CS Explorers learned about the winter wilderness survival skills of Prospect Park’s animals from NYC Park Ranger, Marissa. We also visited the Grand Army Plaza GreenMarket where the kids learned about different kinds of farms and tasted yummy apples, meat, and breads. CS Explorers dropped off their old pillow cases at the Textile Recycling Station and drank delicious hot chocolate to keep warm. Brrrr…. Here are some photos of local habitats as seen by the kids.
Board of Directors & Officers
Melissa Naple Board Chair
Melissa Naple joined the board of Concrete Safaris in 2006 driven by her interest in outdoor activities, wellness and helping others achieve healthy lifestyles. Melissa Naple is a Partner with Deloitte &Touch LLP and has more than 16 years professional experience auditing and advising large multi-national companies in the manufacturing and consumer business industries. She spent 3 years serving international clients while on assignment in Cambridge, England and also worked in Melbourne, Australia on a short term exchange. Melissa is a CPA and holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Northeastern University. Melissa is an alumnus of the Rutgers Senior Leadership Program and Columbia MBA Executive Program as an Ellen Gabriel Fellow.
Ellen P. Simon
Ellen Simon, DSW, LCSW, is a leadership consultant who works primarily in the areas of public health and organizational change. In her practice, Ellen consults to leaders and community-based organizations on strategy development and implementation, organizational design, roles and transitions, cultural change, team development, and grant writing.
Most recently, Ellen served as the Chief Executive Officer of Union Settlement Association, a 114 year old human service organization with 800 employees and a budget of 30 million dollars, that served 13,000 individuals annually. She grew the agency budget from 21 to 30 million dollars and restored financial stability, repaid 1 million in Medicaid debt, and turned the home care agency into a profit center. Dr. Simon also spent 20 years in health care management in a variety of teaching hospitals and nursing homes in the New York City area.
Michael J. Hagan Secretary
Michael Hagan joined Concrete Safaris first as pro bono counsel in 2008 and then as a board member in 2009. He is a partner in Thompson Hine's Corporate Transactions & Securities practice group focusing on mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, corporate transactions, capital formation and project finance. Michael advises U.S., Asian, European, and Latin American companies on their investment activities in the U.S., including stock and asset acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations, securities offerings, and U.S. securities law compliance. He represents domestic and foreign issuers and advises on public and private capital formation involving offerings of debt and equity securities. He also represents major private and multilateral financial institutions in project financing transactions in emerging markets. Michael works with clients from a wide variety of industries, including commercial and investment banking, private equity funds, manufacturing, construction, trading houses, consumer goods, information technology, cleantech technology and telecommunications. Prior to attending law school, Michael worked for four and a half years as a psychiatric social worker in an acute care psychiatric hospital and its out-patient clinics, providing psychotherapy, group counseling and arranging social services for hospital and clinic patients.
Michael learned the benefits of an active lifestyle early in his life when he took up basketball seriously at age 13 and eventually was offered athletic scholarships to about 50 private colleges that he would not otherwise have been able to attend. After college, his basketball experience led to him being recruited to play in the Swiss professional league. The experience of living in a small, French-speaking village situated on Lake Geneva, playing basketball on an international team and travelling throughout Europe opened doors and provided insights for planning his life after professional sports that proved invaluable. Because of his own personal experience, Michael feels a particular commitment to the core mission of Concrete Safaris of providing the children with the opportunity to develop their potential through exercise, outdoor activity and healthy lifestyle choices.
Joi Garner Assistant Secretary
Joi Garner bio
Aimee O’Toole Treasurer
Amie Thuener O’Toole joined the board of Concrete Safaris in 2009, excited by the organization’s urban garden and mission to improve the health of the community and teach environmentalism. Amie is a Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Transaction Services Practice with over 13 years of experience advising clients through the maze of complex technical accounting matters, primarily in the field of financial instruments. Amie spent two years as a Practice Fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board and two years at PwC’s National Office. Amie is a licensed CPA in New York and California and holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Philosophy and Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Amie has been active in her coop Board and participated in community activities such as Junior Achievement and Team in Training. Amie lives in New York City with her husband and two children and loves to spend time outdoors, travel and relax with her family.
Mac Levine
Concrete Safaris’ founder and executive director is a member of the board of directors.
