ACT Staff Bios

EricEric Brettschneider, Executive Director
Eric Brettschneider has enjoyed a distinguished career in child welfare and human services, since his entry into the field in 1967 as a family court intake worker and child care worker. He spent 10 years as director of The Queens Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a non profit agency, where he concentrated his efforts on complementing foster care and child protective services with preventive strategies. In 1980, he joined the New York State Department of Social Services, where he was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Child Welfare Reform Act. During his tenure as Deputy Commissioner for The New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA), Eric promoted this progressive vision of comprehensive, preventive services and was instrumental in creating a Child Protective Training Academy; advocating for the avoidance of sibling separation in foster care; starting minority controlled child welfare agencies; and beginning the movement toward decentralized, community driven, and integrated social service provision within that agency. As Executive Director of the Agenda for Children Tomorrow, Eric continues this work on behalf of New York City children and their families.

Mr. Brettschneider holds a B.A. and an M.A. degree in Psychology from Colgate University and the Graduate Faculty of New School University, respectively, as well as a law degree is from Hofstra University. He teaches in NYU’s Department of Metropolitan Studies and in the Gallatin School, and has previously taught at Fordham University and Hunter College School of Social Work. He serves as Counsel to Eisner & Hubbard, PC; chairs the Council on Children of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York; is a member of the New York City Citizen Review Panel for New York City; and is Partner and Director of Pro Bono Services for Braverman Warfield LLP. He is also a member of the Board of New Yorkers for Children. Eric’s wife, Jeanne Rostaing is a producer with ABC-TV. His son, Corey, has his Masters from Cambridge University, his PhD in Politics from Princeton University and is entering his third year at Stanford University School of Law. Corey has taught at The United Nations School and is also serving on the Political Science faculty at Brown University. His daughter, Kim volunteers at the Foundling Hospital and is attending Pomona College and plans a social work or teaching career.

Anthea McLaughlinAnthea McLaughlin, Associate Executive Director
Anthea brings direct service as well as managerial experience in human services to the project. Some of her past work experiences include: Program Assistant at Good Shepherd Services; Caseworker for Harlem Dowling; Children Services Program Assistant at the Community Resource Exchange, and Program Assistant to the President at the Edward Hazen Foundation. After completing her Masters in Public Administration and Masters in Social Work at Columbia University, Anthea began working as Deputy Director at the Agenda for Children Tomorrow. She is also a lecturer at the Hunter College School of Social Work.

DeborahDeborah Rubien, Director, Community Planning
Deborah Rubien - Director of Community Planning, Training and Supervision Ms. Rubien has over 20 years experience working in public and private sector human services, with an expertise in child welfare, parent education and program development. As the former Assistant Executive Director at Talbot Perkins Children's Services, Ms. Rubien directed the Lower East Side office and a staff of 20. She was responsible for a community-based child welfare program offering a range of services, including foster care, prevention services, substance abuse treatment support and respite services. Ms. Rubien also served as a policy analyst with the Mayor’s Office for Children and Families and the Citizen’s Committee for Children. Ms. Rubien has taught at LaGuardia Community College and teaches peer counseling to adults and children. She earned a Masters of Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work and a Bachelors of Science from Cornell University.

LaTrella Penny, Director of Integrative Services, Family Engagement and Training latrella
LaTrella R. Penny, whose expertise is in the field of child welfare and human services, has served the children and families of New York City for over 17 years. She has a wide range of private and public sector experiences that include direct services to families, facilitation coordination of  interagency collaboration, strategic planning, technical assistance to, and capacity-building for, nonprofit organizations, policy research, training, program development, design, and management.  Ms. Penny received her Bachelor of Arts from Adelphi University and her Executive Masters Degree in Public Affairs from Bernard M. Baruch College.

Loren Miller, Policy and Program Associate
LorenLoren has over twelve years of program experience both internationally and in the United States. She has worked as a trainer, educator, advocate, community organizer, researcher and strategic planner on diverse community development and human rights operations. Ms. Miller joined ACT in May 2004, coming from Women’s Network/Mujeres Unidas in East Harlem where she created and developed an advocacy program for immigrant women. Prior to settling in NYC to raise her son, Ms. Miller was in Ecuador as a graduate student, where she studied changes in social power and rates of domestic violence among women in cooperative work associations. She also monitored human rights and developed a civic-education training program in Haiti with the United Nations/Organization of American States International Civilian Mission, provided technical assistance to a women’s cooperative in Senegal with the Agencies Jeunesse Agricole de la Casamance and advocated for just human rights policies while working in the government affairs division of Human Rights Watch. Ms. Miller’s New York City based work includes a study on Haitian community and police relations in Brooklyn, legal and social services coordination for immigrants facing deportation, advocating for defendants in the Bronx Criminal Justice System, and developing a human rights education training-manual with the Center for the Study of Human Rights of Columbia University. Ms. Miller received a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and has completed coursework towards her PhD in Anthropology with the University of Pittsburgh.

Elizabeth Speidel, Special Projects and Policy Coordinator
Before graduating from law school in 2002, Elizabeth Speidel worked in a variety of positions in the child advocacy and education field. Ms. Speidel was a teacher in a private pre-school and a public elementary school in New Jersey, as well as a tutor/mentor in a public elementary school in Flagstaff, Arizona. While in law school, she interned with Legal Aid Society-Juvenile Rights Division, New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the Institute for Education Law and Policy. Ms. Speidel recently joined ACT from private practice as a commercial litigator with Sullivan & Cromwell, where, in addition to employment and regulatory work, she assisted in the pro bono representation of ACT.

SANDYSandy March, Special Assistant to the Executive Director
Sandy has been with ACT since February 2004. She brings several years of experience as an administrative professional. Sandy holds a BA in Psychology from Baruch College.

Brian McGowan, Administrative Assistant

LOCAL PLANNERS

Bushwick Local Planner: This Position is currently Vancant.
Mott Haven Local Planner: This position is currently vacant.
Washington Heights/Inwood Local Planner: This position is currently vacant.


ACS NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK LIAISONS

osmanOsman Boakye, Brownsville/East New York Child Welfare Neighborhood Network Liaison
Osman earned his Masters Degree in Public Administration from New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service in 1998. His previous experiences have been in the field of international trade and community development. He has also worked with World Trade Consortium for nine years as a Program Coordinator and with a range of private and public organizations on the development of economic and community programs, ranging from heath, education, transportation and many socio-economic issues. Origanally from Ghana West Africa, Osman also helped to train two non profit organizations in Ghana, as well as in the coordination and production of many charitable deeds, the management of volunteers, and logistics coordination.