Judy Levine, Executive Director
Judy Levine, Cause Effective's Executive Director since 2006, has over two decades of experience as a non-profit management advisor. As a Cause Effective staff member since 1993, and through her work as an independent consultant, Ms. Levine has trained, consulted and authored materials for over 1,000 nonprofit organizations. Her expertise is in cultivating support from individual donors, fundraising planning, and Board and organizational development. Ms. Levine has experience working in a multitude of organizational cultures and is particularly skilled in understanding how to tailor her assistance to the relevant audience in order to meet their needs. Ms. Levine participated in the development of many of the methodologies that Cause Effective uses today, specifically in the areas of resource and organizational development.

Ms. Levine also brings her own experience as a Board member to the work she does for clients of Cause Effective. She provides fundraising and financial oversight in her roles as Chair of the Church Street School for Music and Art, and former President of Taste of Tribeca. In addition, she is the former Board Chair of Pepatian (a Bronx-based CBO that promotes new Latino performance), and served as Fundraising Chair of Transportation Alternatives. Prior to joining Cause Effective, Ms. Levine worked as an independent consultant and trainer in the area of strategic fundraising for a diverse set of clients, and was also Director of Programs for the Cultural Council Foundation where she focused on fundraising consulting and organizational planning. Ms. Levine holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University and has also published several articles on topics in the arts and in non-profit administration.

Gregory Cohen, Senior Associate
Gregory Cohen has extensive experience in nonprofit consultation as well as program development in the areas of education, healthcare and housing. Before joining Cause Effective, Greg was managing a collaboration of global health organizations who were seeking a shared performance management system for global programs. He was also an advisor to a trade association of nonprofit financial managers as well as several youth development organizations. Greg founded and ran Comprehensive Development, Inc. a nonprofit associated with Manhattan Comprehensive Night & Day High School , for 11 years. Prior to leading CDI, Greg was responsible for the housing development program at the New York Urban Coalition where he created over 270 units of permanent housing in six projects with over $27 million in financing.

Greg is a certified trainer in nonprofit ethics with the Institute for Global Ethics and has served as a facilitator for IBM's International Data Migration and Global Finance Divisions. For the past five years he has been a guest instructor on "Fundraising For New Nonprofit Ventures" at NYU's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Greg has also been a consultant on community development to Seedco and the Community Service Society. He is a Vice Chair of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of NY. He was a participant in Coro 's Leadership NY II and holds a BA from Union College.

Susan Gabriel, Senior Associate
Susan Gabriel brings more than 15 years of nonprofit experience to Cause Effective, most recently as Director of Development at the Correctional Association of New York. During her 6 ½ year tenure at the Correctional Association, Ms. Gabriel created the group's first stand-alone development office and the agency tripled the size of its budget and staff. Ms. Gabriel worked closely with the Board and executive director to increase the Board's participation in giving and fundraising efforts, and launched the organization's first major gifts campaign, which surpassed budget goals each year. Ms. Gabriel was responsible for numerous events at the Correctional Association, including seven increasingly successful annual gala dinners, donor cultivation events, and public information events, including large public forums.

Formerly, Susan served as the Assistant to the President of the Citizens Committee for NYC, where she supported a wide range of special events, such as a $1.1 million annual fundraising dinner, an annual city-wide 70,000-volunteer event, and numerous other awards ceremonies and program events. In addition, she created administrative systems for fundraising management. Before turning to nonprofit work, she was a professional actor, with experience on- and off-Broadway, in numerous regional theatres and on television. Susan has an MFA from New York University 's Graduate Acting Program and her BA from the University of Utah.

Sadia Kalam, Project Manager
Sadia Kalam comes to Cause Effective with a background in program evaluation, communications and engagement strategies, gained through work at the Philadelphia Youth Network, Cricket Island Foundation, and the Center for High Impact Philanthropy. She brings a combined 7+ years of volunteer youth development, organizing, and program development experience. Ms. Kalam designed and implemented an intergenerational arts program as an Ella Fellow at the Sadie Nash Leadership Program, and served as a board member at South Asian Youth Action. Ms. Kalam holds a MS degree in Nonprofit/NGO Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Philosophy from NYU.

Dara Silverman, Senior Associate
Dara Silverman has 20 years of experience advising and training social justice organizations on building their grassroots and individual fundraising programs and operations.  As the former Executive Director of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), Dara tripled JFREJ's budget and staffing, grew the organization’s annual giving to $400,000, and managed a portfolio of over 500 donors.  Under Dara’s leadership, JFREJ helped to pass the landmark Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, gaining protection for more than 200,000 domestic workers across New York State.

Prior to JFREJ, Dara worked with United for a Fair Economy, Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts, and on various local and national social justice campaigns.  She has served on the Board of Directors for the National Organizers Alliance, Resource Generation, and the Leadership Team of US for All of Us.  Dara was trained in grassroots organizing by Green Corps and the Jewish Organizing Initiative, and is a member of the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT) Trainers Network.  Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Tikkun, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and she co-authored The Love and Justice in Times of War Haggadah.  Dara received a BA in Sociology and Multi-Cultural/Ethnic Studies from Bard College.

Walt Wells, Administrative Associate
An integral part of the Cause Effective team, Walt Wells provides administrative support and manages the operations.  He works with Cause Effective clients to improve and manage their records and data, provides logistical support for client activities, and provides hands-on event management.  Walt is an active volunteer with arts education and social service/hunger organizations, and received his BA with Honors in Ethnomusicology and Folklore from Indiana University . During off-hours, he can be seen performing as a founding member of the Brooklyn band Jones Street Station and as a sideman for other various musical projects.

Board of Directors

Lili Brown (Chair)
Expeditionary Learning Schools

Barbara Brizzi Wynne, Esq.
ShareGift USA

Roopa Mehendale Foley (Treasurer)
Barclays Wealth

Nina Kontos (Secretary)
Google

Yvonne Moore
Daphne Foundation

Gabriella Polur
BTS

Lata Reddy, Esq.
Robertson Foundation

Claire Scanlon
BNY Mellon