The City Tutors Directors and Officers
Directors
Garri Rivkin,
Founder, Executive Director
& Chairman of the Board, the city tutors
Garri Rivkin is an Educator, Learning Specialist, Higher Education Administrator, Career Coach, and Community Organizer.
He has 10+ years of higher ed teaching experience, having taught 150+ courses (across English, Academic Basic Skills, and Social Science departments), and logging over 6,500 in-class teaching hours. He has 7 years of higher education director level experience, with experience in conceptualizing, building, managing tailored academic support programming built on learning best practice, and 2+ years experience overseeing Academic Readmission/Probation at the Colin Powell School at CCNY where he logged over 1600 advising sessions.
He is a regular panelist at Non Profit Con, and has presented at CRLA, NCLCA, ACTLA, and ATP conferences. He is a co-author of a chapter Critical Reading Across the Curriculum: Social and Natural Sciences, Volume 2 published by Wiley-Blackwell.
Garri is a proud graduate of CUNY. Originally from Vilnius, Lithuania, he immigrated with his mom on religious asylum in 1996 with the help of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).
Ellen brunsberg: BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ellen currently serves as the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Cain International, a position she has held since September 2021. In this pivotal role, she collaborates across Cain International’s investment real estate portfolio, serving as a permanent member of the firm’s investment committee. With an impressive thirty-year career in operational, lending, and investment roles within the finance and real estate sectors, Ellen has become a respected leader in her field.
Prior to her current position, Ellen held key positions at renowned financial institutions. She served as the Global Head of Fixed Income Product Strategy at BlackRock, contributing to the firm's strategic direction. Ellen's leadership extends to her tenure at GE Capital Real Estate (GECRE), where she held the roles of Chief Executive Officer and President of GECRE Europe, as well as Head of Capital Markets for EMEA. Notably, she played a pivotal role in the execution of GE Capital’s largest acquisition in Europe and managed the $28 billion sale of GECRE to Blackstone in 2015.
Before her time at GECRE, Ellen spent 18 years at Morgan Stanley, both in New York and London. Her journey at Morgan Stanley culminated in her role as the head of the Securitized Products Group for Europe, where she oversaw origination, execution, and risk management for real estate lending, infrastructure finance, and asset-backed trading.
PHILANTHROPY & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Ellen's commitment to community impact extends beyond her professional endeavors. She proudly serves on the Board of the Aman Hotel Group, showcasing her dedication to philanthropy and positive global contributions. Her involvement with The City Tutors, a non-profit focused on mentoring and tutoring for underserved NYC communities, reflects her belief in the transformative power of education.
PERSONAL LIFE
Ellen is not only a seasoned professional but also a devoted mother of two grown daughters. She holds a Bachelor's of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and earned her MBA from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
As Ellen embarks on this new chapter as a Board Member of The City Tutors, she looks forward to leveraging her expertise, passion, and dedication to contribute to the organization's ongoing success and its profound impact on the lives of students in need.
Todd Hawk:
Board of Directors
Todd Hawk started his career on Wall Street working in Sales and Trading for Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. In 2003 he co-founded the financial technology firm Algorithmic Trading Management (ATM) which was sold to Cowen and Co. in 2012. He has since held leadership positions at several start-ups helping to steer and build those businesses. Todd currently tutors middle schoolers in the Bronx and is a mentor to several tutor mentees. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a BSC in Biochemistry.
Alex Cohen:
Board of Directors
Alex Cohen is an associate and member of Sidley Austin LLP’s global Securities Enforcement and Regulatory practice in New York. His practice focuses primarily on representing individual and corporate clients in connection with investigations and enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), other self-regulatory organizations (SROs), and other federal and state regulators. Alex earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Rutgers University. Before joining Sidley, Alex was a law clerk for the New Jersey office of the attorney general representing the Department of Children and Families in legal guardianship disputes before the state Appellate Division.
Gene McCarthy: Board of Directors
With a career spanning 40 years working with top global brands across the athletic and outdoor industries, Gene McCarthy is a distinguished leader and change maker. Over the course of his career he has held executive level positions with top brands including Nike, Under Armour, ASICS, Reebok, Timberland and Merrell. He has held seats on various boards including the Two Ten Foundation, Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association (FDRA) and the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy. His last major role was as the President & CEO of ASICS America Group where he oversaw the North and South America regions.
Mr. McCarthy has been a featured speaker at Leaders Week in London and he has been a guest speaker at colleges and universities including University of Southern California, Princeton University, Columbia Business School, Cornell, Marquette University and MIT. A native New Yorker, Mr. McCarthy attended Fordham University where he was a track and field All American. He also was a semi-finalist in the 1980 US Olympic Trials. In 1979 he penned a story for the New York Times titled “Chasing the Four Minute Mile Along the Streets of the Bronx.”
Currently Mr. McCarthy is the Founder & Principle at Top League Advisory which focuses on brand vision and strategy. He also serves as a City Mentor and board member for The City Tutors.
Officers
Michael Chin: Chief Program Success Manager
Michael Chin graduated from The City College of New York with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He joined CT as a writing tutor in 2015, and served as the tutor trainer and coordinator. As the Director of HR and Volunteer Coordination, Michael works closely with tutors to provide them with individualized training and support before and during their site placement. He also works closely with partner sites, helping both tutors and partner sites to troubleshoot problems as they arise. Michael observes tutors in their assignments to provide feedback and improve their practice.