Staff

Mike Pratt, President & CEO

Mike Pratt has been the President and CEO of the Scherman Foundation since 2009. He served as Program Officer from 1996 until 2009, and as the Foundation’s Treasurer from 2000 until 2020. He continues to manage its investment portfolio, in addition to overseeing the Foundation’s grantmaking with a particular focus on its Environment and Arts programs. He has also provided leadership in several philanthropic roles outside the Foundation, including Chair and Treasurer of the Environmental Grantmakers Association, Chair of the Board of Philanthropy New York, and Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Initiative for Neighborhood Organizing (INCO). Prior to entering the world of philanthropy through a one-year fellowship at the Rockefeller Family Fund in 1995, he practiced law with the civil division of New York City’s Legal Aid Society for ten years, developing expertise in equitable development, federal housing subsidies, and landlord tenant law. Earlier, he worked for NYPIRG as a community organizer, later becoming Director of the Straphangers Campaign. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Neighborhoods First Fund, and the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Pratt Institute. He received his undergraduate degree at Amherst College and a J.D. at the NYU School of Law.

Gisela Alvarez, Program director

Gisela Alvarez has been the Senior Program Officer of the Scherman Foundation since 2021. Before joining the Foundation, she led the Donors’ Education Collaborative (DEC) at The New York Community Trust from 2013 to 2020. DEC was a funder collaborative dedicated to improving New York City’s public schools through system-wide policy reform. For 25 years, DEC members pooled funds and made grants to support advocacy to advance equity, opportunity, and excellence for all students—including those facing the greatest challenges. Prior to DEC, Gisela was the Senior Project Director at Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), an organization dedicated to protecting every child’s right to an education and focused on children from low-income backgrounds. During her time at AFC, from 2001 to 2012, Gisela founded and directed four legal services programs and led city, state, and national policy initiatives that achieved reforms that are still in practice today. In these roles, Gisela led diverse coalitions; coordinated statewide campaigns; represented AFC on think tanks and task forces; wrote policy reports and developed advocacy platforms; served as a media spokesperson; provided training to hundreds of parents, students, and professionals; and represented families in school-related matters. Gisela has an A.B. in Sociology from Harvard University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. Gisela and her family live in Brooklyn, New York, and her two sons attend New York City public schools.

Catherine Porter, Director of Operations

Catherine Porter joined the Scherman Foundation as Administrator in 2014. Prior to Scherman, she was Director of Development for the renowned downtown performance space, Dixon Place, where she previously served as Finance Director and Interim Executive Director. Catherine is also Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director of Peculiar Works Project, an OBIE Award-winning, NYC-based performance company with whom she has produced more than 100 site-specific plays and large-scale performance events, featuring the work of hundreds of artists annually, and served as a teaching artist for over 12 years. Previously, she was the Coordinator of Individual Giving and Special Events for HERE Arts Center in NYC, and Ticket Office Manager for Casa Mañana Playhouse and Summer Musicals in Fort Worth, TX, and she co-founded the multi-disciplinary art and politics series, stART, at Judson Church. Ms. Porter is also a performer: she has performed many leading roles in Peculiar Works’ productions; appeared Off Broadway with En Garde Arts in Mac Wellman’s award-winning Crowbar; and acted with such Off-Off companies as La MaMa ETC, Concrete Temple Theatre, Flux Theatre Ensemble, Theatre Askew, TOSOS, The Forge, and Aisling Arts. A Texas native, Catherine graduated from Texas Christian University with a BFA in Theatre. She is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, a board member of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York and Concrete Temple Theatre, and has served as Treasurer and Co-President of the League of Professional Theatre Women.

Naiche Parker, Program Officer & Racial Justice AND Communications Coordinator

Naiche Parker has been Program Officer and Racial Justice & Communications Coordinator at the Scherman Foundation since January 2023 and previously served as Grants and Communications Manager from 2015 to 2022. She is a writer and avid storyteller who is committed to advancing justice and liberation through community investment, communications, and artistic expression. A proud Latina of Indigenous and African descent from the Bronx, Naiche graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hunter College in 2015 with a degree in Media Studies and a concentration in Journalism. During her time at the CUNY, she worked for various publications, including The Hunter Word and The Hunts Point Express, where she covered hard-hitting social and community issues. As an author and poet, Naiche has participated in the spoken word community and other creative platforms that amplify and restore power to oppressed voices. In her eight years at the Foundation, she has taken a leadership role in advancing communications and racial justice efforts, and her program focus is on the Arts and strengthening New York communities.

Sami Stern, Grants Manager & Administrative Assistant

Sami Stern just joined the Scherman Foundation at the beginning of 2023. She graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 2017 with a dual degree in Psychology and English Literature. While in school, she interned at INCLUDEnyc—providing database and research support to the disability services non-profit. After college, she worked as a Program Specialist for the Brooklyn Public Library running inclusive programming and outreach for kids and teens with and without disabilities for Western Brooklyn. She also took on the role of Health Outreach Associate for the Library’s partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s COVID outreach initiative to bring information and resources to underserved communities of Brooklyn. Interested in philanthropy, Sami transitioned to a Program Coordinator position at the Hadassah Foundation. Most recently she worked as a Grants Assistant for the New York State Council on the Arts.