OUR TEAM
EXPERIENCE + COLLABORATION + RESULTS
JEANETTE NIGRO
Founder
Jeanette Nigro is an economic development professional with 20 years of experience in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. A trusted advisor to many organizations and leaders across the fields of workforce and economic development, she has dedicated her career to ensuring organizations and communities have the access, expertise, and resources to bring their work to fruition.
Jeanette spent nearly a decade central to Brooklyn’s renaissance and neighborhood revitalization leading economic and workforce development portfolios for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. She was part of the early development of the city’s current workforce system, including direct oversight for the NYC Business Solutions, Brooklyn Center, a service of New York City under the Bloomberg Administration to support the growth and expansion of small business through financing, courses, hiring and incentives, ad developed the Chamber’s city, state, and federal advocacy positions. During hurricane Sandy, Jeanette was part of business disaster relief in Coney Island and the Rockaways to help small businesses, resulting in millions of dollars of investment to shorefront community businesses.
A proud CUNY Brooklyn College grad, Jeanette was born and raised in Canarsie, Brooklyn. She currently resides in the Rockaways, Queens with her partner Jesse, her three children, and two rescue dogs.
JAMES DEAN ELLIS
Senior Director,
Community and Economic Development
James Dean Ellis is an urban planner with a decade of experience in community economic development with a focus on stakeholder participation. James has spent years managing commercial revitalization programs that had him working in over a dozen of NYC's diverse neighborhoods including Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Downtown Far Rockaway, South Williamsburg, Park Slope, and Red Hook. James currently manages the portfolio of neighborhood-based community economic development projects for Perch Advisors, including business engagement and community projects as the Executive Director for the North Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District in Prospect Heights/Park Slope. James also head's up our team's BID development portfolio that supports communities in pursuing formal Business District formations.
A proud Master's graduate of CUNY-Hunter College's esteemed Urban Planning program, James is also an alum of the Coro NY Neighborhood Leadership program, and volunteers with his Community Board in Crown Heights. James is keen on identifying and making connections, strengthening networks, managing diverse stakeholders, and providing opportunities for positive change.
THEODORA (THEO) BOGUSZEWSKI
Senior Director, Community and Workforce Development
Theodora (Theo) Boguszewski joined Perch Advisors in 2017, and works across the firm’s workforce and community development projects, serving clients such as the North Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District, the Red Hook Business Alliance, United Way of NYC, the Elmezzi Foundation, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In her tenure with Perch, she has gained a broad view of economic development across New York City, working in diverse neighborhoods and communities. Her subject matter expertise includes marketing and communications, stakeholder engagement, BID formation and expansion, event strategy and execution, and community development. Theo is a proud alumni of Coro’s Neighborhood Leadership program (2018), as well as Coro’s Workforce Systems Leadership program (2020), programs which afforded her the opportunity to make high-level connections in business and government, as well as access a diverse network of spirited leaders.
Theo holds a BFA from SUNY Purchase, and brings to Perch Advisors a decade of experience in community development in the arts, focusing on communications, fundraising, event planning, and social media. Prior to her work with Perch, she worked as a program manager at Make Music New York, organizing large scale music events across the city. Theo currently runs Porch Stomp, a nonprofit folk-music organization which hosts regular programming throughout the year, including the annual Porch Stomp Festival on Governors Island. Theo’s background in working with arts nonprofits has enabled her to seek out creative solutions to challenges, and to be savvy and tenacious when it comes to producing big results with few resources.
SAKI MORI
Director, Special Projects
Saki Mori contributes over 15 years of program delivery, operations administration, executive management, and board experience for NYC and national nonprofit organizations with core competencies grounded in collaborative leadership, cultivating partnerships, and establishing responsive capacity building resources and sustainable programs. She volunteers as the Interim President of the New York chapter for the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) which is the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization in the United States. From 2020-2022, she served on JACL's National Board as the Vice President of Membership overseeing the organization's national membership program development. As an alumna of Convent of Sacred Heart in New York City, she serves on its Alumnae Board and Alumnae Council on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
She is a born and raised New Yorker who enjoys spending time with family and friends, is an avid baseball fan, and loves learning about NYC history. She is a graduate of Trinity College (Hartford, CT) with a dual degree in Political Science (International Relations) and French Language & Literature. She is also an alumna of Columbia Business School's Executive Education - Developing Leaders Program for nonprofit professionals.
Ruben Moya has worked in both the public and private sectors across his nearly 16 year career. Most recently, Ruben spent 5 years at the global real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield’s on the commercial retail services team. In that role, he supported multi-market business growth across North America as well as cross-border activity between the Americas, Europe and Asia. In this role he was responsible for business development, global team coordination, project management, marketing and media, and logistical support on client relations.
Prior to Cushman & Wakefield, Ruben spent more than 7 years in economic development and community relations for both the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, New York City Times Square Alliance. Ruben received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing and International Business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
In his spare time he enjoys bird watching, teaching underprivileged roosters how to read and walking old turtles across busy intersections.
AARTI MEHTA
Project Manager
Aarti Mehta contributes a diverse portfolio of inclusive community engagement, public space planning, designing qualitative research, and analysis. With an applied urban placemaking lens, she seeks to shape policy and build relationships with the community to help connect and learn from one another. Aarti strongly advocates for place governance and improving quality of life in all of her work. She enjoys being in the field and working with the community to find the unknown and present powerful stories. In her role, she understands the nuances of addressing complex ideas in ways that are meaningful and enjoys collaborating with public, peer, non-profit, and community partners. As an associate, Aarti’s workflow includes research and analysis, database management, facilitation support, creation of visual products.
Born and raised in India, Aarti’s relationship to the importance of place was the impetus for shaping the built environment profession. Her diverse interests and experiences have led her to have a fluidity in building vision, urban space planning and management, and critical thinking. This quality has been exemplified in her involvement with planning for mini plazas at Times Square Alliance (BID) in New York City. A graduate of Pratt, Aarti joined Perch Advisors as a Project Manager in 2022.
KAYLA JOYNER
Community Engagement Associate
Kayla Joyner, a 2023 graduate from Fordham University, brings a dynamic and comprehensive approach to her role as a Community Engagement Associate at Perch Advisors. With a BA in International Relations and Political Science, Kayla’s early career took shape as a Public Policy intern at Winning Strategies Washington, where she gained significant insight into policymaking across various sectors of US policy.
Building on this experience, Kayla furthered her skills at Nicholas and Lence Communications as a Public Policy and Government Relations intern. Here, she delved into the nuances of local politics, gaining valuable insights into community development projects, with a particular focus on business improvement districts. It was during this internship that Kayla discovered her passion for community development and engagement, realizing the transformative impact such initiatives could have on local neighborhoods.
Kayla's strengths lie in policy analysis, research and writing, and database management. Throughout her academic and professional journey, Kayla has demonstrated a strong dedication to community development, driven by a commitment to fostering positive change within communities.
Perch's Chief Toddler Officer joined the team in December 2021 as its CIO (Chief Infant Officer) and was promoted to CTO in late 2023. Reporting to the CEO, Morris is responsible for leading laughs and shenanigans at the home office, feeding the office pets, and ensuring team members get a dose of cuteness on a regular basis. His hobbies include regular trips to the Queens Public Library, snacking on apples, and dancing to all genres of music. He was born and raised in Rockaway Beach.
RYAN MINTER
Community Engagement Associate
Ryan is a New Jersey native with a passion for cities, infrastructure, and human-centered urban planning. He gained early experience in workforce development as an intern for New Jersey Reentry Corporation in Jersey City, helping formerly incarcerated individuals attain stable employment in Northern New Jersey. He recently graduated from Tufts University in May 2023, graduating Cum Laude with a degree in International Relations and Urban Studies. In Boston, he gained further experience working for the City of Boston's Office of Housing Stability and in the transportation planning department for the engineering and design firm HDR. He most recently worked for CALSTART out of their Brooklyn office, promoting their Global Drive to Zero program to advance the development of zero-emission supply chains across the globe. He comes to Perch excited to work with Business Improvement Districts to support NYC neighborhoods and their residents all across the city. Ryan lives in Alphabet City and loves reading ancient Greek literature on the subway, investing in his map collection, facetiming with his long-distance cat Praline, and supporting the Knicks and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.