MEET OUR TEAM
The Life Empowered NYC staff is a group of passionate people dedicated to addressing the needs of community.
Nicole Briggs
Chief Executive Officer
Nicole has a BS in Math and completed 1 year of her Master’s in Education/Math, along with being a Daytime Store Manager at Starbucks Coffee company, and an active lead on the Black Partner Network Organization. Prior to starting her own organization, Nicole successfully ran another non-profit organizations in New York City. Nicole also organizes “Back to School” bag giveaway, feeding the homeless, and hosts serval corporate events. Nicole also hosted “Coffee with a Cop” events, resume writing with Interview/Work readiness Workshops. Nicole also Tutors and hold GED preparation classes for many families in NYC. Nicole is passionate about her community and believes in creating life changing moments for families by providing them with tools & resources to succeed in life!
Khari O. Edwards
Board Member
Currently a 2021 Candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, Khari is recognized as being a connector of the people by putting their needs first. Through Khari’s professional experiences over the years, he has turned civic concerns into community priorities, all the while mastering the art of connecting his community to the understanding of advocacy and compassion. During his time as Vice President of External Affairs at The Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, as well as being the first VP of color in the history of the institution, Khari is responsible for the education, marketing, and dissemination of information to 1.3 million Brooklynites serving the catchment area of Brookdale. By utilizing his unique and authentic personality, coupled with his years of experience, Khari has created several community-based initiatives in order to re-engage and realign the needs of the community. He has opened Brookdale Hospital up as a community resource, providing partnerships with many opportunities for community based organizing. Khari has hosted free math tutoring programs geared toward young women of color. Khari Edwards is the Brooklyn Council President for Make-A-Wish New York and led a two-year campaign to enlist volunteers to increase support and enrollment for wish granters of children in Brooklyn. Another significant, if not most important undertaking, was the creation of “It Starts Here”. A program geared to address gun violence throughout Brooklyn, which hosted over 1200 students to date.
Phil Grant
Board Member
Phil Attended Paul Robeson HS where he was an all city basketball player, winning two city championships, which he earned a full athletic scholarship to Division I Iona college. As a 3 year starter at Iona, winning 3 out of 4 MAAC championships , while earning 3 trips to the NCAA tournament, Phil was a thousand point scorer during his time at Iona. In 2019, Phil was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, being recognized as one of the all time great players of the conference. After his stint at Iona, he went on to play 6 years of professional basketball in Argentina, Holland, Luxembourg, and Venezuela. Phil is currently a HS physical Ed teacher at Summit Academy HS where he is also the head boys varsity basketball coach. He has been the coach for the past 4 years, making it to the playoffs each year. This year being his best season so far, his team completed a 14-0 record in their conference and 20-4 overall.
William Jenkins
Board Member
Born and raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, William Jenkins is well known for his genuine dedication to improving Community. By providing awareness of various opportunities our city has to offer. From jobs, to mental health support programs, professional development programs, and improving police/community relationships. In William’s 20 years as an NYPD Community Affairs Detective, he took personal satisfaction in developing numerous youth programs, block associations, and adult training opportunities. William believes in order to have a positive impact on your community you must first be taught to care about your community. Firmly believing in your community provides a greater chance that programs will be successful, therefore providing growth. Professionally William has experienced politics and red tape when it comes to community growth, then turn around and explain “no” to frustrated community residents. Dealing with both sides of the spectrum has made William a great communicator as well as a conflict resolution leader. One of Williams major goals is being sure our young people do not develop tunnel vision or become complacent. He continues to have a group of Adult professionals who look like the kids in the community come back and speak to the young people letting them see and hear that they can do more and this is what more looks like. William is currently a member of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Team and boys Varsity Basketball coach at Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School.