People

Keri Butler joined MAS in 2022 as the Vice President of Planning and Policy, with oversight of the Planning and Advocacy Team at MAS and working with a broad range of citywide organizations on reforming urban planning and historic preservation policies and programs to make the city more equitable, resilient, and livable. Previously, Keri held numerous roles at the New York City Public Design Commission (PDC), most recently as executive director, where she oversaw the agency’s review of public art, monuments, and complex large-scale capital projects. At the PDC, Keri fostered collaborative partnerships to enhance the public realm, implemented research initiatives highlighting the role of design in supporting sustainable development and innovative streetscape ideas to improve public health, and managed projects celebrating women designers and Black history.

Charlotte is a final-year dual degree student at Columbia GSAPP, pursuing a joint master’s in urban planning and historic preservation. Originally from the south of France, she began her academic journey studying political science and history at Sciences Po Paris and the National University of Singapore before specializing in urban studies. Charlotte has gained public sector experience both internationally and in New York. Most recently, she interned at the Department of City Planning’s Bronx Borough Office, where she worked closely with stakeholders such as community boards and elected officials. Alongside her work with MAS, Charlotte will be writing her master’s thesis, exploring the intersections between heritage, place attachment, and climate adaptation strategies in Marseille, France. In the future, she hopes to become a forward-looking advocate who can continue to bridge the gap between planning and preservation through her work.

Aisha came to MAS in 2013. She began her career at MAS as an Executive Assistant, then later became the Database Manager. She tackles a multitude of assignments daily, not to mention a heavy correspondence load! Outside of work, Aisha enjoys traveling and volunteering at her daughter’s school. Prior to MAS, Aisha worked at the Department of Commerce as an Assistant Manager of Administration. She is a native New Yorker, who received her degrees from Long Island University and John Jay College.

Erin Butler is manager of MAS’s publicly accessible Greenacre Reference Library and the MAS Archives, where she welcomes and assists researchers and visitors, sharing and developing MAS’s unique and growing collections exploring various aspects of our evolving city. Prior to joining MAS in 2011, she worked at Alliance for the Arts. Erin has been an ardent observer of New York City’s five boroughs and surrounding water since moving here from the Pacific Northwest in the mid-1970s. She is an alumna of the Art Students League of New York, Madison Area Technical College (Madison, WI), and Grays Harbor College (Aberdeen, WA). She maintains a painting studio at Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island.

Eduardo joins MAS in May 2024 after working as a senior project manager in Neighborhood Planning for the Department of Small Business Services (SBS). There he created and developed the Commercial District Lighting grant to creatively address lighting deficiencies in over a dozen neighborhoods citywide. He also worked on the Open Street grant supporting commercial districts in every borough, the commercial district needs assessments for Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Homecrest, and Canarsie, and partnered with community-based organizations on multiyear projects in Brooklyn and East Harlem. Before SBS, Eduardo worked as an intern planner at the Department of City Planning (DCP) and at the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. Eduardo graduated from Cornell University with a BA in Government and a BS in Urban & Regional Planning.

Al Castricone joined MAS in January 2001 and heads the Facilities and IT departments. Prior to coming to MAS, Al created the building maintenance department for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, a function that was previously outsourced. He worked for 18 years at Miller Freeman Inc., a publisher of business-to-business magazines, where he managed the Facilities, Maintenance and Security departments. Al lives in Brooklyn with his wife Pam and four children.

Sarah Celentano comes to MAS from the Brooklyn College Foundation (CUNY), where she revitalized alumni giving while managing the planned giving program. Sarah has an extensive professional history in academic institutions and cultural organizations that includes Fordham University; the City Reliquary, where she served as Assistant Director; and the New-York Historical Society, where she managed the Chairman’s Council. She now serves on the City Reliquary Board of Directors and is a volunteer mentor for Fordham University and the University of Texas at Austin, where she received her doctorate in Art & Art History. In addition to her work in non-profit administration, Sarah enjoys publishing and presenting her research. Born in Brooklyn and having grown up in Queens and Nassau County, she has an enduring fascination with the history of New York and the city’s role as an ever-changing cosmopolis. Sarah’s photo by Christopher Scalzi/Distilled Studio.

Phyllis Cohen has been Director of the Adopt-A-Monument and Adopt-A-Mural programs since their creation in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Prior to that she was at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, assistant to the curator of American Literature and Art and special archivist for ten years, enhancing her passion for art and paper conservation first studied at the Biblioteca Nazionale, Florence, Italy. Phyllis taught Art History on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Bryn Mawr College with an M.A. in Art History. She serves on the Conservation Advisory Group of the NYC Public Design Commission advising on the restoration of public artworks. She also administrates the Brendan Gill Prize.

Genevieve DeLaurier joined MAS in 2022. Prior to MAS, Genevieve was Managing Director at Rooftop Films, a nonprofit that produces innovative site-specific outdoor film events throughout NYC. In her 14 years with Rooftop, she helped guide its transformation from a volunteer run local arts organization to an internationally recognized cultural institution. She started her career working in program development for a variety of nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions in Boston and NYC. Genevieve was raised in Ithaca, NY and has been a proud Brooklyn resident for over 20 years. She holds a B.A. in History from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a concentration in Culture, Race and Gender Studies and a minor in Dance.

Tom has served as Senior Director of Land Use and Planning at MAS since 2016. He is a certified planner and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional with 22 years of public and private sector city planning experience in New York. Tom heads MAS’ planning operations, initiatives, and research projects, and led two major groundbreaking studies on New York City’s Environmental Quality Review (CEQR). 2018’s Tale of Two Rezonings: Taking a Harder Look at CEQR examined development under the rezonings of Long Island City and Downtown Brooklyn. 2023’s Site x Site: A Look Back at Soft Site Development in New York City is an unprecedented analysis of citywide development that demonstrates the limitations of CEQR criteria in reliably estimating future development. Prior to his tenure at MAS, Tom led Langan Engineering’s environmental planning and wetland permitting practices, managing a wide range of projects including Franklin, D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island and the NYPD Training Academy in Queens.

Alex Israel joined MAS as the Ralph C. Menapace Fellow in September 2024. Alex is a May 2024 graduate of Fordham University School of Law, where she served as Notes & Articles Editor for the Urban Law Journal and filed a federal civil rights action on behalf of the Housing and Environmental Litigation Clinic. While in law school, she interned with the New York City Council, New York State Office of the Attorney General, New York Civil Liberties Union, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Before pursuing her legal career, Alex received her undergraduate degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in 2014, and worked as a marketing strategist and freelance journalist reporting on local politics in her neighborhood on the Upper West Side.

Aislinn joined MAS in 2022. Prior to MAS, Aislinn worked in several bookstores, in website and social media design, and at the U.S. Census. She has also interned at the Department of City Planning and the City Council. Aislinn holds a B.A. in Geography with a minor in Urban Studies from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and completed her M.A. in Urban Studies from the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. On weekends, Aislinn enjoys going to museums, parks, and photographing historic city architecture. Aislinn grew up in Manhattan, where she currently resides.

Robert Libbey has a Master of Science in Accounting from Baruch College of the City University of New York and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maine. Prior to coming to the Municipal Art Society, Robert worked at both the Alliance for the Arts and Central Conference of American Rabbis. He lives in New York City with his spouse and enjoys the opera, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the New York Mets.

Rebecca is the director of urban design and policy at The Municipal Art Society (MAS), leading strategic initiatives including Enduring Culture as well as housing and public realm advocacy. Previously, she was the director of urban design and strategy at the NYC Public Design Commission, where she led interagency initiatives and regulatory design review of complex mixed-use developments focused on the provisioning of public space, housing, and urban systems. Rebecca is managing editor of the City’s Designing New York: Quality Affordable Housing publication and co-author of Women-Designed NYC and Prefabrication in the Public Realm. Rebecca holds a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Anthropology, with a minor in American Culture Studies, from Washington University in St. Louis. She currently serves as a consultant for the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project Cities Network, as an Urban Design Forum Global Exchange Fellow focused on taking big swings at New York City’s housing crisis, and is a mentor with ARCscholars.

Tina joined MAS in April 2021. Prior to that, she worked in several different nonprofit spaces. She was a Development and Outreach intern at Democracy Now!, and the Development Assistant at IndyKids, an NYC-based social justice newspaper made by kids for kids. She graduated from Fordham University with a degree in English Literature. Tina is passionate about supporting MAS’s efforts for a more equitable New York. She is currently an M.S.W. candidate at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service. Tina resides in Ridgewood with her cat, Parsnip.

Ted joined MAS in March 2016 after three years as Director of Programs at Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. He has worked in non-profit management for more than 20 years and enjoys living in New York City very much. Ted is an advocate of volunteer work and has been a volunteer with Center for Architecture, City Reliquary Museum, God’s Love We Deliver, Loft Opera, and Gotham Chamber Opera. A 10-time marathoner (New York 4 times) and licensed tour guide, he takes advantage of what New York has to offer to fill up his nights and weekends with movies, concerts, theatre, museums, Mets games, and more. Many Friday nights in the summer you’ll find him on the boardwalk at Coney Island for the free fireworks.

Max Scott is a master’s student in Urban and Community Planning at Pratt Institute. A life-long resident of Jackson Heights, Queens, he is an urbanist and community organizer with five years’ experience as Co-Chair of the Western Queens Community Land Trust’s Outreach Committee. He also writes about urban issues, with articles in Untapped New York and Resilience, as well as self-published on his urbanism blog Buildings of New York.

Genevieve joined MAS in August 2021 after graduating from The Ohio State University in May 2021. Prior to MAS, she held internship positions at Ohio State’s Urban Arts Space, the Wexner Center for the Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa). A practicing artist, Genevieve combines her passion for historic preservation and built environments with her love of printmaking to make interactive prints and zines. She currently resides in Brooklyn.

Ranna joined MAS in October 2021. Previously, she worked as an analyst at the American Museum of Natural History, where she tracked attendance trends, helped to assess operational needs, and compiled data for reporting across the Museum. She has also interned with local economic development and community organizations as a student. Ranna is a certified planner with a M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University GSAPP and a B.A. in Economics and Environmental Studies from NYU. She grew up in Queens.