Founder
Minister Steve Brigham
Board Members
Michael Algor
Minister Steven A. Brigham
James Cunningham
Kasturi DasGupta, Ph.D
Lisa Rose Ferrara
Isalin Howard
Jeannette Riviere
About Us
Michael Algor
Michael works in the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry. He has worked for companies such as Budweiser, Pepsi Cola, Keebler Cookies, Parmalat Milk Company, Brachs Candy Company, Tampico Beverages, and Universal Food and Beverage. He has run these businesses in North, Central, South America and the Carribean, while exporting globally. His most recent task has been the start of an import company, bringing all natural, organic beverages and products from Europe, to the US, Central and South America. Currently he assists the Howell PAL, and the National PAL-(Police Athletic League) which serves 5,000 youth locally, and over 1 million nationally. He is Director of Marketing for both entities and sits on the Board of Directors in Howell. Mike’s Sundays for the past 15 years have consisted of feeding/clothing, and obtaining supplies for the homeless in the Howell, Lakewood area. To date he has served over 225,000 meals to the needy, and personally come close to raising $350,000 to help the poor locally. He also works with the Jersey Shore Dream Center-Asbury, and the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation- Kitchen in Red Bank.
Kasturi DasGupta, Ph.D
Kasturi ‘Rumu’ DasGupta is a professor of sociology at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, where she has taught for over 25 years. In the course of that time she has also been an active voice in bringing attention to the plight of the poor, homeless and the immigrant in Ocean County, NJ. She stood with the homeless in Tent City, Lakewood for all the years of their existence and advocated for their right to shelter and support. She has been a board member of Destiny’s Bridge from its inception in 2012. She writes regularly on issues of inequality and poverty and in Spring 2015, Lynne Reinner Publishers published her book Introducing Social Stratification: The Causes and Consequences of Inequality. She prides herself as being a public sociologist, one who brings the social justice heritage of sociology into the public arena to give voice to the most marginalized among us in society.
Lisa Rose Ferrara
Lisa Rose Ferrara: advocate, musician, and writer. She graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and several years of study in Pastoral Ministry. Lisa began composing music at an early age, with several of her songs featured on WSOU Radio in early 2000. In the fall of 2013, Lisa began volunteering at Lakewood’s Tent City. There, she encountered and befriended the people who inspired her first full-length album, “INTENTCITY.” Her reflections on homelessness and issues affecting the homeless can be found on her blog, Echoes of Home. Lisa lives in Freehold with her three children, twin sons Sebastian and Alexander, age 10, and daughter Julia, age 15, who shares her mother’s passion for music.
Isalin Howard
Isalin Howard recently graduated cum laude from Georgian Court University with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a minor in Sociology. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Business Administration at Georgian Court University. In her time away from the classroom, Isalin has dedicated herself to serving others and being a disciple of God by carrying on his mission to help those in need. Isalin desires to make a difference in the world starting with the local community and eventually impacting people on a global spectrum, as she one day inspires to work for United Nations. She wishes to empower small business owners in developing countries who have been unable to succeed because of the lack of education and/or opportunities to build not only their business but also their economies. Prior to joining Destiny’s Bridge, Isalin has worked with several organizations including Make-a-Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, adopted a home with 21 Plus Organization, as well as a volunteer tax preparer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistant Program with the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean County, right here in our community. Furthermore, Isalin enjoys traveling, taking long runs on the beach and spending time outdoors embracing nature.
Jeannette Riviere
Jeannette Riviere has been an advocate for the homeless of NJ for over 11 years. She is a graduate of Columbia University where she studied Nutrition. She is a Family & Consumer Science teacher, and Nutritionist in the Tristate area. Jeannette was herself homeless as a child so she has a deep empathy for those in need. As a member of the East Dover Baptist Church she was a founding member of the Food Pantry that serviced over 200 families each month. She has a deep love for nature and a strong commitment to being a good steward of the earth. Her interests are in food justice and sustainability. She believes that, “God has entrusted us to be caretakers of the land and each other.”