Nonprofiteer of the Year Award
Recognizes an outstanding young professional who has made significant contributions to the nonprofit sector. Here we highlight our Nonprofiteers and the outstanding work they do.
2011
JJ Ramberg, GoodSearch
In 2005, JJ Ramberg felt compelled to find a sustainable way to raise funds and awareness for worthy causes. She wanted to revolutionize the way people support their favorite causes and create a way to incorporate “doing good” into every day life. GoodSearch, which she founded with her brother Ken Ramberg, is a Yahoo! powered search engine which donates 50 percent of its sponsored search revenue (about a penny per search) to the charity or school of the user’s choice. Prior to founding GoodSearch, JJ Ramberg was a television reporter with CNN and MSNBC who covered a wide variety of topics ranging from breaking news to profiles of the country’s top business leaders. Before this, JJ was the director of marketing and one of the first employees at Cooking.com, an Internet-based cookware retailer. She also spent four years working at NBC News where she was a part of two Emmy Award-winning production teams.
JJ Ramberg, GoodSearch
In 2005, JJ Ramberg felt compelled to find a sustainable way to raise funds and awareness for worthy causes. She wanted to revolutionize the way people support their favorite causes and create a way to incorporate “doing good” into every day life. GoodSearch, which she founded with her brother Ken Ramberg, is a Yahoo! powered search engine which donates 50 percent of its sponsored search revenue (about a penny per search) to the charity or school of the user’s choice. Prior to founding GoodSearch, JJ Ramberg was a television reporter with CNN and MSNBC who covered a wide variety of topics ranging from breaking news to profiles of the country’s top business leaders. Before this, JJ was the director of marketing and one of the first employees at Cooking.com, an Internet-based cookware retailer. She also spent four years working at NBC News where she was a part of two Emmy Award-winning production teams.
2010
Johanna De Los Santos, Executive Director, ArtStart
Johanna is a community organizer, documentary film producer and a mother. Prior to joining the Art Start family as Executive Director in 2007, Johanna spent years revolutionizing the indie film industry’s release platform by pioneering the “Social Outreach Campaign” for two major motion picture film releases, Favela Rising (2005) and The Hip Hop Project (2007), taking conscious, independent film on nationwide tours through underserved communities, homeless shelters and juvenile detention facilities as a part of their distributor’s traditional release campaign. From 2003-2005, Johanna served as Manager of Community Partnerships for the New York International Latino Film Festival and holds three years of corporate business planning expertise from the multinational Briggs & Stratton Corporation. Johanna received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin (1998) and a M.A. from New York University in Latin American Studies (2007) where she focused on art and music as a social movement in communities oppressed by systemic violence. Johanna’s pride lies in her journey from an at-risk, “Special Ed” teen to the woman she is today, in large part due to her parents who relentlessly inundated her with music, sewing, art, Shakespeare, and most importantly, the unconditional creative freedom to express herself – a gift she hopes to pass on to her own son.
Johanna De Los Santos, Executive Director, ArtStart
Johanna is a community organizer, documentary film producer and a mother. Prior to joining the Art Start family as Executive Director in 2007, Johanna spent years revolutionizing the indie film industry’s release platform by pioneering the “Social Outreach Campaign” for two major motion picture film releases, Favela Rising (2005) and The Hip Hop Project (2007), taking conscious, independent film on nationwide tours through underserved communities, homeless shelters and juvenile detention facilities as a part of their distributor’s traditional release campaign. From 2003-2005, Johanna served as Manager of Community Partnerships for the New York International Latino Film Festival and holds three years of corporate business planning expertise from the multinational Briggs & Stratton Corporation. Johanna received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin (1998) and a M.A. from New York University in Latin American Studies (2007) where she focused on art and music as a social movement in communities oppressed by systemic violence. Johanna’s pride lies in her journey from an at-risk, “Special Ed” teen to the woman she is today, in large part due to her parents who relentlessly inundated her with music, sewing, art, Shakespeare, and most importantly, the unconditional creative freedom to express herself – a gift she hopes to pass on to her own son.
2009
Barnabas Shakur, Founder, Project Re-Generation Inc. (PR-G)
In 2000, a childhood friend of Barnabas Shakur was accused and found guilty of a crime. This individual was given a life sentence in a maximum-security prison. Only 19 at the time of his arrest, he belonged to a notorious gang called the Bloods. Upon his friend’s conviction, Barnabas was devastated and decided to create change. In 2001, he founded Bed Stuy’s Project Re-Generation, Inc. (PR-G) with a vision to eliminate teenage after-school idleness in Bedford-Stuyvesant and similar communities through education, recreation, and partnerships.
2008
Omari Gay, Phipps CDC
He has volunteered and worked in the non-profit world for 10 years now. Originally in his church in the Bronx, and he served as a Teen Worker / Sector Leader starting in 1998, where he worked with over 100 teenagers at a time and lead, monitored and oversaw a ministry of teenagers in the Bronx, Yonkers and Mt. Vernon which included: School visits, weekly home visits, daily homework checks, daily interaction, initiating relationships with parents/guardians, teachers and guidance counselors, conflict resolution, becoming a mentor to each teenager, working very closely with ALL personal, school related, and family issues, career and education counseling, college preparation, substance abuse counseling, physical abuse counseling and aiding in their personal and spiritual growth. Today he still works with the preteens and teenagers as well as their parents, conducting monthly workshops in the areas of Sexually Transmitted Diseases awareness, Parent / Child relationships, My Space, Friend or Foe, Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship, Building resumes, Interviewing skills, Self Image, Red Flags – Signs to look for in a troubled teenager, Suicide and much more. He initiated a project through Challenge Day, an organization featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show that addresses the underlying issues in Junior High School and High School students and their relationships with each other, with adults and with their parents/guardians. He started the first “Challenge Day” movement in the New York City area.
2007
Caroline Kim Oh, President, iMentor
She joined the iMentor team in 2000 as its first Director of Programs, and was named Executive Director in 2002. In her current role as iMentor’s President, Caroline focuses on Board and leadership group development and strategic, special projects. Prior to iMentor, Caroline was with the Small Business Congress of New York City, a federation of over 60 small business associations advocating the rights of small enterprises. Caroline also managed student-computing facilities for New York University and was a consultant to the Documentary Heritage Program for the NYS Department of Education and Korean American Small Business Center. Caroline currently serves on the Board of Directors for Row New York (an after-school rowing, academic, and self-esteem building program), Nonprofit Coordinating Committee (NPCC) and Youth Improving Nonprofits for Children (Youth I.N.C.). Caroline is a frequent speaker on the issues of youth mentoring, nonprofit management and leadership development. Caroline received her M.P.A. from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and her B.A. from Cornell University.
2006
Jessica Walker
Walker has established herself as an innovative thinker and trusted leader in New York City. Her work as the principal author of Aging in the Shadows has changed the way socialization in New York City’s elderly population is understood, prompting the Aging Committee of the New York City Council to hold an oversight hearing on senior isolation. Jessica’s many efforts on behalf of the elderly have brought vital issues to the forefront of the City’s policy agenda and continue to help improve the lives of countless seniors everyday.
2005
Maija Neville, MPH, Director of Health Education at Settlement Health
Health Education at Settlement Health, a nonprofit federally qualified community health center dedicated to providing services to the underserved in East Harlem. Maija is a young leader in the nonprofit sector who has not only excelled in her position at Settlement Health but has also proven to be a strong advocate for the Harlem community and NewYork City at large. Like many rising young leaders in the nonprofit sector, Maija’s role in the community extends beyond her full time position. She holds leadership positions in a variety of community groups and causes and encourages her staff to be involved at the same level.
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