LINC warmly welcomes Victor Pichardo Jr. to our Board of Directors! Víctor Pichardo Jr. is the VP of Government and Community Affairs at Saint Barnabas Health System. He is the former Assemblyman of NY’s District 86 (2014-2021). In office, he served as the Vice Chair of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators’ (NHCSL) delegation. Prior to 2014, Víctor started his career in Senator Charles Schumer’s office beginning as an intern and finished his 4 years of service as the Community Outreach Coordinator/Latino Liaison. He then became the Associate Director of Public Relations at Mercy College before returning to public…

LINC warmly welcomes James Lieber to our Board of Directors! James E. Lieber is the founder and president of Lieber Strategies and holds more than 25 years of experience in the strategic management of complex international projects and situations for multi-national corporations, investment funds, organizations and high net-worth individuals in Europe and the United States. Prior to Lieber Strategies, Mr. Lieber served as the Director of Corporate Affairs at LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton S.E. and practiced law with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. Mr. Lieber is an attorney admitted to practice in the State of New York and a member…

2022 has been a year of tremendous growth and transformation for LINC and we are proud to announce a number of new staff. We prepare ourselves to support even more families and we are grateful to have these new staff members join us in our efforts. They are excited to get to know the LINC community and for you to get to know them. Anastasia Gladden, Director of Family & Community Engagement Anastasia Gladden is a first-generation Caribbean American that grew up in all boroughs of New York City except Staten Island. She has established a reputation as a transformational…

The City’s First Readers Initiative is excited to hold its first ever CFR week! From April 25th to May 1st, the CFR partners will engage in a variety of activities focused on connecting families to the wide range of CFR resources. These activities will include introducing CFR and distributing informational materials, sharing an activity packet with families that can be used to enter a raffle, and encouraging families to sign up for library cards. This first week is just the beginning! CFR Week will occur four times a year, and will ramp up to include a coordinated book order, shared…

At LINC, we celebrate unique cultures, talents and dreams, and we love when children march to the beat of their own drum. This year, in honor of International Women’s Day, LINC’s annual Wear Your Crown program centered around the book Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle–an inspiring story that encourages creativity and individuality in all people everywhere. Drum Dream Girl was inspired by the story of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, an Afro-Chinese-Cuban girl who broke Cuba’s traditional taboo against female drummers so that children of all genders could drum and dream to their heart’s content. Milo and her sisters formed the…

What do you do at LINC? I see myself as the keeper of LINC’s original message. It’s not a hard job because I’m happy to say we are all still working to the original goal. But here is a more concrete answer to some of the things I do: Represent LINC in community events and special events Provide feedback and support programmatic and operational improvements Establish collaborative relationships and practices Advise the Executive Team Communicate and safeguard the organization’s culture goals and strategic priorities How did you get involved in early literacy work? I got involved in early childhood literacy…

What do you do at LINC? What do I not do at LINC! At this moment I am solely focused on the Reads Initiative. I am trying to create a deeper impact throughout all three Reads communities (South Jamaica, Easy New York, and East Harlem) on a collective level through partner relationships, programs, and events. In the past I have worked on creating literacy impact in the summer months. Since the beginning of the pandemic I have also led special events with a virtual team. How did you get involved in early literacy work? Being a mother. I realized too…

What do you do at LINC? I oversee LINC’s fundraising program– this includes leading an incredible team of 5, and collaborating with leadership and board to raise the funds (about $5M annually) to support and deliver LINC’s programs. How did you get involved in early literacy? Much of my career has been dedicated to education and community development, not specifically early literacy. I certainly believe in the importance of early literacy, but I was most drawn to LINC because of its model and focus on empowering parents and connecting communities. I’m a former teacher. I taught middle school language arts…

At Timberland, they like to say, “Work is in our DNA.” This means they are committed to doing the work necessary to build a more inclusive company and be a force for social and environmental good. To celebrate Black History Month this year, Literacy Inc. (LINC) partnered with Timberland for a day of service devoted to addressing racial and educational justice through early literacy. On Tuesday February 8th, we gathered on Zoom with 30 employees hailing from across the country and across all lines of Timberland business. We had executives dial in from the headquarters in Stratham, NH, along with…

What do you do at LINC? I am LINC’s Chief Program Officer. I guide the program team to ensure everyone has the support needed to use their talents to their highest capacity to serve LINC’s communities. I ensure that we offer high quality programming that is responsive and intentionally tailored to meet the needs in all of our LINC communities. I guide the team towards best literacy practices aligned with the science of reading and lead with empathy and equity at the forefront of my mind. How did you get involved in early literacy work? Early literacy has been part…

Education is a right, and education is a responsibility. At Literacy, Inc. (LINC) we serve families with young children, infants through kindergarten, with early literacy programming that develops a love of books and prepares children to succeed in school. We believe it is the right of all students and educators to express themselves fully, see themselves reflected in their curriculums, and encourage awareness of a bigger world beyond their own doorstep. We believe it is the responsibility of adults to foster not just tolerance but respect.At LINC, we celebrate, love, and support children and families of all backgrounds and experiences.…

As an organization that works with young children, witnessing the brutality of Vladimir Putin’s attacks on civilians in Ukraine, particularly children, is unbearable. We speak out against these barbaric, unconscionable actions. We condemn all forms of violence against children–whether it is on our soil, at our borders, or in a distant land. It is our responsibility to nurture children, and their right to expect safety, health, and education. Our hearts are with parents everywhere who face persecution and struggle to protect innocents from acts of violence and war. We choose to speak out, knowing that we are only a small…

Cohort of 50 Wide-Ranging Nonprofits Selected for First Phase of $10M Initiative to Support Early Childhood Official Press Release and List of 50 Awardee Organizations NEW YORK, NY, March 8, 2022 – Robin Hood, New York’s largest poverty-fighting philanthropy, today announced the initial winners of FUEL for 50, its new initiative to support young children’s learning and development through programs focused on their caregivers. These 50 awards—the first phase of a 3-year initiative—are Robin Hood’s latest investments in a six-year commitment to make New York City a model for cultivating and scaling new approaches to supporting the development of children…

What do you do at LINC? I’m currently LINC’s Deputy Director, though I’ve held several other positions in LINC. In this role, I help to drive the growth of the organization through the improvement, measurement, and implementation of LINC’s Community Literacy Model and the coalitions it leads. My main goal is to achieve the greatest impact for our families and children across NYC. How did you get involved in early literacy? Early literacy became an obsession of mine after becoming a mother. I wanted to surround my Uma Naima with stories, opportunities, and experiences that nurtured her growth and development…

On Tuesday March 1, Literacy Inc. (LINC) staff testified in front of New York City Council on behalf of immigrant families and children and discussed the impact of COVID on English Language Learners (ELL). Senior Director of Community and Family Mobilization, Albania Jimenez spoke on LINC’s programming; City’s First Readers Manager, Meredith Jones explained the effective strategies of City’s First Readers (CFR); and Chief Organizational and Community Advisor, Debora Mulrain described the rapid responses of the NYCReads Initiatives. These testimonials addressed the benefits of reaching English language learner (ELL) students early and viewing early literacy as an essential response to…

On Tuesday, February 22, LINC’s Very Involved Parents (VIPs) were all ears during LINC’s latest virtual VIP training. LINC VIPS joined the Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC) for a session on community mapping, a tool that LINC VIPs can use to advance their work as literacy advocates. With this valuable new tool, LINC VIPs learned how to employ public census data to reach more families in their specific communities. The 90 minute session was led by CCC’s Director of Civic Engagement Programs Laura Janstrom and Community Outreach & Engagement Associate Carlos Rosales, and covered how community mapping works and how…