Derek received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology with Magna Cum Laude honors from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Upon graduation, Derek began his career path in becoming a Case Manager at a fatherhood initiative program in the Bronx (Friends 2 Fathers) in 2003, working with fragile families and underserved non-custodial fathers with a focus on responsible parenting and actively increasing their level of engagement/support in their children’s lives.
Through his dedication, drive and determination, he eventually became the Program Director of F2F, in addition to working with community based organizations and public agencies in the Bronx to improve the quality and delivery of services/assistance to noncustodial fathers, coupled with creating awareness on the insurgence of responsible fatherhood programs designed to assist low income families in NYC neighborhoods.
During his career, Derek was recruited to work with the Strong Fathers, Stronger Families Program at STRIVE in 2013 as the Program Coordinator in East Harlem. He has been working tirelessly for the last 12 years throughout NYC’s five boroughs focusing on responsible fatherhood, healthy relationships, and economic stability with an emphasis on breaking poverty cycles related to fatherless single parent households.
Since 2007, Derek has been an alumni of the Family Development Training and Credentialing Program (FDC), which is a major New York State initiative that provides front line workers/supervisors with the skills and competencies to effectively empower families to capitalize on their strengths and set attainable goals. His commitment towards personal development encouraged Derek to return to Lehman College in 2014 to pursue a second Bachelor’s degree in Nursing where he is tentatively scheduled to graduate in 2017. For the last 8 years, Derek has also been a certified facilitator in the Duluth Model in providing domestic abuse intervention classes for men who batter, in an effort to end violence for all women.
In 2015, Derek was selected to participate in the Human Resources Administration (HRA) Office of Child Support Enforcement’s (OCSE) 2016 Community Partners Work Group that is designed to give representatives from community based organizations, government agencies, and other organizations that provide services to NYC families an opportunity to provide input on service delivery strategies, and to network with peers in the process. In addition, Derek is actively involved in The Manhattan Fatherhood Coalition that promotes community partnerships by “Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives”. The Manhattan Fatherhood Community Collaboration are independent, community-based organizations, Schools, City, State and Federal Agencies that continue to provide resources for families in crisis, helping parents achieve health, economic, and educational goals they identify for their children and their family.