LORI BOOZER

TARGETED EXPERIENCE

• Promoted to Director in 2021, to lead, develop, and coach a team of 5 programmatic staff for a $25M national anti-poverty initiative spanning 9 communities in 5 states (New York, San Francisco, Maryland, Illinois, and Pennsylvania).
• Manage relationships with community partners, funders, and technical assistance providers including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Capital One Bank, and narrative strategy partners the Opportunity Agenda, the Soze Agency, Black Robin Media, and Cause Lab.
• Conceptualize, plan, and execute a 3-day national convening entitled "Mobility L.A.B.s...in Community," incorporating an experiential exhibit.
• Manage the creative direction and feature in the initiative's first video production overseeing a budget of ~$80K+, and participating in all phases of editing to final product.
• Develop and write content for 3 annual reports to funders, and collaborate with in-house design on graphics and editing.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Manage daily operations and cross-team collaboration and establish departmental performance goals, as well as initiative-wide Key Performance Indicators.
• Monitor budget and coordinate workflows to optimize resources, and manage and execute complex projects including a national narrative change strategy.
• Serve as initiative spokesperson, appearing on panels and contributing to thought leadership.

TARGETED EXPERIENCE

• Led a team of 7 External Affairs Specialists to manage relationships with government officials and local communities across 5 boroughs in support of then-Mayor Diblasio's plan to combat homelessness.
• Conceptualized, planned, and facilitated (within first 30 days of starting the role) the team’s first all-staff event, including logistics, discussion topics, and team-building activities.
• Coordinated and led Community Advisory Board (CAB) meetings for DSS-supported homeless shelters and served as DSS spokesperson, on panels and at local community board meetings.
• Revised briefing protocols and organized briefings for agency officials including the Administrator, Commissioner and Mayor in advance of public events.
• Oversaw logistics and refined processes for event planning for all agency-sponsored Town Halls (200-500 attendees) regarding new shelters, including printed content, translation, interagency communications, transport, and venue management.
• Received Excellence Award for exemplary leadership and individual performance.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Invited by Assistant General Counsel for DSS to give presentations on the Mayor’s plan to combat homelessness to the City Comptroller Office and the NYC Planning Commission.
• Initiated a working group of DSS senior leadership to examine and revise existing policies for Community Advisory Board (CAB) operations.
• Created a Community Advisory Board tool kit and wrote all content for the Community Advisory Board tool kit for use with 50+ shelter providers across the city.
• Curated staff onboarding materials, including relevant shelter case law and agency operational procedures, to drive transparency and efficiency.

• Represented low-income clients facing eviction in Housing Court, filed affirmative litigation for repairs, including mold remediation and issues impacting tenant health, and negotiated settlements with landlord attorneys.
• Developed and implemented training for staff attorneys on New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) policies, strategies for NYCHA non-payment cases, and cases to win repairs.
• Served as a liaison with the Human Resources Administration (HRA), and other social service providers to obtain rent arrears payments on behalf of clients.

• Formed a grassroots campaign with Red Horse Strategies to challenge corrupt incumbent assemblyman William Boyland.
• Raised over $70K in funding to support campaign efforts, with major endorsements including the influential healthcare workers union 1199, the United Auto Works Union, and the Working Families Party.
• Secured 22.3% of the vote as an unknown candidate to the political establishment second to the winner in a field of 7 candidates in a low voter turnout district (losing by 852 votes).