Laurelton’s Finest: Melva Miller Named Chief Executive Officer Of ABNY

The Association Of A Better New York (ABNY) has selected Melva Miller as their Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Miller has a vested interest in Southeast Queens because she grew up in Laurelton and still resides in the neighborhood.

For over 40 years, ABNY has worked as a catalyst to bring business, political, labor, and non-profit leaders together to address problems facing the economic and social well-being of the city. Under the leadership of Steven Rubenstein, the organization continues to carry out its mission by providing forums and programs that work to build a better New York.

Melva has been an integral part of the ABNY team since 2018, when she was hired to lead the organization’s Census 2020 efforts. As Executive Vice President of ABNY Census 2020, she led an organizing and action committee comprised of 20 corporate, non-profit, community and union leaders and the organization to:

• Work with ABNY’s Chairman to fundraise over $1.3 Million for its Census Effort
• Create relationships with over 50 corporate partners for Census outreach
• Support Census communications campaigns of 49 Community Based Organizations as part of its Pro Bono Pop Up Public Relations Agency
• Produce a Census Summit with over 500 attendees and 14 organizing partner organizations
• Partner with Quinnipiac on a poll that provided essential data for the City’s Census outreach strategy
• Create Census related messaging for over 100 partner organizations
• Host dozens of Census events and webinars 
• Gather important data for Census outreach messaging through 20 Focus Groups in 6 different languages as well as phone and text polling
• Participate in the successful Citizenship Question Court Case 
• Play an instrumental role in securing Census funding in the City ($40M) and State ($60M) budgets 

Most recently, Melva conceptualized the entire structure of ABNY’s Black Leadership in New York City: Conversations on Power, Politics, and Racial Justice, a six-part discussion series with the purpose of identifying a set of opportunities to address systemic racism and economic inequality in New York City.  As part of the series, ABNY members have already heard from Jumaane Williams, NYC Public Advocate, J. Phillip Thompson, NYC Deputy Mayor, and Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation, and will soon be hearing from Cheryl Wills, Emmy Award Winning Journalist, Talk Show Host, Author & Motivational Speaker, George Gresham, President 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, and Letitia James, NYS Attorney General.

Prior to working at ABNY, Melva served as the Deputy Borough President of Queens. She has been a passionate and dedicated community organizer since 1993. Her achievements include the creation of the Jamaica NOW Action Plan, a stakeholder-driven strategy to increase quality employment, economic diversity and financial security in downtown Jamaica, and she was also the lead organizer of the Western Queens Tech Strategic Plan, an initiative that produced a five-year blueprint for equitable growth of the Long Island City and Astoria tech ecosystem.

 “As Director of Economic Development within the Queens Borough President’s Office, and then as Deputy Borough President, Melva Miller brought vision and forethought to enhancing economic development in Queens and making sure that the borough is a driver of New York City’s economy,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “Just as important, she put effective mechanisms in place to ensure that ambitious initiatives would flourish. Her laser-like focus on neighborhoods such as Jamaica and Long Island City enhanced the entire city’s economic well-being. That’s the experience and expertise she brings to her new role as Chief Executive Officer of ABNY.” 

In addition, Melva has held several senior economic development roles throughout her career, including Director of Economic Development for her hometown borough of Queens, and Executive Director for the Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement District. She sits on the Board of Directors of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Habitat for Humanity New York City, and the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation.

Melva holds a Bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a Master’s degree in Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work, and recently received a second Master’s Degree in Philosophy from The Graduate Center at the City University of New York. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Social Welfare program at CUNY’s Graduate Center.