Bryan Perlmutter

Why did you choose NYU Wagner for graduate school?

Growing up and living my life in North Carolina as an organizer and being a part of starting nonprofit organizations such as the Southern Vision Alliance, I learned about how to build organization and build power at a local level. I chose to come to NYU Wagner to see social change and organizational building from a different perspective. Pairing my previous hands-on experience with academic course work in an environment like NYC would provide additional skills and frameworks to advance the work I am a part of. NYU Wagner supported me in building stronger skills and strategies to build sustainable and effective organizations.

Can you tell us a bit about your job responsibilities?

Piece by Piece Strategies is a consulting firm that builds capacity by developing community-based & culturally relevant strategies for individuals, organizations, and ecosystems. We work with grassroots social justice organizations, nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, educational institutions, and private sector partners. We work to ensure that programs align with intended impact and values - centering equity and justice in our work. As a consulting firm just a few years old, my responsibilities are both programmatic/external and focused on organizational growth/health. This means I work to support programming that builds trainings, civic engagement programming, aligns financial dollars, and improves systems for organizations. Simultaneously I work to develop new partnerships, track financials, manage contractors, branding, and developing internal systems.

What impact do you hope to make through your career?

I seek to be a part of a social justice movement that centers racial, gender, and economic justice. Through my career I seek to support the transfer of power and resources to communities through creating more accountable philanthropy, supporting the development of grassroots campaigns that advocate for justice, and build collaborative spaces that make our movements stronger.