April 5, 2024

The review team assessed each application carefully and made the difficult decision to select only six NLC Facilitators based on their level of experience and alignment with ELP participant backgrounds. The Facilitators are joined by two NLC Program Consultants who support NLC HQ with facilitator support, program design and implementation.

The team of eight alumni span seven different NLC chapters and a variety of backgrounds including the public sector, nonprofit, advocacy, and education. Combined, they have over 70 years of experience beyond their NLC Fellowship, with many having served in leadership roles with their local chapter and nationally with NLC, including serving on the National Board of Directors.

Facilitators play a crucial role in guiding ELP participants through a transformative learning journey designed to enhance their executive leadership experience, expand their professional network, and foster personal growth.

“This is such an exciting moment in time for NLC where we get to provide a valuable service to an external group of really great nonprofit professionals, partner with the amazing folx from The Allstate Foundation, and open up an incredible paid opportunity for our NLC alumni to utilize their extensive skills in an impactful way,” says Karen Pandy-Cherry, NLC VP of Programs.

While this pilot program is the first of its kind, it will not be the last. New Leaders Council is excited to be able to offer more opportunities to NLC alumni in the future.

About the Program:

The Elevate: Spring Pilot Program for ELP Alumni is a virtual-only program that will run April – June 2024. Participants in the program are nonprofit executives who are alumni of The Allstate Foundation’s Executive Leadership Program designed to help ELP alumni (The Allstate Foundation alumni):

• Build meaningful relationships and form ongoing support networks
• Realign / reinvigorate their leadership journey
• Facilitate best practice sharing

We invite you to meet our facilitators:

Daniel Edelman (NLC New York City 2017)

Daniel Munczek Edelman (he/him) builds organizations, improves government performance, and creates effective climate and economic policy. He currently works at a policy implementation consulting firm, Delivery Associates, where he co-leads Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities with a coalition of national nonprofits to help 25 U.S. cities take action at the intersection of climate change and racial wealth equity. He has managed policy and programmatic portfolios across climate and energy, economic and workforce development, criminal justice reform, transportation, and government innovation in several state and local governments, and he helped build a startup think tank that engages directly impacted communities in policy development and advocacy. He has written on the above issues and DEI in the policy sector in The Nation, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Yale Environment 360, and elsewhere. A native New Yorker, Daniel began his career working as a teacher and in a social services agency.

Yuh Wen Ling (NLC Washington DC 2013)

Born in Singapore and raised on the Jersey Shore, Yuh Wen Ling (she/her) has a profound appreciation for air conditioning and Bruce Springsteen. After working in public finance investment banking in Chicago and then in public health NGOs across Europe and Asia, Yuh Wen has served in the Federal civil service since 2009. She currently leads operations for the Division of Research, Monitoring & Regulations at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Yuh Wen is energized by service – particularly as a Volunteer Tax Preparer, a national volunteer for the New Leaders Council, and as a leadership coach to first-generation professionals. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago (BA)  and Princeton University (MPA). Yuh Wen enjoys yoga and meditation, travel, and is always game to eat her way through the DC suburbs or philosophize over sports. Her proudest achievement to date is to be her parents’ daughter.

David Rini (NLC Boston 2014)

Dave Rini is a facilitator, public speaking trainer, sexual violence activist, and attorney. His training work focuses on helping non-profit and mission-driven organizations communicate their values and purpose with conviction and clarity. During his 16 years teaching oral communication and facilitating groups, Dave has worked with groups like Boston University, the New Leaders Council, the Asian-American Women’s Political Initiative, The Boston Foundation, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. In his full-time role, Dave is the Systems Advocacy Senior Director at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, where he is responsible for managing high-level relationships with institutional actors in the Boston area. He holds a B.S. in communication from Boston University and a J.D. from Northeastern University. He lives in Watertown, Massachusetts, with his partner, daughter, and Maltese dog.

Sonia Sarkar (NLC Boston 2015)

Sonia Sarkar is the founder of Healing Capital, an initiative that advises community-based and systems change organizations on health systems transformation through a racial and economic equity lens. Previously, she served as Chief Policy and Engagement Officer for the Baltimore City Health Department.

Sonia is a Truman Scholar, and in 2017 she was named one of forty Culture of Health Leaders by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her commitment to approaching the multidisciplinary work of health through an equity lens.

She holds B.A. degrees in public health and international studies from Johns Hopkins University, and an MPH and DrPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She is also a published poet and author, with work appearing in Health Affairs, Slate, the American Journal of Nursing and the Bellevue Literary Review, among others. Sonia is from Austin, TX and currently resides in Baltimore, MD.

Nicole Aghaaliandastjerdi (NLC Kentucky 2014)

Nicole Aghaaliandastjerdi (she/her) is a Social Justice Practitioner with a background in litigation and corporate law, information security, strategic planning, campaign management, political consulting, and executive coaching. Nicole has used her experience to help organizations, nonprofits, candidates, and individuals realize their full potential while keeping equity, justice, and fairness at the core of all they do.

Nicole is a proud alumna of New Leaders Council, Emerge Kentucky, the National Democratic Training Committee Staff Academy, and the Kentucky Survivors’ Council. Nicole also founded Building Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to serving women who experienced intimate partner violence, and Meta Collective, a political consulting firm. Currently, she serves on the Jefferson County School Board Policy Committee and as Co-Director of New Leaders Council Kentucky.  

Nicole obtained her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Louisville and remains in Louisville where she was active in the Breonna Taylor movement.

Lucerito Ortiz (NLC Los Angeles 2016)

Lucerito is: the proud daughter of immigrant parents from Guatemala and Mexico, native Angeleno, data nerd, foodie, Lime Hot Cheeto connoisseur, escape room lover, and very easily distracted by dogs. Lucerito has always been incredibly passionate about issues of social justice, access and equity, and she currently serves as a Partner at Promise54, a non-profit talent and DEI consulting organization. Her previous experiences include Senior Manager of Data and Impact and Escalera Manager at UnidosUS, Education Pioneers Fellow at The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems, and Senior Admissions Officer at Harvard College. She also served as co-director and board member of the New Leaders Council, Los Angeles. Lucerito holds a BA in Social Studies with a focus on race and education from Harvard College, and an M.Ed. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Gabriel Tanglao (NLC New Jersey 2017)

Gabriel A. Tanglao (he/him) is an educator at heart, activist in spirit, and organizer in practice, who is deeply committed to advancing racial, social, and economic justice throughout our social change ecosystem.

He started his career as a passionate public educator in a culturally rich community, and quickly became active in his union at the local, state, national, and global levels. This work led to a powerful multiracial, multigenerational, movement-building journey as Associate Director with the New Jersey Education Association. Gabriel’s activism extended cross-sector to the dynamic New Leaders Council community having served on the National Board of Directors and as Chair of the National Diversity Committee.

Gabriel now serves as Manager in the Human and Civil Rights Department with the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the country, to advance racial and social justice throughout our public school system and ultimately change the world.

Adela Ghadimi (NLC Tallahassee 2016)

Adela Ghadimi is the Executive Director of United Faculty of Florida. She recently completed her doctorate in Public Administration and Policy from the Askew School at Florida State University. Adela is in the inaugural cohort of the Obama Leaders USA program.  

The proud daughter of immigrants, Adela has always wanted to serve others in any way she can. She is the Chair of the Tallahassee/Leon County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CSWG). Adela served on the Tallahassee Affordable Housing Commission and completed service on the 2020 Leon County Complete Count Census Committee. Prior to relocating to Tallahassee, Adela lived in Washington, DC and worked in education policy and government relations, with prior professional experience in nonprofits, grassroots organizing and political campaigns. Adela has a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and completed undergraduate studies with a triple major at the University of Miami.