Chedy Hampson’s philanthropic foundation for Syracuse’s South Side has hired its first executive director.
Deka Eysaman, formerly Deka Dancil, has been hired to lead the new group.
Eysaman has most recently been assistant director of field organizing at the New York Civil Liberties Union, where she worked as an advocate for residents in public housing near the Interstate 81 project along with statewide issues.
She is also the former board president of the Urban Jobs Task Force, where she advocated for local workers to be hired for I-81 and Micron construction jobs.
The South Side Community Growth Foundation is a new organization started with funding from Hampson, who grew up near McKinley Park.
Hampson developed his early interest in gaming into a wildly successful business that buys and sells gaming trading cards.
In August 2022, Hampson sold his trading card company TCGplayer to the online auction site eBay for $295 million. He left the company and turned his attention to philanthropy, including the neighborhood where he grew up.
He said last year that he had donated millions to the new foundation. The group focuses on affordable housing and other activities to lift neighborhoods on Syracuse’s South Side.