Avni Nahar is the senior manager of special projects at JFF. She works with leaders throughout the organization to develop and drive high-priority cross-sector projects to advance JFF’s goals of promoting equitable economic opportunity and mobility for all.
Her skills and areas of expertise include:
- Project and program management and evaluation
- Policy development and analysis
- Facilitating cross-sector partnerships and collaboration
- Political strategy and communications
- Public benefits and the social safety net
- Homelessness and housing
Before joining JFF, Avni served as a policy analyst in the New York City Mayor’s Office. In that role, she worked on strategies to more quickly and stably house people experiencing homelessness, helped manage the implementation of a state law that raised the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18, and developed an agenda for equitable aging. She was also involved in the city’s COVID-19 response.
Earlier in her career, Avni served as a New York City Urban Fellow in the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity, where she researched, managed, and evaluated innovative anti-poverty interventions and pilot programs. She has volunteered with a variety of political campaigns and with the Rikers Debate Project.
Having built a systems-level understanding of safety net systems for low-income individuals through local government, Avni says she is excited to contribute to JFF’s entrepreneurial and cross-sector educational and workforce development efforts. She is appreciative of JFF’s commitment to racial equity and believes the organization’s multifaceted approach offers a unique opportunity to significantly advance economic mobility for all.
Avni spends her time outside work sharing meals with friends and family, enjoying good storytelling, especially in the forms of novels and theater, and visiting her beautiful home state of Vermont.
