and education. .JPG) GRACIE RIFINOProgram Associate grifino@CommonCents.org Gracie joined Common Cents in August 2007. She graduated from Binghamton University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and minors in Spanish and International Studies. Gracie was drawn to Common Cents by her desire to help youth discover their full potential. Much of her work has focused on developing and facilitating youth development programs for students ranging from ages 5 to 21. During the past 2 years at Common Cents she lead a city-wide high school leadership council and developed a cross-age mentoring program while supporting Penny Harvest schools in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island. Embarking on her 3rd year, she now manages the day-to-day operations and communications for Penny Harvest schools in NYC and Albany. Her hopes for the upcoming Penny Harvest are for students, coaches and fellow staff to have a meaningful and successful year.  ADAM SEIDELProgram Director aseidel@CommonCents.org Since his involvement in youth development programs as a teenager, Adam has sought to create similar opportunities for others. He’s worked directly with middle and high school students and has extensive experience supervising various youth programs. Adam joined Common Cents in January 2004 as the Community Development Fellow. After a year and a half in this position, he took over the oversight and operations of the NYC/Metro NY Penny Harvest. He is a graduate of Oberlin College.  ARVIN TEMKARCommon Cents Fellow/ New York City Civic Corps atemkar@CommonCents.org Arvin joined Common Cents in August 2009 as a member of the New York City Civic Corps. He graduated from Boston College in 2008 with a degree in communication, and has written news and feature articles for various publications, including Boston’s Weekly Dig magazine, and Hawaii’s Molokai Times newspaper. He is excited to be part of a nation-wide movement toward service, volunteerism, and civic engagement. Arvin has lived in six states and three different countries. He plans on pursuing a career in writing, travel, and social justice.  NATALIE ZUCKERMANProgram Development and Management Coordinator nzuckerman@commoncents.org Natalie joined Common Cents in August 2008 as the Community Development Fellow. She graduated with a B.S. in Applied Psychology from NYU and has conducted her own research on civic engagement and immigrant youth. Natalie is passionate about discovering ways to increase engagement, especially among youth, and was drawn to Common Cents because of her desire to empower young people to create changes within their communities. GLOBAL PHILANTHROPY STUDENT INTERNS  JASPER TURNER GUTWILLIGJasper is an eleventh grade student who attends Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Jasper has been involved with Common Cents since he was eight years old. Since then, he has been involved in several aspects of Common Cents, from the Penny Harvest, to internships, to the Student Community Action Fund (SCAF). Jasper has been an active member of SCAF since 9th grade. Currently, he is working with other members of SCAF with the goal of raising hunger awareness among New York City students. His favorite subjects in school are history and literature.  NEKITA SINGHNekita is a global philanthropy intern for Common Cents. She is a junior at Thomas A. Edison High School, and was introduced to Common Cents as a freshman in her leadership class of 2007-2008. It was there that she joined SCAF (Student Community Action Fund program) and became involved in her community. The program allowed her to be a part of the Penny Harvest, and find ways to give back to her community. She informed her peers about global issues that affect the general population, and felt inspired to bring about awareness. Common Cents has empowered Nekita to be a part of change. Nekita would like to pursue a career as an OB/GYN and remain involved with her community.  DENNIS VERMADennis first joined Common Cents in October, 2007. From there, he was able pursue his ambitions of making a difference as a young adult in his community. Beginning as a member of the Student Community Action Fund (SCAF) in 2007-2008, he quickly discovered a desire to inspire others through his experience with SCAF. He assisted in creating the “Global Warming” video which educated a large audience about the importance of climate change. The next year Dennis became worked as an intern for the Global Philanthropy Students organization where he worked with his peers to spread the awareness of hunger. He recalls this experience as was one of the most influential experiences of his life! Currently, Dennis is still interning with Common Cents making it his third year around. In addition, Dennis is enrolled as a junior at Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical High School and hopes to find a career in business management or medical pharmacology in coming years. SCHOOL SUPPORT INTERNS .jpg) VALERIE HAMRAvhamra@commoncents.org Valerie joined Common Cents in the fall of 2009 as a school support intern. Born and raised in the Bay Area, California, Valerie came to New York City to study English and sociology at New York University. She experienced firsthand empowerment of community service as she spent much of her childhood volunteering at her grandfather's hospital, The Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital in Florida. Being part of the team at Common Cents she hopes to engage in widespread opportunities that empower students toward philanthropic service in New York City.  KENEISHA ROBINSONkrobinson@commoncents.org Originally from the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Keneisha moved to New York City to attend college and is currently a Graduate student at Long Island University (LIU)-Brooklyn campus. Her interest in community involvement and helping youth find their passion brought her to Common Cents. Keneisha always thought that she would need to travel someday to make a difference, but soon realized that she could make a difference in her own community. Keneisha is also the Volunteer Coordinator for the Jumpstart Program at LIU, where she implement the community and on-campus volunteer initiatives of exceptional college students who work one-to-one to prepare preschool children from low income neighborhoods for school success. Along with identifying volunteer projects through needs assessment, research and community outreach. Keneisha is excited to be a part of Common Cents, and promoting the Penny Harvest Program activities, because she believes that the things we overlook as small occurrences can be major events to someone else.  ROCHELLE ROSSrross@commoncents.org Rochelle Ross was born in the Harlem Community. She has a passion for youth involvement within the Harlem Community and is excited to build a rapport all across the five boroughs of New York City with the youth and their families. She is a graduate of St. John's University and obtained her Bachelors in Government and Politics. In addition, she is currently a program aide under the Community Outreach/Development component at Harlem Children's Zone Inc. and a mentor at Children's Promise of New York City (CPNYC) based in Brooklyn. Rochelle came to Common Cents as a School Support Intern because of her belief that the service learning program is imperative to the youth society because "they will be the next leaders and social entrepreneurs." Although she is a Jersey girl at heart, Jen has always been in a New York State of Mind. As a senior at St. John’s University, Jen is ecstatic to be graduating in May. She is enrolled in the 5 year BA/MA Psychology program, and therefore has one more year to complete her Master’s. With adoration for children, Jen is also a substitute teacher. She enjoys all of the services opportunities St. John’s has to offer. As evidence of the inspiration St. John’s has provided in volunteerism, Jen is eager to witness the impact of Common Cents. She is excited to begin her Spring 2010 Internship as a School Support staff member.
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