Jackie Del Valle (Chair) is the
Director of Organizing at Housing Conservation Coordinators,
Inc., working with tenants, community members, and the
West
Side Neighborhood Alliance to protect tenant rights and
affordable housing. Prior to working at HCC, Jackie founded CASA
(Community Action for Safe Apartments) at New Settlement while
working as a tenant organizer in the Bronx. Jackie has served on the
Met Council Board for six years and is truly honored to be the new
Board Chair.
Vajra Kilgour (Vice
Chair) is associate producer & co-host of
Housing Notebook (Met
Council's radio show on WBAI) and is the translator for
Tenant/Inquilino, Met Council's newspaper. She is also a
producer of the Community Bulletin Board at WBAI
and a member of the Local Station Board.
Kenny Schaeffer (Vice Chair) is a
housing attorney with The Legal Aid Society and a long-time
advocate of home rule (repealing the Rockefeller era Urstadt
Law).
Gloria Sukenick (Vice Chair)
is a longtime volunteer with Met Council, having counseled hundreds of
tenants by phone at the Met Council office and at our Lower East Side
clinic on Tuesday nights. Gloria is well know for her tenant and affordable housing
activism in the Chelsea community.
Jenny Laurie (Treasurer) is
the former Executive Director at Met Council and currently serves as
the Assistant Director at the City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court.
David Brown (Secretary)
is a dedicated Met Council volunteer who has helped hundreds of
tenants on Met Council's telephone hotline and weekly housing clinic
since 2006. David also serves on the volunteer staff of Tenant/Inquilino.
Hilda Chavis started her
career as a housing activist in 1988 with the Northwest Bronx
Community & Clergy Coalition. The NWBCCC is a coalition of
neighborhood organizations and churches which work on housing
development, organizing and code enforcement, and on other community
issues. Hilda recently returned to housing work after a 4 year
hiatus due to illness. She now serves as co-chair of the NWBCCC
housing committee and focuses her activism on
Housing Here & Now
and NY VOTE.
Jennifer Flynn is
the Managing Director of Health GAP (Global Access Project), an organization of U.S.-based AIDS and human rights activists, people living with HIV/AIDS, public health experts, fair trade advocates and concerned individuals who campaign against policies of neglect and avarice that deny treatment to millions and fuel the spread of HIV. Previously, Jennifer was the co-founder and Executive Director of the New York City Aids
Housing Network.
Stuart Lawrence is a staff attorney at
Housing Conservation Coordinators,
Inc., where he represent tenants and tenant associations in
Housing Court proceedings and other litigation. Stuart has been involved with Met Council since
2002, when he joined us as a volunteer tenant counselor on the
hotline. Stuart contributes to the website, maintaining the
Housing Links page and other resources.
James H. Lewis is the Program Director at C.H.A.N.G.E.R, currently assisting homeowners with foreclosure issues through direct service and advocacy. He was the Co-Founder of Harlem Operation Take Back (HOTB). He was awarded a 2005 Local Hero Citation by Councilman Bill Perkins and was named 2003 Best Local Organizer by the Village Voice.
Jon Lilienthal is a paralegal at the law
firm of Collins,
Dobkin & Miller LLP. A former tenant leader with the Queens League
of United Tenants, Jon continues to stay active on rent regulation
and enforcement issues.
Scott Sommer is the New York Area Director of the United Auto Workers, Region 9A, and is the host and producer of Met Council's radio show, Housing Notebook. 2009
marks Scott's 25th year on the air. Scott became a member of the UAW when he worked as a tenant/organizer and paralegal at South Brooklyn Legal Services, and was later promoted to Senior Staff Attorney. Before his career in legal services, Scott was the Executive Director of the Bensonhurst Tenants Council.
Arun Aguiar
is an activist in the Co-Housing movement and is currently
organizing a proposed housing collective in Sunset Park, Brooklyn,
while also volunteering for Wbai.org 99.5 fm. A former HPD Team
Leader, Arun was previously active with the 85 South Street Tenants'
Association and the South Street Seaport Community Coalition, and a
sub-committee delegate to Manhattan's Community Board 1.
Mike McKee
is the executive director of Housing Here and Now, a citywide
umbrella organization fighting for rent reform. Formerly a tenant
organizer at Metropolitan Council on Housing and the Brooklyn
Tenants Union, in 1974 Michael founded the New York State Tenants &
Neighbors Coalition, a statewide membership organization that
lobbies and advocates for tenant rights legislation. When serving as
executive director of the Peoples Housing Network from 1977 to 1982,
Michael founded the School for Organizers, which trained hundreds of
tenant organizers and tenant leaders throughout New York State.
Joe Catron is a former Met Council organizer. In addition
to his past work with
Housing Court Answers and
Picture
the Homeless, Joe is currently active with the
Real Rent
Reform (R3) Campaign of
Housing
Here and Now.
Cathy Grad is an attorney who specializes
in representing tenants, first as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid
Society’s Community Law Offices and now as a partner at Grad &
Weinraub, LLP. Her practice also includes defending tenants and
tenant organizations against lawsuits brought against them by
landlords for their tenant-related activities. She is active in the
Morningside Heights area of New York City in issues affecting
tenants and has volunteered at clinics helping tenants throughout
New York City.
Seth Miller
