Our Board

HK Dunston is an expert in digital product design and product management. She started working at a web design agency in the early days in 1995. Over the course of a 13-year consulting career she continued to focus on trends in online user experience, collaboration and communities. During this period she built and led the Experience Design team for Katzenback Partners.

HK then spent several years at Thomson Reuters as VP for Digital Communications, leading product stragy and operations for the company’s intranet, websites and social media. She’s currently consulting and supporting other mission-based organizations and recently earned a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning at Columbia. (she/her/hers)

Johanna Garcia is the Executive Director of the City College Partnership. With a streak for social justice and equality, she has long been involved in the community and political landscape of Washington Heights.

Johanna was recently appointed by the Manhattan Borough President to serve on the Community Education Council and was elected by her peers to serve as its President. While in her previous position as Chief of Staff at the City Council of New York, she enjoyed making sure that government worked for the people instead of the other way around. Hoping to give the community a bigger voice in government, Johanna co-founded and currently serves as President of the Uptown Community Democrats.

Johanna Garcia is a native of Washington Heights and daughter of Cuban immigrants. She is proud to be raising her children in the same neighborhood she grew up in. She is committed to helping public education give every child the opportunity to thrive. All three of her kids are alums of Uptown Stories. (she/her/hers)

Joshua Johnson is an editorial and content strategy professional living in New York City. His writing and design work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Scholastic Press Association, and the Associated Collegiate Press.

With a BA in Journalism and a Master of Professional Studies in Print and Digital Media Publishing, Joshua currently works for Creatd, Inc, a Manhattan-based Nasdaq technology company. At Creatd, Joshua serves as Head of Content for Vocal, a multimedia digital publishing platform dedicated to supporting independent storytellers and the broader Creator Economy through industry-leading content creation tools, resources, and community engagement. In addition to his work at Creatd, Joshua serves as a committee chairman for the George Washington University Journal of Ethics in Publishing, where he oversees operations and strategic best practices for the quarterly execution of GW’s newest academic journal.

Jennifer Mota is a Senior Vice President at MFA Financial, Inc., where she is the Head of Human Resources and the Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. For 15+ years, Jennifer has been a strategic HR business partner and culture leader, balancing the current needs of organizations while staying focused on the future. Passionate about gender equality, Jennifer is a New York Co-Chair for 50/50 Women on Boards, the leading global education and advocacy campaign for driving gender balance on corporate boards, and is an Official Member of the Forbes HR Council.

Jennifer obtained her undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Organizational Behavior from NYU’s Stern School of Business. She earned her master’s degree from Columbia University in Organizational Psychology, and earned a certification in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

Being born and raised in Washington Heights, Jennifer is elated to be a member of the Uptown Stories Board of Directors. Mota is also a mom to two young boys, a dog named Waffles, and a lucky wife to her best friend of 23+ years.