Our Consultants
Sarah Blas
Sarah Blas is a NYC native, mother of six children, public speaker and non profit professional with a background in social sciences. As a social justice champion, she has used her career to dismantle identity-based oppression within vulnerable communities, with a speciality in advocacy for BIPOC and disabled families. As a thought leader, she uses her expertise in developing DEI-A infused professional development curriculum and community advocacy to transform both mental models and policies for over 2 decades across NYC. She has served as the Executive Director of Staten Island Therapeutic Gardens, fighting for food sovereignty. Additionally, she has served as the Director of Health and Wellness for House of Community, Baitul Jamaat and the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Staten Island Women Who March. She currently serves as an elected member of the Community Education Council for District 31, chairing both the Special Education and Diversity and Inclusion Committees.
She was named Staten Island Woman of Achievement in 2020 for her heroic efforts during the COVID-19 Pandemic. She is the recipient of the State of NY Executive Chamber, Gubernatorial Certificate of Recognition in 2021, State Senate Proclamation for Community Impact in 2021, Harriet Tubman Purple Hat Society honoree in 2020, New York State Assembly Certificate of Merit in 2020, Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition 2021, Certificate of Black Excellence in Public Health Award from the Richmond County District Attorney, City Council Citations 2018, 2019, 2020 and Community Peacemaker with Peace Action Network of Staten Island in 2018.
She holds certificates in results-based facilitation, (a nationally recognized approach at developing accountability frameworks) and from The Campaign School at Yale University.
Johnathan Elliott Sr., Esquire
Johnathan Elliott, a NYC native is a highly accomplished legal professional and educator with a wealth of experience in academia and the legal field. Currently an Adjunct Instructor at the American International College School of Business, Arts, and Sciences, he imparts his extensive knowledge to undergraduate and graduate students. His diverse teaching portfolio includes courses on Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare, Business Law, Introduction to American Radical Tradition, Issues in Modern Political Thought, Introduction to African American Studies, and the History and Culture of Cannabis.
Prior to his academic career, Johnathan established a successful private practice as Johnathan R. Elliott, Sr., Attorney at Law, where he provided skilled legal services as a trial attorney for Public Counsel Services, defending the rights of individuals and ensuring justice prevailed. With a Juris Doctorate from Western New England College School of Law and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Johnathan Elliott combines his legal expertise and educational background to inspire future legal professionals and make a positive impact in the field of law and the broader community.
Amoy Barnes
Amoy Barnes has called Staten Island home since she was 4 years old. She is a resident of West Brighton and a graduate of Curtis High School. She attended SUNY Albany and as a student interned for former NY Senator Hillary Clinton and NYS Senator Diane Savino. In these roles she honed and crafted her skills in legislation and governance working to better understand the inner workings of government.
After graduating from SUNY Albany she returned home to Staten Island and accepted a position in the office of State Senator Diane Savino. In her capacity as Director of Constituent Services she worked tediously to resolve issues facing the senator’s constituency and implemented events that made government more transparent and accessible to the people.
In 2012 she accepted an invitation with the US Peace Corps to become a Youth Development Specialist in Morocco. From 2012 to 2014 Amoy lived and worked in Fez, Morocco in a government run youth center (Dar Chabab). She developed program initiatives to engage and educate young people to become active citizens in their community. She worked in both English and Moroccan Arabic to teach programs centered on, Peer Mentoring, Art, English, and Entrepreneurship.
In 2014 Amoy returned home to Staten Island and began pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration at Baruch College Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. That same year she began work with the NYC Parks Department as a Staten Island Outreach Coordinator with Partnership for Parks. She worked very closely with local community groups to help them advocate for their local parks.
Upon completion of her Masters in 2016 Amoy joined the Mayor’s office of Community Affairs as the Staten Island Borough Director. In this role she oversees the relationship with city agencies and Community Based Organizations within the borough and maintains relationships with local elected officials and community leaders on behalf of the administration.
Amoy’s personal philosophy is that the role of government is to make sure people are happy and healthy to pursue whatever goals and opportunities they want. She enjoys traveling, meeting new people and enjoying all that NYC has to offer.
Roxanne Mustafa
Roxanne Mustafa has expertise as a full spectrum Product Designer, User Researcher, facilitator and tech advocate. She has spent several years helping fortune 100 companies in organization transformation. She now helps smaller organizations and non profits do the same.
Roxanne leverages her skills in research, facilitation, and consulting, as well as her work in Diversity and Inclusion in the technology sector, to build up her community and raise the voice of women and other targeted groups on Staten Island. She is a part of several non profit executive boards that serve Staten Island growth and development, and is part of the CSI Incubator with her tech consulting business, Rock Tech, Data, & Design. She has also served on a transition team to build out the new NYC Public Advocate’s staff, currently serves the Staten Island Community Education Council, and is proud to serve on the Democratic County Committee Executive Board.
In addition to enabling organizations to modernize, she tried to bring the same mindset to progressive groups and nonprofits. She co-founded and led the non-profit group SIWWM which teaches civic engagement. She is also on the board of several community advocacy groups in NYC and is interested in the intersection of community organizing and civics. She believes in human-center thinking and believes in design leadership in all sectors and works as a data, civics and technology advocate on campaigns and for non profits. She started the consulting company Rock Tech Data & Design to help the digital transformation of nonprofits and small businesses. She rebooted the Staten Island Indivisible branch, which aims to communicate state policy regarding infrastructure and environmental justice, and has started the initiative called Data Happened on Staten Island, which aims to educate narratives centered around data driven evidence.
Her goal is to continue to build a network of civically minded Staten Islanders who want to improve the standard of living and affect change in their local communities. She finds it rewarding to apply design thinking and problem solving to all parts of her life.