- Cy Richardson named Senior Vice President, Economics and Housing -
- Hal Smith named Senior Vice President, Education, Youth Development and Health -
NEW YORK, NY (May 7, 2013) – The National Urban League, the nation's largest historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization, today announced its appointments of Cy Richardson and Hal Smith as co-leaders of its Programs Department. Former Chief Programs Officer, Donald Bowen, has been appointed to the role of President and CEO of the newly-created Urban Empowerment Fund, the National Urban League’s Community Development Financial Institution and small business loan fund.
Richardson previously served as the National Urban League’s Vice President for Housing and Community Development and will become Senior Vice President, Economics and Housing Programs. Smith served as the organization’s Vice President for Health & Quality of Life and will become Senior Vice President, Education, Youth Development and Health Programs. Richardson and Smith will be based in New York City and will report to Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League.
The Programs Department develops direct service programs – including the National Urban League’s Signature Programs on education, jobs, housing and health– that are implemented by the organization’s network of 95 local affiliates nationwide. The Programs Department also makes annual competitive grants to local affiliates and designs, tests and implements innovative solutions to address the social and economic problems of local constituents.
“Dynamic insights, research and subject matter expertise have been at the forefront of our expansion in the Programs Department, which is currently the largest department within the National Urban League,” said Morial. “As we continue to evolve our organization, this department will remain critical to our success and ability to empower millions of disadvantaged Americans via targeted programs aimed at improving their lives. Cy and Hal have worked closely alongside Don for the past several years and are both experts in their respective areas. I am confident that with the two of them at the helm, our best is still to come.”
Prior to joining the National Urban League in 2002, Richardson, a certified City Planner and Economic Development Finance Professional, worked in various positions in New York City government including as a researcher with the New York City Council, with the New York State Legislature on economic policy issues and as a Land Use Planner for the Brooklyn Borough President. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; an M.S. in City and Regional Planning with a concentration in community economic development from Pratt Institute; an Advanced Certificate in Urban Policy Analysis from Humboldt University (Berlin); and a Ph.Mfrom the City University of New York’s Graduate Center.
Smith joined the National Urban League in 2008and previously held teaching, administrative, policy and advocacy positions with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD); the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University; the City College of New York; the College of the Holy Cross; Northern Illinois University; Lesley University and Harvard University. He holds a B.B.A. in Human Resource Administration from Temple University; an M.A. in Africana studies from the State University of New York at Albany; and an Ed.M. and Ed.D. in Community Education and Lifelong Learning from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
For more information on the National Urban League’s Signature Programs, click here or visit www.nul.org.
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About the National Urban League
The National Urban League (www.nul.org) is a historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of direct service programs and through the public policy research and advocacy activities of the National Urban League Policy Institute in Washington, DC. Today, there are nearly 100 local Urban League affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide.
