Staff
"The kind of beauty I want most is the hard to get kind: strength, courage, dignity." — Ruby Dee
FUREE staff can be reached by calling (718) 852-2960 and dialing the extension listed below.
Desiree Marshall
Desireé comes to FUREE with a background in LGBTQ youth organizing and housing organizing. As a Senior Organizer, she supports the leadership of members and campaign development in our Youth Organizing group, FUREEous Youth and our Voter Engagement for Empowerment Project. Desireé has been organizing since graduating in 2006 from Hofstra University, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy. She is a graduate of the Center for Third World Organizing's Movement Activist Apprenticeship Program. She previously worked at FIERCE as their Lead Organizer, where she helped create curriculum for leadership development, recruited members and supported leaders in the coordination of two campaigns for safe space for LGBTQ youth. She is passionate about social justice, and firmly believes in the leadership of members in the struggle. Desireé is also a Spoken Word poet and makes a mean batch of stuffed pasta shells.
Valery Jean
Valery has worked for and consulted with activist, progressive and human service organizations in the areas of community organizing, management, marketing, program evaluation and funding development for fifteen years. She came on board as FUREE's development director in 2006 and previously worked with the Student Liberation Action Movement (SLAM) at Hunter College, Neighborhood Youth & Family Services in the Bronx and The Brotherhood-Sister Sol in Harlem. Valery attended Hunter College focusing in Psychology and Africana, Puerto Rican & Latin Studies to study the devastating effects of racism, sexism, classism and misogyny on women of color. She is a Brooklyn born daughter of Haitian and Dominican working class immigrants and the mother of two children.
Cheryl McCary
Cheryl McCary has been a FUREE member since 2005 in our Downtown Brooklyn Accountable Development Campaign with an interest in saving the Underground Rail Road Station on Abolitionist Place (Duffield Street). She then canvassed in four of FUREE's voter engagement drives and contacted over 5,000 unengaged low income voters in and around Ingersoll, Whitman and Farragut Houses.
She came on board as a Member Organizing Intern in 2010 to develop a strong base of public housing residents concerned with the lack of accountability of the New York City Housing Authority, including the lack of jobs through economic stimulus funded programs in Ingersoll, Whitman and Farragut Housing in Brooklyn. Cheryl is an African-American woman who was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama during the pre-Civil Rights era. Her experiences with overt racism fuel her motivation to build community power so that all are treated justly and with respect. She is a resident of Farragut Houses, raised five children and is the grandmother of six grandchildren.
Millard "Mitty" Owens
Mitty has more than twenty years of experience addressing economic security and the empowerment of marginalized communities locally, nationally, and internationally. Following early years in youth and student organizing, he worked on affordable housing and community revitalization, micro-enterprise development, support for credit unions, and national policies stimulating financial asset formation for the majority. In his various roles – with non-profits, the Ford Foundation, NYC’s Office of Financial Empowerment, and as an instructor at NYU’s public policy school - he has played leadership roles in the development of program and strategic planning, training and evaluation, organizational and board development, and fundraising. Mitty has served on a number of local and national economic development and social justice boards. He is a graduate of Yale University, holds an M.S. in Community Economic Development, and was a Kellogg Fellow. Mitty is a devoted dad and resides back in his native, beloved Brooklyn.
Lucas Shapiro
Lucas Shapiro comes to FUREE after years of working as an organizer for a housing justice/community empowerment non-profit rooted in Hell's Kitchen. As a Senior Organizer at FUREE, he works with members to fight for living wage jobs, affordable housing, access to healthy food, and a seat at the table in shaping local development. After earning a degree in 'Studies in Social Change' from Ithaca College, Lucas moved to NYC to become the National Organizer for a progressive youth and student organization. With 15 years of activist and professional organizing experience, Lucas is dedicated to multi-issue movement-building and strengthening member-driven organizations. He serves on the board of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice and has a keen interest in political strategy, public policy, and popular education. He lives in a cooperative house located in Fort Greene just blocks from FUREE's office and enjoys reading articles, watching film, playing games, going on bike adventures and visiting friends and family in Spain.
