Len Leach is the Vice President of Information Technology at Urban Resource Institute. In this role, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations and strategic vision of IT. Len has more than 25 years of experience managing information technology departments and ran his own IT consulting business where he led, implemented, and supported many for-profit and non-profit organization initiatives in the entertainment, corporate real estate, and non-profit industries. He served as the Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Information Technology and Services for National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc., and spent 13 years working for MTV as an on-air Technical Director and IT Director.

Len earned his an MS in Technology Management from Columbia University and a BS in Computer Science from City College of New York. Len has served as Chair of the Board of Riverside Church and is currently a board member. He is also Treasurer of Teaneck, Englewood, Hackensack, Bogota, and Bergenfield Crime Stoppers.

Beverly M. Riddick is Chief Operations Officer at Urban Resource Institute where she is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the Operations Division by working with the CEO and senior management to establish and execute the goals, strategies, plans, and policies of the Operations Division. Prior to joining URI, Ms. Riddick served as Executive Director at Ready To Work Business Collaborative where she built and launched a national nonprofit organization that connected employers to upskilled but overlooked members of the work force to help them achieve their profit and performance goals. Riddick spent the prior twenty years as Executive Director championing Montclair, NJ community values through affordable housing development and community revitalization. She holds a Master’s of Arts degree in Public Policy Analysis from Claremont Graduate University. Riddick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies from Mount Holyoke College.

Lesley Samuel-Young, LMSW, was promoted to  Vice President of Domestic Violence Residential Programs at Urban Resource Institute (URI) in 2023, from her previous role as Senior Director, providing leadership to five domestic violence (DV) residential sites. As Vice President, she now oversees 16 residential programs in four boroughs of New York City, including emergency, transitional, and rapid rehousing. Ms. Samuel-Young serves as a champion of URI’s clients and team, helping advance partnerships, program and financial management, and strategic planning and implementation across its portfolio of services. In 2016, Lesley joined URI at Urban Women’s Safe Haven, initially as Social Work Supervisor. Her growth extended to Interim Program Director at Women’s Survival Space 1 (WSS1) in 2018, to Program Director at PALS Place in 2019, and most recently to Senior Director in 2020, overseeing five DV residential sites including WSS1, WSS2, UCC, PALS Place, and Brighter Days.

Described as a formidable leader in the social work and residential fields in New York City, Ms. Samuel-Young began her career at Community Access on the Lower East Side, at a mental health clubhouse model program, whose philosophy allowed for mentally ill clients to actively participate in “work” at its day program, in partnership with staff. She was a recipient of a scholarship from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she completed her one-year residency program within the agency.

Ms. Samuel-Young then worked for Weston United’s Transitional Living Community in Harlem before becoming the Program Director at Club United, serving mentally ill adults in a 125-unit psycho-social day program, which also followed the clubhouse model. Ms. Samuel-Young received commendation from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for her service at the site.

Ms. Samuel-Young proudly served in a variety of clinical and leadership roles at partner organizations, most notably Jewish Board of Family & Children’s Services, with a tenure starting as an Assistant Director at a supportive housing program for mentally ill adults on the Upper East Side. She continued her work at the agency working alongside Met Council staff – in a joint-initiative with the Jewish Board – at Hillside House, a shelter serving homeless families in Queens. She also served simultaneously as an administrative clinician, at a start-up clinic project at the Bayridge Clinic in Brooklyn, when the Jewish Board acquired the site. She was promoted to Program Director for a DV shelter in Queens in 2002, and later added a Tier II to her portfolio to become Director of Queens DV Services for the Jewish Board from 2008 through 2014. She received commendation from the Executive team for leading her staff who mobilized and provided services for clients who were placed in evacuation sites during Hurricane Sandy.

Ms. Samuel-Young holds a bachelor’s degree in Media Communications and Sociology, from Hunter College; and received her master’s degree in Social Work from Hunter School of Social Work. She also received her Doctorate in Theology from Mount Olive Bible Institute and Seminary in 2012.

Lauren Schuster joined Urban Resource Institute after serving as Chief of Staff to Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) for more than 11 years. In that role, Lauren was instrumental in drafting and helping to pass more than 100 pieces of legislation into law.

Managing a small but nimble legislative and community staff, Lauren and her team built and lead winning coalitions on myriad issues, while providing strategic guidance on many others. She is deeply familiar with the Albany budget process and knows how to navigate the state legislative and regulatory processes.

Before that, Lauren worked at the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility, including Staff Attorney, Environmental Campaign Coordinator and Voting Empowerment Project Coordinator.

Lauren is passionate about housing and homelessness, harm reduction, social justice and racial, gender and socioeconomic equality, along with animal welfare issues.

Lauren received her Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law and graduated from New York University’s College of the Arts and Sciences, with a BA, cum laude, in political science. She is a New York City native; she lives with her spouse, Jeremiah and daughter, Vivian – and their two cats – in Staten Island, New York.

Les Stockel, an experienced facilities executive, brings over 25 years of expertise with a diverse background in commercial real estate, corporate facilities, and operations. Les managed corporate portfolios of 5 million square feet concentrating on property and facilities management, strategic initiatives, and capital planning. Les’ hands-on leadership and skill set enabled him to operate a large New Jersey Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that owned a real estate portfolio with over 250 tenants. Les is an accomplished facilities executive with a proven track record successfully managing all aspects of facilities operations from strategic planning to day-to-day operations.