Timothy Gilles, President
Timothy Gilles is in his second term as a trustee of the Civic Council and was elected President in June, 2021. Tim grew up in Kansas, was educated in Minnesota, and moved to Brooklyn in 1970 with his wife Sealy. They rented a floor-through Park Slope apartment for two years and bought a fixer-upper brownstone on Garfield Place in 1972, where they live to this day (proof of Tim’s motto in life: “It’s better to be lucky than smart, and we were very lucky!”). At first, they lived on one floor and rented out the rest of the house to friends and former college classmates. As their family grew, they took over more and more space, renovating as they went. They raised four children, all of whom attended P.S. 321 and public secondary schools and went on to top-flight colleges. Tim was a radio reporter and then became Press Secretary and Policy Director for New York State Attorney General, Robert Abrams. When Abrams retired, Tim became a senior communications executive at Merrill Lynch and then Bank of America. He retired in 2012 and launched a communications consulting practice where he advises corporations and nonprofits on media relations, reputation management, marketing, and strategic communications initiatives. See www.gillesconsulting.com.
Tim and Sealy are committed Park Slope residents who vote with their wallets by shopping at local merchants on 7th and 5th Avenues and at the Park Slope Food Coop. They never buy from Amazon and avoid big-box stores. In other community involvement, Tim was on the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra for many years. He was also President and Fundraising Director of the Old First Nursery School.