Maria Teresa Walles is a passionate advocate for unhoused New Yorkers since 2004.  Using her lived experience with homelessness, food insecurity, and mental health recovery, she advocates for the rights of New Yorkers that are experiencing street and shelter homelessness in New York City.  

She has worked with a wide range of organizations such as Community Voices Heard, Picture the Homeless, Safety Net Activists at Urban Justice Center, Theatre of the Oppressed NYC and the City of New York’s Continuum of Care, Persons with Lived Experience (PWLEx) Committee.

Valerie is a native New Yorker, mother, grandmother, community organizer, and activist. She is a full-time staffer in the advocacy department at Housing Works, Inc., and a leader in her community. 

Valerie applies over three decades of experience and skill working with others in the ongoing AIDS crisis and an unflappable attitude of goodwill to advocate for those living with HIV and AIDS and those who have experienced homelessness, substance use, and mental health challenges.

Having been involved in social justice work since a teen in high school, Stacey comes to helpNYC with a keen desire to affect positive change in all her interactions. She spent the majority of her adult life in the Washington, D.C. area, professionally at the (former) U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. Department of State primarily in international exchange programs. 

She also served as Union President of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1812 from 1993-1996, a critical time of “the reinvention of government” under the Clinton Administration. More recently Stacey was a founding member of the renewed Social Action Steering Committee at Congregation Romemu, NYC.

Nick Colvin, Chief Executive Officer of CityBridge, LLC, the consortium behind the groundbreaking LinkNYC program, accepted the honor on behalf of LinkNYC which provides free public Wi-Fi used by millions of residents, commuters, and visitors to New York City, as well as providing free phone calls, access to government and social services, and public service messaging. Nick is responsible for external affairs, community support and engagement, product, engineering, and all operational aspects of LinkNYC.

Previously, Nick was an Associate Partner at Control Group, where he worked with global brands and nonprofits to bring to life innovative projects at the intersection of digital and physical spaces.

Nick has over 20 years of experience building and supporting human-focused technology with organizations including ACLU, Apple, AT&T, Google, and Ralph Appelbaum Associates. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Western Carolina University.

“On behalf of Neighbors Together’s board, staff, and over 10,000 low-income members who participate in and lead our programs each year, we are so honored to receive helpNYC’s 2023 Listing Partner of the Year Award! Thank you for this special recognition of our housing advocacy work, which aims to secure safe, permanent, affordable housing for very low-income New Yorkers experiencing homelessness or housing instability. 

We stand in proud solidarity with helpNYC as we work towards our collective vision to build a just and equitable city where all New Yorkers have access to the resources they need to live stable, healthy lives and to thrive.” Denny Marsh, Executive Director of the Neighbors Together Corporation.

Since 1982, Neighbors Together has fought hunger and poverty with three integrated programs: Community Café, Empowerment Program, and Community Action Program. They provide emergency food to 10,000 men, women, and children annually, and connect our members to vital life-stabilizing resources beyond food (such as housing and health care) and address hunger at its root by organizing our members to advocate for hunger and poverty-ending public policies.