Meet our Team

  • Charlene is the Executive Director of Broadway Housing Communities and is responsible for its overall leadership, including establishing key strategic, programmatic, development and capital priorities. Charlene is passionate about the vital role that housing, education and cultural access play in creating healthy, vibrant communities. An educator at heart, Charlene’s vision of giving people the foundational tools they need to realize their own potential is instrumental to BHC’s commitment to providing fundamental and generational changing support. Under Charlene’s leadership, BHC's central philosophy of empowering individuals to own their futures is executed through a number of pioneering programs and outreach initiatives, including art-centric early childhood programs, quality affordable housing, intergenerational cultural programs and international collaborations. Charlene holds degrees in Literature, Education and Nonprofit Leadership. She is an executive with a strong combination of team building, critical thinking and problem solving skills that she utilizes in her leadership capacity.

  • Ellen has committed over 40 years to advocacy and housing development to redress the inhumanity of inequality and homelessness in New York City and nationally. A pioneer of supportive housing, Ellen founded Broadway Housing Communities, then known as the Committee for the Heights-Inwood Homeless, in 1983. Under Ellen’s leadership, this nonprofit community-based organization has developed seven, and continues to manage five, buildings in Washington Heights and West Harlem; two early childhood centers; three community art galleries; and a new cultural institution, the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling. BHC’s model provides permanent, affordable housing that integrates the formerly homeless, those with special needs and the working poor, single adults, seniors, and families with children; urgently needed early childhood education and educational advocacy services; and remarkable access to the arts to improve outcomes for children, families, and entire communities. The innovative quality of BHC’s work has been widely recognized in both the private and public sectors, including a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Housing (1994), a Banker’s Trust Award for Non-Profit Management (1993), a Citizen’s Housing & Planning Council Public Service Award (1994), the Robin Hood Foundation (2004), Resourceful Women (1998), and the Environmental Crusaders Award from West Harlem Environmental Action (2004). Ellen received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Mount Holyoke and Bowdoin College, her alma mater. She is the recipient of a 2006 James A. Johnson Fellowship Award from the Fannie Mae Foundation and a 2008 Equity Champion honoree of the Educational Equity Center. In 2010, she received the Neighborhood Activist Award from the New York Women’s Foundation. In 2011, Broadway Housing Communities became New York City’s newest and 27th settlement house, and in 2012, received a prestigious national ArtPlace award for strategic community investment in the arts.

  • Nasreen joined BHC in 2014 and is an accomplished HR professional with extensive experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Nasreen has an M.B.A from the University of Dhaka and an M.S. in Human Resources Management from The New School.

  • Janet joined BHC in November 1996 and has a wide range of experience working in the field of not-for-profit accounting. She graduated with Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from The City University of New York and has received numerous certificates of course completion from Fiscal Management Associates, LLC (Professional Services to Not-for-Profit Organizations).

  • David joined BHC in October 2017. He was formerly the Chief Financial Officer at The Fund for Public Schools and Literacy Partners. Mr. Nathanson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

  • Jan has more than 15 years of experience managing operations, facilities, construction and capital projects in New York City. Born and raised in Czechoslovakia, he moved to the United States in 2006. He studied engineering at the School of Technical Humenne.

    Jan's passions include traveling, biking, golf, ice hockey, architecture, and garden design. As a part of the BHC team, he wants to ensure that BHC's residents (and properties) are proud places to call home.

  • Jael joined Broadway Housing Communities in 2014 as Project Manager before being promoted to BHC’s Director of Housing. Prior to joining BHC, she served on the staff of City Council Member Robert Jackson and at Harlem Children’s Zone. Jael studied at Binghamton University, where she earned a BA in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Administration.