THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2021 MAJOR R. OWENS HEALTH & WELLNESS COMMUNITY CENTER BROOKLYN, NY
HONORING
BRUCE E. MOSLER CHAIRMAN OF GLOBAL BROKERAGE CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
AMBER SABATHIA CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PITCCH IN FOUNDATION AGENT, CAA BASEBALL
LANCE THOMAS** NEW HEIGHTS CLASS OF 2006 BOARD MEMBER DUKE NATIONAL CHAMPION NBA PLAYER
DON CAPOCCIA, PRINCIPAL BFC PARTNERS
CO-CHAIRS
W ILL BLODGETT* JUDY CHAMBERS OFER COHEN DUANE FIEDLER* RICH KLEIMAN*
NINA LESAVOY* MARK PATRICOF* NICHOLAS SILVERS* ERIC WEDEL
HOST COMMITTEE DREW BRAVER LAURENCE BROWN* TARA DEVEAUX* TROY DIXON* JOSH GREENBERG*
CAMERON LEWIS** JONATHAN MAROTTA* ANDREW NATHAN* RICHARD ROBERTS* JEREMY SCHIFFMAN*
*BOARD MEMBER **BOARD MEMBER + NEW HEIGHTS ALUMNI
ALAN SCHRAGER* TED SMITH (EX-OFFICIO) LANCE THOMAS** TY WALLACH* VICKI ZUBOVIC*
WELCOME Changing the game happens every day at New Heights. Through education, mentoring and the development of athletic and life skills, we help underserved young people discover and nurture their talents to become lifetime leaders on the basketball court, in the classroom and beyond. This year, we’re taking New Heights to the next level and changing the landscape of sports-based youth development in Brooklyn and throughout New York City. Our dream has always been to find a permanent home facility that would allow us to expand our programming and increase our impact. After years of searching for the perfect location, we are thrilled to put down roots in Crown Heights at the Major R. Owens Health and Wellness Community Center. Our dream is now a reality. With three full-sized basketball courts, administrative offices, classrooms and a technology lounge, our new home brings together all coaches, tutors, staff and volunteers to streamline the student-athlete experience and pave the way for transformative growth. Through new community-based programming, including after-school tutoring, summer day camps, basketball clinics, leagues, and school-based partnerships and events, New Heights will ultimately expand our overall reach to impact thousands of youth and their families annually. Tonight, at the 5th Annual GameChangers Ball, New Heights welcomes you to our new home to celebrate this major milestone in our organization’s history. We also thank you for being a part of this incredible journey. Your support has made this moment possible, and will help us give underserved student-athletes everything they need to thrive on and off the court for years to come. On behalf of the entire New Heights family, thank you for being a GameChanger and championing our efforts to prepare New York City’s youth for college, careers and leadership roles throughout their lives. In appreciation,
Ted Smith Executive Director
OUR MISSION New Heights is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit based in New York City. Our mission is to educate and empower promising underserved youth to be leaders, champions and student-athletes by developing the skills necessary for success in high school, college and life.
WHO WE SERVE New Heights serves boys and girls, ages 9-21, who reside in many of the most socio-economically disadvantaged communities in New York City. Over 80 percent of our participants identify as non-white and over 60 percent will be the first in their families to graduate from college.
OUR SCOREBOARD • 394 student-athlete program graduates • 387 graduates have matriculated to college • 100% high school graduation rate • 98% college matriculation rate • 75% college completion rate • $65M+ in scholarship/financial aid awarded to student-athletes
DINNER PROGRAM WELCOME TED SMITH
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW HEIGHTS
TOAST
MARK PATRICOF PATRICOF CO NEW HEIGHTS BOARD CHAIR
GAMECHANGERS ALUMNI AWARD LANCE THOMAS
NEW HEIGHTS CLASS OF 2006, BOARD MEMBER DUKE NATIONAL CHAMPION, NBA VETERAN PRESENTED BY: EMEKA OKAFOR, UCONN NATIONAL CHAMPION & FORMER NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
GAMECHANGERS AWARD
DON CAPOCCIA AND BFC PARTNERS, PRINCIPAL
PRESENTED BY: RICHARD ROBERTS, NEW HEIGHTS BOARD MEMBER
AUCTION
JAMIE MCDONALD
TRAVEL TV HOST AND AUCTIONEER
DINNER SERVICE LEADERSHIP + SERVICE AWARDS
AMBER SABATHIA, PITCCH IN FOUNDATION, CAA BASEBALL PRESENTED BY: ASHLEY GOMEZ, NEW HEIGHTS CLASS OF 2011
BRUCE E. MOSLER, CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
PRESENTED BY: DERRICK MASHORE, FOUNDING NEW HEIGHTS BOARD CHAIR
CLOSING REMARKS
THE
HONOREES
LANCE THOMAS NEW HEIGHTS CLASS OF 2006 BOARD MEMBER GAMECHANGERS ALUMNI AWARD New Heights’ alum, Lance Thomas was the organization's first McDonald’s All-American as a senior in high school. He is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey, Lance played college basketball for Duke University and was a captain on the 2010 National Championship team, the school’s fourth since 1991. Thomas was named to the 2009-10 ACC All-Defensive Team and finished his college basketball career ranked 10th on Duke’s all-time list in offensive rebounds (255). In 2011, Thomas was a member of the US national team that won a bronze medal at the Pan American Games. A year later, Thomas was added to the 2012 USA Men’s Select Team roster that trained against the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s National Team during its training camp in Las Vegas. Due to his talent, hard work and leadership skills, Thomas has had a successful basketball career. Most notably, he was named the New York Knicks captain for the 2017-18, and 2018-2019 seasons.
DON CAPOCCIA AND BFC PARTNERS PRINCIPAL GAMECHANGERS AWARD Don Capoccia is the Managing Principal of BFC Partners, a real estate developer and builder based in NYC. BFC has been focused on the development, construction and management of mixed-use, mixed income projects since its founding in 1980. Mr. Capoccia has worked closely with the City, State and Federal Governments, as well as institutional lenders and investors in numerous public/private partnership models that have delivered over 12,500 units of new and preserved housing units across the five boroughs. More recently, the Company has broadened its work with the development of a number of large-scale mixeduse and office/retail projects, including Empire Outlets, NYC’s first retail outlet center on the Staten Island Waterfront; Essex Crossing, one of the City’s largest Retail, Office, Housing, Cultural and Community Facility projects nearing completion in Manhattan’s East Village; Bronx Commons, a large-scale mixed-use project in the Melrose corridor that will house the long awaited Bronx Music Hall; and the Major R. Owens Health and Wellness Community Center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. BFC’s preservation division has undertaken the acquisition and rehabilitation of thousands of units of existing, occupied affordable housing in some of NYC’s most distressed communities. Their preservation work has extended to upstate and western New York, and New Jersey. Mr. Capoccia earned a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Affairs from the University of Buffalo in 1979, and a Masters in Urban Planning from Hunter College in 1982. He lives with his husband, Tommie L. Pegues in NYC.
AMBER SABATHIA CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PITCCH IN FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP & SERVICE AWARD Amber Sabathia’s career has been driven by passion and purpose. As an entrepreneur, philanthropist, mentor, connector, and public speaker, she has always been fueled by new challenges. When she’s not a loving wife and mother, she serves as the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the PitCCh In Foundation, an organization committed to enriching the lives of at-risk youth in inner cities. She has spent more than two decades immersed in the sport & business of baseball alongside her husband CC. An avid runner, Amber is a member of the New York Road Runners (NYRR) Board of Directors. As part of the Youth & Communities and DEI Committees, her mission is to give people everywhere a purpose to run. Her latest initiative involved joining the Board of Directors at Get In The Game (GITG), a newly founded organization committed to educate, inspire, and empower the youth to take action through kindness, dignity, and diversity. Amber graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies and earned a Certificate of Philanthropy at Heyman College at New York University. She is married to her high school sweetheart, CC Sabathia, six-time All-Star and Cy Young Award-winning pitcher for the New York Yankees, retiring in 2019 after 19 years in the MLB. Amber has been involved in every aspect of CC’s 22-year MLB career, as a manager, executive producer and creative director. She lives in New Jersey with CC and her four amazing children.
BRUCE E. MOSLER CHAIRMAN OF GLOBAL BROKERAGE CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD LEADERSHIP & SERVICE AWARD As Chairman of Global Brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., Bruce Mosler advises major tenants and investors on strategic real estate matters, managing key client relationships on behalf of the firm globally. Widely respected as one of the commercial real estate industry’s most influential and talented professionals, Mr. Mosler has leased millions of square feet throughout his career. Called “cutting-edge” and “one of the most energetic and successful” executives in the industry, Mr. Mosler has been a formative leader at Cushman & Wakefield for over 20 years and has executed deals that have shaped the fabric of New York City. Mr. Mosler served as President and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield from 2005-2010, leading the firm from $800 million in sales to $2.1 billion and diversifying the company’s revenue stream by 30 percent through expansion of the business in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to this, Mr. Mosler was President of U.S. Operations and implemented a number of initiatives for the firm, including creating national leadership roles in Industrial, Retail and Multifamily and creating the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance, a first-of-its-kind affiliate network of top independent real estate companies operating as a unified team with Cushman & Wakefield. Before the start of his illustrious tenure at Cushman & Wakefield, Mr. Mosler served as President of the Eastern Region at Galbreath Riverbank. Over his career, he has enjoyed prolific, long-term relationships with a number of public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations over the years, overseeing real estate strategies for projects large and small. His ongoing accounts include Brookfield Properties, RXR Realty, Vornado, JPMorgan Chase, NYU University Hospital (The Langone Center), Citigroup, the Brooklyn NETS and MetLife, among others. Mr. Mosler sits on numerous non-profit boards and most notably has directed much of his attention toward veteran and military issues. He is the Founder and Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield’s Military and Veteran Programs and currently the Co-Chairman of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. From 2011-2017 he served as Chairman of BENS (Business Executives for National Security), where he continues his engagement as Chairman Emeritus on their Executive Committee. His previous roles include the DBB (Defense Business Board) and the Senior Civilian Advisory Board of The United States European Combatant Command (EUCOM). Mr. Mosler also serves on the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and is a member of the boards of the Navy League of the United States, Police Athletic League (PAL), ISW (Institute for the Study of War) and Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), among other civic and charitable organizations.
PHYSICAL ADDRESS 1561 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11225 MAILING ADDRESS 2472 Broadway, PMB 112 New York, New York 10025 (212) 426-HOOP www.newheightsnyc.org @NewHeightsNYC