Chloe Drew
As the Executive Director of The Council of Urban Professionals, Chloe Drew administers a multi-million dollar portfolio of results-oriented initiatives that advance leadership development, education reform, and access to capital and opportunity for minority owned and led business. Chloe formerly served as Campaign Director for U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee in California’s 9th congressional district. She also co-founded and served as a board member of OaklandVOTE, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing voter participation in underserved communities. Before her work for the Lee campaign, Chloe taught social studies and math at the Colegio Americano de Quito in Ecuador, and was Deputy Finance Director of the Mark Udall for U.S. Congress campaign (2000).
Chloe earned a B.A. from Harvard University and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Emerge America, a training program dedicated to increasing the number of Democratic women in public office and One Voice, Congresswoman Lee’s political action committee. She is a former board member of the Wellesley Centers for Women – a research center that conducts interdisciplinary studies on issues affecting women and their families.
Ijeoma Obilo
Ijeoma Obilo is responsible for managing CUP’s membership, communications, the Board & Senior Management Diversity Programs as well as the Distinguished Leadership Series.
Prior to joining CUP, Ijeoma was the Director of Volunteer Programs at Jersey Cares (an affiliate of New York Cares), a non-profit dedicated to encouraging civic engagement by providing individuals, families, and corporate and community groups with a wide variety of volunteer opportunities. In that role, she was responsible for forging and maintaining relationships with agency partners, volunteer program development, management, evaluations and recruitment for over 100 Monthly Calendar volunteer projects.
Ijeoma has a BS in Biology from Temple University and her Masters’ in Public Health & Public Administration from a joint program between University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and Rutgers University School of Public Administration. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, promotes scholarship opportunities to women of color through the Miss Black NY & NJ pageants, and volunteers with the Nigerian Healthcare Foundation.
Elisa Espiritu
Elisa Espiritu is responsible for identifying diverse avenues for minority and women owned businesses to obtain access to capital at the city, state, and federal levels. She also oversees CUP’s fundraising initiatives and the CUP Fellows Program, a leadership pipeline development program that trains and develops minority civic leaders and those interested in becoming civic representatives.
A New York City native, Elisa has spent the past several years working with many non-profit organizations in the greater NYC area, including The Posse Foundation, The Chinatown Working Group, and Two Bridges Neighborhood Council. Elisa also serves on the Board of Directors for Chinatown Youth Initiatives, and remains an active volunteer with the International YMCA.
Elisa has a BA from Bryn Mawr College and an MA in Educational Leadership, Politics, and Advocacy from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Samantha Erskine
As the Director of Development of The Council of Urban Professionals, Samantha is responsible for creating and implementing fundraising strategies to both maximize and diversify CUP’s revenues.
Prior to joining CUP, Samantha was the Manager of Development at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, where she helped build the Development Department’s infrastructure, grew and diversified the organization’s revenues, and expanded its visibility. Samantha has also worked at the Applied Research Center and at Legal Momentum, where she used various technologies, media sources, and fundraising tools to solicit donations, cultivate supporters, and engage communities and stakeholders. In addition, Samantha has had a lifelong commitment to, and passion for, the performing arts. She has trained in ballet, jazz, Latin and Afro-Diasporic dances, and has taught and performed in Russia, England, Spain, France, Australia, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, all over the U.S., and on a salsa cruise to the Bahamas with a Bronx-based dance company, opening for El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.
Samantha holds a Master of Arts degree in Women’s History from Sarah Lawrence College, where she received the Gerda Lerner Award. Her Master’s Thesis is titled, “Slavery’s Echo on the Lives of Erotic Laborers: Racism, Stigma, and the Politics of Respectability.” Samantha also holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees, in Psychology and Women’s Studies, as well as a certificate in Spanish from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals; Women in Development, New York; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Samantha attended the prestigious Brooklyn Tech High School and is an Afro-Latina of Costa Rican and Panamanian descent.
Gabrielle Glore
Gabrielle Glore is a Principal in The Glore Group, LLC (TGG), founded in 2002, which delivers innovative branding, marketing, production, and programming solutions that heighten consumer brand affinity for corporate clients. Ms. Glore leads strategic marketing and event management initiatives that target and leverage the entertainment industry. Media and entertainment clients historically and presently include HBO, BET Networks, Time Warner, The WB Network, Essence Communication Partners, Urbanworld Film Festival, Interactive One, The Apollo Theater, Giant Magazine, and Simmons Lathan Media Group. Additionally, TGG has supported nonprofit clients including The Council of Urban Professionals, Harvard Law School, and Management Leadership For Tomorrow.
Prior to forming TGG, Ms. Glore spent 11 years in various marketing roles at Time Warner, across businesses including HBO and Warner Music Group, as well as in the Corporate offices. While at HBO, she served as Manager of Consumer Promotions, where she developed and executed national brand promotions for both HBO and Cinemax, as well as implemented program promotions supporting key HBO Original Movies, Series, and Big Event Concerts.
During her tenure with Warner Music Group, she created customized music marketing programs – concert tours, special events, broadcast programs, music retail tie-ins, online promotions, and music premiums – for corporate advertisers that leveraged the core assets of Warner Music Group and its respective record labels. As a Senior Director, she focused on the pursuit of long term strategic relationships with corporate clients.
Before leaving the Time Warner family, she engaged in a 2 year stint at Corporate Headquarters, where she spearheaded company-wide strategic staffing initiatives, events, and employment branding that addressed key business objectives and promoted collaboration across divisions.
She was a Co-Founder and 10-year Board Member for First Choice Group, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that implemented innovative mentoring programs targeting New York City’s urban youth. Ms. Glore was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Economics, with a concentration in Marketing, from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.
Kathrine Mott
Kathrine is responsible for collaborating with the Board to set the strategy for REACH, overseeing fundraising initiatives, and managing day-to-day operations of REACH.
Kathrine earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. Her experience includes work in academic program design, recruiting and selection as well as general management and sales. Before joining REACH, she directed college programs at Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a national nonprofit dedicated to developing the next general of underrepresented minority leaders for the corporate, nonprofit and entrepreneurial sector. Previously, she worked in academic, operations and general management roles for Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions.
Cori Okabayashi
Cori Okabayashi serves as the primary liaison for the REACH program’s 31 schools and 4,000 students. She is responsible for coordinating and managing the program’s development and operations, marketing, event planning and database administration.
Cori earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from Colorado State University and the University of Hawaii, respectively, where she worked in the field as a youth and family advocate case manager for the Colorado juvenile system and as a parent facilitator for the Hawaii state family court while earning her degrees. Prior to joining The Council, she worked in administrative services for Deloitte Services LP in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sharon Reyes
Sharon Reyes provides logistical and organizational support for the REACH program and helps coordinate the Learn, Earn, Win! prep sessions. Sharon also manages the pilot mentoring program, REACH Forward, which includes approximately 70 high-achieving REACH Scholars.
Sharon earned a B.A. from Manhattan College in Communications and an M.A. from New York Institute of Technology in Communication Arts.