41-year-old nonprofit ending homelessness also inducts Board Members Andrew Moss as Vice President, Kevin Dirkse as Treasurer and U.S. Air Force Veteran Karen Wharton as Secretary
NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Jericho Project, a nationally-acclaimed nonprofit ending homelessness in New York, welcomes four officers to its Board of Directors. Michael J. Reed, immediate past Treasurer, has been elected to Board President, as Mimi Wohabe Boublik, who has served as President since 2019, will become Board President Emeritus. Board Members Andrew Moss has been named Vice President, Karen Wharton as Secretary, and Kevin Dirkse will succeed Reed as Treasurer.
"We at Jericho are enormously proud that Michael Reed will lead us as Board President, continuing his sage financial stewardship, and deeply grateful to Mimi Boublik for her dedicated leadership in expanding our Board and pursuing our mission as President since 2019. Thanks to them, we have journeyed successfully through the challenges of COVID and toward the unprecedented growth we are experiencing today," Jericho CEO Tori Lyon said.
"We also offer our congratulations and appreciation to our new officers Andy Moss, Kevin Dirkse and Karen Wharton who have each contributed significantly to Jericho's success as Board Members and demonstrate the breadth of expertise on our Board," Lyon added.
Reed has been a Jericho Board Member for nearly 14 years, and in addition to serving as Treasurer, has chaired the Finance and Audit Committees. In 2022 he received the Legacy Award in recognition of his contribution to Jericho's financial stability and effective direction of funds to permanent supportive housing and transformational services. Previously he served for ten years as a Senior Quantitative Researcher and Portfolio Manager at Zebra Capital Management, following a long career as principal at MJ Reed Investment Consulting and Managing Director at Morgan Stanley.
"I am honored to serve Jericho as President. While I have long admired our organization's disciplined management, what inspires me most is Jericho's impact in improving people's lives. Combining stable housing, employment opportunities and access to wellness support cannot be overstated in helping individuals and families in need to start fresh and thrive," Reed said.
Boublik has been a member of the Jericho Board since 1990 when as a graduate of Columbia Business School, she founded what is now known as the Jericho Project Associate Board to attract young people to its purpose. In 2018, she received the Jericho Project Legacy Award in recognition of her enduring support and development of the organization, to include championing two strategic plans and significant fundraising. She is a founding partner of Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe), a national education and advocacy nonprofit, and Advisory Board Co-Chair of Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change. Earlier in her career, Boublik was a senior managing director at KRC Research & Consulting.
"Leading Jericho's Board has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my professional life. Under Tori's expert leadership and with a dedicated staff, Jericho maintains a leadership position in supportive housing. I am thrilled that Michael Reed will be leading us as President, and I am excited to see a new generation of passionate, young New Yorkers on our Jericho Project Associate Board," Boublik said.
Incoming Vice President Andrew Moss has served on the Board since 2020, chairing the Programs and Services Committee. He is a seasoned technology executive and entrepreneur who has spent his career innovating, launching and managing a range of technology-based businesses including within Microsoft. Among his many activities are teaching Social Entrepreneurship at the NYU Wagner School of Social Policy and serving on the Steering Committee for the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology. Previously, he was the Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at NYU with the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute.
"I am immensely proud to be part of this profoundly important organization and contribute to Jericho's continued leadership in fighting for more accessible housing in New York. As Jericho scales to meet the unfortunate demand of a growing homeless population, the responsible and creative use of technology will become increasingly important. To properly support the communities we serve requires a comprehensive and thoughtful understanding of their needs Jericho has consistently demonstrated." said Moss.
Immediate Past VP Mark Kopinski, who served as President from 2014-2019, will remain on the Board.
Incoming Treasurer Kevin Dirkse is a Managing Director at Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he is the Head of Debt Capital Markets for Power & Utilities. Dirkse has spent the last 17 years advising clients on M&A and capital raising across debt, equity and structured solutions.
"It's a privilege to step into the role of Treasurer following Michael Reed's able helmsmanship. I am personally thrilled to be able to contribute my experience to Jericho's continued financial health and resilience," Dirkse said.
Incoming Secretary Wharton has the distinction of being an award-winning health care provider and a U.S. Air Force Veteran who served during the Afghanistan conflict. She is a Nurse Recruiter at the VA. She previously served in that role at Queens Hospital, and earlier as an Administrator on Duty and Assistant Director of Nursing at Metropolitan Hospital Center in New York.
Wharton is an accomplished Hospital Administrator and Registered Nurse with Masters Degrees in Emergency Management and International Relations, and a Doctorate of Education. Since joining the Board in 2020 she has contributed her skills in executive management, veteran's services and community outreach. Wharton offers the added insights of having lived at Jericho's award-winning Kingsbridge Terrace Veterans Residence following the loss of her home while serving her country during Superstorm Sandy. In concert with Jericho, she successfully lobbied state legislators to increase the minimum wage and brought awareness to Veteran's supportive housing programs.
"I am dedicated to raising awareness of impactful ways to meet the needs of veterans throughout their lives. Serving on Jericho's Board and now as an officer gives me great pleasure and opportunity to continue to make a difference for the people who sacrifice so much to defend our freedoms," Wharton said.
Jericho currently provides over 625 units of housing in New York City which includes 485 units across seven residential buildings and 80 single adult and 60 family apartments scattered throughout the Bronx. In 2024, Jericho added a new element to its housing access portfolio by beginning to serve 90 unsheltered individuals per year over a three-year grant period, as part of the HUD funding to the New York City Continuum of Care (CoC) for the Unsheltered Homeless Initiative. This program connects street-homeless individuals and families with affordable units across the city and complements Jericho's two existing federally-funded housing access programs – the VA-funded Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, which serves over 450 Veterans per annum, and the HUD-funded Rapid Rehousing (RRH) Program, which serves nearly 200 individuals and families annually.
Looking forward, Jericho is involved in projects representing over 2,600 new or preserved units of affordable housing over the next five years, including 1,000 supportive housing units with services provided by Jericho.
About Jericho Project: Jericho Project empowers individuals and families experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity by providing housing and person-centered services to address social inequities. For 41 years, Jericho has provided supportive housing and counseling services to thousands of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse.
Jericho Project employs rigorous fiscal discipline and works with valued public-private partnerships and a foundation of dedicated donors, to advance its mission. Jericho's housing and extended services cost $18,000 per person annually, compared to $50,000 for a single adult shelter, $74,000 for a room in a family shelter, $115,000 for a city jail cell and $1000+ per day for a hospital bed.
For more information: jerichoproject.org | @jerichoproject1983
Media Contact
Lynthia Romney, Jericho Project, 914-589-2140, [email protected], www.jerichoproject.org
SOURCE Jericho Project
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