Volunteers of America-Greater New York Adds Four Board Members to Accelerate Affordable Housing Development and Mental Health Services

The four new board members join as VOA-GNY works to build nearly 2,400 units of affordable housing over the coming years.

Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY), which has provided anti-poverty services to  New Yorkers for 130 years, has added four new members to its board of directors as it works to build affordable housing faster, build on its advocacy efforts, and strengthen its mental health services. The new directors are Kunal Gulati, Farah S. Ahmed, Michael A. Lindsey and Rosa Wong.

The appointments come as VOA-GNY works to develop 2,400 new units of affordable housing in the coming years. The organization accelerated that effort last year by launching a $20 million Housing Innovation Fund and hiring a senior executive to lead real estate development. The fund gives VOA-GNY flexible, early-stage capital to secure development sites quickly, before securing public financing.

The new directors:

• Kunal Gulati most recently served as Deputy Chief Investment Officer of Carlyle Direct Lending and a Managing Director in the firm’s Global Credit business. He specializes in private credit and capital markets.
• Farah S. Ahmed is Co-Chair of the New York Real Estate Practice at Greenberg Traurig and represents a broad range of investors, owners, operators and developers in the acquisition, disposition, development and financing of various classes of commercial real estate.
• Michael A. Lindsey is Dean of the NYU Silver School of Social Work and a scholar of child and adolescent mental health and generational poverty.
• Rosa Wong is a philanthropist affecting global change through the YP Foundation and has supported VOA-GNY for many years, including Operation Backpack® and the Bronx Early Learning Center.

“We’re thrilled to welcome our newest directors as VOA-GNY expands our vision to reduce poverty and homelessness,” said Reginald Goins, Chair of the VOA-GNY Board of Directors. “We found four people who understand how to leverage public-private partnerships for a greater good, and who care about the Greater New York region the way we do.”

“Ending homelessness starts with building more homes, and our work is a powerful example of the power of the nonprofit sector to fight the affordability crisis,” said Dr. Jeffrey R. Ginsburg, President and CEO of VOA-GNY. “These four board members bring the expertise we need to advocate for change and help us create affordable new homes faster.”