Brooklyn's Progress
April/May 2006

BY KHADIJA BATUTA

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Kathryn Lightner and Ilan Stern have joined the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce as part of the Brooklyn Business Solutions team.

Kathryn Lightner joined the Brooklyn Business Solutions staff as a Business Services Counselor on Apr. 3.  Ms. Lightner will focus primarily on providing business services and technical assistance to clients associated with the NYCWorks program, which partners the Chamber with The Doe Fund and SUNY Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center through The United Way.  This exciting program enables the Chamber to take the services of Brooklyn Business Solutions “on the road” to new and existing businesses, initially in the East New York and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods.

Prior to joining the Chamber, Ms. Lightner held positions with the Business Outreach Center, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touche and KeySpan Energy where she worked extensively in the areas of technology, business management and training, and small business counseling and development.  She earned her Bachelors in Mathematics from Hampton University and her Masters in Information Technology from New York University.  Raised in Uniondale, New York, Ms. Lightner currently resides in Bedford-Stuyvesant with her husband and young son.

Ms. Lightner will work off-site as well as at the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center office at 25 Elm Place.  Ms. Lightner may be reached at 718-875-1000 ext. 118, or at klightner@brooklynchamber.com.

Ilan Stern came on board on Mar. 9 as the new Program Assistant for the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center at 9 Bond St. where he will be assisting with various administrative duties.  Mr. Stern is a full-time Business Management and Financing student at Brooklyn College and a graduate of James Madison High School.  He also has held several leadership positions with B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and currently serves as manager to a local band called Silent Motion. 

“My work as manager has really helped me in doing my work at the Business Solutions Center.  It has trained me to remain on top of things and to take initiative,” said Mr. Stern.

Other Staff News
Nancy Tibana has moved over to the Membership Department where she will be working as Manager of Information Services with Vice President Darryl Hollon and Manager Tara Levin.  Ms. Tibana previously worked as Project Manager, Member Services organizing Member Orientations, serving as staff liaison to the Small Business Seminar Committee and assisting with Brooklyn HealthWorks.  In her new role Ms. Tibana will continue to organize Member Orientations while focusing on managing Member data and information to better serve Members’ needs.

After more than two years with the Chamber, Michelle Matthews, Director of Brooklyn HealthWorks, left on Mar. 10 to take a position with Williamsburg Works, a community service organization.  Theresa Reyes, Manager, Health Insurance Services, may be contacted with questions about Brooklyn HealthWorks at 718-596-4550 ext. 3.