“When you are a factor in providing someone with safe and affordable housing, you’re not just giving them that,” she says. “You are giving them access to a career, to a stable schooling system for their children—it trickles out, and I think that’s an extraordinarily important thing, a human right.”

Reynolds joined New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development as its new executive director of housing opportunity in February. She leads a team that evaluates and implements affordable housing practices, ensuring that the city is providing affordable housing in a fair, open, and transparent way.

It’s the kind of big-picture, policymaking job that is especially critical during the coronavirus crisis, she says. “Sharing rooms is not exactly an ideal situation for a pandemic, so we have been working in overdrive to try to link people currently residing in shelter to housing opportunities.”

The silver lining, she says, is that the current crisis has sped up the usual process. “It’s a service we do in a regular environment, but now we have extra staff from other areas of the agency. And getting people this stability has a ripple effect in the rest of their life.”

Reynolds says her time at Fordham helped her find a place she could pursue her passions professionally.

“It was refreshing to be in an environment where everyone is encouraged to pursue a little bit of everything so they can be the best person they can be,” she says, “for themselves and for the world.”

When she graduated with a double major in general science and sociology, she knew she wanted to serve the Bronx community she had grown to know and love. Her first position at Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation introduced her to the idea of preserving and expanding safe, affordable housing, and that experience has continued to play a large part in the rest of her career, including in her current position. “When I’m thinking about what policies are best to make affordable housing as successful as possible, I have real on-the-ground experience, real names, real faces that I can think about.”

When she talks about her career path with current Fordham students, Reynolds says, “I like to tell them that I never would have guessed, when I was in undergrad, that I would be where I am now, in this specific role, because it just wasn’t on my radar at the time. But my work definitely lines up with the mindset I have always had, to help vulnerable populations; none of that has changed. It’s just the specifics of how it worked out.”

She has also helped mentor students through a 2016 Global Outreach project in Nicaragua, and she’s been on the Young Alumni Committee since she graduated, most of that time spent on either the philanthropy or the social justice subcommittee.

She says her continued involvement with the University has been especially rewarding because, aside from her career, the friends she made at Fordham have had the most significant impact on her life.

“Fordham attracts a special type of person, which is why those relationships have been so valuable,” Reynolds says. “Any way I can maintain that community and give back or encourage continued improvement at Fordham is important to me.”

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about bringing about greater equity in New York City. New York is an amazing city, with a plethora of resources. Yet we have income inequality and wealth disparity that defines us just as much as being “the city that never sleeps.” I was exposed to this firsthand at Fordham. This passion has informed a lot of my decisions in life, including my career. I am also on the board of the Bronx is Blooming, a nonprofit that promotes environmental justice by giving Bronx youth the tools they need to be leaders in their own communities. It’s an organization I was introduced to as a student; I worked there for two summers when it was fairly new, and it really made me feel part of the Bronx community. I’ve stayed involved ever since, and it’s been amazing to see it grow. Serving on their board now helps me maintain my connection to the Bronx, which is still very important to me. I hope to one day live in a city where no one has to worry about the security of their housing, health, or food; I think we have the ability to get there, and I hope to be part of that solution.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I think the advice to “take a lap”—most commonly used when someone does something dumb or silly and you have to take a lap to walk off the embarrassment—is both funny and earnestly helpful. I’m not sure who first gave me this advice, but whenever I am feeling overwhelmed or anxious about something, whether it’s in my professional life or my personal life, I find taking a lap (or a walk, or a breath) is always worthwhile time spent to collect my thoughts and re-center myself.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
New York City is my favorite place in the world! I have so many favorite places in New York, and they each stir a different memory or feeling for me: the Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge, Belvedere Castle in Central Park, and the market on Arthur Avenue are just a few. One of my favorite places in the city is the hidden gem that is Fort Tilden. Fort Tilden is part of the National Parks Service and is located just east of Rockaway. I love this spot because it provides a beach oasis where I can see piping plovers nesting in the dunes and go for a swim in the Atlantic, and then take a 45-minute ferry ride at the end of the day back home to Manhattan.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
I had heard Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City referenced often, especially among my colleagues in the housing industry. I knew it was critically acclaimed, and did not doubt its significance; however, I had quickly filed it away in my mind as a good book for laypeople to read, a book for those who didn’t already know about the struggles of low-income renters. What I did not expect was how intimately Matthew Desmond tells the stories of victims of eviction and their landlords, and how that intimacy lends to a uniquely compelling book about the rental market’s role in institutional poverty. I highly recommend that any social justice-minded folks who are interested in the nexus between having a home and breaking the cycle of poverty pick up this book!

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
I am proud to say I have a long list of graduates and professors who I admire from my time at Fordham, many of whom are my personal friends. But the Fordham grad I admire the absolute most is my dad, Patrick Reynolds. My dad graduated from Fordham College at Lincoln Center in 1981 after working his way through school to be the first one in his family to get a college degree. He went on to join the New York City Fire Department—another thing I admire about him—and he always fostered an environment of learning and curiosity in our home growing up, which I am grateful for. Thanks to my dad, I valued eloquentia perfecta before I even set foot on Fordham’s campus.

“I got help from older students, especially my fellow Ram Van drivers, who helped guide me to the right courses and professors. The professors helped me find the right major,” he says, “and the alumni network helped lead me to the right career.”

Now Sutherland, a vice president of strategic client management at Morgan Stanley, wants to do the same for current students.

One way he does this is by encouraging more financial institutions to consider liberal arts graduates. As an economics major who minored in both political science and business administration, Sutherland says he was able to use the “critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills you learn as a liberal arts student” to succeed in his Morgan Stanley internship, which led to a full-time job offer.

In his current role, Sutherland often has to coordinate among multiple teams, something he feels Fordham prepared him well for. “You’re always challenged to find creative solutions at Fordham, to maintain a strong work ethic, and to collaborate. There are great candidates at both business schools and liberal arts colleges who can do that”

He got involved with the Young Alumni Committee’s philanthropy subcommittee and later joined the Fordham University Alumni Association (FUAA) Advisory Board, where he serves on a task force focused on Fordham’s reputation. “The way people think about Fordham is important for the student and alumni experience,” Sutherland says. “I want to be at the forefront of helping Fordham stay in the limelight.”

He also wants to help his fellow alumni reframe how they think about their place in the Fordham network. That includes telling all his fellow alumni and friends about this year’s Fordham Giving Day, which spans March 4 and 5.

“People don’t realize that the amount of donors is so important, no matter how much they give,” he says, explaining that the percentage of alumni who support Fordham is seen as a sign of just how much alumni value their Fordham degree. “If you can’t give $200, give $20, or give $2.50 instead of buying coffee,” he says. “It’s all impactful.”

More importantly, he hopes that telling his own story will inspire other alumni to donate to their alma mater. “Even with financial aid, I graduated from Fordham with a lot of debt,” Sutherland says candidly. But he says he would do it all again—the value of the degree, the friendships he made, and the network he created were worth it.

“I want to combat the negative stigma folks have about giving back when you have debt. And I want to afford other students the opportunity to go to Fordham and have these experiences with less debt,” he says. “I tell them it’s not about giving because you get something physical in return. It’s giving because when you were here, you got experiences and friendships for life.

“And if you can’t give financially, mentor a student. Hire an intern. There are other ways to give back and strengthen the Fordham network.”

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
Fordham is really what I’m most passionate about. I think the opportunities that were afforded to me, the classes I got to take and the people I got to meet, it shaped my education, my career, and my life. And I’m indebted to it. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
There are two, both from my parents. The first is that hard work pays off. I saw that this year when I got a promotion to vice president so early on in my career. And the hard work I do personally pays off because I get to represent organizations I love, like Fordham and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

The other one is that you need to be able to stand up for yourself and challenge the norm. I have always tried to do that, in the classroom and the workplace, and that’s helped me get to where I am today. I always had an opinion, didn’t really sit back quietly. Even though maybe something had always been done a certain way, I let my voice be heard if I thought I could provide insightful feedback. 

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
In New York City, I would say Central Park. I go up there for runs to clear my head, and it’s just so interesting that we have this green space here. It’s such a point of relief and relaxation in such a hustle-and-bustle city, especially working with finance.

In the world, it’s definitely Rome. I had a fantastic experience studying abroad there: took great classes, played on a Roman lacrosse team, built long-lasting friendships with the students I was with there from around the world. Some of my best friends are from study abroad, and I try to go back to Italy once a year.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
This is a tough one, but for a lasting influence, I think it’s The Great Gatsby, which I read in high school. What I got from it was trying to remember how precious life is, to see the true friends at hand—even though Gatsby had these huge parties, he only had one true friend in Nick—and to understand that material goods don’t fulfill your life. It’s making sure I don’t lose sight of what grounds me.

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
Professor Booi Themeli. I took two Senior Values courses with him, so both centered on bringing the Jesuit identity and ideals and values into the classroom and into real-life situations. Those classes led to such great discussions. We would share thoughts about an opportunity or situation or problem and how we would handle it, and he would play devil’s advocate, and we would have to ask ourselves whether we were thinking about things ethically or economically, thinking about dollars and cents or the good of an organization. Those are decisions I have to make probably on a weekly basis at Morgan Stanley (whose four core values luckily align with the Jesuit identity), and Professor Themeli really drove those values home for me.