Master of Public
Administration (MPA)

Ofronama Biu teaches Economics for Public Policy. She is a Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute and a Research Affiliate with the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at the New School. Her research interests include labor market and workforce development policies and racial stratification. Professor Biu brings extensive experience in project management, program evaluation, partnership building, employer engagement, and direct service to participants. Previously, she was a research manager for worker education at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. As a senior research associate at the Building Movement Project, Professor Biu worked on national projects focused on leadership, including Race to Lead reports, service and social change, and movement building, as well as place-based projects in Detroit and New Mexico. She was also a senior research associate at the NYC Labor Market Information Service at the CUNY Graduate Center, where she directed research projects on trends impacting the social services and middle-skill healthcare workforce. Meanwhile, she has co-founded a nonprofit organization that connects youth to media professionals for skill-building and mentoring opportunities. Professor Biu holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the NYU College of Arts and Science, a Master in Public Administration (MPA) degree from the NYU Wagner School of Public Service and a PhD in Public and Urban Policy from The New School. Professor Biu can be reached at obiu@ccny.cuny.edu .

Ryan Hallock teaches Program and Policy Evaluation. Since being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, he has focused on helping nonprofit organizations build their monitoring and evaluation capacity, including at the World Federalist Movement and International Crisis Group. He currently works at Planned Parenthood Federation of America in the Research and Evaluation Department. Ryan holds an MPA from the City College of New York and an M.A. in program evaluation from Michigan State University.

Jeff Holland teaches Public Budgeting and Finance. He worked in the Projections Unit of the Congressional Budgeting Office for 26 years, overseeing data compilation, writing, and production for a large part of CBO’s most widely read publications. He now serves as the Vice President of Research at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a non-partisan organization dedicated to addressing long-term fiscal challenges to ensure a better economic future. Professor Holland received his MS in Public Administration and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University and BA in Economics and Urban Studies from the University of Maryland.

Eric Horvath currently serves as Vice President of Community-Engaged Investing at Earlystone Management. He is also founder and principal at Untapped Capital Consulting and leads a program for labor pension fund trustees and responsible investing at Harvard Law School. Prior to that, he was the Director of Impact Investments at Common Future, a national nonprofit focused on eliminating the racial wealth gap and building an economy for all. Before Common Future, he worked at Transform Finance, where he launched several educational initiatives for activists, organizers and other social sector allies that explored paths for their communities to better engage with investments. Eric serves on the board and investment committee of the New York Foundation and the finance committee for the North Star Fund, New York City’s social justice community foundation. He received his MBA from NYU, MPA from Syracuse and BA from Fordham. He calls Brooklyn home.

Lucy Joffe has worked in housing policy and as a leader in city government for more than a decade. She has also worked as a housing attorney within the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as a legislative aide to New York City Council Member Dan Garodnick, and as an elementary and middle school English as a Second Language at P.S./I.S. 50 in East Harlem. She is a former Teach for America corps member and Americorps member and serves on several nonprofit boards. Lucy earned a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, an M.S. for Teachers from Pace University and a B.A. in sociology with a political science minor from the University of Michigan.

Janet Kyle has more than 20 years of experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors driving organizational change through strategic talent management. She holds a Master of Arts degree from The Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies and a Master of Science degree from Pace University’s School of Education. She teaches Strategic Human Resources Management.

Gara LaMarche is a Leader-in-Residence at the Colin Powell School and co-chair of Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice. He is also a Senior Adviser at Raben. LaMarche was previously President of the Democracy Alliance. Prior to joining the Alliance, he served as Senior Fellow at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and previously, as President and CEO of the Atlantic Philanthropies. At Atlantic, he led the foundation’s efforts to embrace a social justice framework for grantmaking, and spearheaded the largest-ever grant made by a foundation for an advocacy campaign – over $25 million to press for comprehensive health care reform in the U.S. Before joining Atlantic in 2007, he served as Vice President and Director of U.S. Programs for the Open Society Foundations (OSF), launching the organization’s pivotal work on challenges to social justice and democracy in the United States. A longtime advocate for human rights at home and abroad, he has held various positions with Human Rights Watch, PEN American Center, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Gara is also a frequent commentator on progressive issues in the news and has taught courses on philanthropy, public policy, and non-profit leadership.

Erin Malone has more than 20 years of experience in communications for nonprofits, unions, and foundations. She specializes in helping organizations transform their mission, vision, and aspirations into compelling stories that resonate with their audiences. Whether through message development, branding, content creation, media relations, or executive coaching, she works at the intersection of communications and organizational development to foster impactful change. Erin is also passionate about empowering teams with the skills and confidence to communicate effectively. In addition to strategic consulting, she offers customized communications training—tailored workshops and coaching sessions designed to enhance internal communications capabilities, improve media relations, and strengthen public speaking and crisis management skills. Erin aims to partner with organizations to craft strategic communications that amplify their voices and drive impact. Her approach is both straightforward and values-driven, grounded in a deep respect for the communities most affected by the work. She believes that powerful storytelling—coupled with radical imagination—can reshape our collective reality and spark transformation.

Shanelle Matthews collaborates with social justice activists, organizations, and campaigns to inspire action and build narrative power for social justice and liberation. She is the former communications director for the Movement for Black Lives and the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Shanelle founded the Radical Communicators Network (RadComms), a global community of practice for social movement communications workers. She is also a former Activist-in-Residence and faculty member of Freedom Scholars at The New School. Today, she teaches full-time as a Distinguished Lecturer at the City College of New York in the Department of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Programs. Her courses include Narrative Power in the Black Radical Tradition, Rhetoric of Liberation: The Role of Narrative Power in Contemporary Movements, and Black Women’s Resistance: Narratives of Safety and Survival. She is co-editor of Liberation Stories: Building Narrative Power for 21st Century Social Movements. This anthology details world-building narrative campaigns and strategies led by social movement communications workers in the 21st century. She lives in Brooklyn.

Lakimja Mattocks brings over twenty years of leadership in the nonprofit sector and currently serves as Chief People and Culture Officer at LEAP. In addition to her primary role, she also partners with senior and emerging leaders as a strategic thought partner and coach, and works with organizations to assess and co-create solutions to organizational design, culture and learning and development challenges. Prior to joining LEAP, Lakimja co-led Nonprofit New
York’s internal racial equity work and how it was operationalized in our programs, specifically with the use of the Key Areas of Nonprofit Excellence. Additional roles in the sector include designing, managing, and facilitating cohort-based leadership programs as the Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships and Learning at Support Center and leading the Programs team as the Senior Program Director at Roads to Success. Lakimja has leaned into and leveraged professional certifications to build on her MPA from Baruch College, MS in Counseling from Long Island University and BA in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Temple University. She is active in her local community, through the New York Urban League and East Kings County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is a regional leader with her undergraduate alma mater, Temple University. She is also an experienced coach, mentor, and facilitator.

Archana Menon specializes in amplifying individual and organizational capacity to spark lasting social change. With cross-sector and international experience in journalism, diplomacy, and civic leadership development, she transforms complex challenges into opportunities for partnership and sustainable progress. As Managing Consultant at the Taproot Foundation, Archana leads strategic corporate partnerships, guides teams on mission-critical projects, and designs dynamic pro bono programs that engage employees while strengthening the nonprofit sector. Previously, as Program Director at Coro New York Leadership Center, Archana led leadership development initiatives that coached multi-sector leaders committed to improving New York City. A certified Adaptive Leadership™ facilitator and licensed Interpersonal Leadership Styles (ILS) trainer, Archana holds a BA in Journalism with a minor in Politics from Ithaca College.

Sophia Barrett is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at The City College of New York (CUNY), where she teaches applied statistics, experimental psychology, and quantitative methods. Her teaching and scholarly interests center on data literacy, mental health, equity-focused research, and applied quantitative analysis. She is deeply committed to student mentorship and believes in the transformative power of learning to code and analyze data for students from all backgrounds. In addition to her teaching, she is actively involved in curriculum development and institutional service across CUNY. Outside of academia, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her dogs.