CUNY SPS Foundation Board Updates

In the academic year ending in June 2022, the CUNY SPS Foundation Board said goodbye to Board members and CUNY SPS alum Michelle Pinedo (BS in Business '13) and Steven Dupré (BA in Communication and Media '14), who stepped down at the close of their three-year term.

During their tenures, Pinedo assisted Board members Joel Cohen and Jason Kubica on the Finance and Auditing Committee while Dupré supported Board members Brennon Marcano, Horace Barker, and Stephanie Benjamin on the Fundraising and Alumni Engagement Committee.

Over the course of their term, Pinedo and Dupré helped to successfully raise tens of thousands of dollars, bringing their innovative ideas, strategic thinking, and tireless efforts to help our students, particularly during a time of tremendous and widespread need. Both members served as advocates for the School and its vision to help adult learners complete their degrees and elevate their careers. In addition, as alumnus, they offered a unique perspective into what CUNY SPS students might be experiencing or looking for. The corporate partnerships they also developed were a tremendous asset to the School and our students.

The Board wishes to thank again Michelle Pinedo and Steven Dupré for their dedication to our School, to building and growing the Foundation Board, and for helping to transform the lives of our students.

Following their departures, the Board welcomed Debbie Rosen, Natalie Green Giles, and Beatriz (Bea) de la Torre to the CUNY SPS Foundation Board of Directors.

The three appointees bring their extensive experience in government and not-for-profit administration toward their new roles on the Foundation Board.

Debbie Rosen has more than two decades of experience working in senior executive roles in New York City and State government, where she managed major agencies, policy portfolios, and legislative issues. Most recently, Rosen served as the Chief of Staff to the First Deputy Mayor, where she helped shape program and policy initiatives across the First Deputy Mayor’s portfolio agencies. Rosen holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

Natalie Green Giles is an independent consultant and writer with specific interests in organizational development and performance improvement efforts in not-for-profit and public sector organizations. Her 20 years of professional experience include serving as a Mayoral Appointee to the NYC Board of Education, known as the Panel for Educational Policy, under the de Blasio administration, providing governance, oversight, and policy recommendations for the largest public school system in the country. Giles has also written and published numerous articles, studies, and opinion pieces, including the narrative nonfiction book Songa’s Story: How a Shtetl Jew Found the American Dream. Giles is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in NYC and received a BA in Psychology from Williams College and an MBA from Yale University’s School of Management.

Beatriz (Bea) de la Torre is a noted housing professional with over fifteen years of experience in affordable housing and homelessness issues spanning across philanthropy and government. Currently, she serves as the Managing Director for Housing & Homelessness at Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, where she is responsible for securing and implementing high-impact interventions to break the cycle of mass homelessness in New York City and increase the supply of low-income affordable housing. De la Torre graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received an MA in Urban Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.