Bria Mathis is a community builder and advocate who is driven by her passion to create opportunities in high need communities. As a native New Yorker and an avid traveler, she understands that there is more that connects us than separates us. Bria developed her interest in social issues while attending Stony Brook University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Health Science and Sociology with a concentration in Public Health. Upon graduation she worked both locally and internationally, serving as a volunteer English teacher in Chile for six months and then completing a year of service as an AmeriCorps member at Food Bank for New York City where she was then offered a full-time role on the volunteer engagement team. She is currently the Senior Outreach Coordinator for Manhattan at Partnerships for Parks where she leads a five person team and works directly with community leaders and environmental stewardship groups in Morningside Heights, Hamilton Heights, Striver’s Row, Central Harlem, & Sugar Hill. In addition to her professional work, she finds time to volunteer with New York Cares as a FAFSA Prep volunteer and also serves as a volunteer transcriber for Center for Urban Pedagogy’s youth education, urban investigations projects.