The 2026 Change Agent Mixer: Ten Years In, and a New Chapter for Gentlemen's Factory

Ten years ago, Gentlemen's Factory started with a simple idea: bring men together, and good things happen. On Thursday, October 29, 2026, the community that idea built came back together to celebrate it, and to hear what comes next.

The 8th Annual Change Agent Mixer took over The Matriarch at 512 West 42nd Street, with Northwestern Mutual | Vivid Advisory as official sponsor and support from CMG Home Loans and The Dima Lysius Team at The Corcoran Group. Every photo from the night is in the full Change Agent Mixer 2026 album.

Mix and mingle

The night opened in the front rooms. The bar glowed green, the DJ was on from seven, gift boxes sat waiting on a moss-covered table, and screens around the room played ten years of Gentlemen's Factory history. Jeff Lindor worked the room the way he has for a decade, one handshake and one hug at a time.

By eight the front rooms were shoulder to shoulder: members who have been with GF since the first gatherings, first-timers, partners and friends.

The second room

Then came the surprise. At nine o'clock the doors to a second room opened, and guests walked in to saxophonist Jean Robert Bonhomme playing them into the room, passed hors d'oeuvres, and a stage set for the 2026 Change Agent Awards.

A new chapter

Special presenter Fabrice Armand, philanthropist and founder of the Creole Food Festival, opened the program and brought up Jeff Lindor, founder and CEO of Gentlemen's Factory.

Jeff looked back on ten years of building rooms like this one, and then told the crowd where GF is headed. In his words: "We are changing our model to become a Human Development Institution." Gentlemen's Factory will develop the whole man across six pillars: career, wealth, health, relationships, leadership and technology. That work runs through GF Cohorts, through our work in schools, through partnerships with government, institutions and companies, and through research like The Gentlemen's Agenda, our policy report with the Black Dollar Initiative.

Jeff then introduced the official sponsor. Anthony Williams, founder of Vivid Advisory and a wealth management advisor with Northwestern Mutual, spoke for the sponsors and handed the night to master of ceremonies Julius Caranda.

The 2026 Change Agent Honorees

The Change Agent Award recognizes people whose careers build systems that help others thrive. This year it went to three New Yorkers.

Jamal C. Robinson, Executive Director of IMPACCT Brooklyn.

John Kagia, Executive Director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management.

Deputy Chief Terrell Anderson of the New York City Police Department.

The next chapter starts now

The screen behind the stage said it plainly: Thank you. The next chapter starts now. Group photos took over the stage, the DJ came back on, and the dance floor stayed full until eleven.

Thank you

The Change Agent Mixer happens because of our sponsors. Thank you to our official sponsor, Northwestern Mutual | Vivid Advisory, and to Anthony Williams; to Jimmy Joseph and CMG Home Loans; and to The Dima Lysius Team at The Corcoran Group. Thank you to Fabrice Armand, to our MC Julius Caranda, to saxophonist Jean Robert Bonhomme, to photographer Jaiel of SkyvisMedia, to The Matriarch, and to everyone who spent the evening with us. Congratulations again to Jamal C. Robinson, John Kagia and Deputy Chief Terrell Anderson.

Want to be part of what comes next? Join a GF Cohort, bring Gentlemen's Factory to your school or organization, or look back at past mixers from 2024 and 2023.