Celebrating Outstanding Community Women Leaders in Brooklyn
honoring
Joanne n. Smith, Founder & Executive Director of Girls for Gender Equity
Neighborhood Leadership Award
Rita Zimmer, Executive Director of Housing + Solutions
Neighborhood Leadership Award
Monique Greenwood, Owner of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns
Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award
Charles J. Hynes, Brooklyn District Attorney
Special 25th Anniversary Award
IN ATTENDANCE:
Ana L. Oliveira, President & CEO New York Women’s Foundation
Charles J. Hynes, Brooklyn District Attorney – Special 25th Anniversary Award Honoree
Patricia Hynes
Joanne N. Smith, Neighborhood Leadership Award Honoree
Rita Zimmer, Neighborhood Leadership Award Honoree
Monique Greenwood, Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award Honoree
Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Jazz Singer
Anne E. Delaney, Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chair & NYWF Board Vice Chair
Anita Channapati, Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chair & NYWF Board Member
Sharon A. Myrie, Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chair & NYWF Board Member Alumna
Lisa L. Philp, Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chair & NYWF Board Member Alumna
Madeline Lamour Holder, NYWF Director of Community Philanthropy
The New York Women’s Foundation® (NYWF) and the Circle of Sisters for Social Change celebrated their 25th Anniversary and annual Neighborhood Dinner, honoring outstanding community women leaders in Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at The Brooklyn Museum with a featured performance by jazz singer Sarah Elizabeth Charles. The Neighborhood Dinner honored Joanne N. Smith, Founder & Executive Director of Girls for Gender Equity with the Neighborhood Leadership Award; Rita Zimmer, Executive Director of Housing + Solutionswith the Neighborhood Leadership Award; Monique Greenwood, Owner of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns with the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award; and Charles J. Hynes, Brooklyn District Attorney with the Special 25th Anniversary Award. Others in attendance included Ana L. Oliveira, President & CEO The New York Women’s Foundation; Patricia Hynes, wife of District Attorney Charles J. Hynes; Anne E. Delaney, Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chair and NYWF Board Vice Chair; Anita Channapati, Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chair and NYWF Board Member; Sharon A. Myrie, Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chair and Board Alumna; Lisa L. Philp, Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chair and Board Alumna; and Madeline Lamour Holder,NYWF Director of Community Philanthropy.
In 1994, The New York Women’s Foundation® inaugurated the Neighborhood Leadership Award. Moving from borough to borough each year, NYWF established the Neighborhood Dinner to award women leaders of both not-for-profits and for-profit businesses who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their community in neighborhood-based work on behalf of women and girls.
Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee Co-Chairs and NYWF Board Alumna Sharon A. Myrie and Lisa L. Philp welcomed everyone to the Neighborhood Dinner on behalf of The New York Women’s Foundation® and the Circle of Sisters for Social Change and thanked them for coming to honor and celebrate women leaders and entrepreneurs.
Sharon then introduced Joanne N. Smith, Founder & Executive Director of Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) and presented her with the Neighborhood Leadership Award. GGE was a NYWF Grantee Partner from 2005 to 2009 and promotes physical, psychological and emotional support for boys and girls throughout New York City. Joanne established GGE 10 years ago at 25 years of age and now mobilizes 600 boys and girls age 6 to 19 to promote systemic change throughout the boroughs. Joanne thanked NYWF for their unwavering support, “even when it was hard.” She stated that NYWF believed in her vision in promoting her belief, “doing the best you can with what you have, with the opportunity provided.”
Rita Zimmer was then brought to the stage by Lisa Philp to accept the Neighborhood Leadership Award. Rita has reduced barriers for women through Housing + Solutions and Women In Need which provides homeless women with housing, safety and skills to acquire employment. Rita established Housing + Solutions in 2002 and was a NYWF grantee partner from 2007 to 2011. Rita, who has been in recovery for 40 years, asks women living in poverty what she asked herself, “what do you need to succeed?” This is what NYWF asked her and in turn, she now asks the women in Housing + Solutions. In 2008, Rita partnered with Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and opened the first Drew House, a program which allows select women charged with felony offenses to fulfill court mandates while living with their children in supportive housing.
President & CEO of The New York Women’s Foundation Ana Oliveira then thanked everyone for coming to Brooklyn and support NYWF. She stated that NYWF gives people “hope and possibility, when most think it’s not doable.” Ana highlighted the importance of “believing in each other, beyond what we believe in ourselves” and standing up for what we believe in, like Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was nearly killed, just for attending school and who believed she deserved an education.
Anne E. Delaney, Co-Chair of the Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee and NYWF Board Vice Chair then presented Monique Greenwood, Owner of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns with the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award. Monique stated that she was first empowered at the age of five when her kindergarten teacher told her mother that she had a mind of her own, when not wanting to play blocks with the other children, but write on the board. Her mother, then stood up to Monique’s teacher and asked, “who else’s mind is she supposed to have?” Monique’s unique vision has lead her throughout her life, at age 14 she told herself that she would become the Editor in Chief of Essence Magazine, and that is exactly what she did. When she decided to buy a rundown mansion and turn it into a Bed & Breakfast in Bedford Stuyvesant, she said people looked at her like she had three eyes – and she did, the third being the eye of vision of what is possible. Monique thanked NYWF for her extraordinary honor and stated, “anything is possible, if you believe it’s possible.”
Anita Channapati, Co-Chair of the Neighborhood Dinner Leadership Committee and NYWF Board Member, then presented Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes with the Special 25th Anniversary Award. DA Hynes was elected in 1990 and has since started several initiatives for alternative-to-incarceration programs, which have since been duplicated worldwide. DA Hynes congratulated the NYWF on their 25th Anniversary and said he believes he is the living embodiment of positive influence from women. His mother made sure he was provided for and taken care of, even when she was dealing with an abusive and alcoholic husband. He now understands the importance of keeping mothers with their children and has since created Drew House in partnership with Rita Zimmer’s Housing + Solutions. While allowing women charged with felonies and their children to reside together in Drew House, it not only strengthens the families without compromising public safety, but also deters children of would-be incarcerated parents from committing crimes.
Lastly, Madeline Lamour Holder, NYWF Director of Community Philanthropy thanked the individual and corporate sponsors for “planting the seed in the garden” and providing a future for women in New York City. She then introduced jazz singer Sarah Elizabeth Charles, who concluded the evening with a performance.
Over the past twenty-five years, the NYWF has invested $33 million in funding to over 280 women-led, nonprofit organizations, improving the lives of 5.4 million women and girls in New York City; 81% of those nonprofits have succeeded and are still thriving today. In 2009, the NYWF responded to the economic crisis by launching RISE-NYC!, a 5-year partnership initiative that increased its grant-making by more than 20% in focused areas including economic security, anti-violence and safety, health and reproductive rights.
ABOUT NYWF: The New York Women’s Foundation® is a cross-cultural alliance of women, serving as a voice for women and a force for change. The Foundation identifies innovative organizations that are effecting change in the communities they serve for women and girls. NYWF strategically funds organizations and programs that move women, girls and families toward long-term economic security through individual transformation and systemic change, mobilizing leaders and community partners as philanthropists and change agents. NYWF funds programs that promote economic security and justice, anti-violence and safety; and health, sexual rights and reproductive justice for women and girls in New York City.
For more information on the 2012 Neighborhood Dinner, please visit www.nywf.org/event/2012-neighborhood-dinner/.
For further information about The New York Women’s Foundation®, please visit www.nywf.org.
