Our Board

Kalpana Bhandarkar, Co-Chair
Associate Vice President, Health Services Research, Maimonides Medical Center

Kalpana Bhandarkar has been a GEMS Board member since June 2007. She is currently Associate Vice President of Health Services Research at Maimonides Medical Center, a 700-bed teaching hospital in Borough Park, Brooklyn. In this capacity, she oversees the hospital’s research administration supporting clinical and health services research studies. Shewas formerly a Manager at Manatt Health Solutions, an interdisciplinary consulting unit of the law firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, where she provided strategic and business advice, policy analysis, project implementation support, and advocacy services to clients in the areas of healthcare access and health information technology. Prior to joining Manatt, she worked for the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center in New York City and the Health Division of the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. Ms. Bhandarkar holds a Masters in Public Health and Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelors Degree from Tufts University.

Ellen Fried, Co-Chair
Adjunct Professor

Ellen R. Fried joined the GEMS board in 2006, bringing a lifelong passion and commitment to fighting for the rights and protections of children. She is a seasoned attorney, teacher, mentor and administrator with extensive background in legal education, clinical instruction, and development of courses and programs in the field of juvenile rights. Presently she is teaching a course in “Children and the Law” as part of the innovative interdisciplinary Children’s Studies Program at Brooklyn College. From 1993-2007, she taught as an adjunct professor at CUNY Law School where she created and taught in its first Juvenile Defender Clinic. Prior to CUNY Law, Ms. Fried served as the Director of Training for the Juvenile Rights Division of The Legal Aid Society of NY for several years, where she developed training programs for all incoming attorneys, supervised new attorneys in all five boroughs, developed and implemented continuing education programs and produced the state-wide JRD Newsletter.  During Ms. Fried’s 30-year career as a public interest attorney, she also taught at Hofstra School of Law, was Assistant Director of the Fund for Modern Courts, an administrative law judge for the E.C.B., a consultant for the Fifth Avenue Committee, and a trial attorney with the Criminal Defence Division of The NY Legal Aid Society.  She is a graduate of Northwestern University (B.A., Phi Beta Kappa) and Columbia University School of Law (J.D., Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar).

Motisola Zulu, Secretary
Partner, The Davis Firm

Motisola Zulu, an entertainment law partner at The Davis Firm, is responsible for structuring, negotiating, and drafting agreements for her clients. She takes pride in being able to educate her clients while representing them. With a stellar list of industry heavyweights that include Polow Da Don, Swizz Beatz, and Lil Jon, she has used her expertise to strengthen and protect their careers.  Prior to her working with the Davis Firm, Ms. Zulu was a sole practitioner and founder of the entertainment law firm of M. Zulu, P.C. which catered primarily to the music industry. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, however, she was born and raised in Washington, DC. She attended Spelman college where she earned her BA in Political Science then acquired her J.D. from Howard Law School. Ms. Zulu is a member of National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), a founding member of Black Women in Entertainment Industry, a mentor for Year-Up NYC and speaks on several panels discussing the entertainment industry. Giving back, especially to the youth, is extremely important to Ms. Zulu whose family encouraged supporting the community.

Melissa Finney
Sales Director, SAY Media

Melissa Finney is the NY Sales Director for SAY Media, a digital publishing company specializing in premium online media experiences. In this position, she manages annual advertising revenues in excess of $10 million and oversees a team of senior sales executives. Previously, she served as a Senior Account Executive at Zillow.com, where she developed revenue-generating partnerships with key consumer brands. Ms. Finney has also held senior sales positions at The Economist, ESPN, and CourtTV. She received a BA degree cum laude in Journalism and French from the University of Southern California, where she later established a scholarship fund for African Americans engaged in overseas study.

Cynthia Godsoe
Instructor of Legal Writing

Cynthia Godsoe teaches courses in legal writing, children and the law, professional responsibility, and public interest lawyering. Her scholarship centers on family law, ethics, juvenile justice, and education issues. Ms. Godsoe joined the faculty in 2007 from the Children’s Law Center in New York City, where she was an appellate attorney. She also taught legal writing at Fordham University School of Law. Previously, she worked on impact litigation and direct representation of youth at several nonprofits dedicated to children’s rights including Advocates for Children of New York, the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Division, and the Child Care Law Center in San Francisco. After law school, she was a Skadden Public Interest Fellow, and she clerked for Judge Edward Korman in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She is chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee of the New York City Bar and participates in pro bono work on a variety of children’s rights issues.

Djena Graves
Director of Business Development, ICV Capital Partners

Djena Graves is the Director of Business Development for ICV Capital Partners, a New-York based private investment fund with over $440 million of committed capital focused on making equity investments in strong lower middle market companies across industries. At ICV, Ms. Graves develops and implements marketing initiatives, cultivates investment opportunities, coordinates fundraising and investor relations, and pursues revenue enhancement opportunities for existing portfolio companies. Prior to ICV, she was a senior associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Morgan Stanley focused on energy companies. Ms. Graves worked as a chemical engineer at Lyondell-Citgo in her hometown of Houston, Texas, prior to attending business school. She received a BS degree cum laude in chemical engineering from Florida A&M University, an International Management certificate from HEC Paris and a Masters in Business Administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business.  A Harlem resident, Ms. Graves is very active in both professional and community organizations with Board responsibilities for Harlem Success Academy Charter School, the Association for Corporate Growth- NY Chapter and Women’s Association of Venture and Equity- NY Chapter in addition to GEMS. She is also a Founding Member of the Council of Urban Professionals.

David Schisgall
Filmmaker

David Schisgall has been producing and directing long-form nonfiction for the past fifteen years. He has worked for ABC News, PBS, and Oscar-winner Errol Morris.  In 2004 he won the Edward R. Murrow Award for the Best News Documentary of the year for his work in Iraq. He premiered Very Young Girls, the full-length documentary about GEMS, at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival, and the documentary screened in festivals across the country, on television, on Showtime, and in four international markets. The documentary is now available on DVD from Netflix and is for sale through the GEMS Shop.

Diana Taylor
Managing Director, Wolfensohn Fund Management L.P.

Diana Taylor joined Wolfensohn Fund Management L.P., a strategic consulting and investment firm, in 2007, prior to which she served as New York State superintendent of banks and chairwoman of the New York State Banking Board. Before her government service, she worked in the private sector as vice president for KeySpan Energy and as an investment banker with Smith Barney, Lehman Brothers, and Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. Ms. Taylor serves on the boards of Citigroup, Brookfield Properties, and Sotheby’s. She also serves on several charitable boards. She chairs the boards of ACCION International, Hudson River Park Trust, New York Women’s Foundation, and the YMCA of Greater New York. Other memberships includeDartmouthCollege, the Mailman School of Public Health, and the International Women’s Health Coalition. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York. She earned her AB from Dartmouth College, her MBA from the Columbia School of Business, and her MPH from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia.