Neriel David Ponce
Program Manager
Neriel is a seasoned facilitator, trainer, project manager, and operations geek. He brings over a decade of working with nonprofit and social impact organizations, specializing in: youth leadership development, grassroots community organizing, immigrant rights and advocacy, and racial justice in education. As Manager at ProInspire, Neriel manages a portfolio of mid to large-sized nonprofit and foundation client engagements that are working to operationalize a racially equitable organizational culture.
Neriel’s experience encompasses facilitating political education and activism workshops with Chinatown Youth Initiatives’ (CYI) Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), co-directing the annual Immigrant Youth Empowerment Conference (IYECon), and leading the operations for the Center for Racial Justice in Education (CRJE). In 2012 he co-founded RAISE, a pan-Asian undocumented youth-led collective – facilitating workshops, speaking on panels and keynoting, and directing convenings nationally and locally for undocumented immigrant youth-led organizations. His immigration story has also been highlighted in The Huffington Post, The Daily News, NBC News: Asian America, The Progressive, and the award-winning documentary: Why We Rise (2013), a recipient of the 2014 Loni Ding Award for Social Justice at the CAAMFest Film Festival and finalist at HBO’s 2012 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival.
Neriel earned his BA from CUNY Hunter College, studying cultural anthropology and Asian American studies, with a focus on race, gender, and migration. His undergraduate work has been cited in, “Undocumented Storytellers: Narrating the Immigrant Rights Movement” (2019) by Sarah Bishop. In his free time he loves to travel with his husband and their corgi Bruno, hike national parks, practice yoga, drink coffee, and eat good food. Neriel is committed to creating a world rooted in community, where all can live out their full humanity and live free.
What is your favorite form of self-care?
I love really good Southeast Asian food (Filipino, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian, Vietnamese, just to name a few) and trying out new French tasting menus. Getting to relax either alone or with good company over a great meal helps me recharge.
What is something that you’re learning about?
Lately, I’ve been tackling my pile of books and have been really interested in learning about museums, culture, people, and creating impactful experiences.
Why do you do what you do?
I love people, and my academic training in anthropology expanded my own world view of how we all come together, interact, and connect. I’m committed to my own personal growth and the transformation of others to achieve a better world where we can see and value each other.