Since 2021, Nanda Prabhakar, LCSW, MSW, MPA, has been the highly effective founding executive director of the New York-based nonprofit The Opportunity Hub. Benefitting from her exceptional direction, the organization has developed an extensive array of community services, ranging from after-school programs for youth to financial literacy and health access programs for people of all ages. Ms. Prabhakar oversees programs and manages funding, outreach, budgeting, and staffing, as well as ensuring compliance with Internal Revenue Service regulations and planning for future growth.
The Opportunity Hub offers early literacy programs, workforce readiness initiatives, support for seniors dealing with dementia, and many more services, including:
- Youth Development & Education: STEAM, culinary arts, sports, academic support, and gaming for teens and young adults ages 13 to 26.
- Wellbeing: Case management, counseling, supportive services, and activities that improve access to healthcare.
- Future-Focused Growth: College access and retention, career readiness, job training programs, and financial empowerment.
- Farm: Hands-on STEM, enrichment for K-5, older adult garden club, community volunteering, and youth internships. All produce grown is distributed for free or low cost to community members.
- Spring Creek Sun: Digital community newspaper with a 50-year legacy. The publication joined the nonprofit in September 2024 with the goals of increasing community representation and launching a youth journalism initiative.
Ms. Prabhakar is proud to serve her community at large by providing these crucial resources and remains steadfast in her dedication to building inclusive programs. Crediting her accomplishments to the trust her supervisors and senior colleagues have placed in her throughout her career, she believes that the opportunities she was afforded to take on new projects and step outside her comfort zone have been instrumental in her professional development. Ms. Prabhakar never intended to become a nonprofit leader but simply embraced opportunities presented to her. She has always been willing to take risks and bet on herself, leading her to establish The Opportunity Hub and build it into the thriving organization it is today.
Before starting The Opportunity Hub, Ms. Prabhakar built an impressive resume in social work and nonprofit administration. She was senior vice president of program operations at the New York City Mission Society, overseeing the organization’s programs and collaborating closely with the development and fundraising departments. In this role, she led her own team and worked directly with funders to secure grants. She also served as the senior director of adolescent and young adult programs for the same organization. Prior to her work with the New York City Mission Society, Ms. Prabhakar worked at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, as a social worker and coordinator of social work services. During her decade-long tenure with the district attorney’s office, she focused on finding alternatives to incarceration for young people who had committed violent felonies.
Ms. Prabhakar began her career in social work in 1999, shortly after graduating from Bryn Mawr College with a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology. She was a family assessment worker for the Healthy Families of North Philadelphia program and a support counselor for the Joseph J. Peters Institute. In these positions, she was proud to support first-time parents, help women in recovery from addiction, and conduct pregnancy prevention programs for teenagers.
Academically, Ms. Prabhakar earned a Master of Science in Social Work (MSW) from the University of California Berkeley, furthering her commitment to helping underserved populations. Remaining devoted to her professional development and higher education, she later earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA), graduating from Baruch College in 2016. Moreover, Ms. Prabhakar is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in New York and has completed leadership training through the Community Resource Exchange Leadership Caucus.
Since 2020, Ms. Prabhakar has shared her vast expertise as an adjunct professor at the Fordham Graduate School of Social Services. She is also a member of civic and professional organizations, serving as the board vice president of the Red Hook Initiative, a board member at large for the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and a board clerk for Strategies for Youth. Adjacent to these roles, Ms. Prabhakar is on the president’s advisory council at Bryn Mawr College and previously worked on the advisory council for the Student Success Network. For her indelible contributions, she received the Social Work Image Award from the National Association of Social Workers’ New York City Chapter in 2018. The same year, Ms. Prabhakar was also honored with an Above and Beyond: Women Award from the magazine City & State.
Grateful for the mentorship and support she has received throughout her career, Ms. Prabhakar thanks Debbie Lashley, her former boss at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, for pushing her to grow professionally. Ms. Prabhakar passes that same encouragement to young professionals to empower the next generation of leaders in the social work and nonprofit fields. Passionate about the growth and sustainability of The Opportunity Hub, Ms. Prabhakar looks forward to continuing to develop the organization. In the future, she would like to expand her academic contributions as an adjunct professor, as well as write and publish articles.