OUR TEAM
Gary Leon is a New York City native and self-made businessman. Stemming from a Haitian cultural background, His rigorous work ethic is a characteristic instilled from his mother. From an early onset, Mr. Leon decided to be an entrepreneur. His first project within the community started in 2006 in NY. I wanted to do something so I used the resources from my T-shirt business and was able to help give money directly to the family of a young man who was killed. Partnering with a successful celebrity and their website we were able to run a nationwide T-shirt campaign & directly impact his family financially.
This inspired him to create The Cooperative Opportunity Project to provide opportunities to disenfranchised communities by bringing together small businesses and great projects. He used personal revenue to fund many of his initial projects. These programs consisted of business courses taught in group homes. Mentorships for high school students, summer camps designed to provide pathways to entrepreneurship, food drives, and Christmas giveaways. These are some examples of Gary’s hard work and dedication to uplift underserved communities. Gary founded this nonprofit in April of 2020. Since then he has been able to run over 6 successful programs nationwide during the pandemic. He continues to be the leading representative of the coined phrase, “Ordinary people doing extraordinary things”.
and walks of life. I have always been an advocate for providing not only
local health care but also the spiritual needs of my community. Overall, the
Cooperative Opportunity Project core foundations are fully aligned with my
unwavering dedication to address the concerns of the community and to
demonstrate an avid support system for those in need. I believe Community Partnership is important in underserved communities because it
allows us to engage, identify, and deal with the needs of the populations
with limited access to resources needed in the community. It also provides
a network of collaboration of individuals who can address and raise
concerns affecting the well-being of people in that area so that
assistance/resources can be provided to improve outcomes for individuals,
children, and families.
Hasani Edwards is a graduate of Binghamton University 2009, Hasani Edwards has earned his degree, and is an established
Licensed Master of Social Worker. A Queens NY Native, he currently pursues a career as ABA Therapist.
He has also established himself as a seasoned Therapist for families, couples, individuals, and children
within New York City’s community. Hasani has provided therapeutic services to families for over 10
years. His service began with Broome County Urban League, providing mentorship and guidance to
Middle school as well as high school students. During his tenure there he also taught IC3 computer
program fundamentals to adults and youths of various ages. He successfully facilitated hundreds of
students' and adults' certifications in computer literacy. Many of these students have since utilized these
skills during their college careers.
After leaving the Binghamton community, Hasani continued his life’s journey in his hometown of New
York City. Upon his return, he joined the child welfare workforce. There he dedicated 5 years to
ensuring the safety and well-being of at-risk youth in disenfranchised communities. In 2015 his skill set
was increased with a new occupational experience with New York City’s geriatric population. During this
period he ensured the safety and well-being of seniors coping with long-term illness. He facilitated the
delivery of medical supplies and services. Observing the struggles and obstacles our elderly and youth
cope with has become the motivating force that drives him to continue his community work.
In June of 2020, Dorian Fuller joined the Human Resources Department of BNP Paribas USA to act as Head of Diversity Recruitment after spending nearly 4 years in the Firm’s Compliance Department. Over the last 16 years, Dorian has built his career leading Compliance teams at various premier financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Bank of America, and RBC Capital Markets.
During his career, Dorian has been able to act upon his passion for Diversity and Inclusion at each of these institutions through his participation on employee resource group executive boards and/or diversity-focused initiatives. As Head of Diversity Recruitment, Dorian is building upon this passion and his experience in developing corporate strategy and establishing effective control frameworks. In this role, Dorian develops and implements sustainable data-driven strategies for recruiting diverse talent. Dorian is also a member of the executive board of the African Heritage Employee Resource Group at BNP. Dorian holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Philosophy from St. John’s University and, in 2015, he earned a Master’s of Business Administration from the Johnson School of Business at Cornell University.
Peggy Louis is a Lead Finance Associate for the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida. She also held positions in her home state of New York, She worked as the Executive Assistant to the Managing Director of the ISDA desk at Merrill Lynch where for over 10 years she was entrusted with highly sensitive International Swap sales information. Peggy has graduated from the Molloy College on Long Island, New York, and holds a dual degree in Business Administration and Sociology. Peggy is currently pursuing her MBA with a concentration in Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University. Peggy has many years of experience working in various sectors of business, However with all years of experience Peggy passion lays with helping the community, Peggy spent over 6 years working for the City of New York in the Department of Children Services where she assisted in implementing and helped create many programs to assist children that were in the foster care system. She wants to engage more with influential decision-making and public policy. She's open to challenges, conversations, and an exchange of ideas from the community in order to effect change where needed.
I am a goal-orientated, cybersecurity novice, looking forward to contributing to society's next steps in
technology. I am currently pursuing my Splunk and CompTIA Security + certifications. Over the past 6
months, I have had the opportunity to work with Warner Media (f.k.a. Turner Broadcasting) through Year
Up's internship program. During my time there I commenced my journey with the ups and downs of a
SOC (Security Operations Center) Analyst. These challenges have refined my fundamental IT skills as well
as presented new intelligence about cybersecurity. From deploying a Linux server, building programs
using Python to querying in Carbon Black for possible IOCs (Indicator of Compromise), I've learned that
cybersecurity is not only my career but a mindset. I am always looking to share the knowledge I have
and found because people of all walks of life can teach you new things even if you do that thing every
day, experience is the greatest teacher.