Congratulations to Lysandra Agosto, MCNY School for Business double alumna on her nomination as one of City and State Magazine’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars“.
Lysandra Agosto, Manager of Compliance and ERSEA, Children’s Aid
Bio from City and State:
Lysandra Agosto’s passion for her work at Children’s Aid comes from her own experiences. Growing up in poverty, her grandmother encouraged her to make the most of her classes in high school and college – a focus that made a huge difference in her life.
“There (are) so many people just like me that didn’t know better,” she says, “so their opportunities were limited. My passion is to educate families and children and to help them out of poverty.”
Her work at Children’s Aid, which supports low-income families and youth throughout New York City, is essential but largely behind the scenes. Her role as manager of compliance involves internal auditing, ensuring programs fit within the rules set by government partners, and training staff on regulations. The other part of her role – ERSEA, which stands for eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment, and attendance – refers to her oversight of the nonprofit’s early childhood education Head Start program. One of her major accomplishments in that role was overhauling the organization’s internal management system to improve the way programs reported the data needed to assess their success.
Her data expertise also came in handy when the coronavirus pandemic hit. She helped administer a regular survey of the nonprofit’s clients, collecting information on who was facing food insecurity, housing, and other challenges. Using that data, she was able to better identify which families in what neighborhoods had the greatest need for Children’s Aid’s relief efforts.
Outside of her work, Agosto loves to spend time with her two children, sister and grandmother.
