CUNY Names Inaugural List of 50 Under 50 Distinguished Alumni

First-Ever List Highlights 50 Graduates Representing Diverse Talents, Achievements

The City University of New York presents its inaugural 50 Under 50 alumni list, recognizing distinguished CUNY alumni who have made headway in their respective fields in the past year. The honorees represent the diverse talents and achievements of the University's vibrant and expansive community. The first cohort introduces a new set of changemakers across disciplines - including activists, lawyers, journalists and entrepreneurs - who represent the best of the University's principles.

"CUNY's story is best told by the over one million alumni who have been uplifted by the University's mission, many of whom pay it forward by making an impact in their industries," said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. "We congratulate these 50 CUNY alumni for standing out in how their careers have progressed since their graduation."

Meet the Honorees

Honorees include Ischia Bravo, the first Latina to serve as Bronx County's clerk and commissioner of jurors. A lifelong Bronxite with an associate degree from Hostos Community College and a bachelor's degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Bravo's two-decade long public service career has centered on increasing civic engagement among the diverse communities of her borough.

Another recipient, disability advocate Andrea Dalzell, is the chief operating officer for Access Initiatives, a multidisciplinary center that provides services for people with physical disabilities. A graduate of the College of Staten Island, Dalzell is the first registered nurse in New York to graduate nursing school with the use of a wheelchair.

Jerome Bishop Lane Jr.is a community ministry organizer for the Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey, supporting 90 churches in New Jersey. A graduate of Lehman College who got his start in higher education at Hostos Community College, Lane is also executive director of The Transformation Family, Inc., which fundraises for food-insecure students in Kenya.

City College of New York graduate Chris Mossiahis a former U.S. Navy electronic technician with two decades of experience in the technology field. After earning a bachelor's degree in 2017, they secured a job as an associate software engineer for JPMorgan Chase, where they currently work as a product director and help lead the firm's resource group for transgender and gender-nonconforming employees.

Two-time CUNY graduate George D. Adamesserved as the first-ever LGBTQI+ community liaison for the Richmond County District Attorney's Office. An openly gay Latino with a bachelor's degree from the College of Staten Island and a law degree from the CUNY School of Law, he currently works as deputy general counsel for the NYC Commission on Human Rights.

"CUNY alumni are making a difference in New York and around the world every day," said CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Maite Junco. "We're particularly proud to shout out these 50 changemakers who have done so impressively soon after their time at the University."

The Office of Communications and Marketingaccepted nominations for the recognition, selecting recipients who represent every CUNY college and stood out for the impact they have made in their respective industries in the past year. Alumni can also be nominated through an online formfor future awards.

Reengaging CUNY Alumni

The CUNY Alumni Network initiative launched earlier this year as one of the first efforts to engage the alumni of the University's 25 colleges under one central group. The University has since created groups on LinkedInand Facebook for alumni to connect with one another, as well as launched a quarterly newsletter and an Instagram pagefor updates.

CUNY also hosted an alumni networking reception in May, welcoming recent graduates to a professional development event that included an alumni panel, resume review and a personal branding workshop. The initiative will offer alumni free professional headshot sessions on a monthly basis. Alumni are also able to purchase specially designed merchandise on the University's online store.

CUNY alumni who are interested in staying connected with the University and the CUNY colleges they attended can visit the CUNY Alumni webpagefor resources and updates.

The 2024 50 Under 50 honorees are:

1. George D. Adames, deputy general counsel, NYC Commission on Human Rights, College of Staten Island '16, CUNY School of Law '19
2. Yehonatan Alfasi, founder, Ti-Space Career Accelerator, Baruch College '20
3. Kay Bell, 2023-2025 Bronx poet laureate, Hostos Community College '13, City College of New York '15
4. Lawrence Ben, economics adviser, Premier of South Australia, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies '21
5. Justine Billups, diversity, equity and inclusion manager, New York City Police Department, Hunter College '12, Baruch College '17
6. Ischia Bravo, Bronx County clerk and commissioner of jurors, Hostos Community College '09
7. Arlene Burgher, instructional and technology coach, New York City Public Schools, City College of New York '11 '13 '17
8. Shanaz Chery, director, Greater New York Hospital Association, Brooklyn College '18, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy '22
9. Malika Christopher, nutrition and health services manager, The Food Bank for NYC, York College '17, CUNY School of Professional Studies '24
10. Haiwen Chu, senior program associate in mathematics, WestEd, Brooklyn College '04, CUNY Graduate Center '13
11. Rachel Cole, principal, Rachel Cole Art Advisory, Hunter College '24
12. Catalina Cruz, New York State Assembly Member, John Jay College of Criminal Justice '05, CUNY School of Law '09
13. Andrea Dalzell, chief operating officer, Access Initiatives, College of Staten Island '18 '19
14. Essence English, founder, Brands Endeavor, Baruch College '21
15. Luz Espinobarro, early college coordinator, Academy for Careers in Television and Film, Borough of Manhattan Community College '16, Queens College '19
16. John Friia,founder and content creator, Here In New York, Baruch College '15, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism '17
17. Jonah Furman, communications director, United Auto Workers, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies '16
18. Gage Gomez, model and actor, City College of New York '21
19. Calvin Herman, graduate fellow, Laboratory of Bacteriology, The Rockefeller University, Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College '20
20. Katie Honan, senior reporter, The City, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism '10
21. Dani James, writer and translator, Medgar Evers College '14, Baruch College '16
22. Philippe Jean-Baptiste, Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, City College of New York '21
23. Jerome Bishop Lane Jr., community ministry organizer, Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey, Lehman College '14
24. Marlene Leekang, executive director, Center for Entrepreneurship, Baruch College, York College '02, Queens College '06, Baruch College '10
25. Kristen Lemma, senior grants specialist, NYU Langone Health, Lehman College '12, CUNY School of Professional Studies '21
26. Jason Liu, account manager, PulsePoint, City College of New York '16 '24
27. Amera-Rime Lulu, senior art director, Edelman, New York City College of Technology '17, City College of New York '20
28. Dominique Mendez-Rose, administrative events specialist, John Jay College, LaGuardia Community College '15, John Jay College of Criminal Justice '17, CUNY School of Professional Studies '24
29. Kevin Moore, cultural officer for music education, The National Cultural Foundation, Lehman College '14
30. Chris Mossiah, product manager, JPMorgan Chase, City College of New York '17
31. Christelle Onwu, 2024 Bridges-NY fellow, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice '10
32. Maria-Isabelle Parada, sports journalist and founder, M.I. Sports, Guttman Community College '16, Brooklyn College '19
33. Maria Ponciano, arbitration advocate, United Federation of Teachers, Hunter College '99, Brooklyn College '03, City College of New York '10
34. Jonathan Prevost, senior associate, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Baruch College '16
35. Hailey Ra, talent acquisition specialist, Rendr; content creator and influencer, Baruch College '24
36. Rocio Rayo, director of transfer services, Hostos Community College, Hostos Community College '11, City College of New York '14
37. Romario Ricketts, J.D. candidate and dean's fellow, Penn State Dickinson Law, Borough of Manhattan Community College '19, Macaulay Honors College at Lehman College '21
38. Bianny Rodriguez, director of community outreach, New York City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, Queensborough Community College '20, John Jay College of Criminal Justice '22
39. Steven Rodriguez, strategic adviser, Seamless.AI, Kingsborough Community College '11, City College of New York '14
40. Luz Rosado, international wealth adviser, Merrill Lynch Bank of America, Bronx Community College '05, Baruch College '08
41. Nicola Scalise, talent developer, Altice USA, Hunter College '13, Baruch College '20
42. Kris Senior, chief financial officer, Barbizon Lighting Company, Lehman College '19, CUNY School of Professional Studies '20
43. Karen Shakerdge, senior editor, Pushkin Industries, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism '15
44. Scout Silverstein, strategist and researcher of program and policy development for health care and human rights, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy '22
45. Phara Souffrant Forrest, New York State Assembly Member, New York City College of Technology '17, CUNY School of Professional Studies '22
46. Cindy Sung,multidisciplinary visual artist and photographer, New York City College of Technology '22
47. Lev Sviridov, director, Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, City College of New York '05
48. Emily Towner, neuroscience researcher, University of Cambridge, CUNY School of Professional Studies '17
49. Ocean Vuong, writer, professor and photographer, Brooklyn College '12
50. Jermaine Wright, vice president for student affairs, Lehman College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice '06

The City University of New Yorkis the nation's largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation's first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City's five boroughs, serving more than 233,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY's mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University's graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city's economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city's workforce in every sector. CUNY's graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur "genius grants." The University's historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

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