Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, Inc. Announces Two New Board Members
The board and staff of the Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, Inc. are thrilled to announce the election of Cynthia Rivera Weissblum, President and CEO of the Edwin Gould Foundation, and Randy Moore, Chief Operating Officer of COOP, to its board of directors. The Summerfield Foundation is committed to collaborating with NYC-based grantee partners to identify and strengthen career pathways and postsecondary education for underserved youth between the ages of 14 and 24. Randy and Cynthia’s professional accomplishments and diversity of experience will bring new perspectives to the board and enhance the Foundation’s efforts to develop deep networks and programs designed in partnership with grantees working alongside and in service to youth.
Cynthia Rivera Weissblum is an advocate of legislation and strategies to address obstacles preventing low-income students from thriving, and an entrepreneur who builds organizations that advance positive outcomes for underserved youth. She currently serves as CEO of the Edwin Gould Foundation and is the architect of the EGF Accelerator, a residential incubator for nonprofits focused on educational inequity. Nonprofits selected for the Accelerator are relieved of infrastructure costs for five years and provided a curated set of consulting services while joining a community of social innovators. Previously, Cynthia was president of Results Collaborative, advising on donor strategy. She served as CEO of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and during her tenure earned the N.Y. Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Award. She was the director of New York State’s Mentoring Program. Cynthia earned a BA, MS, and post graduate certification in counseling psychology from the University at Albany. She also serves on the board of Guttman Community College, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Rockefeller Institute of Government and uAspire.
Randy Moore is a bilingual educator and advocate for underserved communities with experience in adolescent and adult pedagogy, corporate, non-profit, philanthropic, and educational leadership. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of COOP, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help first generation college graduates overcome underemployment through digital skills and peer connections. Randy began his career in Macy’s Corporate Executive Development Program; he then became a high school English/ESL Teacher in Miami and Business Communications at Year Up in NYC before moving into leadership positions. Randy led partnerships and first-year student success at CUNY’s Guttman Community College and served as founding Site Director at Year Up in Arizona. Most recently, Randy was Vice President for Post-Secondary Partnerships at HERE to HERE and a Senior Advisor to The James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation. Randy is a proud New Yorker, graduated from Wilberforce University (HBCU), and earned a master’s in Bilingual/ENL Education from Adelphi University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Leadership & Innovation in the Postsecondary Context at Arizona State University.