Our Staff

Young-In Shin, LCSW, is the Director of Programs at CLNY.  Ms. Shin has an MSW from New York University. Ms. Shin has over ten years of experience advocating for children and families. She started her career at CASA – NYC, later working for a child protective service agency in Washington State. She also provided one-on-one counseling with young people involved in the juvenile justice system, and later to adults with mental illness in New Jersey.

Gabrielle Breslow, MBA/LMSW, is the Director of Operations with CLNY.  Prior to coming to CLNY, Ms. Breslow served as Director of Financial Planning and Strategy for the Center for Employment Opportunities, a criminal justice nonprofit providing employment services to individuals with criminal convictions.  Earlier in her career, she worked as a deputy director and analyst for the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services.  Ms. Breslow has an MBA and MSW in Social Work from Columbia University.

Danielle Clarke, LMSW, is a full-time social worker and the Alumni Program Supervisor with CLNY. Ms. Clarke has an MSW from NYU. Prior to joining CLNY she was a social worker at Good Shepherd’s Services Juvenile Justice program where she provided therapeutic services to adolescents in schools. Ms. Clarke facilitates CLNY’s Financial Health Youth Advisory Board and is currently working to further develop our Alumni Program.

Melody Gradowski, LMSW, is a full-time social worker with CLNY. She received her Master’s in Social Work from Lehman College in May 2022. While working for the Board of Education, she became interested in the lives of the families she served and decided to pursue a social work degree. Ms. Gradowski worked at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center supporting homeless veterans. Prior to her education and social work careers, Ms. Gradowski was also a US Army Reservist from 1998-2006 and is an alumna of the NYC foster care system.

Abby Kamen, LMSW, is a full-time social worker with CLNY who received her MSW from Columbia University. She worked with young people at Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn and in the social work department of MS/HS 223, The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology in the South Bronx. Ms. Kamen was also a Research Assistant at Columbia University’s SAFE Lab.

Adreanna Maier, LMSW, is a full-time social worker with CLNY. She received her Master’s in Social Work from Fordham University in May 2015. As the child of a social worker, she was inspired to become one herself. Ms. Maier interned at Catholic Charities assisting homeless clients with locating community resources and housing. Ms. Maier then spent seven years working in the child welfare system in the Therapeutic Foster Care program at Forestdale.

Mecca Phinizy, MSW, is the full-time Senior Housing Consultant with CLNY, assisting CLNY youth 2 days per week and providing housing technical assistance 3 days per week to all 27 foster care agencies via our private partnership with the Center for Fair Futures. After spending the ages of 3-19 years old in the NYC foster care system, she aged out to independent living. Mecca went on to receive her MSW from SUNY Stony Brook, focusing on child welfare. Prior to joining CLNY, Mecca worked in numerous foster care agencies in both direct work and supervisory capacities, as well as a legal advocate for youth in care at Lawyers for Children. As an alumna of the NYC foster care system, she understands the needs of our youth and has spent the last twenty years empowering youth and collaborating with staff and the community to support vulnerable populations.