Our Story
Kindred Bakery BK is more than a bakery—it’s a movement. Rooted in Flatbush, Brooklyn, we use the art of baking to create opportunities for people who have historically been excluded from traditional skill building pathways. Through hands-on training in professional kitchens, our program equips participants with practical skills, social-emotional learning (SEL), and STEAM-based education, preparing them for meaningful opportunities and deeper community engagement.
The Founders
Kindred was founded by Qiana Daniels, a veteran teacher, and Nigel Thompson, a retired police officer turned artisan baker. As parents of an Autistic young man , they saw firsthand how many young adults struggle to find support and opportunities after high school, especially those from intersecting marginalized backgrounds. Determined to change this, they built Kindred as a space where learning is inclusive, skill-driven, and designed to lead to real opportunities.
Founder
Nigel Thompson
Nigel retired as an Aircraft Rescue Fire-Fighter/Police Officer after a 21 year career. He received his Master's in Education Leadership Management and Policy from Seton Hall University, and was a NYC public school teacher for 2 years. He is also trained as a mediator and is an Ambassador for the New York Peace Institute.
Nigel’s value for community and service led him to retire early in order to establish Kindred Bakery where he grew up in Flatbush Brooklyn. Nigel is a prolific home cook and is currently studying at the Institute of Culinary Education to further enhance his culinary skills.
Founder
Qiana Daniels
Qiana is a NYC public school teacher with a Master’s Degree in Literacy from Bank Street College of Education and in School Building Leadership from Mercy College. Qiana is a skilled home-baker with a strong focus in gluten free baked goods. She has a strong commitment to social justice and believes that everyone deserves access to affordable, fresh and healthy food.
OUR INSTRUCTORS
Our instructors are highly trained industry professionals with deep expertise in baking, pastry, and culinary arts. Beyond the kitchen, they bring diverse backgrounds—from accounting to curriculum development to structural engineering—that complement their work with our participants. Students not only gain technical skills but build meaningful relationships with passionate, accessible mentors. We also welcome esteemed guest chefs from across the world, bringing diverse perspectives, culturally relevant recipes, and specialized techniques to our program.
Cole Sotnick
Cole recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is immensely passionate about the culinary arts. He has been using his skills to feed friends and family from a young age and worked in various restaurants growing up. Cole holds a certificate from the Institute of Culinary Education in bread baking and has gained experience working as a pastry baker at Balthazar in NYC.
Louis Lhermitte
Born in Atlanta and raised in France, Louis increased his versatility by being taught to make baguettes and croissants by a renown New York City chef, a unique dynamic which still puts a smile on his face to this day. A passionate home cook and baker, Louis enjoys sharing and teaching his skills as much as he enjoys eating the results. With an engineering degree from MIT and a bread baking certificate from the institute of Culinary Education, Louis is particularly proud of the perfectly light and delicious structures of his breads and pastries.
Mira Ruth Rubens
Mira Ruth Rubens taught for over 20 years at NYC public elementary schools. Her favorite subjects were science and math and she always incorporated nature and cooking lessons into her classes of Pre-K to 5th Grade students. Mira has also previously worked as a professional cook and baker, running her own catering company, Cooks-on-Call, for 10 years, serving everything from box lunches for 250 at the New York Public Library, to private weddings at homes on Long Island. Mira is delighted to volunteer at Kindred, teaching skills she has enjoyed throughout her life to a new generation of eager students.
Iliana Correa
Iliana is a home baker who is not only in love with Artisan Bread but also with pastries that highlight tropical fruits and Caribbean sweets flavors. She is an enthusiast of collaboration and community building with a background in Human Resources and recruiting operations. Recently, Iliana completed a course from the Institute of Culinary Education in The Techniques of Artisan Bread Baking and is thrilled to share her skills and knowledge in a shared learning space at Kindred.
Artie Niederhoffer
Artie Niederhoffer is a writer and educator with a passion for bread, working with Kindred on program development and kitchen support. Her love for language and education led her to roles in publishing and teaching English in Japan and NYC's immigrant communities. After following her passion for baking to the Institute of Culinary Education and a stint at Balthazar Bakery, she joined the Kindred team, where she gets to bake with a purpose.
Chelsea Burgess
Chelsea Burgess is the Head of Culinary Program and a key member of the strategy team at Kindred Bakery BK. She brings deep expertise in pastry arts, production operations, and design-focused baking, helping shape Kindred’s professional yet accessible approach to skill-building for youth and young adults with diverse abilities.
Chelsea also teaches pastry and baking at the collegiate level, where she builds strong technical foundations and fosters confidence in students of all levels. Her passion for education informs her mentorship and program development at Kindred.
Previously, Chelsea led a team of cake artists at Nine Cakes, overseeing custom luxury cake design and production in New York’s wedding industry.
Chelsea holds a B.S. in Baking & Pastry Arts from Johnson & Wales University. At Kindred, she leads recipe development, kitchen workflow systems, and instructional support—merging creativity and discipline to help participants gain competence, confidence, and meaningful connection through baking.
The Board
Stanley Harmon
Stanley Harmon is a seasoned accountant and auditor with over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has an MBA from Pace University and Masters of Science in Information technology from New York University.
Stanley is currently the owner of Everton & Associates, LLC, a boutique accounting and consulting firm. He is also a former general auditor and compliance officer at Carver Federal Savings Bank. Stanley has a strong understanding of accounting, auditing, compliance, and management.
For over 30 years Stanley has volunteered his time as a mentor and Director/Coach for non-profit soccer in Flatbush Brooklyn.
Kimberly McCoy
Kimberly is an attorney, special educator, and parent of a child with autism. She brings over 10 years of experience in special education, ranging from early childhood evaluator to community based and District 75 school teacher. She attended City College for her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Special Education and earned her J.D. at Seton Hall University School of Law.
Lana Parker
Dr. Lana Parker is a New York State licensed psychologist working in private-practice with a specialty in neuropsychological assessment and a long history of working with youth and families. She joins the Kindred team after spending time in numerous independent and public schools providing social-emotional support to students through consultation, teacher-training and crisis intervention. Lana also has experience working in the developmental evaluation clinic and intensive crisis stabilization and treatment programs at Kings County Hospital Center. She provided community-based support working with the New York- Presbyterian Medical Center’s School-Based Mental Health Clinic. She believes that working with children and families within their own environment and building on existing areas of strength is the best way to promote positive growth.
In her free time, Lana enjoys travel, baking, entertaining and spending time with her family.
Keisha V. Thompson
Dr. Keisha V. Thompson is a Professor of Psychology at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York, and the co-creator and director of the Historically Underrepresented Faculty & Staff Resource Center at Kingsborough.
Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Dr. Thompson grew up in Brooklyn, NY. She holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Texas A&M University, a bachelor's degree in Business Communication from Baruch College, CUNY, and a master's degree in School Counseling from Hunter College, CUNY. Her clinical experience spans diverse settings, including college counseling, community mental health, federal prison, VA medical centers, and K-12 schools.
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Kamilah O'Brien
Kamilah O'Brien is a Nonprofit Finance and Operations professional with a Masters in Public Administration from New York State University and a Bachelors in Public Relations from Boston University. She has worked in the Charter School industry for almost 15 years working in accounting and operations. Kamilah runs the personal finance YouTube channel Focused Spender and is the author of Little Focused Spender, helping adults begin money conversations with the children in their lives. Kamilah is a native New Yorker, with Caribbean roots and is passionate about helping people create generational wealth.
Kamelle Cornell
Kamelle Cornell is a Sales and Brand Partnerships leader with nearly 20 years of experience in advertising. She specializes in connecting entrepreneurs with brands that provide essential support and funding, and has a track record of building meaningful collaborations that drive growth and opportunity.
A native New Yorker, born in Grenada, she is deeply passionate about making inclusivity the norm — in business, in community, and beyond. As a mom, she’s especially driven to help create a world where every child grows up seeing possibility and belonging. Outside of work, she loves championing creative ventures and helping new founders navigate their journeys.
Advisory Board
Advisor
Chris Paul
Christopher Paul is a performance-driven, strategic, and process-focused Culinary & Food Service Management Executive, showcasing international exposure to provide thought leadership and innovative perspective to capture the highest potential of organization resources.
He offers 17+ years of transferable experience in delivering best-in-class consultation and advisory services to various food-service organizations across the community using in-depth insights regarding food compliance requirements as well as delivering specialty catering services, involving farm to table, contemporary American, Peruvian & Cantonese fusion, Tex-Mex, French, and Caribbean cuisines. He leads innovative business concepts as a seasoned entrepreneur, securing 6+ licenses and permits across Philadelphia, Maryland, and New York, involving health and hygiene while directing and steering end-to-end operations for (5) start-up businesses.
Advisor
Tom Chapel
Thomas (Tom) Chapel, MA, MBA was CDC’s first Chief Evaluation Officer from 2011 until his (semi) retirement in 2020. But even earlier, he was helping CDC programs and partners do better evaluation, performance measurement, and strategic planning from various perches within CDC’s Office of the Director from 2001 on, and as Vice President at Macro International (now ICF) since the late 1980s. Tom has been involved in planning, performance measurement, and evaluation issues at the national level as well. A popular keynote speaker, facilitator, and trainer nationally, Tom was a Board member of the American Evaluation Association, where he also won the Myrdal Government Evaluation Award in 2013. In retirement, Tom continues his evaluation and planning work as a guest researcher at CDC, a Fellow at the CDC Foundation, and as a prob-bono consultant for dozens of nonprofit organizations. He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and MA and MBA degrees from the University of Minnesota.
Advisor
Mark Alter
Alter is a Professor of Educational Psychology at New York University and was the founding chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning and served as Chair for 14 years. . He has an extensive record of publications , national and international workshops and funded grants in the field of special education. He was granted A Fulbright Senior Specialist award to Viet Nam and was awarded The NYU Distinguished Teaching award. Alter has experience as an assistant teacher and teacher with students with severe and profound disabilities , as well as a PhD from Yeshiva University in special education. He has an international presence , most recently in Romania, Crete , Brazil & Argentina discussing special education, teacher education and early childhood education.
Culinary Support Team
Instructor
Sherilyn Thomas
Sherilyn is the owner and operator of Cozitreats Baked Goods. She is a chef, recipe developer and consultant with over 25 years of experience transforming American and French baked goods and pastries into something special.
She believes that baking is a creative way of expressing love to friends and family, and is passionate about using nutritious ingredients in her baked goods. Accessibility is also important to Sheri; the whole grains, fruits, and vegetables used in her baked goods can be easily found at the local grocery store and supermarket.
Volunteer
Niv Patel
Niv Patel is a software engineer for the past 5 years. A graduate of Mangrove CBA, she recently launched Hippie Circus, a kombucha business and seeks to use her skills and interest in tech, food, etc. to create positive change. She is excited to support Kindred with all things tech related and beyond.
Creative Director/Storyteller/Crafts-person
Stephen J. Visconti
Stephen has distinguished his work by integrating intelligent strategy, superior content and world-class design; delivering an extraordinary level of creativity in visual brand expression.
With a wealth of experience and an in-depth knowledge of his clients’ markets and offerings, Stephen has developed compelling creative solutions within commercial real estate leasing and development, publishing, the financial services, financial technology, biotherapeutics, real estate investment management and higher education sectors, as well as for a number of pro-bono clients.
Stephen is a native of Brooklyn, NY When Stephen is not helping clients’ drive their marketing initiatives forward, he cycles and mountain bikes the local back roads and trails to recharge his creative batteries.
He is also an avid motorcyclist, with a passion for motorsports and all things automotive. And his motorsports-themed illustrations have graced the pages of a number of moto enthusiast publications.
Stephen also creates fine art illustrations which celebrate iconic musical genres, moto design and culture, and mid-century modern architecture and design.
Instructor
Cheyenne Busch
Cheyenne is a home baker with a background in psychology, who is passionate about building camaraderie through shared experiences. Cheyenne believes that the kitchen environment is conducive to developing teamwork and social skills, and is excited to bring this philosophy to Kindred Bakery.
With a history of working in restaurants and experience training others, Cheyenne is looking to use her knowledge to help further Kindred’s mission to create a space where people can come together to learn through the art of baking.
Volunteer
C. Emma Moore
Emma Moore is a management consultant and passionate home baker, working with Kindred on marketing and member outreach. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Emma worked as a bread baker at High Street on Market in Philadelphia before starting career in consulting. She is currently leading the Kindred Voices initiative, a series of profiles of program participants and their family members. In her free time, Emma runs marathons and serves as a running guide for Achilles International.