OUR TEAM

Pronouns: He/Him

Following a number of years running his own business, Peter began his journey in the nonprofit sector after deciding he wanted to do work with a more permanent impact on the world around him. Now, more than a decade into his career in youth development, Peter is motivated by the trajectory shift that can occur in a young person’s life as a result of intentional, high quality programming. The belief that the most profound impact of this work is that the benefits will continue to reveal themselves over years, lifetimes and even generations of families is a critical driver to what we get to do in this field.

Prior to Summer Search Peter led Community for Youth, a life-skills and mentoring program in Seattle where he lived for many years. In Seattle Peter also did extensive work with Youth Development Executives of King County, The Weikert Center’s Youth Program Quality Assessment tool, and Washington State Mentors Quality Mentoring Assessment Pathway Taskforce all of which worked to elevate the impact of mentoring young people. That work, seeing the incredible results that uncommonly intentional and professionalized mentoring yield, elevated the type of program that he wanted to work with. A move back home to the east coast brought him eagerly to Summer Search NYC.

Peter’s commitment to social justice extends beyond the workplace to a number of Boards and other volunteer opportunities including Fremont Community Therapy Project, Providence Hospitality House and work in King County Jail and Monroe State Prison. Now in NJ/NY after more than 20 years out west, Peter is looking forward to getting re-engaged in the local community. And in the days between there is always more live music to check out, more books to read, and more movies to see.

Pronouns: She/Her

Dedicated to social change and a commitment to understanding history, culture and the impact that racism and other intersections have on individuals and communities, Jené is continually inspired by authentic conversations and relationship building.

Jené provides mentoring and training support to Program Associates and loves the opportunity to create spaces where people feel supported and heard.

Jené graduated from Brandeis University and holds a MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work.

In her spare time, Jené enjoys laughing, learning from, and supporting her friends and family. She enjoys music, reading fantasy books, cats, swimming in the ocean, and sleeping in. She has spent the last couple of summers travelling to Cuba, and getting involved with community organizing efforts.

She currently lives in Brooklyn, and dreams of spending the winters in the Caribbean.

Pronouns: They/Them

Gisel comes to Summer Search with a deep passion for restorative justice. As a first-generation migrant born in Ecuador, they understand first-hand the effects of environmental racism on low-income brown and black communities. They hold a BFA from the School of Visual Arts here in NYC where they studied Visual and Critical Studies. When Gisel is not working at Summer Search, they are organizing in their community, farming and cooking up new foods!

Pronouns: She/Her.

Trish’s passion for learning and growth started with her first job at Chuck E. Cheeses, pushed her to study abroad in college, pulled her into college access and success work, and guides most of her life choices to this day. As a first-generation college student Trish had to overcome many challenges in her pursuit of higher education and quest for fulfilling her purpose. She is grateful to those who helped her come to this point as a Post-Secondary Manager at Summer Search!

Trish holds her bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College and her Master’s in Education Studies from Boston University, Wheelock College. She’s spent all of her career working in the education realm as a college access AmeriCorps volunteer, doing school operations and recruitment in Boston, and working with college access and success counselors here in NYC.

Originally from a small town in Bucks County Pennsylvania, Trish has lived in Brooklyn since 2014. Outside of work she enjoys reading all genres, biking around the city, spending time with her little brother, nieces, and nephew in PA, devouring her mother-in-law’s cooking, going on walks with her dog Bishop, and making her partner pick new shows for them to watch together.

Pronouns: He/Him

Dominic Cathey loves traveling around the world, meeting new people whenever possible, and enjoys attending the arts, tasting chocolate desserts, listening to music, going to brunches, swimming and gathering with friends and family.  He is also a first-generation college student, the oldest of 5 younger brothers, a former collegiate athlete, an artist, an entrepreneur, and a recently married gay Black man.

Dominic earned his M.S.W. and Social Enterprise Administration degree from Columbia University, as well as a B.A. in African American Studies where he concentrated on social policy, at-risk community development and the African Diaspora in relation to power, privilege and oppressive ideology from the University of California, Berkeley.

As a leader, Dominic is focused on developing social emotional learning cultures and innovative programs rooted in equity, antiracist ideology and young people’s voice. He’s deeply passionate about cultivating safe environments for marginalized humans to push past systematic barriers and reimagine life’s possibilities and their full potential.