Two from Wagner receive NYU's Distinguished Young Alumni Award

NYU Wagner is proud to announce that this year’s Distinguished Young Alumni Award has been given to two Wagner graduates. The Distinguished Young Alumni Award celebrates recent graduates across the University who achieved exceptional personal and professional accomplishments early in their career as well as those who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to serving others. This year, two Wagner alumni have been awarded the 2023 The Distinguished Young Alumni Award, Quemuel Arroyo (MPA 2020) and Jennifer Siaca Curry, Ed. D. (MPA 2007).

Quemuel “Q” Arroyo started with the MTA in 2021 as their first agency-wide Chief Accessibility Officer. In this role, he leads the implementation of policies, initiatives, and programs to advance accessibility throughout the organization. Under his leadership, the MTA established a $30 billion plan to make all NYC subway stations accessible. Arroyo previously served as Interim President and Global Head of Community at Charge, a micro-mobility docking station startup, and as the first Chief Accessibility Specialist at the New York City Department of Transportation. His accomplishments there include securing funding for the first raised crosswalks, increasing the number of accessible pedestrian signals, and establishing a $7.5 billion long-term plan to make all intersections in NYC accessible for all.

Arroyo serves as co-chair of the NYU Young Alumni Leadership Circle (YALC) and has served on the NYU Alumni Association Board of Directors, as well as the boards of New York City Outward Bound Schools, Hudson River Community Sailing, Positive Exposure, Project Sunshine, and the Heidi Latsky Dance Company. In 2002, he received NYU’s MLK Week Humanitarian Award for his efforts on equity and successful advocacy.

Arroyo was born in the Dominican Republic and currently resides in Harlem. He earned his BA from New York University in urban design and history of architecture and an MPA from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Jennifer Siaca Curry, EdD, founded Change Impact in 2017 to help social impact organizations advance equity and achieve results. Change Impact has since trained nearly 30,000 professionals and raised more than $190 million in grants for nonprofits and schools. Prior to starting Change Impact, Curry served as the inaugural NYC Director of Samaschool, an innovative job training program that incorporates education about freelancing into workforce programs. She also served as COO of ExpandED Schools, which provides support for after-school programs to schools and community groups. She is currently an adjunct professor of Youth Studies at CUNY’s School for Professional Studies.

Curry was named a 2018 Rising Latino Star by the New York State Hispanic Coalition and was selected to participate in the Stanford University Latinx Entrepreneurship program in 2020. In 2021, she was named a Next 1,000 up-and-coming entrepreneur by Forbes magazine. Curry has served as a featured author and speaker on equity in youth work for the National Afterschool Association and Afterschool Matters journal.

Curry grew up in Queens, NY and is a product of New York City public schools. She is a first-generation college graduate and earned her MPA from NYU Wagner and doctorate in education leadership from NYU Steinhardt.

The NYU Alumni Association is a network of more than 600,000 NYU alumni worldwide from all schools across the University. Its mission is to build and sustain a lifelong relationship between NYU and its alumni.