Our Team

Before becoming the Executive Director in June 2021, Jesse held the positions of Deputy Director and Economic Development Specialist at SBIDC. Since joining the organization in 2015, She has helped launched new programs for small businesses and job seekers like Red Hook Walks, Plan for Growth, the Industrial Career Pathways Program, and the Core 5 Construction Training Program. Jesse’s professional background is in economic development, urban policy, community organizing, and non-profit management. She has worked for local elected officials and community-based organizations in southwest Brooklyn, as well as international organizations abroad in Cairo, Egypt. She holds an MA in Urban Policy & Leadership from Hunter College and is a proud Bryn Mawr alumni. Jesse also completed the Coro Neighborhood Leadership Program in 2017. Outside of work, Jesse can be found on a hike or rock climbing with her partner in the Shawangunk mountains.

Micaela is SBIDC’s Development & Communications Director, where she leads fundraising, partnerships, and communications. Her work combines development and interpretation, building relationships and strategies that advance SBIDC’s mission of preserving and strengthening local manufacturing economies. In her five years at SBIDC, she transformed Plan for Growth into a household name for business training in Brooklyn and led the organization’s rebranding.

Her background includes fellowships at the Pratt Center for Community Development and the World Monuments Fund, early work in Chile as an environmental and public law attorney, and cultural stewardship with the DIY collective 8 Ball Community. She is also a musician and artist. Micaela holds an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Pratt Institute and a law degree from the Universidad de Chile.

Erin leads SBIDC's green economy programs, helping local businesses access opportunities in the green energy supply chain. Erin previously directed a green jobs workforce development program for young adults from public housing, as well as site operations and infrastructure, with Green City Force for over seven years. Additional prior work centered on food access, urban farming, and green building with other NYC non-profits. Erin earned her MA at NYU in 2016 focusing on urban agriculture and sustainable community development and holds a BS from Cornell University in beautiful Ithaca, NY, where she studied Design and Environmental Analysis. Erin is a Chicago native, but has been rooted in Brooklyn since 2012, where you’ll find her getting her hands dirty at her community garden, shopping at the food co-op and thrift stores, biking around, or enjoying Prospect Park. Erin speaks conversational Spanish and is learning French.

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Valerie Segal is SBIDC’s Economic Mobility Network (EMN) Director, leading a consortium of community organizations and workforce partners to design and deliver pathways to quality jobs for South Brooklyn residents—especially in climate tech and the green economy along the Sunset Park waterfront. A New York State–licensed social worker and experienced nonprofit manager, Valerie has built and led Brooklyn-serving programs across child welfare, gender-based violence prevention, and public benefits access, first at the Center for Family Life and later at Good Shepherd Services. Valerie began her career more than 20 years ago as an employment counselor and job developer—partnering with organizations, including SBIDC, to connect immigrant families in Sunset Park with waterfront job opportunities. She holds a BA in Art History from Rutgers University and an MSW from the Hunter College School of Social Work. Born in Red Bank, NJ, Valerie has called Sunset Park home for over 25 years. She is Latina of Argentinian heritage and is fully fluent in Spanish. Outside of work, she’s devoted to her wily pit bull, enjoys yoga retreats, discovering new restaurants, getaways to Maine and Vermont, and browsing indie craft fairs.

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As SBIDC's Program Coordinator, Yujia helps facilitate SBIDC’s Plan for Growth business training program and provides technical assistance to industrial and manufacturing businesses in Southwest Brooklyn. With an MA in Urban Planning from Hunter College and a BA in Sociology, and a background in the hospitality industry, Yujia looks forward to engaging with and empowering small businesses, finding synergies between economic and environmental equity, and supporting working waterfront communities. 

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Jake is the Business Services Manager at SBIDC. He works with industrial businesses based in Southwest Brooklyn, connecting them to financing, real estate opportunities, and other services they may need to be successful, and advocating on their behalf on policy initiatives that impact them. Jake has prior economic development experience working at was with CAMBA’s Office of Workforce Development and New York City Economic Development Corporation. He recently graduated with a Master of Urban Planning at Hunter College, with a focus on planning for economic development and the solidarity economy. His undergraduate degree is from Indiana University, where he studied public policy and geography. Jake speaks both English and French. In his free time, he is an avid cyclist and loves to explore New York and the surrounding region through biking.

Natalie Camacho serves as SBIDC’s Coordinator for the Sunset Park Economic Mobility Network (EMN), providing vital administrative, logistical, and programmatic support to ensure the successful implementation of this multi-stakeholder initiative. In this role, she works closely with the EMN Director and community partners to advance inclusive workforce strategies that connect South Brooklyn residents to stable, quality employment. Before this role. Natalie was SBIDC's Career Services Manager at the Brooklyn Workforce1 Industrial & Transportation Career Center, where she supported job seekers with resume development, interview preparation, and job placement since 2019. She facilitated weekly bilingual workshops in English and Spanish, helped community members access Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training grants, and built partnerships with dozens of local organizations—contributing to hundreds of workforce events across Brooklyn. Outside of work, Natalie enjoys practicing cosmetology, spending time with her family, and visiting her family’s hometown of Puebla, Mexico.

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