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.
Supervisor of Grounds Kevin Singleton and Property Maintenance Supervisor Damonn McClarin
Kevin Singleton’s association with NYCHA goes back to his early teenage years. At age 13, he got his first opportunity to work for NYCHA as a Summer Youth Employment Program worker. A few years later, he returned as a Seasonal Worker. He has since worked at various developments, including when assisting with an inventory program in 2012. He’s been a Supervisor of Grounds for five years and is currently leading the grounds team at Wyckoff Gardens.
Mr. Singleton was nominated for the CMLA by his supervisor Shelisa Reid, Property Manager at Wyckoff Gardens, who thought the program would be a great opportunity to enhance his leadership skills.
“The Coaching and Mentoring Leadership Academy has probably been the best experience I have had thus far at the Housing Authority, and I am very grateful and appreciative to Ms. Yvette Andino and her team for allowing me to be a part of this special program and the family created during the process,” said Mr. Singleton. “I am grateful to have a great mentor, Damonn McClarin, whom I look up to as a big brother and someone I can talk to and get advice from whenever I need. We also share so many of the same traits, so it is very easy to relate to each other and receive the knowledge and wisdom he shares with me; hopefully I can pass it along to others down the line one day.”
Damonn McClarin has been with NYCHA for 25 years. He started his NYCHA career as a Seasonal Aide, signing up for the Housing Youth Training Program (HYTP) two years later. Through the HYTP, he landed a full-time job at the Authority; he currently works as a Property Maintenance Supervisor in the community he once lived in as a boy.
Like his mentee, Mr. McClarin was also nominated for the program. He said he was initially hesitant to participate in the CMLA when Ms. Andino invited him to join but is glad he accepted the invitation.
“This experience has taught me a lot about myself, [and provided the opportunity to get] to know Mr. Singleton, with whom I share similar interests and mannerisms,” said Mr. McClarin. “We have built a relationship that will go beyond mentor and mentee. I hope that Mr. Singleton will further his career within NYCHA, because he is a leader in his own right. I am truly grateful to Ms. Andino and her amazing team for this beautiful program. This is something the Authority needs, and I’d do it all over again, this time without hesitation.”
