Our Members

Yonkers IDA Board of Directors

Mayor Mike Spano – Chairman
Appointment – January 1, 2012

A lifelong Yonkers resident, husband, father of three, and former State Assembly Member, Mayor Mike Spano has dedicated his life to standing up for Yonkers families.

Elected in 1992 as the youngest member of the State Assembly, Spano proudly represented Yonkers for two decades, fighting for students, protecting taxpayers and supporting economic growth. He led the Task Force on Sex Crimes Against Children and Women (SAVE New York), fought for the passage of Megan’s Law, and secured legislation to protect children across the state. He also wrote the language enabling Yonkers to receive a direct portion of revenue from video lottery terminals at Empire City Casino. It was an enormous victory for Yonkers and its public schools, providing $20 million in direct aid annually for education in the city.

Spano helped create the New York State School Tax Relief (STAR) program and Enhanced STAR, and worked with Governor Cuomo to pass New York’s property tax cap, bringing government in line with what taxpayers can afford. He also fought to pass some of the toughest state laws in the nation to protect children against dangerous sex offenders and violent criminals.

Since taking office as Yonkers’ chief executive in 2012, Mayor Mike Spano has led the passage of balanced, bi-partisan budgets, without cuts to services, while leading the charge in rebuilding Yonkers Public Schools. Mayor Spano also launched one of the most ambitious and comprehensive energy plans of any city in the state – Yonkers Green City – saving taxpayers millions of dollars in energy costs, while protecting the environment.

With a strong focus on job creation and economic development, Mayor Spano is leading Yonkers’ nearly $5 billion revitalization efforts with innovative new projects that are transforming Yonkers’ growing waterfront, attracting new businesses, tech companies and the arts, and creating hundreds of new jobs across the city. Today, Yonkers is the fastest growing city in the state outside New York City, sales revenues are up, home sales are up and property values are on the rise. Yonkers has recently been ranked the safest city of its size in America and in the Top 100 Best Cities in which to live.

Mayor Mike Spano is committed to securing a strong financial future for Yonkers and building upon its greatest strengths – its location, its history, its pride and its people.

Marlyn-Anderson

Marlyn Anderson – Vice Chairman & Secretary
Appointment – November 5, 2020

Yonkers Resident Marlyn Anderson was appointed to the Yonkers IDA board in 2020 following extensive governmental administrative experience. Marlyn graduated from Queens College and furthered her studies at Long Island University, where she earned a Masters of Public Administration. She began her career as a caseworker in the New York Department of Homeless Services and worked her way up to hold various executive-level administrative positions.

She joined the City of Yonkers as assistant to Mayor Mike Spano in 2019, and works closely with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor in governmental affairs, and is responsible for the coordination of all special projects. Additionally, she serves as liaison for the Mayor’s office working with agency officials on projects and has worked closely with staff on the 2020 Census. Currently, she serves as Secretary of the Yonkers Joint School Construction Board.

Melissa-Nacerino

Melissa Nacerino – Treasurer
Appointment – July 21, 2015

Melissa Nacerino was appointed as the Yonkers IDA Board Treasurer in 2015 complementing a successful career in government relations and marketing communications. Melissa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a dual minor in Women’s Studies and Spanish from Cortland College. She started her career in government relations, serving as Director of Communications & Legislation in the New York State Assembly and later Deputy Commissioner on the Westchester County Board of Elections. Following her growing interest in marketing and communications, Melissa went on to earn a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from Manhattanville College. Melissa quickly advanced in her new career and led the U.S. Channel Marketing team at Avaya, where she built a channel from the ground up at network monitoring and diagnostics firm, Nectar Services. She went on to join the Palo Alto Networks, and served as their Senior Director of Worldwide Channel marketing for 6 years. Melissa has spent over a decade managing highly successful teams and creating impactful partner marketing programs with experience’s spanning pipeline generation, communications, partner programs, and enablement. Now, Melissa is the Vice President of Global Channels & Alliances Marketing for Netskope, a leading cloud security company, and is responsible for building and executing Netskope’s partner marketing strategy.

Hon. Cecile D. Singer

Hon. Cecile D. Singer – Member
Appointment – January 24, 2012

Cecile D. Singer joined the Yonkers IDA Board in 2012 after serving for 27 years as a member of the New York State Assembly. During her time in the Assembly, Cecile was the Executive Director on the Social Services and Judiciary Committees and was a ranking member of the Children and Families Committee. Cecile played a large role on the subcommittee of Family Law, and on the committees of Judiciary, Education, Alcoholism, and Drug Abuse.

Among Cecile’s most impressive accomplishments include her revisions to the New York State Domestic Relations Law and the Not-for-Profit Corporation Laws. She also helped to appoint the Assembly Task Forces on Crime Victims Rights as well as the Hospital Crisis in New York State and Economic Growth. During her term she passed a landmark legislation which provided more disclosure and control for senior citizens by changing New York State’s Power of Attorney Forms. She was a big advocate for women by changing New York State’s archaic Divorce Laws. She later became the Legislative Representative to the Presidential Commission on Privacy.

Following her legislative service, Cecile became the First Director of the Hudson Valley Bank and served as Chairman of the Audit and the Compensation and Benefits Committees. Cecile has taken an active role in the Westchester County community and has founded the Women’s Enterprise Development Center. She has served on the Executive Committee of the Westchester Community College Foundation, Yonkers CPCY, the Westchester County WAB and was a former Chairman of the Westchester County Commission on Public Campaign Financing. In addition to serving on the Yonkers IDA board, she currently serves as President of the Yonkers Economic Development Corporation and President of Riverside Corporation of St. John’s Riverside Hospital.

Victor Gjonaj

Victor Gjonaj – Member
Appointment – September 13, 2022

Henry Djonbalaj

Henry Djonbalaj – Member
Appointment – December 31, 2017

Henry Djonbalaj joined the Yonkers IDA Board in 2017 accompanying a successful career in real estate. Henry started his career as a residential and commercial real estate broker in New York City and decided to open his own real estate business right here in Yonkers.

Currently, Henry Djonbalaj Real Estate, LLC has two offices in Yonkers, employing 31 local sales agents. Henry is extensively involved in the Westchester and Yonkers communities and serves as a member of the National Association of Realtors, NYS Association of Realtors, Westchester County Board of Realtors, Yonkers Green Advisory Board, Yonkers Parks Board, Yonkers Chamber of Commerce, and is Vice-President of the Untermyer Park Performing Arts Council.

Henry is an advocate of the improvement of the real estate market in the City of Yonkers, including the growth and vitality of the McLean Avenue Business District. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the McLean Avenue Merchant’s Association and Vice-President of the Lincoln Park Taxpayer’s Association. During his time at the Yonkers IDA, Henry has encouraged the city to look into increasing parking availability, improving street lighting, increasing police presence and honoring all residents by hanging flags on ethnic holidays. Henry also aims to help immigrants and serves on the board of directors of The Albanian American Westchester Association and the Aisling Community Center.

Roberto Espiritu

Roberto Espiritu – Member
Appointment – May 7, 2019

Roberto Espiritu joined the Yonkers IDA board in 2019, furthering his involvement in the Yonkers community. Roberto has invested in local Westchester-based residential real estate development for over two decades and is a former owner of Strawberry Delite in Mount Vernon and La Pinata Bakery and Deserts in Mamaroneck.

In 1992, Roberto opened La Pinata Bakery here in Yonkers and has been an active community member since. He currently is a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Yonkers and is President of the Mexican American Yonkers Chamber of Commerce. In 2018, he received the City of Yonkers Trailblazer Hispanic Award and Westchester Board of Legislators Hispanic Leaders and Organizer Award. Roberto also enjoys giving back to the community by organizing environment youth local groups and has spoken at Charter School Career events.

Governance Committee

  • Marlyn Anderson – Secretary

  • Melissa Nacerino –Member

  • Cecile Singer – Member

Audit Committee

  • Hon. Cecile D. Singer – Chairperson

  • Melissa Nacerino – Member

  • Victor Gjonaj – Member