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About Our Staff

The Girls Club staff (28 full time, 38 part-time) represents a cross-section of people: most of whom live on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, many of which were born and raised here, and are also raising their children here. We consciously create an organizational culture that values diversity, creativity, community, and inclusion— building a staff of culturally-competent employees.

Our staff includes founding mothers, former Girls Club members, and long-time community activists. Currently, 7 Girls Club alumni, as well as 3 mothers of our members, work at the Girls Club; 75% of our staff are people of color. Our executive leadership team, with Ebonie Simpson and Jenny Dembrow at the helm, is BIPOC-led. In 2020, we had 150 volunteers connect with the Girls Club through various workshops and events (both in-person and virtual).

Mary Adams
Kelly Adams
Ian Antoni
Abigail Argueta
Sarah Batchu
Allison Brooks
Jannette Brown
Emma Camell
Wendy Cobb
Madison Colon
Haydee Cornelio
Hailey Cornelio
Jenny Dembrow
Lou Dembrow
Jaimé Yawa Dzandu
Sienna Fekete
Lisa Fields
Alnacer Fortunato
Valerie Galindo
Jamila Harriott
Megan Holleran
Maya Holzman
Erikka James
Amarilis Jimenez
Anurima Kumar
Jennifer Lee
Destiny Mata
Kevin McHugh
Mia Montalvo
Dani Murcia
Fly Orr
Eliza Owens
Darlene Pompa
Alisa Powell
Miladys Ramirez
Nancy Rosario
Ebonie Simpson
Jennifer Sugg
Siti Sultan Azzah Binti Syed
Bessie Taliaferro
Lenora Thornton
Ooi Trieu Lin
Lauren Vargas
Kelly Webb
Italy Welton
Johanne Wilhelmsen

Meet Our Executive Director

Jenny Dembrow is Executive Director of the Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York, where she has worked since its founding in 1996. When a group of neighborhood women convened to address the lack of services for girls on the Lower East Side, Jenny became the first intern and has made the organization her life’s work. She has developed, and continues to maintain, personal connections with every member and alumni — and has been instrumental in the design of Girls Club’s unique program model while building robust partnerships and funding relationships. Seeing the organization through growth, expansion and success over the years, she has never ceased in her commitment to the girls, their families, the staff and the community. Jenny is a graduate of New York University.