Staff Leadership

Ms. Lyon joined the Jericho Project in 1996 as the Director of Development. In 1999, she was promoted to Associate Executive Director, in 2005 became Executive Director, and in 2016 CEO. Ms. Lyon’s experience includes over 25 years in the supportive housing industry, primarily responsible for strategic planning, fundraising, housing and program development, and executive management.

Prior to joining the Jericho Project, Ms. Lyon was the Grants Manager at Bailey House, a supportive housing program for people living with HIV/AIDS. At Jericho, Ms. Lyon has overseen the development of more than 550 units of supportive housing, launched a nationally-recognized Veterans Initiative, and led the strategic growth of the agency, more than quadrupling the number of people served since 2010.

She holds a B.S. degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Tuccillo joined Jericho Project in October of 2021 as the Chief Financial Officer. Prior to working at Jericho Project Mr. Tuccillo worked at the CFO level for over 12 years in the not for profit space for two different organizations.

Most recently he worked for God’s Love We Deliver, a charitable not for profit, providing medically tailored meals to clients who are too sick to cook for themselves. Prior to that Mr. Tuccillo worked for the Specialty Food Association, a membership, 501c6 organization that serves the specialty food industry.

Mr. Tuccillo is a CPA graduating with a BS degree in accounting from St. John’s University and an MBA from the Wharton School.

Doreen Straka joined Jericho Project in 2010 as the Senior Director of Strategic & Workforce Opportunities and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2014. Before coming to Jericho, Ms. Straka worked at BronxWorks as the Program Director for Workforce Development, and later as its Director of Operations. She has also held the position of Senior Program Officer for the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), and as the Director of the Greater Williamsburg Collaborative.

At Jericho, she initiated the development of Jericho’s Youth Initiative. Her responsibilities as COO include housing development; asset and property management of Jericho’s 550+ units of housing; human resources; information technology; and other strategic areas.

Ms. Straka holds a Master’s in Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College of the City University of New York, and a B.A. in Business Administration from The George Washington University. She has additional higher education in Construction Management and Non-profit Finance from New York University.

Kenya Evans-Pinckney, LCSW is an African American woman who has worked throughout the five boroughs of New York City and Long Island in various capacities within the social service arena. She earned her Master’s in Social Work with a specialization in Substance Abuse from Fordham University School of Social Work in 2007.

During her 15 years of service she has worked in various populations such as Veterans, domestic violence, mental health, and community residences. She is an active participant in committees and events addressing structural racism and empowering people of color. Currently she works at Jericho Project as Chief Program Officer where she provides individual and group supervision to bicultural staff as well as provides overall administrative oversight of 600 units of supportive housing and housing access services in Manhattan and the Bronx.

Mrs. Evans-Pinckney provides culturally competent services in conjunction with evidenced based practices. She is trained and practices the following evidenced based treatment models: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Trauma Informed Care (TIC), Harm Reduction, and the Sanctuary Model.

Sabrina Lopez has over 30 years of experience in the field of Social Services. She completed her Masters level internship at Kings County Hospital Forensic unit and obtained her Masters of Arts in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College in 1994. Sabrina then worked for 4 years at a Supportive Housing program in Brooklyn. She began as a Case Manager and within 1 year was promoted to Senior Case Manager. Sabrina moved on for 4 years to a Therapeutic Community Treatment Program to diversify her experience and skills and after a year was promoted to Assistant Director.

The opportunity to further grow was afforded by joining the Jericho Project. She has been with the Jericho Project for almost 22 years. During her tenure, she was the Program Director for the Loring Place Residence for 13 years and then 9 years as a Managing Program Director and most recently received a title change of Deputy Chief of Programs. In this role, she has oversight of the single Scatter Site program and 4 congregate sites including Loring Place, Healthy Jericho. She is very passionate about improving the quality of life of our tenants and was instrumental in the development of Healthy Jericho Initiative and is looking forward to focus her skills and talents for our Aging in Place tenants.

Sabrina’s most recent endeavor has been the start up of our Jericho CARES Light touch programming in Brooklyn.

Dr. Byron joined the Jericho Project family in December 2023. Dr. Byron is seasoned human services professional who has worked in the areas of mental health, criminal justice, social justice, homelessness, domestic violence, racial equality, higher education and human services. Dr. Byron has worked in both the local state government and non-profit sectors. Dr. Byron has worked with various demographics to include children, adolescents, individuals, families and groups . Dr. Byron holds a Master of Science in Criminal Justice, with a minor in Human Services, which she obtained from Monroe College aka Monroe University.

Dr. Byron also a Doctorate of Science in Social Work, obtained from Capella University. Dr. Byron is a Licensed Master Social Worker in the state of New York. She is an Adjunct Professor at Monroe University, teaching out of the School of Criminal and Social Justice for over five and half years and counting. She serves as a mentor in the Readying Emerging Leaders in Supportive Housing Mentorship Program (RELISH). She is an active member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Nu Psi Zeta Chapter.

Dr. Byron is passionate about her profession, social justice, advocacy and providing guidance to vulnerable populations and to the future generation of professionals following behind her. Dr. Byron is also currently serving as a board member at the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester (YSOW).

Hugh K. Mulzac is a dedicated leader with over six years of experience in senior leadership roles, currently serving as the Managing Program Director of Housing Access Programs at Jericho Project.

Armed with an MBA, Hugh’s passion lies in empowering others to achieve their goals. He firmly believes, “Many believe success is possible but not many believe success is possible for them.” Excited to make a difference, Hugh is ready to actively engage as a mentor in the RELISH program.

Mr. Preston, Jericho Project’s Deputy Chief of Development and Communications, joined Jericho Project in 2018 and brings over 15 years of development experience to the role. Formerly the Director of Government Contracts and Data Quality at the nationally-recognized nonprofit, in his current role, he is focused on engaging Jericho’s extensive network of government, corporate, foundation, and individual partners. His responsibilities span fundraising, communications, Board development, events, website and social media management, and overseeing volunteer groups, such as Jericho Project’s Associate Board of Directors.

Before joining Jericho in 2018, Daniel held the position of Grants Manager at Samaritan Daytop Village, a comprehensive human services agency specializing in substance abuse and homelessness. His accomplishments included expanding the Real Estate and Housing Department’s annual operational budget from $3.5 million to $106 million and growing the number of programs from three to 39. He went on to serve as the Program Director for their VA-funded Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program where he utilized a data-driven approach to administer the program ethically and to the highest standard.

Daniel is a graduate of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York with a BA in Criminology.