Leadership
 

Mr. Duncan is the President and CEO of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (UMEZ), a federal initiative to revitalize urban communities. Duncan began at UMEZ in 2003 as General Counsel. He subsequently increased his levels of responsibility managing the operations of the organization and structuring transformative commercial and mixed-used developments in Upper Manhattan. Duncan plays a key role in providing capital access to neighborhood small businesses and designing grants for cultural institutions in the area.

With extensive experience as a legal, finance, and nonprofit executive, Mr. Duncan draws upon his financial insights and community commitment, from previous roles as General Counsel to North General Hospital and on various not-for-profit boards, to develop financially healthy neighborhoods. Prior to joining UMEZ, he was Vice President and Senior Counsel at Merrill Lynch. Earlier in his career, he practiced as an attorney with two national law firms. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Duncan was a Vice President at a global bank.

Mr. Duncan serves on the board of directors of the Regional Plan Association and is Co-Chair of its New York Committee. He is also is a member of the Corporate Advisory Council of the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York. In prior years, he served on several boards of directors and committees including the Harlem YMCA, the Helene Fuld College of Nursing, and Lawyers Alliance for New York. He is an active member of the executive committee of the Wharton Club of New York. He received a BS in mathematics from the University of Michigan, an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Tunde Oniyide is the Chief Financial Officer at UMEZ. Prior to UMEZ, Tunde was a partner at Deans Archer and Company, a firm in the accounting space. Prior to that he was Sr. Revenue Agent for the IRS.  He also spent time as Director of Finance for the City College of New York Student Services Corporation. 

He has a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Bernard Baruch College - CUNY and a Bachelor of Science In Banking and Finance from Lehman College - CUNY.

Tunde is also a Certified Public Accountant licensed in New York.

Ms. Bolden-Rivera is the Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. She brings a passion for, and commitment to seeing economic development and enrichment of the neighborhoods and residents across Upper Manhattan and beyond. She seeks to assist in the strengthening of the local small businesses and emerging real estate developers that are the foundation and future of these communities.

She began her career at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”). During her time at HPD, she invested numerous years underwriting their loan programs and working in numerous neighborhood offices responsible for the identification of the needs of the community as well as structuring strategies to address said needs utilizing agency programs and resources.

Ms. Bolden-Rivera spent the majority of her career working in the credit department of multiple financial institutions including Citibank, a global bank; Flushing Bank, (a community bank); and Community Capital Bank and Carver Bank (two community development banks). Her extensive experience in various types and sizes of financial institutions and working in different roles serving a multitude of customers has shaped her insight on how to service Upper Manhattan.

She serves as an officer on two nonprofit organizations in Queens; a trustee on a Harlem religious institution; WIBO Business Advisory Council; and a member of a women’s national organization. She previously served as: the president of the New York Women’s Agenda; president of Women In Housing and Finance; board member of the New York City Loft Board; board member of the New York City REMIC; and member of two community planning boards in Queens.

Ms. Bolden-Rivera holds an American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate Banking Diploma, a Bachelor of Arts from Wagner College, and a Master’s of Arts degree from the New School of Social Research.

Yahshaanyah Hill serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (“UMEZ”). In this role, she leads the development and implementation of UMEZ’s workforce development plans and grantmaking strategy, in support of workforce development initiatives that generate economic benefits for Upper Manhattan residents and businesses.

With over 15 years of experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, combining her knowledge of workforce development and economic development with the ability to spearhead and manage large-scale initiatives that are linked to long-term community investments with successful outcomes and growth potential.

Before joining UMEZ, Yahshaanyah served as the Assistant Director of the Job Generation Unit, in the Office of Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability at the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”). In this capacity, Yahshaanyah oversaw the creation and execution of standardized procedures that maximized job opportunities for NYCHA residents through NYCHA’s operations and contracts administered for capital projects and real estate development transactions. She also negotiated training and employment terms for NYCHA residents with contractors and developers of multi-million dollar contracts. Yahshaanyah was also integral in the establishment of a centralized enforcement model for NYCHA’s Administering Departments that leveraged the federal employment-related provisions of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968/Section 3 to generate economic opportunities for NYCHA residents.

Prior to NYCHA, Yahshaanyah served as the Director of New York City’s Workforce1 Manufacturing Career Center and NYC Business Solutions Manufacturing, as a key member of the leadership team responsible for conceptualizing, planning and executing the launch of the City’s first manufacturing sector-based career center aimed at addressing the workforce development needs of the manufacturing sector. She also held management positions in workforce development, research & policy and economic development with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the New York City Department of Small Business Services, where she managed a portfolio of business incentive programs, business/workforce partnerships and sector-based workforce development initiatives.

Yahshaanyah currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Manhattan Educational Opportunity Center. She is a 2009 graduate of the Sectors Strategies Practicum and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Fisk University.