Gretchen joined Catalyst Miami in 2007, directing civic leadership and advocacy programs for more than five years. She became CEO in 2013. Gretchen’s integration of Catalyst’s services into a solid program suite based on an effective and empowering financial coaching platform, offers asset-building strategies at each stage in our clients’ journey to prosperity. She effectively transitioned Catalyst from a financial literacy provider to a financial capability thought leader, as evidenced by our many national partnerships and demonstration products. Other accomplishments include conceiving and piloting the Florida Thrives executive leadership program for community development practitioners, and hosting the annual Poverty Solutions Summit, which draws hundreds of civic leaders. Under Gretchen’s leadership, Catalyst Miami leads a consortium of partners to design and implement Florida’s first universal children’s savings program, Future Bound Miami. Future Bound Miami launched in November 2019 with a subset of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and will expand until every kindergartener entering the district each year has access to a college savings account. Catalyst Miami is launching its first worker cooperative in 2020, the latest addition to its platform of transformative, wealth-building initiatives.

Gretchen serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the South Florida Community Development Coalition. She participates on JPMorgan Chase’s Community Advisory Board (Florida), the Florida Policy Institute’s Community Advisory Board, Resilient 305 Steering Committee, among other advisory boards. Gretchen was a 2015 American Express NGEN Fellow (Independent Sector) and a 2019 Ambassador for Health Equity (PolicyLink and FSG), and she is an alumna of the Federal Reserve Board’s Community Leaders Forum. In 2019, Gretchen was recognized by the Commonwealth Institute as a top woman leader. Gretchen is a 2020 Fulcrum Fellow with the Center for Community Investment. Gretchen is a licensed clinical social worker.

Brian serves as the CFO for Catalyst Miami. He is a lawyer, CPA and received his MFA in Visual Arts in 2018. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica and worked for 20 years for CARE, an international humanitarian and development organization, living mostly in Africa. In his spare time, Brian runs marathons and makes art.

Kristine joined Catalyst Miami in 2013, directing several of the organization's capacity-building programs. Since that time, Kristine has also overseen the organization's programs and services and currently serves as Catalyst's COO. Prior to joining Catalyst, she worked for several nationwide nonprofit organizations in operations and development. Kristine graduated with a bachelor's degree in Government from Smith College and a master's degree in Learning and Organizational Change from Northwestern University. Kristine serves on the board of the Community Reinvestment Alliance of South Florida (CRASF).

Nina joined Catalyst Miami in 2014 and has served in many different capacities including directing the service delivery for the health component of the Prosperity Campaign. Nina currently oversees the programs department. In Nina's previous experience, she provided support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities for several nonprofit organizations. She graduated from Florida International University with a bachelor's degree in Social Work and minor in Criminal Justice, in addition to a master's degree in Social Work from Barry University. Nina is a Miami native, passionate about youth and community development.

Santiago joined Catalyst Miami in January 2015. His role includes connecting and forming collaborative networks that are committed to achieving tangible results within their communities. Santiago's professional commitment is to improve quality of life for the marginalized. He has a Masters in International Development, Nonprofit Management, and International Economics as well as training in Financial Management. Santiago serves on the board of the Awesome Foundation.

Zelalem Adefris is the Vice President of Policy & Advocacy at Catalyst Miami, where she oversees Catalyst’s Policy & Engagement Department. Zelalem joined Catalyst Miami in 2016, directing the organization’s climate resilience programs and advocacy work. Her previous work experiences include environmental justice organizing at the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island and conducting emergency preparedness research at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She holds an MPH in Global Environmental Health from Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in Community Health from Brown University. Zelalem serves as a steering committee member of the Miami Climate Alliance, a philanthropic trustee of the Solutions Project, as well as a board member of the Miami-Dade College Earth Ethics Institute and Miami-Dade County Community Action Agency.

Aileen Alon is currently the Program Manager for Venture Café Miami, where she curates programming and partnerships to strengthen connections, creativity, and collaborations between diverse innovators, entrepreneurs, and others seeking to create positive change in their communities. Aileen has also done consulting around cultural arts, creative placemaking, and organizational growth, having previously spent seven years leading the integration of the arts and culture into neighborhood revitalization strategies for the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation. A first-generation Asian-American, Aileen aims to help open doors for more people of color and women to establish leadership roles in creative fields. She is active on several boards and committees geared towards civic engagement, culture, innovation and leadership development.

Boris Espinoza develops and manages private banking relationships with ultra high net worth families in South Florida, advising clients across a broad spectrum of areas including investment management, capital markets, global banking, wealth and estate planning as well as diverse financing activities. Boris received his Bachelor of Science in Business from Stony Brook University and his MBA from University of Miami. He is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and French and has lived in Miami since 2009.

Charles Auslander is a 30+ year experienced attorney who has engaged in appellate practice and trial support litigation during most of his legal career. He has also served as District Administrator of the Miami-Dade/Monroe District of the Department of Children & Families. More recently, he served as COO and CEO of The Children’s Trust. He has prevailed in a number of pro bono matters supporting children’s rights, including declaring the state’s gay adoption ban unconstitutional. Charles earned his law degree from George Washington University.

Born and raised in Richmond Heights in Miami, FL, Craig Emmanuel has been a prominent real estate professional since 1997. His commitment to civic engagement began in his youth as a Metro Miami Action Plan / Moss Plan Young Entrepreneur recipient and participant in Leadership South Dade. Craig serves as a MDEAT Board Trustee where he chairs the Affordable Housing Committee. His education includes the Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s Affordable Housing Catalyst Program, University of Miami’s Community Scholars in Affordable Housing, University of South Florida’s Community Real Estate Development Certificate Program, as well as being a graduate and facilitator of Step Up Miami. He is also a graduate of the PLTI facilitator training program.

A 20-year banking veteran, Cristina currently serves as Vice President and Relationship Manager for Amerant Bank where she has worked for 13 years. At Amerant, she focuses on financing commercial real estate investments and development projects. Currently, she serves as Co-Chair of the CREW Miami Programs Committee and is a member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Urban Land Institute. Cristina is also active with the Live Like Bella Foundation. She is a Florida native with an economics degree from William Smith College in upstate New York.

An AV® Preeminent rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, Daley actively litigates in both the state and federal courts, representing clients in all areas of civil litigation including: products liability, professional liability, general liability, premises liability, and business and commercial litigation. Prior to founding DLF Attorneys, Damian was a partner in the Miami office of a prestigious statewide civil defense firm. Outside of the office, Damian devotes his time to various philanthropic pursuits including serving as a facilitator in Catalyst Miami’s Step Up Miami Program.

Daniel is a Partner in the Miami office of the law firm Shutts & Bowen LLP, where is he a member of the Business Litigation and Financial Services Practice Groups. Daniel regularly represents clients across various industry sectors in complex civil litigation, regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, and class action lawsuits. He received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Gina Ciraldo Stabile is CEO of Dr. Loretta Skincare and CosMedical Technologies, skin care companies based in Davie, Florida. Prior to joining Dr. Loretta, Gina was an associate at international law firms in New York City and Miami. Gina is a past Chair of the board of directors and serves on the Development, Finance and Executive Committees. Gina received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. She lives in Miami Beach with her husband and two children.

A Miami-native, Giuseppe F. Mantica, is a VP in the Private Banking Group of IBERIABANK. Giuseppe has dedicated most of his 10 year Banking career to helping small and medium businesses achieve their financial goals. Over the past 5 years, he has concentrated in Commercial Lending mainly financing Commercial Real Estate to either house the operations of local businesses or for investment purposes. Giuseppe holds a BS in Finance from the University of Florida, a MBA from the Florida International University, and a Diploma from the Florida Bankers Association for his completion of the Florida School of Banking.

Jason Kaye is a Senior Vice President in the Community Development Banking Group at Bank of America. In this role, Jason provides financing for multifamily affordable housing throughout Florida. He began his career with the NYC Economic Development Corporation and worked on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “South Bronx Initiative” to redevelop and revitalize the South Bronx. Jason graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Binghamton University. He also holds an M.R.P. from Cornell University with a focus on Economic Development and an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from NYU.

Jennifer Newton received her undergraduate degree from Florida State University and her law degree from Loyola University. While a law student, Ms. Newton clerked for Legal Services of Greater Miami, the Honorable Jerald P. Bagley (11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, Circuit Court), Southern Legal Counsel, and the EEOC. After graduation from law school, Ms. Newton clerked for the Honorable George J. Larke, Jr. of the 32nd Judicial District Court of Louisiana, was an Associate at Shutts & Bowen LLP , and a Director at Kaufman Rossin. She now works at Greenberg Traurig.

Marcus Braswell is a Florida native and lifelong resident. Born in Tampa and raised in Gainesville, Marcus has worked at Sugarman & Susskind in Miami since 1998. Marcus's practice is focused on litigation relating to multiemployer and municipal employee benefit plans and labor law. Marcus has served as a Catalyst Miami board member for more than six years. Marcus received his B.A. Degree from Duke University. He received his law degree, cum laude, from the Florida State University College of Law in the spring of 1998.

As a community activist, Marjorie York serves on more than 24 boards. She promotes public awareness, plans community events and is a strong advocate for individuals and families who are low-income, disabled, elderly or otherwise in need of assistance. She is a truly concerned person who accomplishes a lot on behalf of the community. In 2012, the School Board of Miami-Dade County commended Marjorie York for her exemplary advocacy for anyone in need of assistance and for her community service.

Mary Casey is a Managing Director of the J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Miami. A senior banker with over 20 years of experience at J.P. Morgan, Mary leads a team of professionals to provide capital market, investment and wealth advisory services to families in South Florida. She began her career at the World Bank where she spent four years developing projects in Ecuador and Brazil. Mary holds a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and a Master of Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. She lives with her husband and two sons in Miami and presently serves on the board of the Thrive for Life Prison Project in New York City.

Joaquin Dulitzky is a passionate advocate for financial literacy, mental health awareness; an avid supporter of at-risk youth and low wealth communities. Joaquin and his family spent 2 of the last 10 years doing volunteer work, starting socio-economic and environmental projects in 15 emerging countries across 4 continents. He has 25 years’ experience in planning and asset management. Joaquin is part of the senior team at Bernstein in Miami, where he counsels dynamic families and impactful business owners on solutions to the complex issues that come along with significant wealth – with an emphasis on making their money meaningful. His belief is that capital is the penultimate tool to change the world for good. Joaquin graduated with honors from the University of Buenos Aires, where he also was an assistant professor of advanced math and economics. He is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and Certified Financial Manager. He was also an entrepreneur twice. Joaquin is the ex Chairman of the Board of the Community College of Denver, where he lived for 7 years. He is a pro-bono mentor for 500StartUps. Joaquin speaks five languages. He is a competitive sailor and swimmer and lives in Miami with his wife Carolina and their two young boys : Dante and Leon.