Social Entrepreneur Profile
Richard
Kahan
President
Urban Assembly
Shadowed
by:
Anna Beard, Noah Bopp and Aliza
Goldgewert
Entrepreneur
Contact Data:
551 Fifth Avenue, 23rd floor
New York, NY 10176
Phone: 212.867.3060
Website: www.urbanassembly.org
Basics:
Founding Date: 1997
Corporate Form: 501(c) 3
Geographic Focus: New York City
Full-time employees: in flux, currently 21
employees + principals
Industry: Education
Social Mission Areas: Education
Mission:
The Urban Assembly is a
non-profit organization dedicated to creating small, public,
college-preparatory high schools that provide high quality education to
students who would otherwise attend large, factory style,
under-performing schools. By exposing students to broader topics, they
are able to see a world beyond their immediate community and are
encouraged to seek it out through college and higher education.
Q
and A with Students:
Q:
Can you tell us about Richard Kahan?
A: Richard Kahan has spent the
past 35 years addressing a wide range of urban problems by fostering
partnerships between the public and private sectors in order to serve
local communities. In addition to his role as founder and president of
the Urban Assembly, Richard most recently co-founded Take the Field, a
non-profit organization that is rebuilding the athletic facilities of
New York City public schools. Since its founding in 2000 Take the Field
has rebuilt 43 outdoor athletic facilities in all five boroughs at a
cost of over $132 million.
As President and CEO of the
New York State Urban Development Corporation, Richard initiated a $3
billion statewide economic development program that preserved and
created more than 100,000 construction jobs for New York State. As
Chairman and CEO of Battery Park City Authority, he was responsible for
the planning, design and development of Battery Park City, the largest
urban development in the United States at the time. During that time he
was also President and CEO of the New York Convention Center
Development Corporation, where he created the authorizing legislation
and directed the design, financing and construction of the $375 million
Javits Center.
In the private sector,
Richard was a partner for Tishman Speyer Properties and the Managing
Director and CEO of the Continental Development Group. Richard has been
the recipient of many awards, including: the American Institute of
Architects’ Thomas Jefferson Award, the Robert Moses Achievement Award,
the Minority Business Development Award, and the Doris C. Freedman
Award. Richard attended Union college with a B.A. in History, and
received his J.D. at the Columbia University Law School.
Q:
What led you to choose to shadow him?
A: Two of our group members are students at Teachers; College,
so had an interest in an educational entrepreneur. One member saw
Richard speak in a previous class and saw his role as something she
would like to emulate. Finally, the way he seems to combine the public
& private sectors seemed interesting.
Q:
What was interesting, surprising or inspiring about shadowing this
SE?
A: How willing he was to be open about his answers and
relaxed about spending his time; he was very patient.
Q:
What did you learn about being a social entrepreneur from this project?
A: Basic management and
strategy lessons from the for-profit sector still apply in the
not-for-profit sector. A lot of it is more about the entrepreneur, less
about the organization. Practical information of day-to-day life as a
social entrepreneur.
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