About

Since becoming President of PENCIL in January 2007, Michael Haberman has led the organization through a period of dramatic growth. PENCIL now provides services to nearly 500 schools, making it one of the largest education nonprofits serving New York City. Under Michael's leadership, PENCIL has developed a comprehensive support structure to maximize the impact of every school-business partnership, implemented a comprehensive communications strategy that has markedly increased awareness of the organization, expanded its program to other cities, and doubled its budget.

With more than a decade of experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, Michael understands the important relationship between the business and civic communities of New York. Through his experience working for, and serving on the boards of chambers of commerce and business improvement districts, he has formed strong connections with New York City business leaders from a variety of industries.

Prior to joining PENCIL, Michael served as vice president of community development and senior advisor to the president at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, where he worked closely with the community on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site and the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. For five years previous to that position, he served as the director of government & community relations and special counselor for communications at New York University. In addition, Michael has served on several nonprofit boards, including the Washington Square Association and Little Red School House/Elizabeth Irwin High School. He was the chair of the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and currently serves on the board of directors of Westbeth Artists' Community in Greenwich Village.

In addition to his leadership roles at nonprofit organizations, Michael draws from his extensive communications background. He has managed external communications for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, served as an assistant commissioner at the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, and worked as an award-winning journalist for The Villager in Manhattan and the Long Island section of The New York Times. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and broadcast journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has an MPA from NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he taught public policy.