Our Founder

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Dr. Danielle R. Moss serves as Chief Executive Officer of an NYC nonprofit dedicated to expanding opportunities and access for high-potential, high-achieving Black and Brown students from across New York City. Prior to this role, she served the New York Civil Liberties Union as its Inaugural Chief of Staff working to help the organization’s leadership solidify its strategy for managing unprecedented growth. Before joining NYCLU, Dr. Moss served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA of the City of New York for five years, where she leveraged over two decades of experience in education and human services to put the YWCA back at the forefront of the conversation on women and girls in New York City. Under her tenure, the YWCA of the City of New York expanded its program portfolio to include a women’s speaker series for professional women, girls leadership programs, STEM education for girls and young women, and increased advocacy for women and girls in New York City. In 2015, these efforts were recognized when the Speaker of New York’s City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, asked her to Co-Chair the NY City Council’s Young Women’s Initiative, a citywide effort to remove the systemic barriers to achievement that disproportionally effect girls of color. And, in 2016, Mayor DeBlasio appointed her to the city’s newly established Commission on Gender Equity. Since taking the helm of the YWCA, she’s launched the #YWWomanKind Campaign to amplify the YW’s work to engage, uplift and support women of all ages from all walks of life. She began her career as a teacher in the Bronx and Brooklyn and has previously served as President and CEO of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF), Adjunct Assistant Professor of Urban Youth Policy at CCNY, and Consulting Project Director for The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. She has significant experience in expanding access and opportunities in underserved communities in ways that reflect integrity, respect, and an eye toward sustainable impact. Given her ongoing commitment to women and girls of color, she launched The Ebony Vanguard in 2017. The EV is an intergenerational organization dedicated to power, progress, and play for women and girls of the African Diaspora. 

 Dr. Moss was co-founder and lead applicant of Sisulu-Walker Children’s Academy – Harlem Charter School (the first authorized charter school in the state of New York), and has previously served on the boards of the Dodge YMCA, Teachers College Center for Educational Outreach and Innovation Advisory Board, Community Education Council District 3, the National Advisory Board of The Next Generation Venture Fund, and the Teachers College 125th Anniversary Steering Committee. She is currently President of Black Agency Executives, a member of the New York Coalition of 100 Black Women Advisory Board, a Board Member of the Human Services Council, and served as a member of the Swarthmore College Board of Managers from 2013-2017 and co-chair of the Student Affairs Committee of the Board from 2016-2017. She received her B.A. in English Literature and History with a concentration in Black Studies from Swarthmore College and holds M.A. and Ed.M. degrees from Teachers College Columbia University, where she also completed her Doctorate in Organization and Leadership with a focus on Education Administration. She holds Certificates in Nonprofit Business Leadership from the business schools of Columbia, Harvard, and Stanford. Dr. Moss also holds a Certificate in Fundraising Management from Indiana University, The Fundraising School.

Her contributions to education and the social sector have been recognized by the New York State Education Department, The New York City Comptroller’s Office, The New York Coalition of 100 Black Women, Harvard Business School Club of New York, Bank of America, The College Board, Council of Urban Professionals, and The New York Women’s Foundation. In 2015, The Network Journal named her one of the 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business. Dr. Moss is a passionate social change activist whose writing has been featured by The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Edutopia, The Amsterdam News, City Limits Magazine, and Ms. Magazine online. She’s appeared on WABC-TV’s “Here and Now”and “New York Viewpoint”, on WNBC’s “Positively Black”, Fox 5’s “Street Talk”, Bronx Net’s “Perspectives”, and NY1’s Inside City Hall. She’s also shared her views on Power 105.1, WCBS, and Bloomberg Radio. The New York Daily News’ journalist Stanley Crouch once dubbed her one of the most important players in public education for her ability to respectfully meet young people where they are and to give them the tools and agency to transform their own lives. Her 2018 TED Talk on The Forgotten Middle has garnered over 2 million views worldwide.