Compensation Escalation Cycle
Compensation Escalation Cycle
Compensation Escalation Cycle Market Archetype Mechanical Natural
Tier
Priority Review
Trajectory Thumbprint

Compensation Escalation Cycle

What does this mean?

Revenue grows modestly, but top officer compensation grows consistently for 5 years, breaching danger zones. The executive is negotiating aggressive raises against a compliant board.

The Path Forward

The Steward

Re-establishes board supremacy over executive extraction. It freezes compensation and mandates that all future financial rewards be tied strictly to verifiable mission expansion.

The Steward
The Steward
Institutional Health Scores
5-yr trend: Compensation Escalation Cycle
Overall
41
Score
Governance
42
Score
Financial
55
Score
Program
30
Score

Institutional Epochs

2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Financial Era
Governance Era
Trajectory Era
Compensation Escalation

Historical Performance

Year Revenue Top Comp Comp % Rev Score Phase Label Outlook Details
2025 Hidden Hidden Unknown
2024 Hidden Hidden 32.2% 41 Critical Intervention Needed Gov Risk
2023 43 Financially Distressed Recovery
2022 29.6% 40 Governance-Stressed Recovery
2021 41 Fragile Recovery
2020 26.0% 40 Fragile Recovery
2019 39 Financially Distressed Decline Risk
2018 43 Fragile Stable Watch
2017 43 Financially Distressed Recovery
2016 27 Critical Intervention Needed Stable Watch
2015 27 Critical Intervention Needed Recovery
2014 21 Critical Intervention Needed Stable Watch
2013 21 Critical Intervention Needed Decline Risk
2012 31 Critical Intervention Needed Stable Watch

Officer compensation history

Tax year 2025

Name Title Phone Email Compensation
YLOY YBARRA Artistic Director 31.4% of Rev
WALID GUZMAN BOARDMEMBER 0.8% of Rev
WANDA ZOQUIER-LICEA Treasurer
HEATHER MCVEIGH Secretary
ALLAN BLITZ BOARDMEMBER
GAYLE WAXENBERG BOARDMEMBER
JENNIFER ADAMS BOARDMEMBER

Tax year 2023

Name Title Phone Email Compensation
YLOY YBARRA Artistic Director 25.8% of Rev
WANDA ZOQUIER-LICEA Treasurer
HEATHER MCVEIGH Secretary
WALID GUZMAN BOARDMEMBER
ALLAN BLITZ BOARDMEMBER
GAYLE WAXENBERG BOARDMEMBER
JENNIFER ADAMS BOARDMEMBER

Tax year 2021

Name Title Phone Email Compensation
YLOY YBARRA Board President 17.9% of Rev
WALID GUZMAN BOARDMEMBER 1.4% of Rev
WANDA ZOQUIER-LICEA Treasurer
HEATHER MCVEIGH Secretary
ALLAN BLITZ BOARDMEMBER
GAYLE WAXENBERG BOARDMEMBER
JENNIFER ADAMS BOARDMEMBER
Officer contact details, exact compensation figures, and active litigation are available to verified members.
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Score breakdown

Score breakdown

Financial resilience
55 / 100
weight 40%
Governance risk
42 / 100
weight 40%
Program scale
30 / 100
weight 20%
Overall
41 / 100
Priority Review

The three components combine into a single 0–100 score weighted as shown. Full methodology →

Peer comparison

Compared to 699 other orgs in NY with NTEE prefix A6.

Most-divergent component: financial score sits 24 points above the peer median (55 vs. 31).

5-year trend: Compensation Escalation Cycle

Revenue grows modestly, but top officer compensation grows consistently for 5 years, breaching danger zones. The executive is negotiating aggressive raises against a compliant board.

What's driving this score

What would change this score

The two changes that would most improve this score:

  1. Reduce top-officer compensation from 32.2% to under 22% of revenue — would move governance score by ~20 points.
  2. Separate signing authority from fundraising authority when both are held by one person — removes the concentration penalty (~12 points).

Improving governance is a board decision. These are the levers.