Board of Directors of Two Bridges Neighborhood Council

Frank T. Modica, Chairman, has been the Executive Director of Hamilton-Madison House, a century-old Lower East Side settlement house, for 31 years. Mr. Modica, a Licensed Master Social Worker, serves on the boards of a number of local, national, and international organizations including United Neighborhood Centers of America and International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers. Mr. Modica has been Chairman of the Board of Two Bridges Neighborhood Council for 24 years. With his guidance, Two Bridges became the most successful not-for-profit developer of affordable housing in Lower Manhattan.

Vicky Amter, a long-term resident of the Lower East Side, is a community organizer and preservationist. In 2003, she was a leader in the successful community effort to preserve the celebrated Seward Park Murals by the progressive artist-activist Hugo Gellert.

Father Donald Baker is Pastor at the Church of St. Teresa, a historic Catholic church serving the Two Bridges area since 1863. St. Teresa’s welcomes a diverse congregation with services in English, Chinese, and Spanish.

Goldie Chu, a long-time activist, served as the first president of Asian Women United. She received a Susan B. Anthony Award from the National Organization for Women in recognition of her grassroots activism on behalf of women and girls.

Debbie Leung, an expert in tenant advocacy and tenant-landlord mediation, was previously a housing advocate at the Chinatown organization It’s Time, Inc. She has over 25 years of experience in fighting housing discrimination and preventing displacement of tenants. Ms. Leung now heads up the Two Bridges Tenant Anti-displacement Project.

Joseph M. Perello is President of Perello & Company, a marketing agency specializing in civic-minded projects. He previously served as New York City’s first Chief Marketing Officer and as Vice President of Business Development for the New York Yankees.

Vincent S. Wong is an attorney whose practice focuses on corporate, business, and immigration law. He was previously a Senior Associate at Arent Fox LLP, and a Corporate Associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Staff of Two Bridges Neighborhood Council

Victor J. Papa, President and Director, has been at Two Bridges Neighborhood Council since the early 1980s. He has overseen the development of more than 1500 units of affordable housing, spearheaded the creation of the Two Bridges Historic District, and worked to preserve the unique character and diversity of the Lower East Side. Mr. Papa was previously Executive Director of the Lower East Side Catholic Area Conference. He also serves as Executive Director of Immigrant Social Services, Inc., and sits on the board of Hamilton-Madison House.

Debbie Leung has been working as a tenant advocate in the Chinatown community for over 35 years. She is well known to the Asian community, especially to those in need of assistance in tenant-landlord issues. She is best known for her association with It's Time, Inc., an organization that has now merged with Two Bridges. Her continuing work, now with Two Bridges, will assure the organization's response to the needs of vulnerable low-income families and its active role for important advocacy work, social service referrals and tenant-landlord court appearances.

Leona Shuler has lived in Lower Manhattan for more than 38 years. She has been involved a variety of civic affairs in the community, including efforts to preserve affordable housing, gain Medicare rights for seniors, and participated in the Community Emergency Response Team. Leona has worked in the nonprofit field since 1998 after retiring from a corporate real estate company.

Wilson Soo, Program Associate, was born in the Lower East Side. He attended local schools in our community as well as Bronx High School of Science. Mr. Soo has spent several years working at Immigrant Social Services, a community organization. His work there was on a number of projects, including administration, After-School programs, and community wide issues. He is currently continuing his education at CUNY Baruch.