Carlene Pinto

Carlene Pinto is a Cuban-Irish lifelong New Yorker, strategist and organizer having served New Yorkers during countless crises & people powered movements, her expertise positioning her to be successful in transforming moments into movements. Carlene is the Founder and CEO of NYC Action Lab Inc. (NYCAL), a strategic consulting firm that specializes in strategic organizing  and mobilizing campaigns both locally and nationally.  Carlene most recently served as the NYS Deputy Director of Field at the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) helping spearhead several advocacy campaigns including New York For All, the Equal Rights Amendment (on the ballot this November 2024), 13th Forward, looking to end forced prison labor & Daniel’s Law, an effort to bypass law enforcement in instances of a mental health crisis deploying trained mental health professionals as needed. 

 

In Early 2022 Carlene co-founded Latinas Grow (LG), to provide education and advocacy across NYS for Womxn and Latinos impacted by the war on drugs. Latinas Grow has dedicated itself to opening pipelines for entrepreneurship in agritech, hemp, and cannabis. In Fall 2021, Carlene was named Top 50 Most Powerful People in Community by City & State Magazine for her impact and work in the community. During Hurricane Sandy she distributed millions of dollars in supplies and advocated against local budget cuts impacting critical local services.

 

During the COVID epidemic in 2020, Carlene secured more than $100,000 which was redistributed in aid to communities in need of essential support and supplies. From 2018 to 2020 Carlene served as a board member of Manhattan Community Board 10 before moving to The Bronx. Prior to founding NYC Action Lab, Carlene led organizing and advocacy efforts at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC),  Riverside Church as the Coordinator of Mission and Social Justice and the Justice League NYC. Carlene is a past recipient of the NY State Senate’s Woman of Distinction Award (2017) for her local and national impact while living in Senate District 31, Uptown, Manhattan.

 

NYC Action Lab has been involved in various campaigns and mobilizations over the last decade including: Raise the Age, the Dream Act, the Climate March, the #March2Justice, #NoBanNoWall, Green Light NY, the Child Parent Security Act, The Stop Immigration Bond Abuse Act, The Women’s March and Tahanie Aboushi for Manhattan District Attorney.