Emilee Ballaro
Associate Director of Development
Emilee is our Associate Development Director, and focuses her efforts on StreetWise Partners' fundraising activities. Emilee is currently a graduate student at the State University of New York College at Buffalo in the Multidisciplinary Studies program, with a concentration in public relations. Emilee graduated from Mercyhurst College with a degree in Performing Arts Management and subsequently worked for the American Dance Legacy Institute. She also served as the campaign assistant for the current Supervisor of the Town of Amherst. During her time as Miss Buffalo 2006, Emilee was an ambassador for Upstate New York Transplant Services in order to increase the awareness and support for both organ and tissue donation.
Norma Castro
Chief Operating Officer
Norma comes to StreetWise Partners with broad business experience that includes many years at two Fortune 500 companies. She has led the development and launch of products and process improvements domestically and internationally and has functional expertise in corporate finance, operations, product and services development, marketing, and standard industry business process improvement tools like Total Quality Management and Six Sigma. Most recently, Norma was Chief Operating Officer for the Infrastructure Academy, a social venture incubated at the office of the mayor of the city of Los Angeles. Previous to that, Norma led The Broad Prize for Urban Education for The Broad Foundation, a national flagship program that awards $1 million every year to urban school districts making the most progress at raising student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among poor and minority students. Norma’s previous work experience includes serving as Manager of Operations Finance for Australian conglomerate Brambles Industries and Business Planning Manager and Senior Marketing Consultant for Dell Inc., as well as marketing and business development positions at high technology start ups. Norma started her career as an engineer at Ford Motor Company and represented Ford in national industry standards setting and international supplier negotiations. Norma has an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT and a BS in Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Louisa Conklin
Program Manager
As StreetWise Partners' Program Manager, Louisa is responsible for coordinating logistics for the Young Adult programs in Manhattan; originally from New Jersey, she is thrilled to also be managing SWP's first Jersey City program. Louisa is also responsible for client recruitment. She received her degree in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where she taught sailing to at-risk youth for three summers. Louisa spends her free time learning the ukulele and reading novels and books about urban planning/sociology, and enjoys watching movies.
Melanie Dammermann
Director of Corporate Relations & Programs
Melanie joined SWP in February 2008 as the Director of Corporate Relations and Programs. Melanie has an extensive background in fostering corporate partnerships for nonprofits as well as managing programs. She comes to StreetWise Partners after working at New York Cares as a Corporate Service Manger, and as a Program Manager in London, England, where she managed a program that brought together business volunteers with schools in an under-served borough of London. Melanie has got a BA and an MA degree from Cambridge University, England. She has also spent time teaching English in Sri Lanka and Peru. Melanie's diverse and global experience in the non-profit sector brings a vast array of insight and talent to StreetWise Partners; providing consistently innovative ways for our organization to develop and move forward.
Allison Devore
Executive Director
Allison is a seasoned social enterprise leader with extensive experience in international business, economic development, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). She's dedicated her career to creating sustainable employment opportunities for underserved populations, and creating a positive future for workers and their families. Most recently, Allison managed business development for Verité, a recipient of a 2007 Skoll Award that helps corporations find innovative solutions to workplace problems in over 70 countries. Prior to Verité, Allison held senior management roles at the Center for Women & Enterprise, MusicMatters, and CitySoft Inc., a recipient of MIT's Socially Responsible Business Award. Devore began her career as a consultant for Accenture and KPMG's communications and technology strategy practice. She monitored the 1999 elections in South Africa and was a fellow in McKinsey & Co's nonprofit initiative. She has been an advisor to Investing in Media that Matters - at Sundance, and the U.S. State Department's President's Interagency Council on Women, among others. She received her B.A. in Economics from U.C. Irvine and Master's in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
Dana Leventhal
Director of Development & Communications
Dana joined StreetWise Partners in July 2008. As Director of Development and Communications, Dana is responsible for providing leadership and expertise in resource development, public affairs, and community relations. She has an extensive background in strategic communications and fund development as well as research and publications management, having held positions in both corporate and nonprofit sectors. Previously Dana was Senior Writer and Editor for Children At Risk, a children's rights group, and has also worked for the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a nonprofit research and policy organization; SAFER, an national nonprofit aimed at ending gender violence; NYU and University of Arizona. Dana holds a Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Thought from New York University and a B.A. in Philosophy from Brandeis University. Raised in Hong Kong until the age of 18, she has traveled widely and has broad international cross-cultural experience.
Alexandra Nee
D.C. Site Director
Alexandra is the Director of StreetWise Partners in Washington, D.C. In this position, Ms. Nee is responsible for building new and existing corporate relations, fundraising, operations, and directing the core Adult, Young Adult and alumni programming. In addition to this role, Alexandra operates the surveying and reporting on measurable outcomes for SWP’s main programs in both New York and Washington, D.C., and streetwisepartners.org. Prior to this role, Alex served as the Associate Director of Programs for the New York office. Born in Hong Kong and raised between China and New York, Alexandra is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Alex has come to StreetWise Partners after studying Social Work at Fordham University, and graduating with high honors in Religion from Princeton University.
Rasheem Palmer
Client Services Manager
As Client Services Manager, Rasheem manages all participant services, recruiting and interviewing candidates, and provides overall staff support. Rasheem founded the Peer Mentorship program at SWP, which works in juxtaposition with SWP’s Career Ventures Program by connecting current participants with recent graduates to provide additional support during their development in the program. A graduate of the spring 2005 cycle of SWP’s Core Training Program, Rasheem returned in the fall of 2005 to complete an internship with SWP. At the end of his internship, Mr. Palmer was offered a full-time position on staff. Rasheem is often the first face that greets prospective clients; his dedication to the StreetWise Partners program stems from his personal knowledge of the transformative experience it gives, making him an engaged and encouraging mentor to all our clients.