New York Urban League CEO Arva Rice on Leadership

NEW YORK (April 17, 2023) – New York Urban League (New York, NY) President and CEO Arva Rice has held the position of CEO for the Urban League for over 15 years. In a new interview, she speaks on leadership from a philanthropist perspective.

Quoting Ruth Messenger, Rice said, “’Leadership is about doing things that make your stomach hurt.’” She goes on to say, “Leadership is doing the thing that’s scary, but you think is right. Leadership is being willing to stay the extra hour, the extra day, leadership is being able to be more connected to the mission, than who gets the credit. Leadership is believing in your cause, and doing all that you need to do in order to realize it.”

When asked what made a successful organization, Rice said, “I think a successful organization has a positive, measurable impact on the community, and the staff feels like they are valued and supported in their work.”

As a leader, she’s had to make many tough decisions, including choosing to renovate property that the Urban League owns in Harlem. She said, “It’s a Black organization owning buildings in Harlem. And we decided that we would try to figure out how to keep and hold them and have started our fundraising efforts and have been fairly successful to this point in time.”

Asked what her motto is, Rice says that her “personal mission is to make a difference in the life of a girl. And I think in terms of mottos, I always try to remind my staff members and remind myself that the only people that don’t make mistakes are people that aren’t doing anything.”

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