Michelle de la Uz

Executive Director

Michelle de la Uz is a nationally recognized leader in social justice and community development, with over 25 years of experience in public service. As Executive Director of Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC), she leads a mission-driven organization advancing economic, social, and racial justice for over 7,500 low- and moderate-income New Yorkers each year. Under her leadership, FAC and its affiliates have more than quintupled in size and impact, with annual budgets over $34 million, real estate assets exceeding $263 million, and an affordable housing development pipeline of more than 2,000 units totaling $1 billion in total development costs. 

Michelle also serves on the national board of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), the Community Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and is Co-Chair of the New York Housing Conference. From 2012 to 2021, she served as a New York City Planning Commissioner, shaping citywide planning and land use policy. Her work reflects a deep and enduring commitment to equity, opportunity, and inclusive community growth. 

FACExecutiveDirector@fifthave.org

Sarah Batchu

Director of Programs

Sarah Batchu joined FAC in 2023 as Director of Programs. In this role, she oversees our programs including adult education, public benefits eligibility screening and access, financial coaching, homeownership programs, and organizing and advocacy.  Previously, she served as Chief of Staff and Interim Director of the Center for Wellbeing & Happiness at the Lower East Side Girls Club (LESGC), where she launched an innovative intergenerational space focused on tackling the root causes of health inequities and empowering BIPOC communities with holistic solutions. Before LESGC, Sarah held roles in the NYC Mayor’s Office and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, advising on policies to improve the lives of New Yorkers, especially those in public housing, and launching programs to create a fairer, more just city.

Sarah graduated with a master’s from Columbia University and a bachelor’s from Barnard College  

directorofprograms@fifthave.org

Emily Blank

Deputy Director of External Affairs and Strategy

Emily Blank is FAC’s Deputy Director of External Affairs and Strategy. She directs the organization’s fundraising, communications, evaluation, and strategic planning. Emily has over 25 years’ experience working for and with New York Community based organizations. She joined FAC in 2021. Prior to her work at FAC, she served as a Senior Community Development Officer at LISC NYC, and at Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, first as Director of Community Organizing and then as Director of Planning and Development.

Emily is a graduate of Brown University and the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. 

DeputyDirectorEAS@fifthave.org

Yannerys Castillo

Community Services Manager

Yannerys serves as the Community Services Manager and has been with FAC since 2011. In this role, she oversees all referrals, intakes, and outreach for benefits and support, including public benefits, financial coaching, legal services and tax preparation assistance. Previously, Yannerys worked at the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership as the Shelter Plus Care Program Representative. 

Yannerys earned her associate degree in Business Administration from Hesser College in Salem, New Hampshire. 

CommunityServicesManager@fifthave.org

Anthony Coker

Homeownership Programs Manager

NHNHousingCounselingDir@fifthave.org

Andrew Horrow

Director of Finance

Andrew has 15 years of experience serving nonprofit and public sector organizations. He is well versed in various aspects of internal and external reporting, grants management and procurement, system implementations, and accounting system automation design. Prior to joining FAC Andrew worked at a top 10 accounting firm in their advisory department helping finance teams of all sizes find efficiencies through procedures and technology. He has also spent time at a microfinance institution and was a tax manager specializing in exempt organizations. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and is a licensed CPA in New York and Pennsylvania.  Andrew is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, with a B.A. degree in accounting and finance.

Bora Lee

Chief of Staff

Bora Lee serves as FAC’s Chief of Staff, managing organizational development and special projects, including FAC’s Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts.  She joined FAC in 2019. Bora’s non-profit management experience includes administration, operations, fundraising, communications, and special projects management at Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York, the Center for an Urban Future, and the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families. Bora started her career in the public sector as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the MinKwon Center for Community Action. 

Bora received her BA in Sociology and Urban Studies from Queens College, CUNY and her MPA in Public and Nonprofit Management from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. 

ChiefofStaff@fifthave.org

Charmaine Marizan

Affordable Housing Marketing and Leasing Manager

Charmaine Marizan is FAC’s Affordable Housing Marketing and Leasing Manager. She oversees our work to market affordable housing, developed by FAC or other partners, and to support housing applicants through NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s lottery process. Charmaine has been with the organization since 2016. She previously worked as an executive administration assistant at Peachtree Enterprises in Long Island City. 

Charmaine completed several courses at SUNY Brooklyn, NeighborWorks and the Department of Housing and Preservation and is Tax Credit Certified. She also holds a New York State Notary License. 

AffordableHsgMarketingManager@fifthave.org

Lavina Maykut

Senior Fundraising Manager

Lavina “Viney” Maykut joined FAC in January 2018, bringing over a decade of experience in fundraising, communications, and nonprofit capacity building. Before joining FAC, she served as the first Director of Development and Communications for a grassroots environmental justice and youth organizing nonprofit in South Brooklyn and supported a range of New York City–based organizations with grant writing and development strategy. Viney holds an MA and BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. 

FundraisingManager@fifthave.org

Brian Mendes

Director of Adult Education

Brian Mendes joined FAC in 2008. As the Director of Adult Education, he supervises all Adult Education classes including ESOL, GED, digital literacy, and our Bridge program, which provides contextualized instruction to prepare students to enter sector-based workforce development programs with FAC’s affiliate, Brooklyn Workforce Innovations (BWI). In the 20-plus years he has been involved in Adult Education, he has been a teacher of ESOL, ABE, HSE, and Mathematics for Construction Workers, Carpenters, Caretakers, Pesticide Applicators, Electricians, and Cable Installers.  In his time with FAC, he has been the Family Literacy Coordinator, ESOL Coordinator, HSE Coordinator, and Associate Director. He has developed and implemented curricula for a wide variety of Adult Basic Education and Workforce Development programming at BWI, New York City Small Business Services, New York City Housing Authority, New York City College of Technology, and Pathways to Apprenticeship. 

He has a BA in Education from Boston College. 

DirofAdultEd@fifthave.org

Julian Morales

Organizing & Advocacy Manager

Julian joined FAC in 2025 and brings over 15 years of experience in grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and movement-building across New York City. A native Brooklynite and proud son of Red Hook West Houses, Julian began his organizing career at Red Hook Initiative.

Most recently, he served as Senior Housing Strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, where he provided leadership and strategic direction for housing-related initiatives. Julian also held roles with the Office of Council Member Carlos Menchaca, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), and New York Communities for Change, all rooted in the fight for racial, housing, and economic justice.

In his role at FAC, he oversees the Organizing and Advocacy team—building the collective power of our community to prevent evictions, preserve rent-stabilized housing, advocate for equitable and sustainable development, and ensure environmental and climate justice.

Andrew Parkes

Associate Manager of Asset & Property Management

Andrew serves in the role of Associate Manager of Asset and Property Management. This department manages and maintains over 500 units of affordable, mixed-use, cooperative and commercial housing in Brooklyn. Andrew has worked in the Asset & Property Management unit in FAC since 2006, including initially as an AmeriCorps VISTA, then eventually as a Management Associate and Compliance Manager. 

Andrew received his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from St. John’s University. 

Zully Rolan  

Director of Asset and Property Management

Zully oversees the management of FAC’s portfolio of affordable housing, including capital improvement projects. Zully joined FAC in 2008 after more than twenty years of experience working in a range of non-profit housing development and management capacities at St. Nicks Alliance (formerly St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation) and UHAB as well as the City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Zully oversees FAC’s management of over 500 units of affordable housing in over three dozen properties throughout South Brooklyn. 

DirofAsset&PropertyMan@fifthave.org

Aaron Shiffman

Executive Director of BWI

Aaron has served as BWI’s Executive Director since the organization’s inception in 2000, growing BWI from a single neighborhood‐based program into a well‐respected citywide non‐profit workforce development organization serving more than 850 individuals annually. BWI’s mission is to empower low‐ and moderate‐income people by creating living‐wage employment opportunities and access to career paths. Aaron remains closely involved in BWI’s continual program development efforts and new, collaborative initiatives to match unemployed New Yorkers with career‐path jobs. 

Prior to launching BWI, Aaron served as FAC’s Director of Economic Development for five years and as an urban planner with Abeles Phillips Preiss & Shapiro, a Planning and Real Estate consulting firm. Aaron is a member of the Executive Committee of the New York City Employment and Training Coalition’s Board of Directors. 

Aaron received his M.S. in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute and his B.A. in Political Science from Vassar College. 

BWIExecutiveDirector@fifthave.org

Denise Torres

Director of HR and Administration

Denise is FAC’s Director of HR and Administration. She oversees the recruitment and staffing for the organization including the compensation and benefits administration. She also oversees all oversight of communications and workflow between FAC and affiliates’ multiple offices, ensuring common identity and effective teamwork among all staff.  Denise joined FAC in 2012 and started her current position as Director of HR & Operations in 2014.

Denise graduated from Baruch College. 

DirofHR@fifthave.org

Tess Williams

Deputy Director of Housing Development

Tess Williams serves as FAC’s Deputy Director of Housing Development. She joined the organization in 2023, with 10 years of experience in construction management and affordable housing development in New York City. She oversees FAC’s housing development projects from conception through completion and operation, as well as department strategy and pipeline planning. Tess graduated with masters degrees from Fordham University and Columbia University, and a bachelor’s from Tulane University. 

Bill Yates

Director of Housing Development

Bill is FAC’s Director of Housing Development. He joined the organization in 2020, with more than 15 years of experience in NYC community development and affordable housing. Bill’s professional life includes eight years as Director at Citi Community Capital. In this role, he helped finance new and existing multifamily affordable housing developments and community facilities throughout NYC and the Northeast. Bill also served as VP and Director of Strategic Planning with Citibank Community Development.

He is a graduate of Columbia Business School and Connecticut College.

DirofHousingDevelopment@fifthave.org