Exalt Youth
Lobbying client
Exalt Youth is a New York City nonprofit, founded in 2006, that works with court-involved teenagers ages 15 to 19 referred by judges, prosecutors, or schools, combining about six weeks of classroom instruction on the criminal justice system with a paid internship in a field the student chooses. The organization says roughly 95 percent of its graduates avoid returning to the justice system, compared with a national juvenile recidivism rate of about 40 percent. It has filed 15 disclosures since 2024, registered citywide, paying Back Chamber Consulting LLC $232,000 to lobby all 51 council members on securing city budget funding for youth and criminal-justice programs, and it currently holds about $2.12 million in active NYC contracts as of August 2026.
- Council members lobbied
- 51 (citywide)
- Filings (since 2024)
- 15
- Lobbying compensation (since 2024)
- $244,000
- Industry (per city contracts)
- Human Services
- City contracts (active)
- $2,123,180 · 2 contracts
- Awarded all-time
- $7,741,896 · 12 since 2019, incl. expired
- Paid to date
- $6,169,413
- Won without a fresh bid
- 100% of contract value · $7,741,896 · 12 contracts
- Discretionary funding (FY2009-FY2027)
- $775,490 · 28 awards
- Funding history
- Funded every year since FY2020 (8 years running)
- Top officer pay (FY2024)
- $298,013 · Gisele Castro, Chief Executive Officer
Represented by lobbyist firms
- Back Chamber Consulting LLC Lobbyist firm
Holds contracts at
- Department of Youth and Community Development City agency
- Mayoralty City agency
- Office of Criminal Justice City agency
Funded by these agencies
- Department of Youth and Community Development City agency
- Mayoralty City agency
- Office of Criminal Justice City agency
What they lobbied on
subjects from their filings
- Budget - Secure program funds
- Budget - Securing funding for youth programs/Criminal Justice
- Budget - securing funding for programs
City contracts
Registered city contracts, largest first by current contract value (not amount spent): running now, then registered to start later, then ended. Totals count every registered contract. Each line shows its Checkbook contract ID. The tag on each row is how it was awarded (“no-bid” = non-competitive).
- FY27 Exalt Youth ATI NAE Office of Criminal Justice · CT112820278800638 $1,110,680
- Alternatives to Incarceration Discretionary Contract Office of Criminal Justice · CT112820268805708 $1,012,500
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Citywide Office of Criminal Justice · CT112820258800785 · ended 2026 $2,147,606
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Citywide Mayoralty · CT100220238805916 · ended 2024 $2,076,240
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Manhattan, Brooklyn, SI Mayoralty · CT100220211420407 · ended 2022 $1,175,880
- Funding will support exalts Core Internship Program Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020248807019 · ended 2026 $146,500
- Funds will support Exalt Youth's programs and services Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020238807758 · ended 2023 $25,000
- Funding will support Exalts Core Internship Program Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020218800523 · ended 2021 $15,000
- To fund internship programs for the youth. Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020201422681 · ended 2020 $15,000
- Funding will support Exalt's Core Internship Program Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020238801851 · ended 2022 $10,000
Largest payments, by purpose
The organization's largest individual city payments (roughly $25,000 and up), grouped by purpose, to show what recent money was for. This is NOT a total — smaller payments aren't listed; see “Paid to date” above for the complete amount paid against its contracts. Fiscal years 2020 and later.
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Citywide Office of Criminal Justice · FY2025 · 5 payments $1,082,083
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Citywide Office of Criminal Justice · FY2026 · 6 payments $990,056
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Citywide Mayoralty · FY2024 · 3 payments $832,935
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Citywide Mayoralty · FY2023 · 2 payments $499,509
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Manhattan, Brooklyn, SI Mayoralty · FY2023 · 2 payments $371,967
- FY27 Exalt Youth ATI NAE Office of Criminal Justice · FY2027 $333,204
- Alternatives to Incarceration Discretionary Contract Office of Criminal Justice · FY2026 $270,000
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Manhattan, Brooklyn, SI Mayoralty · FY2022 · 2 payments $264,906
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Citywide Mayoralty · FY2025 $237,450
- ATD/-I services for 15-19 year-olds: Manhattan, Brooklyn, SI Mayoralty · FY2021 $118,380
- Funding will support exalts Core Internship Program Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2026 $48,300
Discretionary funding received
City Council discretionary (member-item) awards, largest first. Covers FY2009-FY2027.
- Alternatives to Incarceration and Reentry Programs (Formerly Alternatives to Incarceration, Discharge Planning, and Diversion Programs) Alternatives to Incarceration and Reentry Programs (Formerly Alternatives to Incarceration, Discharge Planning, and Diversion Programs) · MOCJ · FY2026 $270,000
- Alternatives to Incarceration and Reentry Programs Alternatives to Incarceration and Reentry Programs · MOCJ · FY2027 $270,000
- Community Safety and Victim Services CM Rivera · Community Safety and Victim Services · DYCD · FY2023 $25,000
- Core Internship Program CM Manhattan Delegation · Boroughwide Needs Initiative · DYCD · FY2025 $19,000
- Core Internship Program - CD14 CM Cabrera · Youth · DYCD · FY2020 $10,000
- Core Internship Program - Council District 14 CM Cabrera · Youth · DYCD · FY2021 $10,000
- Core Internship Program - Council District 14 CM Sanchez · Youth · DYCD · FY2022 $10,000
- CORE Internship Program CM Marte · Anti-Poverty · DYCD · FY2024 $10,000
- CORE Internship Program CM Marte · Anti-Poverty · DYCD · FY2025 $10,000
- Core Internship Program - Council District 16 CM Stevens · DYCD · FY2025 $10,000
- Exalt's Core Internship Program CM Hanks · Youth · DYCD · FY2025 $10,000
- Youth CM Osse · Youth · DYCD · FY2025 $10,000
- Core Internship Program - Council District 16 CM Stevens · Community Safety and Victim Services · DYCD · FY2026 $10,000
- Youth CM Osse · Youth · DYCD · FY2026 $10,000
- Exalt's Core Internship Program CM Hanks · Youth · DYCD · FY2026 $10,000
- Internship Program CM Marte · Youth · DYCD · FY2026 $10,000
- Core Internship Program CM Osse · Youth · DYCD · FY2027 $10,000
- Core Internship Program - Council District 16 CM Stevens · DYCD · FY2027 $10,000
- Internship Program CM Marte · Youth · DYCD · FY2027 $9,000
- Elevating Expectations Program CM King · Anti-Poverty · DYCD · FY2020 $5,000
Funded by these council members
City Council members who steered discretionary (member-item) money to this organization, largest first (FY2020 and later, where the sponsoring member is disclosed). Sitting members link to their page.
- Christopher Marte FY2023-2027 · 5 awards $44,000
- Althea V. Stevens FY2025-2027 · 3 awards $30,000
- Chi A. Ossé FY2025-2027 · 3 awards $30,000
- Rivera FY2023 · 1 award $25,000
- Cabrera FY2020-2021 · 2 awards $20,000
- Kamillah Hanks FY2025-2026 · 2 awards $20,000
- Pierina Ana Sanchez FY2022 · 1 award $10,000
- Yusef Salaam FY2025 · 2 awards $10,000
- King FY2020 · 1 award $5,000
- Kevin C. Riley FY2021 · 1 award $5,000
- Ty Hankerson FY2027 · 1 award $5,000
- Virginia Maloney FY2027 · 1 award $5,000
- Justin E. Sanchez FY2027 · 1 award $5,000
Officer & key-staff pay
Reportable compensation from this organization's IRS Form 990 (Part VII), latest available filing (FY2024). Includes pay from related organizations where reported; an annual figure, not a running total. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
- Gisele Castro Chief Executive Officer $298,013
- Marcelo Nigri Senior Director Of Finance $194,040
- Andrea Feduzi Chief Operating Officer $191,708
- Joelle Servais Chief Development Officer (1/24) $175,050
- Jason Alleyne Chief Program Officer $163,204
- Inga Glodowski Director. Development (Until 11/24) $157,522
Officer pay over time
Total officer pay changed +158% from FY2020 to FY2024. Top-officer reportable compensation by year (org-paid only), with each year's share of total revenue. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer 990 filings.
- FY2020 Gisele Castro · 12.49% of revenue $185,506
- FY2021 Gisele Castro · 6.16% of revenue $203,168
- FY2022 Gisele Castro · 11.69% of revenue $257,357
- FY2023 Gisele Castro · 18.6% of revenue $265,651
- FY2024 Gisele Castro · 21.98% of revenue $298,013