10th Anniversary & 5th Annual Gala

Council Member David M. Carr

Minority Leader

Minority Leader David M. Carr is the New York City Council Member of the Staten Island Based 50th Councilmanic District representing the Mid-Island and Southern Brooklyn. Minority Leader Carr has had a lifelong passion for government and politics and began getting involved in campaigns at the age of 10. Since taking office, Carr’s focus on quality-of-life projects and financial relief for working New Yorkers in an increasingly challenging fiscal and social landscape has led to numerous headline-filling projects and legislation.

Dr. Roderick Palton

District 31 Superintendent

Dr. Roderick Palton is the Superintendent of Community School District 31, Staten Island's public school district, where he previously served as Acting Superintendent. He has dedicated his career to education, leadership and student success. His priorities include strengthening the instructional core and expanding college and career opportunities so every student graduates ready for their next step. He believes "together is better."

Quentin Walcott

Executive Director, CONNECT

Quentin Walcott leads CONNECT, a New York City organization working to prevent and end intimate partner violence through community engagement, legal advocacy and systems change.

For more than two decades, he has been a nationally and internationally recognized voice on gender-based violence prevention and fatherhood engagement. He founded the Father’s Day Pledge Against Violence, a national initiative calling on men to help end violence against women and children.

Quentin has trained universities, governments and community groups across the United States and in ten countries, including Brazil, India, Kenya and South Africa. His work engages men and boys as part of the solution.

Matt Hopkins

Principal

Matt Hopkins is a Principal and cofounder of ACONA Real Estate Advisors, where he helps nonprofits, cultural groups and community organizations find and secure lasting homes. He brings over two decades of public and private sector experience, including roles as Managing Director at Vicus Partners, Vice President at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Assistant Director at L&M, and NYC Urban Fellow. A Crain’s Rising Star in Real Estate, Matt holds degrees from Georgetown, NYU and Columbia. He serves on the board of RISE and lives in Park Slope with his family.

Toby Rappaport

Principal

Toby Rappaport is a Principal and cofounder of ACONA Real Estate Advisors. He brings 25 years of capital project management experience to New York City’s nonprofit, cultural and community organizations. He guides institutions from master planning and team selection through public funding, construction and opening day. At ACONA he leads projects such as Casa Belongó and The Joyce Theater’s New York Center for Creativity and Dance. Before ACONA, he delivered major projects for Brooklyn Academy of Music, Second Stage Theater and the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, where he now serves on the Brooklyn Advisory Board. A Brooklyn native, Toby lives in Park Slope with his family.

Chris Williams

Founder, Williams Eye Works

Chris Williams is a lifelong Staten Islander who started in the optical trade at 14. He opened Williams Eye Works in 1995, and it has been at 1884 Victory Boulevard since 1998. He received the Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award and is a past president of the North Shore Rotary Club. Today he runs the business with his three adult children.

Tanisha Franks

Educator, Unionist and Organizer

Tanisha Franks is a lifelong Staten Islander, mother of three, educator, unionist and community organizer. She is a New York City public school teacher and UFT Member Representative. She serves on the Canvas Institute board and chairs the Staten Island NAACP Education Committee. She co-founded Occupy the Block Staten Island, founded Mothers Against Senseless Killings Staten Island, and is a founding leader of Black Educators of Staten Island.

Teresa “Teri” Caliari

Retired NYC Public School Teacher

Teri Caliari is a retired NYC public school teacher who now teaches adult group exercise classes at the JCC. She curated The Art of the Protest at Canvas and taught in our arts programs. Her mom brought her to her first protest rally against the Vietnam War, and she hasn’t stopped getting into good trouble since.

Jill Pincus

Coordinator with the 1199 National Benefit Fund’s Staten Island office

Jill Pincus is a Canvas Institute board member and a Coordinator with the 1199 National Benefit Fund’s Staten Island office, where she has worked since 2003 after starting her career at TIAA. A St. John’s University graduate, she is a devoted community volunteer, a proud mother of two adult daughters, and a lover of travel and Broadway

Dennis A. Brown

Dennis A. Brown has spent decades building opportunity for New Yorkers. After ten years with the Capuchin Franciscan Order, where he earned a B.A., an M.Div. and an M.R.E., he went on to lead youth counseling, vocational rehabilitation and employment training programs across the city. As Director of Contract Administration at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, he managed an $81 million annual budget and helped restore thousands of homes. A union carpenter and trades instructor, he has helped several thousand men and women begin careers in the building trades. Dennis serves as CFO of Canvas Institute, is President of SIDA, and lives in South Beach, Staten Island, with Fran, his wife of 51 years.

Michelle Akyempong

Michelle Akyempong has served on the Canvas Institute board since its founding. She retired in 2024 after forty years of service to the City of New York, including fifteen years as Vice President of Legislative and Political Activities for Social Service Employees Union Local 371. In that role she lobbied for legislation that improved the lives of 22,000 members and their families. A Staten Islander for more than 35 years, she is Second Vice President and Civic Engagement Chair of the Staten Island NAACP, Board Chair of African Refuge, and Social Action Co Chair of the Staten Island Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. City and State named her to its Staten Island Power 100. She holds a master’s in Labor Studies from CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies, and she is a proud mother of two and Gigi to two grandchildren.

Celia Iervasi

Real Estate Broker

Celia Iervasi is a real estate broker and the founder of Celia Iervasi Consulting Inc. A longtime top producer, she was inducted into the Staten Island Board of Realtors Hall of Fame and named its 2019 Realtor of the Year. She is equally committed to giving back to her community. She serves as Director of Community Development & Relations at Richmond Center for Recovery & Wellness, Vice President of the Sansone Foundation, and a board member of the Carl V. Bini Foundation, the YMCA Counseling Service of Staten Island, and Canvas Institute. She is also a Past President of Verrazano Kiwanis.