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.

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.

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.

As Vice President of Community Economic Development, Ahmed oversees worker and investment cooperative development, small business assistance and community building, and other programs centered on community wealth and economic democracy. As an attorney and community economic development activist, Ahmed has worked with and represented worker cooperatives, tenants battling eviction in both courts and through advocacy, and affordable housing and community development nonprofits in Miami, South Texas, and New York City. He has a JD from Columbia Law School, an MA in Political Economy from Columbia University, and a BA in Philosophy from Florida International University. Ahmed serves on the board of The Allapattah Collaborative CDC.

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.

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.

Charmel Maynard currently serves as Associate Vice President, Chief Investment Officer, and University Treasurer at the University of Miami. In this capacity, he leads the University’s efforts to invest over $3B in assets, including endowment and pension funds. Mr. Maynard is also responsible for the University’s ~$1.4B capital structure, including liquidity and debt issuances. Additionally, he manages treasury and cash management.

Mr. Maynard was previously a vice president with J.P. Morgan’s Investment Bank in New York City. During his 10-year career with J.P. Morgan, he focused on investment banking debt capital markets and leveraged finance, where he advised clients on capital structure solutions, deal structuring, and execution of syndicated revolving credit facilities, institutional term loans, and bond issuances.

In addition to Catalyst Miami, he currently serves on the Mead Art Museum board as the chair of the Budget Committee, the Knight Foundation Community Advisory Board and the Black Angels Miami Board.

Mr. Maynard holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Amherst College.

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.

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.

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 12 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.

Melanie is a licensed attorney and experienced compliance/risk management professional. In her current role, she serves as the Head of Policy and Procedure Governance for Amazon’s World Wide Customer Service Security organization and is responsible for the design, development, and leadership of the global program. Melanie is passionate about reducing the racial wealth gap and is dedicated to leading efforts to create more representative, equitable, and inclusive corporate work environments.  She received her B.A. from Georgia Southern University and her J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Korene Stuart is  the founder of Opportunity Curator, an agency that supports small businesses in startup and growth, specializing in minority businesses. She serves as a volunteer for Catalyst Miami in various capacities. A fierce advocate for S.T.E. M. education, she is the Tech Lead for Black Girls Code-Miami Chapter and chairman for Student S.T.E.M. Pathways for Broward County Public Schools STEM Ecosystem. Her passion for equity and inclusion led her to create MAScode, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the income levels of minorities through science, technology, engineering, and math.