Our Staff & Board

Staff

Sandra Valera

Administrative Assistant

Sandra@metcouncilonhousing.org


212-979-6238

Sandra has supported nonprofit organizations in varying capacities for over seven years now. She finds her work rewarding because she’s able to help different communities. She’s worked with the ALS Association, Safe Horizon, and NMIC. Now, she has joined forces with the Met Council to learn all there is to know about tenant rights and advocate for Met Council members. Sandra is a Manhattan native who enjoys spending time with her family and friends in her spare time. She’s passionate about traveling to the Caribbean, and she’s a proud Temple University grad. 

Carlos Pineyro

Tenant Organizer

Carlos@metcouncilonhousing.org

212-979-7204

My name is Carlos Pineyro (he/him) I’m originally from the Dominican Republic. I came to the states in 2018. I’m a recent college graduate from LSU Shreveport where I got my Bachelor’s degree in Business administration and a concentration in international business. I played baseball for the school, where besides our daily practices and competitions I was able to engage in community service activities to help the local community. I’m looking forward to start my professional career and extend my knowledge in creating communities here at Met Council  

Adalky Capellan

Lead Tenant Organizer

Adalky@metcouncilonhousing.org

212-979-8557

I am an artist and organizer, and I firmly believe that these two roles are intricately connected. Growing up in the Bronx and Uptown Manhattan, I have always enjoyed channeling my energy into practical solutions and exploring various options. Over the past decade, my focus has been on grassroots collaborations that harness the power of art to empower and engage community members.

During this time, I have worked as a housing organizer in the Bronx with CASA and as an Outreach Coordinator at Justfix.nyc, where I educate individuals about their rights using technology to document their situations. All the while, I have continued to nurture my art practice. Additionally, having previously served as a specialist at Adapt Network in Brooklyn I find great fulfillment in teaching art in my personal time.

As an artist, I have had the privilege of participating in various initiatives, including the Atelier Artist Residency sponsored by the Northern Manhattan Art Alliance (NoMAA), Broadway Community Housing, and No Longer Empty in 2010. I am also an alum of the Laundromat Project and have been involved in the Chashama RFP from 2018 to 2020, as well as the Residency Unlimited (RU) in 2022. My illustrative work has been featured in La Galeria magazine.

Denis Ibarra

Digital Organizer

Denis@metcouncilonhousing.org

Dominique Bernucca-Hood

Tenant Organizer

Dominique@metcouncilonhousing.org

I am a local history nerd and a perennial advocate for housing, nutrition, and educational justice around my home on Staten Island; you will often see me with my dog Peach walking around my most hilly enclave right by the ferry I take into work every day. After being chased out of the borough of my birth as a child by the rising cost of housing, gentrification and profit-chasing, I have returned to the city as an eager supporter & dogged organizer of those New York families who are standing up for their right to remain and pushing back against the forces of relentless commodification in this city of ours. I am eager to devote my work here to enshrining the evolution of our city’s culture, communal ties, and civic engagement with each others’ communities so that we may connect the torch we hold and all that the Met Council has achieved in the past with the pressing campaign of citywide organizing we find ourselves faced with today.

Peace Yigan

Hotline Volunteer Coordinator

Peace@MetCouncilOnHousing.org

Peace is a Bronx native who is dedicated to being the change she wants to see in the world. Her background and passion for nutrition and education has led her to teach in elementary and middle schools, collaborate with numerous food organizations, and execute high stakes events. In 2019, she won the first-ever Food Studies award at Hostos Community College. A year later, she was a graduate and recipient of the Rosen Fellowship at Brooklyn College, which gave her the opportunity to design an independent project around food justice. She used that opportunity to launch into the world of Product & UX Design, using design-thinking and project-based learning as the driving force to create innovative solutions in social justice, most specifically food and housing, and education

Darius Khalil Gordon

Executive Director

Darius@metcouncilonhousing.org

646-768-9456

Darius Khalil Gordon is the former Director of Organizing for Churches United for Fair Housing, Deputy Director of Constituency Organizing for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign and former National Field Organizer for the Center for Popular Democracy. Darius has brought his energy and years of experience as a lead organizer for Citizen Action of New York, and National Organizer for the Gathering for Justice to the table. Darius first came to New York to serve as African American and Youth director for a State Assembly campaign. When the campaign ended, he began work with the Working Families Canvassing and Fundraising team where he expanded his knowledge and practical skills for electoral and social justice work. In early 2014, Darius started as a community organizer for Citizen Action of New York, working on and winning campaigns such as Fight for $15, paid sick leave, and paid family leave. He has also has victories in the criminal justice field being a member of the Justice League NYC, where they helped get Raise the Age legislation passed in New York state, making now illegal to house 16 and 17 year olds in adult jail and prison facilities. He is a Washington D.C native.

Andrea Shapiro

Andrea

Director of Programs and Advocacy

andrea@metcouncilonhousing.org

212-979-6238

Andrea is a lifelong Brooklynite, who is passionate about building strong and stable communities. She came to the Met Council after being the Volunteer Manager at Hunger Free America. Andrea has previously worked as a field organizer and lobby day coordinator for a political consulting firm. She has also worked closely with the domestic workers rights movement both nationally and locally as part of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), where she is on the board. Andrea has a Masters in Social Work specializing in Community Organizing from Silberman School of Social Work.  She has also been a Grace Paley Organizing Fellow and Rene Cassin Human Rights Fellow.  Before returning to school, Andrea worked in the development department at the Metropolitan Opera. When not organizing, she has a passion for art and cooking.

Board Members

Brandon West

Cori Parrish

Katie Unger

Dennis Osorio

Vice-Chair

Anderson Fils-Aime

Jenny Laurie

Treasurer

Kenny Schaeffer

Secretary