Jordan Durso
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Originally from New York City, Jordan served as a missionary in Lima, Peru for ten years conducting hundreds of medical campaigns and offering humanitarian relief in both Peru and internationally through JV Ministries. During those ten years his organization conducted surgical campaigns for people with cleft lips and palates, gave out free wheelchairs, ran small medical posts and sent out teams to visit poverty-stricken neighborhoods.
Jordan was the first in Latin America to supply anti-parasite medication to 2 million people in one day. With over 2,000 churches serving as distribution points recipients were also educated on parasite prevention and good nutrition. Distributions continue to be scheduled every six months and the program has spread throughout other Latin America countries.
Jordan Durso served as the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for Operation Blessing overseeing all of their national directors in Latin America for the past three years. He is currently serving as a Member of their Board of Directors.
In addition to raising his three beautiful daughters in NYC, medical and community development projects and traveling are Jordan’s passions. Along with his extensive experience in humanitarian work throughout South America and around the globe Jordan brings his burden to help those in need to his leadership role at TLC.
John Powell
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
In 2011 John Powell began to volunteer at TLC with the idea that he could contribute to the development of an Adult Basic Education component (e.g. job development, GED and ELL programs). Over the course of the subsequent months John provided valuable expertise and insight to the leadership team based on his professional experience. He quickly became an integral member of our Senior Leadership Team. He brought with him his extensive experience in the non-profit sector where his primary focus was on program development and design.
At TLC John works closely with the Executive Director and Operations Director in developing, implementing and executing strategic plans. He provides leadership and direction and is responsible for overseeing TLC’s internal auditing systems. He provides guidance to ensure program outcomes are measurable and deliverable.
John’s passion is to develop and support programs that measure what’s most important to our participants. While TLC celebrates GED graduates, and continues to develop food initiatives, John’s mission to ensure that our programs position our participants to reach their desired goals. He believes that lives can be better and that and that TLC can walk along side our participants to help them “Live Life on Purpose”.
Diana Denis
Operations Director
Diana Denis joined the team at TLC in March, 2011 coordinating with the education team to launch adult education programs (e.g. GED and ELL courses). Her role has since evolved and she is now bringing her professional experience and talents to TLC in her role as Director of Operations.
During her 19 years of work in the private sector Diana worked at a multi-media publication company in NYC and at a private school. While working full time, she completed a Human Resources certification program at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Her professional experience is in both marketing and operations and she is excited about continuing to work for a nonprofit organization making a great impact in Brooklyn and Queens.
In her personal life Diana is a wife of 19 years and mother of three teenagers. During her down time she is a mentor for young women, leading a small bible study group, and is currently working on two manuscripts.
Anthony Ray
Education Program Manager
Anthony Ray (better known as Tony or Brother Ray) is the Education Program Manager at The Legacy Center. Tony believes that lack of education and training is at the core of some of the social issues that plague our communities so having him oversee our student educational programs was a natural fit.
In his professional career Tony just celebrated 25 years of service at IBM. While this is seen as a significant accomplishment, he considers his 30 years of community service his most valuable accomplishment. Outside of his leadership roles at IBM, Tony served on the Board of Directors at Urban Youth Alliance International (UYAI) from 1992 to 2001 in various positions, including Secretary and Chairman of the Board. During this time the Board investigated and approved the establishment of the program now known as, Bronx Connect; a community-based alternative-to-incarcerati
For more information on any of our educational programs please email Tony directly at Anthony.Ray@tlcnyc.org