Black Alumni Council is led by a volunteer Board of Directors consisting of an executive committee comprised of six elected officers: president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, communications officer, and programming officer. The full Board (as determined by the president and executive committee) also includes other alumni and affiliates appointed or volunteering to fill important roles and committee posts to manage the organization's affairs and represent the needs and views of fellow alumni. 

The BAC officers for 2021-2023 are:

Riley Jones '17CC, President

Riley Jones currently serves as President for the BAC. As President, he is focused on building BAC infrastructure and partnerships that will sustain it long term. During his time at Columbia, he was an active student leader in the Black Students Organization and became a member of the Eta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity incorporated. He also received Columbia College’s George William Curtis Prize in Persuasive Oration in 2016.

Riley is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bloc, a company using artificial intelligence to create and facilitate opportunity pathways for the new economy. In 2020 Riley graduated NYU Law School, where he was a Moelis Fellow for Urban Law and Public Affairs and Nordlicht Scholar. He received a B.A. from Columbia University in Political Science and American Studies in 2017. He was named a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur.

Menlee Mansue '16GS, Vice President

As Vice President, Menlee focuses on both strategic and operational goals for the BAC. With more than 3 years of experience serving the BAC, Menlee has worked to direct more administrative and programmatic resources towards supporting alumni and students. In addition to being the BAC’s Vice President, Menlee also leads the BAC’s Archival Committee.  As an undergraduate, he was a founding member of the Black Student Group Consortium (BSGC) and now serves as a strategic advisor to the group. He is a campus administrator, serving as the Assistant Director of Operations for Columbia Housing.

Menlee is also an alumni of the Columbia connected national non-profit, America Needs You (ANY). He served as a 2018 Young Leadership Board member for ANY and Public member on Community Board 9, Harlem.  In  2016 Menlee received a B.A. from Columbia University in Political Science.  

Sivan Bruce '16CC, Treasurer

Bio forthcoming

Alexi Villatoro-Thomas '16CC, '19BUS/LAW, Secretary

Bio forthcoming

Kareem Stanley '17EN, Communications Officer

Bio forthcoming

Sofia Rinvil '18SPS, Programming Officer

Sofia Rinvil gratefully serves as the Programming Officer of the Black Alumni Council (BAC). As Programming Officer, she supports the organizational needs to foster continued service and engagement with Black alumni, cultivates a community for social, personal, and professional development, and enhances the Black student experience at Columbia University.

As a Columbia Alumni who is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and giving back to Columbia, these values are central to why she served as the Programming Officer for BAC at Columbia and its initiatives and efforts to represent and engage possible. Sofia is a natural problem solver. Sofia's particular interest is in working with company founders, small business owners, and venture capitalists from underrepresented communities who face extreme challenges in sustaining their businesses and learning about the business endeavors of professionals.

She wants to spend her legal career helping those in need to formulate a broad strategy to protect legal rights or bring about social change. Her current interests lie in the particular practice experience needed to navigate the evolving fields of entrepreneurship and community development. Sofia has held various board and volunteer leadership positions with several organizations, including the American Cancer Society, American Constitution Society, and America Needs You (ANY).

After serving two years as the Scholarship Committee member for the National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals (NAAHP), she was appointed the Director of Scholarship Programs overseeing the whole program. Sofia is also the 2021-2022 Global Goals Ambassador (SDG 17) for the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA). She strengthens the means of implementation and revitalizes the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

She owns a private business and is the Former Miss Haiti New York City International 2020 Contestant at Haiti International Pageants. Among other accomplishments, Sofia also volunteers her time to young scholars as a Mentor to college and graduate students. She has used her legal education to volunteer as a Court Appointed Advocate to help foster children in the court system.

Sofia’s commitment to justice and human rights was inspired by her experiences growing up, which sparked a passion for business, law, and policy. She holds degrees in Political Science, Global Affairs and Human Security, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, and Law from separate top-tier programs. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, binge-watching shows, and boxing.