Board of Advisors
Barbara A. Banks, is an award-winning writer, editor, and artist educator. The former newspaper reporter (Tampa Tribune, Houston Post) has published political analysis, literary criticism, and fiction. She has more than 20 years experience in community-based program development, including several projects – funded by the Kentucky Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and community partners – cited as Model Civil Rights Projects. Banks brings a history of working collaboratively with diverse public and private partners to leverage resources to communities throughout the South, with particular emphasis on Central Appalachia (all of West Virginia, and the Appalachian counties of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee).
As Community Artist in Residence, Banks has taught writing to hundreds of children throughout Central Appalachia and Maryland, most recently Baltimore. She specializes in developing multi-disciplinary programs for children that use art in ways that build community. She is a founding faculty member of the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts. Banks has served as Interim Executive Director and Board Chair, Appalachian Community Fund, Co-Chair, Membership Committee, Board of Directors, National Funding Exchange, Co-Convenor, People of Color Caucus, National Network of Grantmakers, and Co-Chair, Charitable Support Sector, Southern Rural Development Initiative.
Edwin W. Finder served as Executive Assistant to the late Dr. Bernard Lander, President of Touro University, from 1995 until 2005, where he was involved in campus real estate development activities and fundraising. He served from 1985 through 1995 as Senior Project Manager at Parish & Weiner, Inc., Real Estate and Planning/Development Consultants. Prior to that, Finder was engaged in various consulting assignments including the Hackensack Meadowlands Commission, the City of College Park, Maryland, City of New York, and the City of Paterson, NJ. He also represents artists engaged in stained glass and oils. This included the late Jackson Hall who created the stained glass windows for the Metropolitan Community Church of New York. From 1978 through 2006, he served as Director and Vice-President/Real Estate for the National Preservation Institute, Inc. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Queens College/City University of New York and Master of Urban Planning from New York University.
Molly Goodrich, MFA is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Explore New York, a non-profit organization specializing in educational tours for senior citizens. Established in 2002, Explore New York conducts an average of 70 five-night tours, servicing over 1500 people per year.
Molly comes to tourism from an art background. She came to New York in 1984 to open a gallery for Landfall Press, a fine print publisher from Chicago. She has directed galleries in SoHo and 57th Street and worked as a corporate art consultant for such companies as AIG, American Express, and Bank of America.
Molly Goodrich received both her BFA and MFA from Syracuse University.
Explore New York has allowed her to put together her love for New York with her love of people.
Marvin Sylvester Horton has more than 20 years experience in the full internet technology life cycle in specialized industries. For more than a decade, he was Senior Data Architect with Computer Sciences Corporation. As a senior consultant, he provided business and data architecture expertise and support for several Fortune 500 firms undergoing enterprise business transformation projects. He was responsible for defining business requirements and data structures, designing business solutions, creating data models, implementing application frameworks, deploying databases and applications, as well as collaborating with senior management to define IT policies and procedures. As Vice President, Commody Futures Division with Smith Barney, Inc. (1993-1998), he led design and development of several new application systems, and managed a team of twelve developers. His other professional experiences include: Assistant Vice President for Network Services, Bear Stearns and Co.; Director of Network Services, New York University’s Medical Center; and Systems Analyst, AMBAC Indemnity Corporation.
Horton earned a Master in Public Service in Interactive Telecommunications degree at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, a Certificate in Database Design & Development Computer Technology and Applications from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Williams College. His professional affiliations include: The Data Warehouse Institute, The Business Intelligence Network, The Open Group, and the Enterprise Architecture Conference.
Jessica Tomb is the Director of Finance and Administration for The Tinker Foundation. She was formerly the owner of Business Needs Company which she established in 1983. Her clients represented a range of industries in the public and private sectors. For more than 20 years she was a business consultant, providing services in accounting and application training, while working closely with her client’s accounting firms. She is a registered Microsoft Partner who is certified to install and support Microsoft Business Solutions software. Other professional experiences include: Great Scott Advertising, Vice President, Operation & Personnel; Cultural Council Foundation, Director for Program Services; New York Council for the Humanities, Controller; New York State Council on the Arts, Director of Service Organizations, and Saratoga Arts Workshop, Executive Director. She graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton with a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Not-for-Profit Management; and a Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts from Skidmore College. Her accounting knowledge and strong communication skills have been a crucial combination for successfully addressing the needs of organizations and clients. In addition, she enjoys ballroom dancing and has performed as a standup comedian in venues in New York City.
