Interim Board Appointed To Oversee Operations

State Attorney General Spitzer today announced that he has reached an out-of-court agreement with the Black United Fund of New York ("BUFNY") that gives the charity a new interim board of directors.

"Our goal here is to help BUFNY flourish. The interim board -- comprising talented individuals with proven records of service -- will breathe new life into BUFNY, and help shepherd its finances and programs," Spitzer said.

Black United Fund was founded in New York in 1979. BUFNY's initial mission was to provide financial assistance and support services to Black community-based organizations. In recent years, the charity has shifted its focus to housing and land development. Its investments in real estate have caused it to fall behind in honoring its financial commitments to designated grantees that are directly supported by payroll contributions from federal, state, municipal, city and corporate employees.

In addition, the charity was chronically delinquent in filing documents required by law with the Attorney General's office. The AG's investigation of the charity's activities pre-dating the interim board is continuing with the cooperation of the new board.

The five new board members are:

Lance D. Clarke - Founding partner of the law firm Cooke and Clarke. Member of board of directors of the Nassau County Bar Association and Chair of the Membership Task Force of the Nassau County Bar Association. He is a Justice of the Village of Hempstead and provides legal assistance to several not-for-profit organizations including 100 Black Men of Long Island.

Delores Cooper Kershaw - Immediate Past President of 100 Black Women of Long Island. Has served in a wide variety of roles with the American Red Cross of Nassau County, among many other community organizations. Chairperson of the board of trustees of the Hempstead Public Library, board member of the Hempstead Historical Society and member of the Long Island Women's Agenda. A graduate of Morgan State University and New York University, Ms. Cooper Kershaw retired as a senior marketing specialist / senior systems engineer after 32 years with IBM.

William E. Davis, Jr. - William Davis has 25 years of architectural, program management and construction management experience. He opened his architectural and construction management practice in Manhattan five years ago. Prior to establishing his own firm, he was Executive Vice-President and Director of the New York Office of the Fleming Corporation. His professional affiliations include: member - NY Preservation League, former President and member of the New York Coalition of Black Architects, Chairperson of the African Burial Ground Memorial International Competition, former Commissioner of the NYC-Landmarks Preservation Commission, member of the Board of Advisors NYC Historic Districts Council and member of the State Board of Architects. Mr. Davis was also past President of the National organization of Minority Architects.

Briding Newell - Prior posts include: Commissioner of Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction, Executive Director of Nassau County Office of Minority Affairs and Deputy Executive Director - Long Island Area Development Agency. She has served on the board of the Center for Family Youth Resources as Finance Chairperson. Ms. Newell is a graduate of San Jose State University.

Bettye Anderson Easley - Assistant Dean of Career Placement and Cooperative Education and Associate Professor at Suffolk County Community College. Ms. Easley was Manager of Training and Development with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for seven years before joining Suffolk Community College. President of the board of directors of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Long Island Chapter, former Chair of the United Way - Project Blueprint and board member of Meharry Medical College. She currently sits on the board of the Long Island Women's Agenda and previously served on the boards of the New York City Housing Partnership, Visiting Nurse Association of Long Island and the City of Memphis Blood Services. Her written work has been widely published.

The Attorney General's investigation is being conducted by Assistant Attorneys General Dorothy Oehler Nese and Juan Merchan of the AG's Nassau Regional Office, Senior Investigator Angel Rivera, and Charities Bureau Principal Accountant Lori Balaklaw.