Paula Y. Fendall
Paula Y. Fendall retired in 2013 from a 21-year career with the City of New York’s Mayor Office and the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). She also co-directed NYU School of Law’s Family Defense Clinic for six years. Prior to her retirement, as the Director of ACS’ Children of Incarcerated Parents Program (CHIPP), she was invited to the White House by the Obama Administration to participate in their ‘Champions of Change’ event for professionals who worked with children of incarcerated parents.
Paula was baptized at Emmanuel Baptist Church (EBC) in 2007. She joined A Better World Community Development Corporation (ABWCDC) in 2018. In 2019, she was presented with EBC’s Impact Award for her work in the community through her Christmas Giving project. As a social worker who has been committed to helping others improve their life circumstances, both professionally and personally. She is committed to serving on ABWCDC’s board because, “A Better World’s focus is on uplifting individuals, families and communities, both locally and globally by imparting information (Exiting Egypt), providing opportunities for growth and change (TTMB) and instituting and elevating projects that would improve conditions nationally and globally (South Africa). I can think of no better way of carrying out my commitment to helping others than by working with like-minded individuals committed to making A Better World.”
Paula Y. Fendall, LMSW is a native New Yorker and a “ride and die” Brooklynite. She received her Bachelor degree in Inner City Studies from CUNY -Medgar Evers and her Master in Social Work from NYU School of Social Work.
Rev. Anthony L. Trufant
Rev. Anthony L. Trufant has served as the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church of Brooklyn, NY since 1990. His biblically-based Christ-centered preaching seeks to hold together spiritual formation, pastoral counseling, and social justice. He is married to Muriel Goode-Trufant, the Managing Attorney for NYC Law Department, and is the proud father of two young adult daughters, Sharise and Toni.
Rev. Trufant is committed to ABWCDC because its mission aligns with his personal experience with how family and faith are crucial tools for fashioning a meaningful, joyful, and impactful life. “My immediate family, at times, did not always provide sufficient nurture and structure, which is customary in healthy, happy families. Thankfully, my extended family and church families stepped in and bridged the gaps in my journey to adulthood by providing invaluable, essential relationships, and resources that helped me move from where I was to where I wanted to be. Consequently, I dreamed up A Better World as an extension of EBC. While my choices and circumstances lined up more organically, I detected the need to be intentional about replicating similar types of supports for Black people, locally and globally. I am committed to A Better World because I enjoy working with like-minded, community-oriented people who wish to provide people of color access to resources, know-how, and relationships that others possess by privilege.” While Rev. Trufant is the founder of ABWCDC, he has opted to function as an ex-officio board member and strictly as an advisor and fundraiser. He has no voting privileges.
He is a graduate of Morehouse College (B.A.), Colgate Rochester Divinity School (M.Div.), and Seton Hall University (M.A). He has completed coursework towards a doctorate in Pastoral Counseling at Hebrew Union College of New York City. Currently, he is a doctoral student at Bakke Graduate School, where he is pursuing a doctorate in Transformational Leadership. He is certified in Conflict Resolution and as an executive coach by the John Maxwell Company.
Theresa Manning
Theresa Manning is a veteran and venerable educator, who has served the Brooklyn community as a teacher, a staff developer, administrator, and a supervisor. As a secondary school and higher education leader, Theresa has found her calling to be memorable and rewarding. Beyond her school-based experiences, Theresa was nationally selected, along with other candidates, to design post-production curricula for the award-winning, television documentary, Eyes on the Prize. Additionally, she served on the core planning and implementing team that created and launched a NYC New Visions high school with an emphasis on enriched science and math. In more recent years, she has supervised undergraduate and graduate student teachers, as well as served as a consultant to school leaders. Theresa affirms that her greatest professional reward, however, has been to witness the academic and social transformation of countless students, especially the most challenging ones.
As a member of various civic and service organizations and boards, Theresa continues her commitment to the community by joining as a board member of ABWCDC in 2020. According to Theresa, her commitment to serving ABWCDC is predicated on the following reasons, “I share ABWCDC's vision and mission to educate, to elevate, to empower, and to ensure social equity for our community. Serving on this Board keeps me connected to my church, Emmanuel Baptist Church. Because I was lovingly raised and spiritually nurtured by the same village that the Board serves, I desire to return a portion of what I received by serving that village. My priorities of community wellness and wholeness align with its.”
As a Brooklyn native, Theresa appreciates the importance of a balanced life; so in her spare time, she enjoys international traveling, cooking, listening to music, visiting museums, vintage shopping, and sharing valuable time with family and friends. Theresa earned a BA from Hunter College - CUNY, an MA from Columbia University, and an MA from Brooklyn College – CUNY.
Leland Richards
Leland Richards has a vast career in the private sector. Currently, he is a Partner at Adams Street Private Credit where he supports sourcing, structuring, performing due diligence, and negotiating investment opportunities. Prior to this position, Leland served as a Managing Director at Churchill Asset Management, where he was responsible for financial sponsor origination and underwriting, and as a Managing Director at GE Capital where he originated leveraged loans and mezzanine / 2nd lien financing for financial sponsors backed by non-investment grade companies. Throughout his career, Leland has also held Vice President positions at Merrill Lynch & Co., GE Capital, and Salomon Smith Barney (Citigroup).
Outside of the private sector, Leland also devotes his time to community involvement and family development as an active board member of Freedom United (London, UK,), a nonprofit focused on global advocacy to end modern-day slavery, and of A Better World Community Development Corp (Brooklyn, NY).
Leland holds a Master of Business Administration from Boston College and a Bachelor of Science from Pratt Institute.
Crystal White
Crystal White has enjoyed a 30+ year career in telecommunications; and has recently in 2019 begun a career as a social worker, working as a Domestic Violence Advocate with Safe Horizon and Westside Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crystal was recognized as a "Mental Health Hero" by the NYC Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health.
Crystal’s greatest passion is to bring assistance to people who have been through traumatic/stressful experiences so they can experience a sense of peace and safety. As the youngest of eight children raised by a single mother dependent upon the New York City Human Resource Administration, she acquired a desire to help those in need and decided to become a social worker and be an agent of change. She has always been involved with her church, Emmanuel Baptist Church, and organizations that sought to improve the lives of others, such as Make A Wish and Heights and Hills. As a continuation of her passion, she is committed to serving on the board ABWCDC because, “It is my desire to contribute to the positive impact on the men, women, and children that come through ABWCDC’s doors. My family has personally benefited from the tools and resources provided by TTMB and is now pursuing the life they want to live, and we are truly grateful. It is important for me to continue in this endeavor more than ever because I have experienced the changing power it can have on society.”
She received her BA in Sociology from Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY campus and a Master of Social Work from Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY campus.
Earl Patton
Earl Patton serves as Managing Director of Cyphr Ventures, a global venture platform that unites nations through innovation and helps entrepreneurs, businesses, and governments thrive globally. The Cyphr Ventures Network has established a consortium of World Leaders, Investors, Innovators, and Member Funds that work together across 23+ countries to help innovation anywhere to thrive everywhere. Earl is also a partner at Rumble Ventures, a venture fund with a particular focus on SportsTech. Prior to Cyphr and Rumble Ventures, Earl held various executive roles with the National Basketball Association, Director of Business Development for NBA International, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trailblazers. Earl also served as a Director of Marketing for Sony FIFA Partnership Project Office where he oversaw Sony's partnership with the Federation International Football Association (FIFA) and sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa (2010) and Brazil (2014).
Earl has a longstanding commitment to community development. “I believe in committing myself to my community is a biblical command as stated in Proverbs 3:9 ‘Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.’ The wealth, in this case, is one’s talent, thus dedicating time and talent to your community is a form of tithing.” As a member of Emmanuel Baptists Church, Earl was honored to be asked by leadership to join the board of A Better World Community Development Corporation (ABWCDC) to implement its purpose and process of Gather, Grow, Give and Go to serve the greater community. Earl also serves as Director-General of the Economic Chamber (EC), a nonprofit that increases socioeconomic progress by helping emerging economies realize their full value as it relates to their GDP.
Earl holds a Master of Business Administration from The George Washington University School of Business and a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration from Drexel University.