REENTRY THAT WORKS
GOSO logo
91 East 116th St, New York, NY 10029 Tel: 212-831-5020 Fax: 212-996-0436
  • MEET OUR BOARD AND STAFF

  • Get to know the board and staff members behind GOSO's successful reentry program.

  • GOSO Board of Directors Profiles

  • GOSO's Board members share a deep commitment to improving opportunities for court-involved young men. Along with fulfilling the standard duties of board members, many are GOSO coaches and share their experience and expertise by presenting seminars on Rikers Island and in the GOSO office. All have had successful careers in business, law or education and are able to impart valuable, directed advice and support.

  • Richard Block, Member of the Resource Development Committee: Richard Block was the Senior Vice President and President of Consumer Packaging Group at Westvaco Corporation. Prior to Westvaco's acquisition of Impac Group, Inc., in 2000, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer at Impac. Mr. Block has coached GOSO clients both on Rikers Island and out of our East Harlem office for over five years.

  • Jeremy Buzzard, PhD: Jeremy Buzzard, a Partner at McKinsey & Company, has been a management consultant with them since 2005. He received his PhD in molecular and cellular biology at Monash University in Melbourne Australia in 2002, worked as a biotech scientist for two years with ES Cell International in Melbourne and Singapore, and completed a post-doc at Harvard University in 2005.

  • Katherine DePasquale: Katherine DePasquale is a marketing and communications executive with more than 20 years of experience in the corporate world. Katherine runs biweekly interview skills and job retention seminars with GOSO clients, helping prepare them to enter and succeed in the workforce by learning how to build rapport with the interviewer, answer questions about their background, and generally gain the confidence needed to achieve meaningful employment.

  • Frank Ettus, Member of the Finance Committee and the Research and Data Committee: Frant Ettus is a marketing research professional with over forty years of market research and consulting experience. He has developed statistical materials for GOSO to aid in reporting to funders, tracking the success of our clients, and refining the GOSO model to meet the changing needs of our clients.

  • Mark L. Goldsmith, Co-Founder, President, CEO, and Ex-officio Member of all Committees: Mark Goldsmith brings more than 35 years of experience in corporate management and entrepreneurship to GOSO. He has developed all aspects of the programming, including coaching, lecturing, and teaching of life skills strategies that focus on post-incarceration education and employment to engage GOSO's population.

  • Steve Gutman, Member of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee and the Resource and Board Development Committee: Steve Gutman is the former President of the New York Jets. Mr. Gutman is taking an active role in the marketing of GOSO in an effort to raise the awareness of the program in the NYC administration.

  • Andrew Konigsberg, Chairman of the Resource and Development Committee: Andrew Konigsberg is the Deputy Managing Partner, Northeast Region, Deloitte Consulting LLP. Mr. Konigsberg is helping to establish a new Board committee, the Resource and Board Development Committee, whose purpose is to promote and undertake fundraising, with a particular emphasis on soliciting donations from individuals.

  • Charles Kushner, Member of the Resource Development Committee: Charles Kushner is the Chairman and Principal of Kushner Industries Real Estate. Mr. Kushner coached GOSO clients primarily on Rikers Island for over a year. He works closely with Mr. Goldsmith to insure the financial stability of GOSO and hosts all Board of Directors meetings.

  • John Leguizamo, Member of the Resource Development Committee: Mr. Leguizamo has had a thirty-year career in stage and screen that includes notable performances in "Hangin' with the Homeboys", "Carlito's Way", "Executive Decision", and "Ice Age". Mr. Leguizamo twice visited Rikers Island as our guest where he performed for inmates and met individually with GOSO participants. GOSO has been blessed in having him as true friend and supporter who is working with us to help make a difference in the lives of young, justice-involved men.

  • Caliph Mathis, Chairman of the Mentoring Committee: Caliph Mathis is the Associate Director of Global Corporate Security at The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Mr. Mathis received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and has close to 30 years of experience in law enforcement and corrections, including his position as Sheriff of New York City from 2001 - 2002.

  • Jeremy Miller, Chairman of the Event Planning Committee and Member of the Board and Resource Development Committee: Jeremy Miller is the Chief Communications Officer of McCann. He has extensive experience in developing marketing strategies, programs, events and creative campaigns for a wide range of clients, and has successfully developed worldwide media relations. Mr. Miller, Chairman of our Annual Benefit, is assisting in the development of a public relations program – an area of the GOSO program that needs strengthening.

  • Gloria Ortiz, Co-Founder of Getting Out and Staying Out, Education Chair: Gloria Ortiz is the former Principal of Horizon Academy, the public high school that she organized and opened for 18–21 year-old men at Rikers Island twelve years ago. She has worked closely with Mr. Goldsmith since he began mentoring the men at Rikers in 2003, helping him to gain access to students at Horizon Academy and encouraging students to participate in GOSO. She has built a career of educating bilingual children and incarcerated teens and young men.

  • Fred Pfaff, Co-Chairman of the Board, Chair of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee and Member of the Resource and Board Development Committee: Fred Pfaff is president of Fred Pfaff Inc., a new York-based marketing and public relations firm specializing in business-to-business communications. Mr. Pfaff also has written widely on marketing in a variety of industries. He has expertise in the development of industry trends and career paths, and is able to coach GOSO clients with practical insights on all issues concerning accessing employment and career advancement.

  • Robert Reffkin, Resource Development Committee: Robert Refkin, a graduate of Columbia Business School, began his career as the youngest analyst ever hired by McKinsey & Co., moved on to investment bank Lazard Ltd., and then headed to Washington to become a special assistant to the U.S. Treasury Secretary. In 2011 – 2012 he became the Chief of Staff to the COO of Goldman Sachs before resigning to start his own company.

  • Stephen Siegel, Resource Development Committee: As chairman of Global Brokerage, Stephen Siegel advises major corporations and property owners on a broad range of real estate issues. He is widely regarded in commercial real estate circles as one of the industry's most talented and prolific professionals, and in 2005, was featured in the Urban Land Institute's book, "Leadership Legacies: Lessons Learned from Ten Real Estate Legends."

  • Anthony Smith, Co-Chairman of the Board and Member of the Resource and Board Development Committee: Anthony Smith is an advocate, practitioner and master of breakthrough leadership coaching at VSA Consulting Group. His coaching empowers corporate CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs to reach greater business success and professional fulfillment. He has presented leadership workshops for GOSO and Horizon Academy staff and regularly coaches GOSO clients on strategies for success, specifically on how to market yourself.

  • Julian Taub, Treasurer and Finance Chair: Julian Taub is the Former Senior Vice President of Financial and Stretegic Planning for Bloomingdale's. On his election to the Board, Mr. Taub immediately assumed the role of Treasurer and Chairman of the Board Finance Committee. He works closely with our auditors to facilitate the timely completion of our annual audit reports, and to implement their recommendations. His experience and expertise will help to ensure that GOSO's financial position remains strong in the coming years.

  • Ira Wachtel, Secretary and Member of the Program Committee: Ira Wachtel is the former Vice President of several construction companies. In addition to coaching GOSO men, Mr. Wachtel has presented seminars on the many facets of the construction business, both at Rikers Island and in the East Harlem office. He has been instrumental in exploring and developing job opportunities for GOSO participants through his contacts in the business community.

  • Edie Weiner, Board and Resource Development Committee: Edie Weiner is president of Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc., a leading futurist consultant firm. Ms. Weiner is acknowledged as one of the most influential practitioners of social, technological, political and economic intelligence-gathering, and at 29, was the youngest outside woman ever elected to a corporate board. For 10 years, she founded and chaired the Esteem Teams, an innovative program in which dozens of inner city, at risk girls were mentored by executive women.


  • GOSO Advisory Council Profiles

  • John Atchison: John Atchison, formerly a member of the GOSO Board of Directors, has earned an international reputation as a leading hairstylist and educator. With a business philosophy built on teamwork, he developed intensive training programs for young hairstylists that included mentoring for empowerment, striving for excellence and giving back to the community.

  • Matthew Bloom: Matthew Bloom, formerly a member of the GOSO Board of Directors, was a Senior Portfolio Manager at AllianceBernstein, and has a long history as an investment professional. He has a strong reputation as both a mentor and a trainer, and is known for his ability to communicate ideas and strategies to a wide variety of audiences.

  • Judge Michael Corriero: Judge Corriero, formerly a Member of the GOSO Board of directors and a long-time supporter of the organization, served in the New York State courts for 28 years, presiding over Manhattan's Youth Part from 1992 to 2008. From 2008 through 2010 he served as Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York. He is currently the Executive Director and Founder of New York Center for Juvenile Justice.Judge Corriero is the author of Judging Children as Children: A Proposal for a Juvenile Justice System, published by Temple University Press in 2006.

  • Cyrus McGoldrick: Cyrus McGoldrick, formerly a Member of the GOSO Board of Directors, recently graduated from Columbia University with a major in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies and received the Presidential Service Award. Currently, Cyrus volunteers at several programs throughout the city, teaches at a GED preparation program and is employed at the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a Civil Rights Manager. He hopes to attend law school in the near future.

  • Phil Weinberg: Phil Weinberg, a long-time Member of the GOSO Board of Directors, recently became the President of STRIVE, a unique workforce development agency that has been transforming lives in NYC for over 25 years. His career has spanned both the private and public sectors, where he has focused on reform efforts in public education and workforce development.

  • GOSO Staff Profiles

  • GOSO has assembled a small, dedicated, and highly qualified group of individuals with education and experience in criminal justice and social work. Our staff tailors its services to the individual needs of each GOSO participant, and knows the name of every man who walks in the door. They will always go the extra mile to resolve a problem. In addition to our full-time staff GOSO has partnered with the Columbia University and NYU Schools of Social Work who provide us with two social work interns every year. Our interns administer biopsychosocial evaluations and provide group and individual supportive counseling to participants on Rikers Island and in the East Harlem office.

  • Mark L. Goldsmith, President and CEO, is a former business executive and a co-founder of Getting Out and Staying Out. He oversees all program operations including the development and maintenance of funding, supervision of the mentoring program, outreach to New York City and State justice systems and publicity for the GOSO program. He mentors at GOSO sites on Rikers Island twice a week and in upstate prisons quarterly, in addition to mentoring clients in the East Harlem office leads the time and priority management seminar.

  • Geoffrey Golia LMSW, Career Manager and Internship and Employment Coordinator, is responsible for education and career counseling, and provides biopsychosocial needs assessments and supportive counseling. He is also Project Coordinator for the GOSO Internship Program, and takes the lead in job and internship development. He received his BA from New School University, Eugene Lang College in 2005 and his MSW from New York University Silver School of Social work in 2011. Mr. Golia has extensive experience counseling families, students and justice-involved youth, and completed a social work internship with GOSO in 2010-2011.

  • Paul Gutkowski LCSW, Associate Executive Director, received his MSW, with a concentration in direct clinical practice with families and children, from Columbia University School of Social Work in 2005. After completing his master's degree, Paul spent three years with the Vera Institute of Justice's pilot program, Adolescent Portable Therapy. Mr. Gutkowski joined the staff of GOSO in March of 2008 and quickly developed the social service component of the program. In addition to supervising our two Social Work interns, he provides clients with mental health and anger management counseling, connects them to social services in the community, and provides referrals to outpatient and inpatient psychotherapy and substance abuse treatment programs when necessary

  • Nina Herman LMSW, Career Manager and Vocational Coordinator, is responsible for education and career counseling, and provides biopsychosocial needs assessments and supportive counseling. She presents weekly workshops from the Job Readiness Curriculum and is the Project Coordinator for the GOSO Vocational Training Program. Ms. Herman graduated with a BA from Vassar College in 2009 and received her MSW from New York University in 2012. GOSO hired her as a full time Career Manager shortly after she completed a very successful internship with our organization in 2011 – 2012.

  • Shannon Hilliker, Program Analyst and Rikers Island Recruitment Specialist, is responsible for outreach and recruitment for the GOSO program on Rikers Island. She also coordinates the work of our two social work interns who provide mentoring and supportive counseling to GOSO participants in the jail. Ms. Hilliker received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Brooklyn College and is currently studying for her Master's Degree in History at City College of New York.

  • Mark Leonida, Director of Measurement and Outcomes, oversees all office operations, manages our database system, and conducts analysis of GOSO outcomes and results. He completed his Bachelor's Degree at Wesleyan University in 2008 with a double major in African American Studies and History. While there he was honored with a Mellon-Mays fellowship and was a course assistant in the History Department.

  • Greg Mendoza LMSW, Career Manager and Education Coordinator, is responsible for client intake and orientation, education and career counseling, and provides biopsychosocial needs assessments and supportive counseling. He is the Project Coordinator for our new GED Plus @ GOSO program and facilitates several seminars in the job readiness program. Mr. Mendoza completed his BA at Prescott College in 2007 and received his MSW from NYU Silver School of Social Work in 2011. Mr. Mendoza was a social work intern at GOSO from 2009 – 10, has provided individual and group therapy for at-risk adolescents, substance abusers, foster children, men living with HIV/AIDS and court-involved youth.

  • Social Work Interns: For four years GOSO has maintained partnerships with the New York University and Columbia University Schools of Social Work. The schools provide us with Masters Degree candidates who intern with us under the supervision of our Associate Executive Director, Paul Gutkowski LCSW. Our interns play an integral role in our program, recruiting particpants on Rikers Island, administering biopsychosocial evaluations and providing supportive counseling to participants who need it.