Leadership

Cynthia Amodeo, Chief Executive Officer

Ms. Cynthia Amodeo (she/her) is a licensed mental health counselor who specializes in the intersection of domestic violence and disabilities. She began as a children’s counselor at Freedom House, and has since held several leadership positions in the agency including Coordinator of Family Services, Director of Family Services, Director of Social Services and Chief Program Officer. She took on the role of CEO when Founder/CEO Paul Feuerstein retired on December 30, 2022.

Ms. Amodeo regularly presents at Domestic Violence and Trauma conferences nationally to spread awareness of how domestic violence affects people with disabilities. Prior to working at Barrier Free Living,  Ms. Amodeo counseled children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and survivors of the 2001 World Trade Center attack. Ms.Amodeo received her Master of Education and Master of Arts from Teacher’s College, Columbia University in 2006.

Diana Turner, Chief Program Officer

Diana (she/her) started her career in non profits 18 years ago working in a Domestic Violence shelter. She was a supervising residential
specialist that gave insights into the quality of life for residential life and domestic violence survivors.

Thereafter she began her career in supported housing at Community Access. This led her to Barrier Free Living  (BFL) where she became Program Director at BFL Apartments. Diana was able to merge her experience in domestic violence and supportive housing and contribute valuable insights into how both populations can be supported.

Diana continued to gain insights into the vision of BFL and working with various populations, and was appointed Chief Program Officer. As Chief Program Officer she will strengthen and develop programming with the goal of enhancing the quality of life for survivors with disabilities. Diana graduated from Hunter School of Social work with an MSW.

Linette Holmes, Human Resources Development Coordinator 

Linette joined the agency in 2010 as a resident aide at Freedom House. Over the years she had the role of shift supervisor and resident aide manager at Freedom House. Linette is a certified CPI trainer and began facilitating groups in 2019. She is pursuing SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) certification. Originally from Harlem, NY Linette still resides in Harlem. She has four children.

Scott Hess, Director of Communications & Development  

Scott (he/him) first joined BFL as a volunteer over 2o years ago, before joining the team. His roles have varied, from executive assistant to medical billing associate to organizational management. In 2008 Scott moved into organizational development before being name Director of Communications and in 2023 he became Director of Communication & Development. He lives in Manhattan with his husband.

Dorian Palumbo, Quality Assurance Specialist  

Dorian (she/her) began her working life in a retail art supply store in 1978. Since then she has worked for entertainment companies (MGM/UA), Universities (NYU, Columbia), Wall Street financial services companies (1992 – 2018) and has only recently begun working in the not-for-profit space. She is a certified project management professional, and has an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University and an MBA from the Stern School of Business, NYU. She recently moved back to her home town in New Jersey.

Paul Feuerstein, Founder

An advocate and visionary for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities for over four decades, Paul B. Feuerstein CEO/Founder of Barrier Free Living (BFL) retired December 30, 2022.

Read the announcement and highlights of Paul’s journey.