For over 15 years, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation has
proudly supported Gonzalo Casals, the newly appointed New York Cultural Affairs
Commissioner. His visionary leadership has facilitated programming that
amplifies underserved voices and cultural equity throughout NYC communities.
The Foundation supports the Leslie-Lohman Museum, the
world’s only cultural institution dedicated to LGBTQ art, and is a founding funder
of their EMBRACE educational program
for low-income LGBTQ NYC public students, teachers and allies.
Gonzalo, as Executive Director, partnered with Deutsche Bank
and dbPride to commission a mobile art installation at the NYC Pride March. Enthusiastic
employees volunteered to march with banners featuring Queer Icons: this series of portraits, by Gabriel Garcia Roman,
highlighted queer and transgender persons of color who are underrepresented
within the LGBTQ rights movement.
At the High Line, where Gonzalo steered the organization
towards more equitable cultural practices, the Foundation supported innovative,
hands-on educational programming that transformed the High Line into a living
classroom—and expanded access for diverse communities.
In 2005, the Foundation initiated supported for El Museo in
East Harlem, a neighborhood defined by its strong immigrant population. During
Gonzalos’ tenure, multiple Foundation grants strengthened bilingual education
programs for underserved immigrants and Latinx families.
Gonzalo has also been an engaged and valued member of Deutsche
Bank’s CSR Leadership Incubator, which equips emerging nonprofit leaders and Deutsche
Bank employees to strengthen organizations at the enterprise level. The
Incubator offers a variety of trainings that reflect many years of advising employees
and nonprofit partners and observing recurring themes in the leadership
challenges they express.
“Brilliant choice to appoint Gonzalo Casals as the NYC
Commissioner of Department of Cultural Affairs. We have always supported your
groundbreaking work as you have spearheaded new programs amplifying all voices
in our community,” said Alessandra DiGiusto, Head of CSR Americas and Executive
Director of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation.