Dear Friends,
I’m writing to share that I’ve made the bittersweet decision to transition out of my role as Katal’s executive director, effective at the end of the year. We’ve been working on this for some time – and I’m thrilled to announce that our organizing director, Melanie Dominguez, and our advocacy director, Yonah Zeitz, will become Katal’s co–executive directors.
From the start, leadership development has been fundamental to Katal’s identity, practice, and culture. Today, with the organization in a strong position to write its next chapter, I know Katal will thrive with Melanie and Yonah at the helm. This transition comes at the right time, with the board deeply engaged and two extraordinarily talented young leaders ready to step up.
As you know, 2026 marks the 10-year anniversary of Katal’s launch. In recent months I’ve shared a few reflections about our work and what we’ve accomplished together over the past decade. Yonah and Melanie have been with Katal for more than half that time. Both joined the organization in 2020 – Yonah just before the COVID pandemic hit and Melanie in the midst of it.
Both of them hit the ground running – and their commitment to and affinity for the work was immediately evident. Over more than six years, Melanie and Yonah have established themselves as accomplished organizers, strategists, and movement leaders. They’ve worked to grow Katal’s base and have built and led winning campaigns. They’ve been primary authors on groundbreaking publications: Yonah led Katal’s work on our 2025 report Rikers Island and Mental Health: Pathways Toward Community-Based Diversion and Jail Population Reduction; and Melanie wrote the central essay in our recent report, Three Years, Five Boroughs, 200,000 Doors: A Report on Katal’s #ShutRikers Canvassing Project, September 2022–December 2025.
Since 2023 Melanie and Yonah have led Katal’s organizing and advocacy across New York City and the state. They’ve earned the respect of their colleagues and allies across the field. (I encourage you to read Melanie and Yonah‘s bios.)
Working through the transition process during the past nine months gave us the opportunity to position Katal for the road ahead, even amid uncertainty and rising authoritarianism. The effort required and benefited from the leadership and insight of the entire board – chair Safiya Jafari Simmons, treasurer Jerry James, secretary Lisa Raville, Ajua Kouadio, and G. Rosaline Preudhomme. The board established a transition committee to lead the process, with Ajua as chair and Safiya, Jerry, Melanie, Yonah, and me as members. We hired Around the Block consulting, a terrific team with deep expertise in leadership transitions and organizational development, to help guide us. Melanie and Yonah have completed leadership trainings and fellowships to prepare during the transition. Our board and staff are ready. Our members are engaged.
And we’ll need you too – standing with us through these changes, supporting Melanie and Yonah in their new roles, and if you’re able, making a donation to help secure our footing.
Building a new organization – and keeping it going through the ebb and flow of 10-plus years – has been extraordinarily challenging and deeply rewarding. I’ve poured my heart and sweat into Katal, and I count it as a blessing that I’ve had the opportunity to do this work – here, in this time, with such good people. I’m deeply grateful for our courageous members, our brilliant staff and board, our dedicated partners and supporters. Together we’ve done some amazing things over the past decade, among them developing new leaders, strengthening movement infrastructure, and winning big fights that improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. What an honor to do this work with you. Thank you.
My last day on Katal’s staff and board will be December 31, 2026. I’ll write again in the coming months with updates about my next steps.
But before all of that: Please mark your calendar for our 10-year anniversary event here in NYC on Thursday evening, November 19. Come celebrate with us – we’d love to see you.
With great confidence and optimism for Katal’s next chapter,
gabriel sayegh
Cofounder and Executive Director