EN 
ES 
ZH 
KO 
The Restore Freedom Collective invites you to:
A Reception and Discussion in Honor of Women’s History Month
Empowered Women Empower Women
How Philanthropy Combats Human Trafficking
Wednesday, March 18, 2024 | 6:00pm
80 W 40th St, 7th floor, New York, NY
6pm Reception7pm Panel Discussion featuring:
Beck Sullivan, LCSW
Chief Executive Officer
Restore
Lenore Schaffer, Ph.D
Chief Programs Officer
Restore
Damyury Almonte
Programs Officer,
Trinity Church Philanthropies
April Tam Smith
Philanthropist, Founder,
& Managing Director
Moderated by Women’s Philanthropy Thought Leader:
Yolanda F. Johnson
Enjoy delicious food, drinks, and conversation with the Restore community as we celebrate Women’s History Month and learn more about what’s to come for Restore this year.
This event is complimentary, by invitation only. Invitations are non-transferable. If you are interested in joining us, please write to development@restorenyc.org.
Empowered Women Empower Women
Movements need money, and philanthropy is one of the most powerful tools society has to tackle our greatest problems, including human trafficking.
Yet, giving to women’s and girls’ organizations equals only approximately 2% of overall U.S. charitable giving—peaking at 2.18% in 2022. And of those dollars, who led the way in giving? Women, of course, with gifts of all sizes, ranging from $2 to $20million. Restore leads the way as one of the most preeminent anti-trafficking organizations in the world. Yet, we would not be where we are without the generosity of women donors.
Join us as we celebrate Women’s History Month with a poignant conversation on how women have helped make freedom a reality for survivors of human trafficking. Our moderator, women’s philanthropy thought leader, Yolanda F. Johnson, will guide our panel, including Beck Sullivan, CEO of Restore, Lenore Schaffer, Chief Program Officer of Restore and two Restore donors, in sharing their expert perspectives and experiences around the impact women have made in the fight against human trafficking.
Panelists
Lenore Schaffer, Ph.D
Lenore Schaffer, Ph.D. is the Chief Program Officer at Restore NYC, where she leads the strategic oversight of the organization’s Housing, Economic Empowerment, Client Services, and Impact Evaluation programs. Before joining Restore in June 2019, she served as The University of Southern Mississippi’s first Deputy Title IX Coordinator. In this role, she assisted in the oversight, leadership, and coordination of the University’s compliance efforts with Title IX and the University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy.
Lenore has always been committed to ending gender-based violence and spearheaded the University’s first student organization geared towards increasing sexual violence awareness and peer-to-peer education. Altogether, she has more than a decade of experience in higher education and teaching, policy and program development, and counseling. She has a M.Ed. in Counseling & Human Services from Lehigh University and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, minor in Student Affairs from The University of Southern Mississippi
Beck Sullivan, LCSW
Beck Sullivan is the CEO of Restore NYC, a nonprofit dedicated to making freedom real for survivors of human trafficking in New York City. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Beck brings over 17 years of expertise in the anti-trafficking field, with a focus on providing trauma-informed care and creating spaces rooted in justice and healing.
She previously worked with survivors at the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition in San Diego and co-founded the Valley Against Sex Trafficking (VAST), a nonprofit in Pennsylvania. Before becoming CEO, Beck served as Restore’s Chief Program Officer, where she led nationally recognized programs that earned the prestigious Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons in 2024.
Damyury Almonte
Damyury Almonte serves as the Program Officer for the Housing & Homelessness initiative at Trinity Church Philanthropies. In this capacity, she provides administrative and programming support to the initiative team and assists in managing grant cycles and relationships with existing grantees.
Damyury previously flew as a Cabin Chief for Norwegian Air Lines, where her travels exposed her to the beauty of the world but also to the reality that the most vulnerable populations are systemically underserved globally. Damyury earned her BA in Sociology from Fordham University and is a native New Yorker.
April Tam Smith
April Tam Smith is a devoted philanthropist, finance professional, and socially-conscious entrepreneur living in New York City. She is currently a Managing Director in a top-tier investment bank’s equity derivatives team, covering hedge funds specializing in exotics payoffs.
At age 30, April founded P.S. Kitchen, a social enterprise vegan restaurant in Times Square that donates 100% of its net profits to philanthropic endeavors, while providing gainful employment to those who need a second chance in the local community, including the formerly incarcerated, victims of domestic violence or trafficking, and those struggled with homelessness. April was the recipient of the 2018 Columbia Tamer Center Social Enterprise Award, the 2018 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business Award, and the 2015 John Mack Leadership Award. Her work has been featured by ABC News, Oprah, CBS News, Christianity Today, TedWomen etc. Her experiences from serving at orphanages and social businesses overseas have planted a deep seed in her to be a voice for the poor and fight for justice while leveraging her 20+ year career on Wall Street. She currently serves on the board for Justice Rising, Defy Ventures, Restore NYC, and Sharehope. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering from MIT in 2005 and her MBA from Columbia Business School in 2009 and resides in NYC with her husband Graham, their 4y old son Kai, and 8lb maltipoo Mochi.
Moderator
Yolanda F. Johnson
With a wealth of experience in the non-profit sector, Yolanda F. Johnson, a leader in fundraising, philanthropy and Inclusive Philanthropy, has developed training methods for boards and leadership groups in effective fundraising strategy, in addition to successfully launching fundraising and marketing initiatives; creating special streams of earned income and special events, including creative strategies for partnerships and sponsorships; securing foundation, corporation and government funding, and cultivating a diverse major gifts portfolio. Her philanthropic work includes counseling philanthropists on where to direct their resources, and through her own YFJ Philanthropies, she personally gives back to causes supporting equity, those with disabilities and the arts.
A trailblazing figure on the nonprofit landscape, from 2019 – 2022, Yolanda was the president of Women In Development (WID), NY, one of the NY Metro Area’s premier professional fundraising organizations and she is the founder of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC). Yolanda is a sought-after keynote speaker, panelist, and moderator for various presenting organizations nationwide and internationally. She serves on the Marketing Committee of Advisors in Philanthropy.
Her other leadership roles include serving on the Board of Directors of the Hudson River Museum, Lehman College Art Gallery and PowHer NY. She is also a Special Advisor to the American Composer’s Orchestra and the former United Nations NGO Rep and current International Advisory Board Member for the Foundation for Post Conflict Development.
Yolanda’s career as a successful performing artist and public speaker (www.yolandafjohnson.com) has given her a unique, creative perspective on the communications and presentation aspects of organizational development. With this in mind, she developed All the World’s A Stage, a special workshop using performance practice for fundraising, philanthropy, and Inclusive Philanthropy. She presents All the World’s A Stage to professionals and leadership groups across the country. Yolanda was awarded the 2021 Changemaker Award from the Institute of Nonprofit Practice and is a founding member of the Women’s Philanthropy Alliance, a core group of industry experts and thought leaders on Women’s Philanthropy. Yolanda is a member of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute National Council as well as the Leadership Network for the Amplify Her Charitable Foundation. She was recently appointed to be a member of the Impact-Driven Philanthropy Collaborative and 2025 saw her receive her Impact Philanthropy Advisory (IPA) certification from Daylight Advisors.