From City to the World

In this episode of From City to the World, Vincent Boudreau, President of The City College of New York, speaks with Kilsys Payamps‑Roure, Founding Executive Director of Braven New York and CCNY's 2026 Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholar, about college, careers, and economic mobility. Specifically, Payamps-Roure presents the mission and proof points of Braven, a national nonprofit organization partnering with select higher education institutions to empower first-generation, low-income students in obtaining a strong first job that lays a foundation for future career growth. Hear about Braven's for-credit career development coursework and the impact it is making at CCNY. Discover the dynamics of a challenging job market, employer expectations, and how colleges and employers can better align preparation with opportunity.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guest: Kilsys Payamps-Roure, Founding Executive Director, Braven New York; 2026 Samuel Rudin Distinguished Visiting Scholar, CCNY

The City College of New York President Vincent Boudreau hosts the latest episode of From City to the World, spotlighting lifelong learning and its power to transform lives. He's joined by Donna Ramer, president of Quest Lifelong Learning, a peer-led, CCNY-affiliated community for retired and semi-retired New Yorkers, now celebrating its 30th anniversary. Also featured is Dr. Michael Flanigan of Borough of Manhattan Community College, whose work bridges higher education, workforce partnerships and training, and community development. Together, they explore how lifelong learning fosters intellectual curiosity, social connection, and economic mobility—from Quest's collaborative courses to BMCC's academic and workforce development pathways.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Donna Ramer, President, Quest Lifelong Learning; Michael Flanigan, PhD, Director of Corporate & Foundation Engagement and Development, Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY)

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Harlem broadcasters affiliated with community radio station WHCR 90.3 FM took action to build a communications network that can withstand widespread shutdowns and keep local residents informed with essential specifics in real time. In the latest episode of "From City to the World," co-creator of that network Stuart Reid details the launch of WHCR's Emergency Broadcast Team (WHCREBT) and specifies the technology and community training that keeps residents — including many in public housing — ready and connected. In another example of education and empowerment, The City College of New York (CCNY), home of WHCR, maintains an ongoing program of safety trainings on campus and in nearby neighborhoods, as described by Specialist Taish Rochester of the college's Department of Public Safety. CCNY President Vincent Boudreau is the program host.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Stuart Reid, Host, WHCR 90.3 FM, The Voice of Harlem; Director, WHCR Emergency Broadcast Team (WHCREBT); Co-Founder, Digital Divide Partners; Managing Partner, The Smart Community Initiative; President and Chairman, New York chapter, the Internet Society. Taish "Rocky" Rochester, Campus Security Specialist, Investigations, Community Affairs Liaison, LGBTQ+ Liaison, CCNY Department of Public Safety.

On the latest episode of From City to the World, City College of New York President Vincent Boudreau hosts alumna Akasha Solis (2016, 2022), CCNY Outdoors Project co-leader and special projects manager, and Ella Hartley, founder of Wilderness First Aid NYC. Hear how the Outdoors Project, sponsored by CCNY's Office of the President, champions access to nature for all, through inclusive excursions, leadership training and wilderness safety education. Charting the growth of this program and a student-run club, Solis highlights the impact of the Outdoors Project and its mission to build equity, empowerment and knowledge of the natural environment among diverse populations at CCNY. Learn how Hartley's background in racial justice and expertise in wilderness medicine and outdoors education intersect with CCNY's work and also inform her organization's public programs in New York City.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Akasha Solis, CCNY Outdoors Project Co-Leader and Special Projects Manager; Ella Hartley, Founder of Wilderness First Aid NYC and Co-Founder of Green Wood & Duff

What does it take to both talk the talk and walk the walk toward a cleaner energy future for a college and its local community? In this episode of From City to the World, learn how sustainability pedagogy and praxis are alive, well and often working hand in hand at The City College of New York (CCNY). President Vincent Boudreau hosts a conversation with CCNY Sustainability Specialist Jake Weinberger and Katherine Gloede Silverman, assistant director of the Sustainability in the Urban Environment program. Hear about their work, where it intersects and ways it engages with community members, environmental advocates and government initiatives. Additionally, explore how a deep commitment to sustainability — from solar-powered EV chargers for campus and community to energy-efficient heat pumps and climate-adaptive infrastructure — is driving decarbonization across this historic Harlem campus.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Jake Weinberger, CCNY Sustainability Specialist, Department of Facilities Management; Katherine Gloede Silverman, Assistant Director of the Sustainability in the Urban Environment master's and advanced certificate program

Have you ever heard of a virtual power plant? Learn about innovatively integrating energy resources to benefit a community of participants while also contributing sustainably to the electrical grid. Michael Bobker of The City College of New York (CCNY) and its CUNY Building Performance Lab joins Clayton Banks, CEO and cofounder of Silicon Harlem, in conversation with CCNY President Vincent Boudreau, host of From City to the World. In this episode dedicated to Climate Change Awareness Month, these Harlem-based experts discuss the roles of education, innovation and community engagement in meeting essential needs such as infrastructure and resilient, healthier and more equitable cityscapes.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Michael Bobker, CCNY Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering and Founding Director of CUNY Building Performance Lab; Clayton Banks, CEO and Cofounder, Silicon Harlem

Transformative women-led opportunities in the sciences in New York are a model for opening doors for future scientists from all communities. Hear about the careers of a pioneering materials scientist and a science educator and learn how each is incorporating novel interdisciplinary approaches in programs driving inclusion and success in STEM, from the middle-school level to PhDs and post-docs. As From City to the World honors Women's History Month, President Vincent Boudreau of The City College of New York hosts a conversation with CCNY Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Maria Tamargo and Science in the City, Inc., Founder and CEO Kyesha Ruffin, CCNY 2013.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Host: Maria Tamargo, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Director, CREST Center for Interface Design and Engineered Assembly of Low-Dimensional Systems (IDEALS), CCNY; Kyesha Ruffin, Founder and CEO, Science in the City, Inc.

Recorded: March 26, 2025

Urban heat islands and flooding are closely studied in the living lab of New York City and beyond by experts at The City College of New York (CCNY). Now this knowledge base is going global to benefit a world of communities at risk, researchers, educators, and policy makers. On this episode of From City to the World, learn how the United Nations University (UNU) has established its first United States hub at CCNY.

The new UNU hub — Remote-Sensing and Sustainable Innovations for Resilient Urban Systems (R-SIRUS) — draws on CCNY's long-standing leadership in remote sensing research (the use of satellites and sensors to collect climate data) and its application to address climate change, especially in under-resourced communities. Hear CCNY President Vincent Boudreau explore the hub and its goals with experts Reza Khanbilvardi and Kaveh Madani.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Reza Khanbilvardi, PhD, NOAA Chair and Professor, CCNY's Grove School of Engineering, and Co-Executive Director, UNU Hub at CCNY; Kaveh Madani, PhD, Research Professor, CUNY-CREST Institute at CCNY, and Director, UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health

Recorded: November 21, 2024

The imperative for communities to actively and equitably determine their destinies, when it comes to land use and the built environment, sparked the creation in 1964 of the Architects' Renewal Committee in Harlem (ARCH). Considered the first community design center, ARCH and its visionary architects and planners provided resources and gave voice to Harlem residents facing urban renewal, slum clearance and commercial development pressures. This episode of From City to the World, hosted by President Vincent Boudreau of The City College of New York, features the upcoming symposium "ARCH @ 60: Bridging Past Visions & Present Realities," which takes place Nov. 15 and 16 at CCNY. 

Joining the conversation are Shawn Rickenbacker, director of the symposium host organization, the J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures at CCNY, and the Hon. Karen Dixon, Land Use Committee Chair of Manhattan's Community Board 10 and Executive Director of Harlem Dowling-West Side Center for Children and Family Services. Learn from Rickenbacker about ARCH's legacy and how his own CCNY organization — named for an ARCH leader and former CCNY dean — is pioneering collaborative tools that pair community input with data on development outcomes to guide decision-making on project proposals. The Hon. Karen Dixon shares her expertise on building affordable housing and how Community Board 10 is leveraging Rickenbacker's work and equipping Harlem for informed, equitable development today.

 

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Shawn Rickenbacker, Associate Professor, Director of the J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures, CCNY; Hon. Karen Dixon, Chair, Land Use Committee, Manhattan Community Board 10, and Executive Director, Harlem Dowling-West Side Center for Children and Family Services

Recorded: October 30, 2024

In New York City, new programs are leveraging the hard and soft skills of digital gaming into preparation for tech-forward, future-ready careers. On From City to the World, President Vincent Boudreau of The City College of New York hosts a conversation with CCNY alumnus and faculty member Stan M. Altman, Cofounder of the Harlem Gallery of Science, and Alia Jones-Harvey, Associate Commissioner of Education and Workforce Development in the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). Learn how Altman's vision for engaging young people from under-resourced communities in STEAM education and innovation is bringing interactive exhibits to Harlem and a new degree program to CCNY. Hear from Harvey how MOME's support for these educational initiatives advances New York City's game plan for its growing tech sector and urban workforce.

Host: CCNY President Vincent Boudreau

Guests: Stan M. Altman, CCNY Faculty and Cofounder of the Harlem Gallery of Science; Alia Jones-Harvey, Associate Commissioner of Education and Workforce Development in the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment

Recorded: September 25, 2024