Reïna Batrony
Senior Vice President, Community-Based & Education Programs
Senior Staff
Reïna Batrony, The Foundling’s Senior Vice President, Community-Based and Education Programs, leads our current community-based and education programs, as well as our Head Start and Early Head Start program in Puerto Rico. Reïna joined The Foundling in 2010 as a therapist and later served as a Supervisor, Program Director, and Assistant Vice President. She was most recently the Vice President of Community-Based and Education Strategies. Reïna also supported as a Senior Advisor for The Foundling’s Implementation Support Center (ISC), working with different agencies, jurisdictions, and others with change management and assessing opportunities for best outcomes for children and families using evidence-based interventions. Reïna has also served on committees for NYS Coalition for Children’s Behavioral Health (CCBH). Reïna is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who is fluent in English, French, Creole, and (conversational) Spanish. Her background and studies have focused on Education, Clinical Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, Leadership, and Systems Design. Reïna received her Standard of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support certification in February 2022 by the National Family Support Network, having recently completed Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC) of New York Community Leader Course. She was named The 2022 Responsible 100 – City & State New York.
Liyan Bao, The Foundling’s Senior Vice President, Child Welfare, leads our Foster Care, Prevention, Family Justice, and Camp Felix programs. Liyan began her tenure at The Foundling in 2008 as an Administrative Supervisor in the foster care program. In 2010, Liyan assumed the role of Regional Director where she continued her work providing oversight to families and children in foster care, prevention, and day care center programs. She moved to the role of Vice President of Placement Permanency Support in 2015 where she oversaw support programs in foster care, specialized preventive programs, and early childcare programs. Most recently, Liyan held the role of Vice President, Foster Care Services responsible for the oversight of the foster care division, including Homefinding, Intake, Family Team Conference, Adoption & Legal Services, and Records Retention. Liyan’s passion has always been in the field of Social Work, particularly working with children and families. Liyan is a licensed social worker—she graduated in 2005 with a Master of Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Worker from Hunter College with a concentration in casework and group work.
As Chief Financial Officer, Ellen Levine directs the financial, accounting, and strategic operations of The Foundling and is responsible for the overall fiscal function and performance of the organization.
Ellen comes to The Foundling with over 25 years of experience in fiscal management and leadership at the City of New York. She most recently served as the Chief Program Performance and Financial Management Officer at the New York City Department of Social Services where she was a member of the Executive Team in NYC’s largest social services agency. She managed over $15 billion in annual expense and capital funding, was responsible for data analytics, performance management, and research and evaluation. Prior to that role, Ellen served as the Assistant Director of the Social Services Task Force at the New York City Office of Management and Budget where she oversaw the budgets of five NYC social service agencies and supported the development of new policy initiatives in areas including child welfare, early childhood education, juvenile justice, aging, and homelessness.
Karen N. Alexander, The New York Foundling’s Chief Human Resources Officer, brings more than 20 years of experience in human resources management and development and organizational design – most of which have been in human services. She utilizes her knowledge, experience, and innovation to The Foundling’s human resources strategy and operations; talent management, including recruitment and leadership development, compensation and benefits, and organizational design. Karen’s track record with expertise in human resource management and development is instrumental to enabling the continued long-term success of our business and culture.
Prior to The Foundling, she served as Chief of Human Resources at the New York City Department for the Aging. Additionally, Karen has held human resources leadership positions at the Administration for Children’s Services, the Department of Youth and Community Development and the Community Action Human Services Department in Florida.
She holds a Master’s degree of Public Administration from Baruch College, a Bachelor’s degree from Brown University, and served as a Fullbright Fellow in Public Health in Saint Lucia.
James A. Hasso most recently served as the head of the small cap team and a portfolio manager for the small cap and SMID cap strategies at Voya Investment Management. Previously at the firm, James also covered the financial-related sectors as an analyst. Prior to joining the firm, Jim worked at First Investors Corporation, Valenzuela Capital Partners, Mitchell Hutchins Asset Management and Spears, Benzak, Salomon & Farrell in research analyst/associate portfolio manager capacities. He received a BA in economics from Lehman College and an MBA in finance from Fordham University. James also serves on the Board of Trustees of the New York Foundling established by the Sisters of Charity, holds a seat on the Leadership Council of Americares, and is an active member of the Centennial Society of the Economic Club of New York.
Junior Board The Junior Board is a dynamic group of young professionals in their 40s and under dedicated to volunteering their time, talents, and energy to raise critical funds for The Foundling.
An evening in support of The Foundling’s work with NYC children and teens in foster care, hosted by The New York Foundling Junior Board.
Sarah Kim is a Partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), a leading global private equity firm, where she invests in healthcare and has played key roles in many of the firm’s transactions. Prior to CD&R, she held positions at Metalmark Capital and McCown De Leeuw, both private equity firms, and began her career in the investment banking division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of naviHealth as well as on the Advisory Board of the Harvard Association for Law and Business. She received a B.A. in economics and political science from Yale University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A from Harvard Business School.
Junior Board The Junior Board is a dynamic group of young professionals in their 40s and under dedicated to volunteering their time, talents, and energy to raise critical funds for The Foundling.
An evening in support of The Foundling’s work with NYC children and teens in foster care, hosted by The New York Foundling Junior Board.
I am continuously inspired by the tremendous work that the Foundling does and the Commitment with which it offers ongoing help to underserved families from childhood through adulthood in New York and Puerto Rico. I am fortunate to be in a position to help continue the great Mission of the Sisters Of Charity.
Dennis has held positions of CEO, COO and CFO in numerous public and private companies. He is a recently retired Partner from Navigant Consulting, a Guidehouse Company, where he held the position of COO of their global Financial Services Practice. Dennis was also on the Advisory Board of a number of Companies including FTV Capital, a private equity firm, The New York Stock Exchange, and EXL Services, a Public India based BPO. He served as an adjunct professor in the Adelphi University Graduate School of Business.
Junior Board The Junior Board is a dynamic group of young professionals in their 40s and under dedicated to volunteering their time, talents, and energy to raise critical funds for The Foundling.
An evening in support of The Foundling’s work with NYC children and teens in foster care, hosted by The New York Foundling Junior Board.
I have personally experienced the results of The Foundling’s great work and I am honored to be offered the opportunity to give back by supporting the mission of enriching the lives of children and their families.
Nadia is the Head of Global Total Rewards and Performance at DXC Technology where she is responsible for designing and delivering globally inclusive compensation, benefits and performance management solutions that support the well-being of employees. She partners with the enterprise leaders and the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors in carrying out their duties to stockholders by aligning the financial interests of employees to the creation of shareholder value.
She holds an M.S. in Human Resources Management and a B.S. in Business Management from Long Island University. She serves on The Foundling’s Program Quality Committee and the Governance Committee. Nadia has three children and lives with her husband in New York City.
Junior Board The Junior Board is a dynamic group of young professionals in their 40s and under dedicated to volunteering their time, talents, and energy to raise critical funds for The Foundling.
An evening in support of The Foundling’s work with NYC children and teens in foster care, hosted by The New York Foundling Junior Board.
I’m passionate about improving the lives of children—especially when it comes to access to education, their safety, and their livelihood. I believe even the smallest positive change to a child’s life can have a profound impact on the rest of their life and that’s why the work the Foundling does with children is so important. The Foundling has been helping children since 1869, and I’m proud to be involved with such a dedicated and prominent organization.”
Erik Beck is President and Chief Revenue Officer at Rimes, a leading provider of enterprise data management and investment platform solutions for the global investment community. Prior to joining Rimes, Erik was Chief Commercial Officer at Inspira Financial (previously Millennium Trust Company), a PE-backed business focused on health, wealth, benefits and retirement for companies and individuals. Before joining Inspira in 2019, Erik was a managing director, member of the operating committee, and head of the investment management industry division at BNY Mellon. Before joining BNY Mellon in 2006, Erik was Head of Regulatory Risk Management and Compliance at Integral Derivatives (previously AGS Specialists, a NYSE Euronext member firm), and prior he was Associate Director at the American Stock Exchange (later acquired by NYSE). Erik has a Bachelor of Science in Finance from San Diego State University. He grew up on Guam and represented the island on its National and Junior National men’s volleyball teams. Before joining The Foundling’s Board of Trustees in 2016, Erik served as the chair of The Foundling’s Junior Board and has been an active volunteer and supporter since 2004.
Junior Board The Junior Board is a dynamic group of young professionals in their 40s and under dedicated to volunteering their time, talents, and energy to raise critical funds for The Foundling.
An evening in support of The Foundling’s work with NYC children and teens in foster care, hosted by The New York Foundling Junior Board.
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