August 24, 2020
System handling community and government affairs.
City & State New York
Tiffany Cabán is now an organizer at the WFP.
communities in Queens, the epicenter during the early days of the pandemic, Alfonso Quiroz’s post as president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Queens is all the more integral to New York City’s ongoing effort to rebuild and reopen, in part via growing partnerships with Hispanic businesses.
80 TIFFANY CABÁN
National Political Organizer Working Families Party Tiffany Cabán may have lost by a handful of votes in her run for Queens district attorney last year, but the tight race and its aftermath highlighted the defense attorney’s penchant for hardcore progressivism – she opposed building any new jails after Rikers Island closes. A perfect fit for the Working Families Party, Cabán is now recruiting and training criminal justice reformers for the party.
85 MIGUEL CENTENO
Vice President of Community Engagement Healthfirst
18-year-old nonprofit, Abreu has offered training to more than 10,000 people and helped entrepreneurs access $15 million in funding and another $30 million in procurement contracts.
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ABE MENDEZ
QUENIA ABREU
Abe Mendez seeks to diversify the tech industry’s largely homogenous workforce through his work as managing director of Per Scholas, a national nonprofit that provides free IT job training to members of overlooked communities. Mendez held several posts before arriving at the national nonprofit, with roles at Barclays in New York and London and JPMorgan Chase.
President New York Women’s Chamber of Commerc e While New York City consistently earns a D grade from city Comptroller Scott Stringer for its failure to support women-owned businesses, Quenia Abreu is striving to turn that mark into an A. As president of the
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Managing Director, New York Per Sc holas
Qu iroz and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerc e of Qu eens are integral to the effort to rebu ild.
83 LILLIAM PEREZ
Vice President, Community and Government Relations Montefiore Health System Behind the gargantuan Montefiore Health System lies the Office of Community & Government Relations headed by Lilliam Perez. With ties to the political world on the city and state level, Perez schmoozes the movers and shakers that bring the Bronx hospital network the funds needed to keep that medical center operational. Perez is unafraid of going to bat for the hospital beyond its Bronx borders, justifying their decision-making to the community writ large.
84 ALFONSO QUIROZ
President Hispanic Chamber of Commerc e of Qu eens With COVID-19 continuing to wreak financial pain and devastation on Hispanic
Miguel Centeno is charged with shaping messaging for Healthfirst, which provides coverage to 1.2 million members, making it one of the largest insurance companies in New York City. The Bronx-bred vice president of community engagement worked at the Brooklyn borough president’s office, the U.S. Small Business Administration and Aetna before taking on his current role.
86 LUPE TODD-MEDINA President Effec tive Media Strategies
Lupe Todd-Medina has notably brought her brand of lived experience to successful political and issues campaigns on behalf of New York City Council members, Bill de Blasio’s run for public advocate, the former Brooklyn district attorney Kenneth Thompson and Melinda Katz’s run for borough president. Before going out on her own as president of Effective Media Strategies, Medina served as communications director for then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker.