Meet the Coaching and Mentoring Leadership Academy Participants

In January 2023, NYCHA launched its first-ever Coaching and Mentoring Leadership Academy (CMLA). Participants in the 16-week program received training and coaching in areas such as strategic communications and crisis management, and they had the opportunity to enhance their leadership and management skills through mentorship.      

Read on to learn more about a few of the mentors and mentees participating in the Leadership Academy.        

Assistant Property Manager Latoya Shavers and Skilled Trades Deputy Director Sha-kema Peterson    

Latoya Shavers has dedicated her career to public service. She has worked as a Case Manager with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), a Mental Health Therapy Aide with NYS Department of Health, and as a School Safety Officer with the NYPD. She was recently promoted to Property Manager at Jackie Robinson Houses in Manhattan. Prior to her current role, she was an Assistant Manager at Edenwald Houses, and a Housing Assistant at Morrisania Consolidated and Patterson Houses in the Bronx.   

She joined the CMLA to gain knowledge to advance her NYCHA career.     

“I learned from the program to always take on things I’d never done before,” said Ms. Shavers. “Growth and comfort do not co-exist.”    

Sha-kema Peterson mentored Ms. Shavers. She has been with NYCHA for over 20 years. Ms. Peterson is currently the Deputy Director for Skilled Trades in the Bronx Property Management Department, having previously held various positions at NYCHA, such as a Heating Plant Technician.  

She joined the CMLA to provide guidance, support, and encouragement to staff to help them perform their duties and responsibilities.   

“I’ve learned that completing new goals always seems impossible until it becomes your past,” said Ms. Peterson.