Who We Are – City Island Rising

John Doyle

President

John Doyle is a lifelong Bronxite who was born in Pelham Bay and has lived on City Island for over 30 years. He is a graduate of P.S. 175 and received his bachelor’s degree from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. Since his college days, John has been involved in campaigns to inspire political change and social justice. After he graduated from Le Moyne, John pursued a career in public service, working for the New York State Senate and currently working for NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi as an Associate Director for Public Affairs, acting as the hospital’s spokesperson and public information liaison. He also works part-time as an advisor to Assembly Member Michael Benedetto.

Over the years, John has been deeply involved in many efforts to improve City Island, including revitalizing Belden Point Park, getting the MTA to finally extend the Bx29 bus to 24/7 service, and the installation of a school speed camera to protect P.S. 175. He worked to secure state funding to get Pilot Cove its first van in decades and has secured numerous roadway safety improvements, from better signage to speed humps to stop lights, all over City Island. He was one of the leaders in the effort to defeat an expensive and unpopular City Island Bridge design. Recently, John helped craft landmark legislation to reign in Rodman’s Neck Shooting Range with Assembly Member Benedetto and Senator Fernandez. Working through the 45th Precinct Community Council, he also pushed to launch the Rodman’s Neck Monitoring Committee which conducts regular public oversight hearings on the City’s many promises for this facility to ensure these pledges become a reality.

Realizing the need for future investment to attract and keep young families in our neighborhood, John has worked with Assembly Member Benedetto and Save the Sound to secure over $400,000 to develop a watershed management plan to clean up the Hutchinson River, which has been badly polluted for decades. He has also been a driving force in initially establishing Universal Pre-Kindergarten on the Island at St. Mary’s School and has fought to bring it back to the community at an alternative location later this year. He has also been outspoken in the need to address the vulnerabilities our neighborhood faces from climate change and the need to establish NYC Ferry service in our area to cut commute times in half for City Islanders working in Manhattan.

Beyond serving as President of City Island Rising, John also sits on the boards of the 45th Precinct Community Council, the Bronx Solid Waste Advisory Board (where he was appointed an officer by the Bronx Borough President), and the Chippewa Democratic Club.

Beverly Jones

Secretary

Beverly Jones heads up the legal department of a national nonprofit organization, providing broad-based legal support and expertise on a wide range of programmatic and operational areas including contracts, tax, intellectual property, employment, defensive litigation, lobbying and political activity, and animal welfare law. Prior to joining the ASPCA in 2009, Ms. Jones served as Associate General Counsel at the Vera Institute of Justice, and as an associate in the Tax Exempt Organizations practice group of Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP in Seattle (now part of K&L Gates). Before law school, Ms. Jones conducted training workshops for youth lobbying on behalf of GLBTIA+ civil rights with the Human Rights Campaign. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College, a law degree from the Yale Law School, and a Masters in Taxation from Villanova.

Ms. Jones has used her professional expertise to assist a wide variety of community-based organizations, including City Island Rising, to secure their incorporation, to gain tax exempt status, or to improve their governance, and currently serves on the Boards of City Island Rising and the City Island Gateway Project. She lives with her spouse, Alex, their 10-year-old son who is a student at P.S. 175, three rescue dogs and two rescue lizards.

Kim Woodruff

Treasurer

Kim Woodruff has lived on City Island with her husband and two daughters for the past ten years. She is originally from Long Island and has also spent time living in Michigan and North Carolina. Kim earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, her masters in education from the University of North Carolina, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Technology from Boise State University. She has spent her career working in the field of education, first as an elementary school teacher and for the last 12 years as an instructional designer.

In her free time, Kim enjoys singing and is the lead singer of the local class rock cover band, Faded Vinyl. She also loves the outdoors and enjoys taking in the scenery and exploring the hiking trails of Pelham Bay Park with her family. To unwind, Kim likes to spend time hanging out with her four “foster fail” cats, three of whom are City Island natives!

David Diaz

David Diaz is a lifelong Bronxite who was raised in the nearby Throggs Neck community. He has lived on City Island for the better part of a decade and his son is a graduate of the local public school, P.S. 175. David has helped lead led and coordinated efforts to help neighborhoods struggling with food insecurity and bring attention to City Island’s climate change vulnerabilities. In the last year, he has helped secure regular food deliveries for the “Anchor Fridge” on Schofield Street and spearheadedled an enormously successful clothing drive for migrants and asylum seekers who were supposed to be held in nearby Orchard Beach. He also volunteers with the Boy Scouts and animal rescue efforts.

When he’s not volunteering in the community, David enjoys spending time with his family. He also works in Manhattan at a boutique investment firm.

Luisa Benedetto

Luisa Benedetto is a life-long resident of the Bronx, growing up in Throggs Neck and moving to City Island in the mid-2010s. After attending local public and private schools, she earned her bachelors from SUNY Purchase, and her masters from CUNY Queens. Currently, she enjoys her fun-filled job at a New York City non-profit.

Aside from City Island Rising, Luisa serves on the boards of other community-based organizations. In her spare time, she enjoys re-watching television shows and movies, reading books from the library, eating, begrudgingly working out, sleeping, listening to emo music and spending time with family and friends. She lives with her husband and two Bronx-born cats, Debbie and Carrie.