The purpose of Dance/NYC’s Board is to exercise fiduciary and strategic oversight of Dance/NYC in furtherance of its mission; to provide effective representation in the wider nonprofit, public and private sectors; and to actively contribute to the development of Dance/NYC’s financial and human resources.
The Board of Directors has a series of committees which include the Committee on Trustees, the Finance and Audit Committee, and the Legal Committee.
Dance/NYC values justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity at all levels of its organization, including its Board, committees, task forces, and staff. Diversity in this context refers to groups and individuals identified by, for instance, race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, status, religion, national origin, marital or partnership status, ancestry, political belief or activity, or status as a veteran. To foster the values of justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity, Dance/NYC seeks participation on its Board, committees, task forces, and staff from individuals who share and hold these values and reflect the diversity of the metropolitan New York City area, with a focus on majority African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) participation and disability and immigrant representation. According to 2020 Census data, the New York City population is approximately 69% ALAANA. Census Data from the 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates suggests that the New York City population is 11% disabled, and 37% foreign-born. For a full overview of Dance/NYC’s values on justice, equity, and inclusion and the agendas that inform this work, please refer to Dance.NYC/equity/values.
As of January 2023, Dance/NYC’s board of directors has 7/14 ALAANA membership and includes immigrant and disability representation.
If you are interested in joining Dance/NYC's Board, please write to Interim Executive Director Milena Luna at mluna@dance.nyc.
If you would like to contact Dance/NYC's Board, please write to board@dance.nyc.
Since its inception, I have been honored to be Chair of the Board of Directors of Dance/NYC. A long-standing New York Super Lawyer, I have a wide range of experience in corporate, copyright, and trademark law, with clients that/who encompass a large spectrum of the business and entertainment world, including established and new ventures, individuals, creators, and both for-profit and not-for-profit entities. I have extensive experience with contracts, licensing, digital issues, Trademark Law, Copyright Law, Intellectual Property, and all aspects of running a business. I optimize legal and business affairs for individuals, startups, and businesses of all sizes.
My goal as an attorney is to help resolve your legal and business affairs issues, enabling you to do what it is that you do best; running and growing your business/brand, acquiring deals and investors, creating and acquiring commissions, and moving forward.
My approach is to listen carefully to you to determine how we can best work together in order to accomplish your needs. I advocate and negotiate on your behalf and make sure that all of your questions and issues are properly addressed.
I take a “bird’s eye” view of your situation and work to address your legal needs. In addition, I often act as a sounding board for non-legal issues, especially those that are crucial to big-picture decisions. My focus is on you as a whole, rather than as a single legal issue.
Jina Paik, Treasurer, Finance and Audit Committee Chair
Nonprofit Finance Fund
Jina Paik is Director of Advisory Services at Nonprofit Finance Fund where she heads knowledge management and serves as a senior consultant to philanthropies, nonprofits, and boards on improving how money is accessed, managed, and deployed to serve our communities. Jina is a frequent partner of advocacy and capacity-building efforts that push for more equitable distribution of funding throughout all aspects of the social sector.
A lifelong New Yorker, Jina serves as board treasurer for DanceNYC, a grantmaking intermediary and service organization that promotes the knowledge, appreciation, practice, and performance of dance in the metropolitan New York City area. She sits on the Nonprofit Excellence Award selection committee at Nonprofit New York, and was honored by the New York City Human Services Council as a Next Generation Leader. She has contributed to publications such as the Nonprofit Quarterly, Crain’s New York, New York Nonprofit Press, and Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Social Currency blog. Closer to home, Jina serves on the board of her local Parent-Teacher-Organization to advocate for the small, Title I school and its diverse school community.
Jina’s earlier career supported grantmaking operations with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Helene Fuld Health Trust, and the TCC Group. She holds an MS in Urban Policy from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, where she earned the Joseph Kaplan award for Student Leadership, and a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jina lives in Long Island with her husband and two kids and plays in a blues band every Friday night.
Kathrin Heitmann is a Vice President-Senior Analyst at Moody’s Global Project and Infrastructure Finance Team based in New York. Kathrin has extensive experience working across different jurisdictions and departments with previous assignments focused on corporations, regional governments, and non-profits in Canada and in Europe. Kathrin is a certified Financial Risk Manager and a CFA Charterholder. She studied business administration at UAM University in Madrid, Spain and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.
Outside her regular endeavors, she finds balance in climbing and all forms of movement.
As an immigrant Kathrin is passionate about social justice, cultural diversity and advancing dance and is importance as an art form to culture, wellness and our community. People come together to dance.
Milena Luna is a Nonprofit Consultant and Life Coach, with 15 years of non-profit management experience, leading and collaborating in the areas of: operations, human resources, event planning, community building, facilities management, and accounting. As interim Co-Executive Director at Dance/NYC, Leadership team member at Ekklesia New York, and founder of her own coaching and consulting business, Milena Luna has established success in building and mentoring individuals, teams, and organizations to maximize business value through bold conscious leadership, creativity, and collaboration. She thrives on helping people connect to their purpose and values, own their unique gifts and talents, and take courageous action to impact their own lives and their direct communities. Milena Luna is a Latina of Colombian heritage, a resilient New Yorker, a heart-centered creative, and an explorer of world culture. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach and has a bachelor's degree in Management of Musical Enterprises from Baruch College.
Brandi Stewart is the program officer for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and works with staff to plan, implement, review and evaluate the arts program’s grantmaking goals and strategies. Prior to joining the foundation in 2018, she helped manage arts grantmaking for Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Before working in philanthropy, Brandi was a journalist covering small business news and trends for Fortune Small Business Magazine. Brandi graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and African & African American studies. A native New Yorker, Brandi’s interest in the arts is rooted in her background in dance. After training at the School of American Ballet, the Ailey School and Dance Theatre of Harlem, she performed with the New York City-based modern company Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company. She currently sits on the board of Dance/NYC, the advisory board of Duke Performances and the board of DCL, Inc., a literary nonprofit started by her great-great-grandfather Dr. Aaron Moore and focused on elevating the stories and achievements of the African American community.
Christopher Bastardi leads Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis' Strategy & Crisis Communications practice, where he heads the firm's campaigns and communications for a variety of high-profile clients, ranging from public affairs for corporate clients, nonprofit messaging, and top-level crisis communications. He also manages third party collaborations for the firm's vast client network.
Chris handles crisis response for large events, concerts, and awards ceremonies as well as for nonprofits, corporations, and high-profile individuals.
Chris has an extensive and first-hand background in government and politics and was the lead in several efforts to both pass and defeat legislation and government regulations. Prior to joining Sunshine Sachs, Chris was Real Estate Lead at Edelman New York.
Some of his key projects include C-Suite reputation management for national and global executives; crises including active shooter situations, corporate malfeasance, and product recalls; the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport; sports stadium proposals; and residential, commercial, and hospitality developments.
Most recently, Chris managed PR and crisis management for Mary Trump, niece of former President Donald Trump as well as for Bridget Kelly, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Chris Christie, whose conviction in "Bridgegate" was overturned by the United States Supreme Court.
Earlier in his career, Chris served as Director of Public Affairs and Communications for New York State Senator Kemp Hannon and worked on federal, state, and local campaigns.
He earned his BA from Fordham University and his MA from New York University.
After graduating from Cornell, Deborah spent 40+ years in financial services, including commercial banking, real estate finance, consumer banking, and risk management. She held several senior management positions over the years, leading both small and large teams retired in 2014 as a Managing Director and Senior Risk Manager.
Deborah reconnected with her alma mater when she was asked to join the President’s Council of Cornell Women, where she served as Chair as well as the Human Ecology Dean’s Leadership Council, where she also served as Chair. She was a Vice Chair of the Cornell University Council and President of the Cornell Club of the Berkshires, and participated on the Cornell Alumni Trustee Nominating Committee. She was honored by Cornell to receive the Frank H. T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award.
As an arts patron, Deborah has had the opportunity to support many arts organizations over the years especially dance companies and choreographers. She has often focused her attention toward female choreographers, who often don’t receive the level of resources they need to create new work. She currently serves as a Board Member of Dance/NYC, as well as a Board Member and Treasurer of New Chamber Ballet.
Since retirement, Deborah has been able to travel extensively and enjoys attending dance, music, and other arts performances. She considers it a privilege to have met so many wonderfully talented creators of art, dance, and music.
Ed is a retired partner of the law firm Proskauer Rose where he practiced labor and employment law specializing in representation of colleges and universities including Columbia, Yale, and NYU. He has been a dance lover since moving to New York after law school in 1972, has studied dance history, and recently taught a course on Jerome Robbins at the New School Institute for Retired Professionals.
Gina Gibney is a choreographer, director, entrepreneur, and the Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO of Gibney. She founded Gibney in 1991 as an arts organization dedicated to social action, and today the organization has rapidly emerged as a cultural leader operating 23 studios across two Lower Manhattan facilities. With the mission of tapping into the vast potential of movement, creativity, and performance to effect social change and personal transformation, Gibney works through three interrelated fields of activity—Company, the acclaimed resident dance ensemble; Community, a highly respected and impactful social action programs, and Center, two beautiful spaces at 890 and 280 Broadway.
Gibney is a Founding Member of the Board of Directors of Dance/NYC, serving the organization since 2012.
Juan José Escalante is Executive Director of National Dance Institute. He is well known in the field of dance and the arts and has extensive experience in non-profit leadership. Mr. Escalante joins NDI from the José Limón Dance Foundation where he served as Executive Director for over eight years. Previously, he held various executive positions with well-known dance organizations, including Miami City Ballet and New York City Ballet where he worked in arts management and campaign development. Escalante holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, a Masters Degree in Global Management and has completed the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management Program at Harvard University. He has chaired the national committee for small and medium companies for DanceUSA, and the Cultural Executive’s Committee for the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. Mr. Escalante currently serves on the Board of Dance NYC.
Michael Cataliotti is the Principal of Cataliotti Law P.C., a law firm concentrating on business immigration and corporate transactions. His clientele includes individuals and entities from diverse industries, such as sports, music, fashion, film, art, theatre, television, new media, technology, journalism, and science. Michael is a regular contributor to the NYSBA Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal about immigration; a faculty member at Lawline CLE; a frequent speaker on the topics of business immigration, corporate transactions, and entrepreneurship; a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) where he is an active participant on several committees; was most recently recognized as one of Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” in 2019; and a member of the Legal Committee of Dance/NYC.
Reshma Patel is a candidate for New York City Comptroller. Reshma is a public finance expert with over 18 years of experience, 8 of which were as financial advisor to the NYC Comptroller's office. She also has professional experience in data analytics and impact assessment. Reshma serves as Vice-Chair of Manhattan Community Board 6 budget committee. She represents the 104th election district in Assembly District 76 on the New York County Committee and serves as President of the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club. Reshma serves as board co-chair of Chhaya Community Development Corporation in Queens advocating for immigrant communities. She is a volunteer with Sakhi supporting survivors of domestic violence through the creation of a scholarship program for survivors.
Reshma believes democracy only works if everyone participates and civics and financial education are key components to creating equity. She promotes civic engagement as a volunteer with the League of Women Voters NYC. She also volunteers with the High Water Women Foundation to teach financial literacy.
Reshma is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is vice president of programming for the MIT South Asian Alumni Association.
Shannon Zhu is Director and Senior Counsel at ViacomCBS. Her practice mainly focuses on cutting-edge digital media, marketing technology, and advertising transactions. She regularly counsels businesses on their deals and helps to strategically balance innovation with best practices. Prior to her current role, Shannon was in-house technology transactions, marketing, and privacy counsel at Equinox Holdings, Inc.
Outside of the office, Shannon is an active member of several bar associations and has held leadership positions in multiple organizations, including the IP Committee of AABANY, the Emerging Companies Committee of the NYCBA, and the Digital Media Section of the Entertainment Arts and Sports Law Committee of NYSBA. She participates in various philanthropic activities and is a youth mentor with iMentor.
Shannon is also an accomplished artist and dancer, having performed across national stages. You can regularly find her on tv and film production sets. In her spare time, Shannon takes dance classes, produces music videos, and creates mixed medium paintings.
