Above and Beyond - 3-24

presents:

25

Honoree Profiles

Honoring Women of Public and Civic Mind

Cathy Nolan

Perspective:

By Alexis Grenell

By Andrea Stewart-Cousins

LEANED IN, BUT SHE COULDN’T WIN A RIGGED GAME

CITYANDSTATENY.COM

LIGHTING THE WAY FOR MORE WOMEN LEADERS

@CITYANDSTATENY #CSABOVEBEYOND

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Sarah Bartlett Dean, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism

And All Distinguished Honorees on the occasion of the

2015 Above & Beyond Award Gala March 26, 2015 BENNO S CHMIDT

CHAIRPERSON, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

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March 2015

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our years ago, City & State published its first Above & Beyond issue. That inaugural class was extraordinary, made up of honorees who are in high-ranking positions of government and business, including several top advisors now in the de Blasio administration.

The inspiration behind honoring 25 remarkable women each year from traditionally male-dominated industries is that it doesn’t happen enough. We wanted to share the experiences of the current and future leaders of the city and state, celebrating their success not only as strong women but first-class professionals.

As in past years, all 25 members of this year’s class are simply exceptional.

The fact that they are women is just one characteristic they hold in common, in addition to their achievements and abilities. But as successful women, they are also role models to young females

Distribution Czar Dylan Forsberg

seeking to break into the fields of labor, business, government, nonprofits and the media. And in that role they have shown great leadership and taken on the responsibility of helping those who will rise even higher by standing on their shoulders.

Each honoree shared stories of hard work and determination, highlighting the importance of a supportive work environment that helped guide them on the path to success. While it’s clear that all the members of this class are gifted and driven, and would have likely achieved greatness no matter the hurdles they encountered, a common theme was that more needs to be done to improve the workplace culture and provide women with more support.

Reading through the exemplary careers of this year’s class, it is clear that they will be at the forefront of further changes as they clear the path for the next generation.

EDITORIAL Executive Editor Michael Johnson mjohnson@cityandstateny.com Editor-at-Large Gerson Borrero gborrero@cityandstateny.com Senior Correspondent Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com Digital Editor/Reporter Wilder Fleming wfleming@cityandstateny.com Albany Reporter Ashley Hupfl ahupfl@cityandstateny.com Staff Reporter Sarina Trangle strangle@cityandstateny.com PRODUCTION Art Director Guillaume Federighi gfederighi@cityandstateny.com Graphic Designer Michelle Yang myang@cityandstateny.com Marketing Graphic Designer Charles Flores, cflores@cityandstateny.com Web Manager Lydia Eck, leck@cityandstateny.com Illustrator Danilo Agutoli City & State is published twice monthly.

Copyright ©2015, City and State NY, LLC

MARCH 2015

3

2015 ABOVE & BEYOND AWARDS

Program 6:00pm - COCKTAIL HOUR 6:45pm - WELCOMING REMARKS 7:30pm - DINNER IS SERVED, AWARD PRESENTATION BEGINS 7:45pm - CITY & STATE INTERVIEWS 2013 CHAIRPERSON AWARD RECIPIENT, ANGELICA O. TANG 8:15pm - 2015 CHAIRPERSON AWARD IS ANNOUNCED 8:30pm - CLOSING REMARKS 9:00pm - EVENT CONCLUDES

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March 2015

Congratulations to the 2015

Honorees City & State is pleased to honor these 25 EXCEPTIONAL NEW YORK WOMEN who have demonstrated leadership in their fields and communities.

BUSINESS

JEAN BARRETT

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR METROPOLITAN TAXICAB BOARD OF TRADE

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Over 25 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Educational book publishing; first grade teacher

Jean Barrett has led the oldest and largest taxicab trade association for a quarter of a century. She helps guide 38 fleets and more than 5,300 yellow medallion taxi drivers through a myriad of issues, from summonses to the number of drivers. She has shepherded the industry through several administrations while representing the fleets when they deal with the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, the Department of Finance and other regulatory bodies.

C&S: How did you get involved with the board?

JB: I have an interesting mix: I taught first grade, I have a degree in education, I worked in book publishing, educational publishing for 17 years and decided to take a break from it and see if I wanted to do something different.

I took a little bit of time to get my head together and happened to walk into an employment recruiter one day, and she said, “How would you like to go and work for the yellow medallion taxi cab industry?” Well, that was the furthest thing from my mind but I said, “Well, I’ll give it a try,” while always in the back of my mind thinking that I was never going to stay. The job became very, very interesting to me.

C&S: Do you have a mentor?

JB: My mother, a remarkable woman, and in many, many ways I am very much like her.

C&S: Where do you teach and why do you teach?

JB: I had a personal circumstance. At the end of 2006, I was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer and I’ve always lived by paying forward. I always believed that, in the communities in which we live, you have to make a difference; the parish which you are part of, people need to know you are there. Many Saturday mornings, getting up, I say to myself that maybe I’m getting too old for this. But then I go in, and I meet these 22 gorgeous people who sit there for two hours. That’s how I pay it forward.

C&S: Where’s your favorite place to eat in the city?

JB: I love Sidetracks on Queens Boulevard, between 44th and 45th streets. It was one of the first restaurants along Queens Boulevard that took on an Irish flair. And it still is a part of our family tradition, having spent many birthdays and many anniversaries and many Christmases there.

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MARCH 2015

BUSINESS

VALEISHA BUTTERFIELD-JONES

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO WOMEN IN ENTERTAINMENT EMPOWERMENT NETWORK TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 8 years

PREVIOUS POSITIONS: National Youth Vote director for Obama for America; deputy director of public affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Internal Trade Administration; executive director of Russell Simmons’ Rush Communications

Valeisha Butterfield-Jones has broken down barriers in both the public and private sectors for more than a decade.

Her organization, Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN), is a global nonprofit organization of men and women committed to promoting and defending a balanced and positive portrayal of women in entertainment and in society. When the organization started, it targeted the music industry to promote diversity and balance for women. Before that, she worked first with Barack Obama’s campaign to get out the youth vote and later joined his administration.

C&S: WEEN is a very interesting organization. What spurred you to create it?

VBJ: A couple things. For me growing up in the south, I grew up in a small town, I was plagued with the insecurities of self esteem issues, lack of mentorship, things like that. So I personally dealt with those issues and was always inspired to create an organization that would address those issues in young girls. As I got older and also when I was working for Russell Simmons several years ago, I saw a huge need for programs that would address the lack of diversity, not only in corporate America but in the entertainment industry. So I felt the need to create an organization at that time in 2007 because there was definitely a need.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

VBJ: I think the first would be, you don’t see many of us at the table in boardrooms—in high-level meetings there’s very little diversity. I’ve always felt the need to overcompensate and prove everyone wrong and earn and demand and insist upon my seat at the table. I would say the biggest challenge is breaking those barriers. Most importantly, making sure not only demanding my own spot, but that I was also reaching back and pulling forward other women.

C&S: If not New York or L.A., where would you want to live?

VBJ: New York City. That’s where my heart is. I don’t know why, I don’t know what happened. I visited New York for the first time when I was 12 years old and it left an imprint on my heart. If you ask my dad or my parents, they say taking me to New York when I was 12 years old was the biggest mistake of their lives. I haven’t been able to get it out of my system.

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MARCH 2015

Congratulations Nancy Zimpher Chancellor, State University of New York

City & State Above and Beyond 2015 Award for Public Service FIT President Joyce F. Brown, the Board of Trustees, and the FIT community congratulate Chancellor Nancy Zimpher on receiving the 2015 Above and Beyond award for public service.

We honor her inspiring leadership of the State University of New York and recognize her deep commitment to public higher education.

Seventh Avenue at 27 Street New York City fitnyc.edu March 2015

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BUSINESS

WENDY CAI-LEE

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT EAST WEST BANK

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 4 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: JP Morgan Chase; CitiBank; Deloitte

As executive vice president and head of U.S. Eastern and Texas Regions at East West Bank, one of the 30 largest public banks in the U.S., Wendy Cai-Lee oversees all businesses for the bank’s strategic markets, including Greater New York, Massachusetts, Georgia and Texas. She has had a successful 18-year track record in managing and growing business units for Fortune 500 companies and start-ups. Cai-Lee frequently travels to China to work with large companies on various issues relating to investing and operating in a new market, including market entry strategies, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy development and deal negotiation.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

WCL: There are always a lot of challenges, but I never viewed any obstacle or challenge as gender-specific because I never wanted to view any particular obstacle as just because I am a woman. Now, were there challenges because I am a woman? I’m certainly sure. But I just thought it was going to be a lot more productive if I just looked at any challenge as it is and see how I can deal with it.

C&S: Outside of your own experiences, have you seen a cultural shift in how women are treated in your field?

WCL: Sure, there are certainly a lot more [women] just from a numbers standpoint. There a lot more young women in general who are rising through the ranks in banking—that’s investment banking and commercial banking. I think in major metropolitan areas, the fact that there is a common practice where it’s dual income made it possible for women to stay in a very demanding field of banking and I see more and more women entering the banking environment. So, from a benefits standpoint I think it’s changed, whether it’s maternity leave or being more accommodating work-wise, more flexible working arrangements, as well as training. Training being provided to women who have taken the leave to care for the family and are re-entering the workforce.

C&S: What is the best way to spend your weekend?

WCL: With my 5-year-old child and my husband, just doing nothing!

C&S: If not the New York area, where would you want to live?

WCL: Paris!

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MARCH 2015

JEAN BARRETT CITY & STATE’S 2014 ABOVE & BEYOND HONOREE The team at CMW salutes you on this well-deserved recognition.

Strategic Communications Community Relations

Government Relations Public Relations

The Woolworth Building 233 Broadway, Suite 2310 New York, NY 10279 212-437-7373 www.cmw-newyork.com

BUSINESS

EMILY GISKE

PARTNER AND CO-FOUNDER BOLTON-ST. JOHNS

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Over 15 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Nixon Peabody and self-employed political consultant

Emily Giske has long been a major force in New York City, New York State and national politics. A prominent member of the Democratic Party and member of the Democratic National Committee, Giske helped win approval for the largest private land use project in the history of New York City and has successfully lobbied on behalf of developers of several other multi-million dollar projects, from hospital renovations to energy deals. In 2011, Giske also played a key role in lobbying for the passage of marriage equality in New York State.

C&S: How did you first become interested in politics?

EG: My father escaped from Nazi Germany as a child and my mother came from Brooklyn, and for some reason in our household we talked a lot about politics. I remember being impacted as a kid by the women’s movement and about social change.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

EG: When you first start in politics, they try to pinhole you into traditional women’s jobs like scheduling and fundraising, and I actually insisted I do things like be a field organizer and early on an advance person, which are more traditionally—back then—a male role.

C&S: You’ve worked in politics at the city, state and national level, so what do you think government could do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

EG: So there are two things you could do: ensure that young women who are working in the field feel supported and can pursue anything they want to do; the other thing is to have the Women’s Equality Act passed.

C&S: As you reflect on your career, have you seen a cultural shift in how women are treated?

EG: I always was conscious of it, because, like I said, I was a child when the women’s movement happened. When I was a young operative and young organizer someone told me it’s always important to be—it’s a metaphor, not a real thing—in the room where decisions are being made. So, I used to literally knock on the door and say, “Why are you having a meeting without me?” Another woman told me that; she said, “Go in there right now or you’ll never get in,” and I did and it was very scary that I did it.

C&S: Besides New York, if you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

EG: I can’t even really go about thinking of leaving New York, but maybe Miami.

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MARCH 2015

BUSINESS

MAGGIE MORAN

PRESIDENT AND CEO M PUBLIC AFFAIRS

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 3 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Chief of staff for two U.S. Senators; chief of management operations in New Jersey; aide on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s first gubernatorial campaign; aide on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1996; aide on former New Jersey Govs. Jon Corzine’s and Jim McGreevey’s campaigns; aide on Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign

As president and CEO of M Public Affairs, Maggi Moran built a 22-person operation that integrates the fields of business, media, advocacy and labor. Though she originally planned to be a TV reporter, Moran switched her major to political science when she “caught the bug” after hearing Geraldine Ferraro speak on behalf of then-candidate Bill Clinton in 1992. She decided she didn’t want to report the news but make the news, and embarked on a successful career working on campaigns on both the state and federal level and advocating for important policy changes.

C&S: Politics still is, and probably was then, a very male-dominated field. How did you succeed in your career and what obstacles did you face?

MM: How I started to do all this work at really young age was by working harder than everyone else and being a massive collaborator. So, even if my job, for example, was to do field programming or rapid response, I would always say to other team members, “How can I help? How can I help?” So, I think, as women, we tend to come to the table more prepared and we tend to do a tremendous amount of work to ensure that as our responsibilities grow, we’re exceeding expectations, so that if there is some kind of latent sexism, it is not applicable to you because you far exceeded the expectations folks had of how you would perform your job.

C&S: What could government do to make things easier for women in the workplace?

MM: As a CEO of a company now, I focus on this a lot. I think the world has become so different in terms of how you conduct your work today with the onset of digital media and the ability to be almost anywhere and be productive because of technology. I think one of the things that has to happen here is there needs to be a really flexible work environment that can really get the best we can get from our women team members, but at the same time give them some of the flexibility to handle some of the other priorities in their lives.

C&S: Where is your favorite place to eat in New York?

MM: Gray’s Papaya dogs. That’s probably a different answer from everyone else. Oh my god, they are the greatest hot dogs in the world!

MARCH 2015

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LABOR

ELAINE KIM

ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS 32BJ SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 3 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Consultant doing strategic planning for social justice groups in New York City

Elaine Kim oversees internal communications and exchanges with the media throughout the entire U.S. East Coast. 32BJ represents a wide variety of employees, from cleaners and maintenance workers to security officers and building engineers. Kim helps them tell their stories—often of the struggle of working in difficult conditions.

Communicating the personal stories of these workers helps the union fight to improve their circumstances.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

EK: There are a lot of both explicit and implicit hurdles that women have to overcome that are out there, and then also are somewhat internalized. For me, the biggest challenge has really been feeling like I have something to say and something to contribute. I’ve been lucky to have people along the way both at 32BJ and beyond who have encouraged me and really pushed me pretty hard to step up.

C&S: What is the one thing society could do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

EK: Taking a hard look at how organizations are running. What are the conditions that we’re creating in order to make sure that people have real opportunities to succeed and to participate fully? I think that that doesn’t happen enough.

C&S: Could you speak about the book you were working on?

EK: I was in Korea doing research on a book around social justice there. It’s an as-of-yet uncompleted project.

In the southeast region of Korea there was an uprising in 1980 when students and citizens took over the city for four days, while South Korea was under a dictatorship. I lived there for a year and a half, hearing from survivors and families on what the uprising meant for them and the legacy that that takeover had in the history of Korea’s democracy.

C&S: Where is your favorite place to eat in the city?

EK: I would say anywhere in Koreatown. I would say Kunjip on 32nd Street.

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MARCH 2015

The

United Federation oF teachers Salutes The City & State’s

Above & Beyond Award Winners

We join in celebrating the 25 women who have made a difference in their fields, including our own

MAUREEN SALTER, assistant to the President, UFt

United Federation of Teachers A Union of Professionals

Michael Mulgrew, President 52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 www.uft.org

LABOR

KAREN MAGEE

PRESIDENT NEW YORK STATE UNITED TEACHERS

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 11 months PREVIOUS POSITIONS: President of the Harrison Association of Teachers; Nearly 30 years as an elementary education teacher

Even though 76 percent of New York’s public education teachers are female, before Karen Magee was elected NYSUT president last year there had never been a female president in the union’s history. Magee advocates on behalf of the about 600,000 members of the union during a particularly heated time—as the union and Gov. Andrew Cuomo fight over the rollout of the new Common Core standards. Along with being a mother of three, Magee’s accomplishments include being a member of the NYSUT board of directors and elected trustee to the New York State Teacher’s Retirement System; officer of the Westchester/Putnam Central Labor Body and a member of the United Way of Westchester/Putnam board of directors.

C&S: Why did you decide to run for union president?

KM: I was unhappy with the current leadership and the way the union was heading. I thought there was a lack of direction.

C&S: Why do you think it took so long for a female to be elected president of NYSUT? KM: I was taking into account what society looked like and how they viewed through the period of time that I was coming through the ranks. I went to high school as Title IX was really rolled out and women started to have some equal rights, and it seemed like it took an awful long time for this union to catch up with the things going around us in society.

C&S: With more than 60 percent of teachers being female in New York State, do you think the union benefits from having a female leader?

KM: I think the union benefits first and foremost from having a strong leader, regardless of male or female. The key that comes into the place is being a leader who has been in the classroom for 30 years I think I can identify with what teachers experience on a day to day basis. I think some of the issues that I juggled, I identified with some of the issues and on the way they were impacted within the union by achieving goals. It’s been an interesting time to see over 30 years some of the perceptions that have changed in this country, and obviously we have to continue to open doors.

C&S: What is your favorite place to eat in New York?

KM: It is still Sal’s Pizzeria in Mamaroneck. It’s a very simple pizzeria. They have the best Sicilian pizza on the planet!

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MARCH 2015

LABOR

MARINA V. O’DONNELL

LEGISLATIVE AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR NEW YORK STATE CONFERENCE OF OPERATING ENGINEERS TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Over a year

PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Deputy political director for the New York City District Council of Carpenters; special assistant to the governor at the Department of Labor

Marina O’Donnell steers the state Conference of Operating Engineers’ budget negotiations in Albany, arguing for proposals that will provide more work and better paying opportunities for some 30,000 construction workers. She coordinates legislative efforts, endorsements and campaign work that will improve worker safety and the economic outlook. O’Donnell cut her teeth in the union world by working as deputy political director for the New York City District Council of Carpenters and special assistant to the governor for labor affairs.

C&S: What brought you to your position?

MO: I got involved in politics in college and then started working for the carpenters union in New York City, which I guess really brought me into politics. I decided to just try it to see what it would be like and to learn something more about it. But I ended up loving it and finding a home.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

MO: Not necessarily as a woman, but as someone coming from outside of the trade and being welcomed into their union or welcomed into their community, I think that that’s hard. It’s difficult to overcome those bounds when you don’t come from the tools of the trade. It’s difficult to overcome that, but I clearly have done a really good job for them.

C&S: What is the one thing society could do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

MO: The most important thing society can do to help women grow professionally is to find a way for men to carry babies. I’m 36 weeks pregnant, but feel 136 weeks pregnant.

C&S: Do you have a mentor?

MO: Unions are all about helping and supporting each other, and my career in the building trades has benefited from that. So many men and women went out of their way to help me grow, learn and succeed.

C&S: Where’s your favorite place to eat in New York?

MO: Old Town Bar, where they have some excellent burgers. It’s a very old school kind of bar.

MARCH 2015

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LABOR

MAUREEN SALTER

ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Over a decade PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Book seller; college guide book developer; attorney representing DC37 members; press aide for the UFT

Behind the scenes, Maureen Salter coordinates many of the United Federation of Teacher’s moves as assistant to President Michael Mulgrew. She helps the executive tend to member concerns, visit schools across the city and cultivate UFT’s message. She is the president’s point person for the Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella group including more than 100 municipal unions, for the American Federation of Teachers’ Executive Council and for external messages and campaigns. She started at the UFT shortly after Randi Weingarten, now the AFT president, took the helm and has stayed on to serve her successor well.

C&S: How did you become interested in unions?

MS: DC37 has one of the only municipal employees legal services plans left, and what I saw as a lawyer was how one event could really have a calamitous effect—a family member gets seriously ill or you get seriously ill, you start missing paychecks, and all of a sudden you have a rent case going on or you lose your housing. You can win that one case, but there’s a greater cause out there. I started getting more involved politically, just taking part in rallies, just kind of had an inner awakening. It was my own kind of “aha” moment that collective action could really make a difference.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

MS: Just the perseverance that you just have to keep your eye on the greater prize and meet challenges head on.

It’s a pretty rough and tumble world out there. You’ve got to have sharp elbows. I do feel my courtroom skills have helped me immensely—nothing is more rough and tumble than housing court.

C&S: Do you have a mentor?

MS: Both Randi Weingarten and Michael Mulgrew—by way of example, that 24/7 philosophy of whatever it takes.

Sometimes great leaders make it look easy. You see them in the paper; you see what they put out; they’re out there at rallies. But no one—unless you’re really up close and personal—sees the absolute dedication and commitment.

C&S: What’s your favorite place to eat in the city?

MS: A local haunt, Chez Moi on Atlantic Avenue. It’s a classic, French bistro.

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MARCH 2015

LABOR

WANDA WILLIAMS

DIRECTOR OF POLITICAL ACTION AND LEGISLATION DISTRICT COUNCIL 37 TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 13 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Legislative aide and chief of staff; correctional facility review specialist; Democratic National Committee; consultant to former President Bill Clinton; National Democratic Institute for International Affairs; U.S. Agency for International Development

Wanda Williams’ political acumen has taken her from Washington, D.C. to Guam and from Kenya back to her native New York, where she now oversees the political action and legislation department for New York City’s largest public sector union. She guides the union’s budget negotiations and lobbying, election and fundraising efforts at the state and city level and supervises DC 37’s 10 collaborations with local communities. Williams has assisted with four presidential campaigns, led an initiative to get women more politically involved in Kenya and started a business that worked to elevate and fundraise for female candidates, particularly those of color.

C&S: How did you get involved with the union?

WW: I always worked with unions as a part of my portfolio, but never really worked for a union. I came back to work with a union around economic empowerment issues for women. Having grown up in a union household—my mom was a welfare mom who was educated and became a social worker and retired after 27 years—I saw the benefits of labor unions and what they can do for women.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

WW: In a labor union, it’s very male-dominated. There are challenges in terms of men seeing themselves in a traditional role as it relates to women and women in power. Although women in labor unions are very strong, assertive and capable, we still face the same things that women face in the larger macro economy, where many men are not very comfortable with women in leadership. That’s a challenge that we all face.

C&S: What is the one thing society could do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

WW: I always say to my staff to come to it with a sense of inclusion. As a woman, you’ll find in the labor movement that you’re many times the only one—if you’re at a senior level—or one of very few. You need to have a sense of your own experience. Be cognizant of other people who have been left behind. You are in a position of power, where you have an ability to bring other people along. Until we have a collective input and participation of all voices, we will not be able to say, as women who are looking to break down barriers in the labor movement, that we have done our job.

C&S: If you were not living in New York, where would you want to live?

WW: I’m married to a Kenyan and I’ve always swore that when I married my husband 16 years ago I’d move back to Kenya.

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MARCH 2015

Congratulations to

CAROL CORDEN

For her visionary leadership as Executive Director of New Destiny Housing and her commitment to increasing permanent housing options for low-income domestic violence survivors and their children.

SIGN UP FOR

www.NewDestinyHousing.org

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March 2015

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MEDIA

SARAH BARTLETT

DEAN CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Over 1 year

PREVIOUS JOBS: Reporter at Fortune; reporter and assistant managing editor at Business Week; reporter at The New York Times; editor-in-chief at Oxygen Media; contributing editor at Inc. magazine; author

The City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism saw a nearly 100 percent increase in applications after Sarah Bartlett’s first year as dean. Bartlett secured a $1.2 million grant to fund a summer internship program for 20 minority students and offer tuition waivers to the top five. On top of these recruiting efforts, Bartlett said the school dropped the GRE as an admissions consideration and created a new master’s program in social journalism. The program blends journalism, social media and new technology with community organizing to identify and package information specific to communities’ needs.

C&S: Why are there fewer minority students at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and why is it important to change that?

SB: We have always had a very strong record with minority students here at the school. About 40 percent of the student body are members of underrepresented communities but I wanted to do everything I could to strengthen the pipeline and also provide adequate financial support for those top candidates. I think that anything we can do to improve the representation in newsrooms, to make newsrooms around the country look more akin to the communities that they’re covering is really important for the future of journalism.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

SB: I actually did not ever feel that I had obstacles that I had to overcome as a female in this profession. I felt very respected everywhere I worked and I felt in some ways with sources, it could even be an advantage. I know there is discrimination in the workplace—I’m not saying that it doesn’t exist, but I haven’t experienced it personally.

C&S: When would you say your gender has felt like an advantage?

SB: A lot of the people who I was interviewing were males, especially as a business journalist. And there were very few female journalists in business journalism. So I sort of stood out. I was kind of a novelty for some of them, and I felt that that was an advantage. I also worked in work places where people were affirmatively trying to make sure that women advanced and I think I benefited from that.

C&S: What advice do you give young reporters?

SB: Do your homework. Basically don’t take anything for granted. You know there’s that phrase, “If your mama says she love you, check it out.” Don’t think you know anything. Start with the working assumption that everything has to be verified.

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MARCH 2015

MEDIA

MARIA HINOJOSA

FOUNDER FUTURO MEDIA GROUP

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Almost 5 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Reporter and anchor at CNN, PBS, CBS and NPR

Maria Hinojosa, who was born in Mexico City and raised in Chicago, has been a journalist for over 25 years. She was the first Latina to anchor a Frontline report and serves as the anchor and executive producer of NPR’s Latino USA. She created the Futuro Media Group in 2010 as a nonprofit to produce multimedia journalism to explore the diversity of the American experience.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

MH: I think one of the greatest challenges for me was breaking in. Being the first Latina to work at NPR starting in 1985—that goes with a real sense of responsibility. You have to fight against allowing yourself to be quiet. It made me understand that I had a real duty to speak up even if I was uncomfortable.

C&S: As you reflect on your career, have you seen a cultural shift in how women are treated?

MH: I do not think that we’ve gotten to a point that we can say that everything is taken care of. What has happened is that you have a much more robust and public conversation about the status of women across the board. And that is quite wonderful. You would hope that everybody doesn’t see it as a zero-sum game. That we understand that women as producers or consumers are going to benefit everybody—it’s a strong demographic, it’s a money spending demographic—so to elevate them is good for everyone.

C&S: What have you learned about running a company?

MH: It’s about working with a team of people that share a vision for success. And so I think in the very beginning I felt very much like it was all on my shoulders. Now, five years in, I really understand that it’s not just me making decisions. It’s me working with my team, and together we’re making smart decisions.

C&S: What is your favorite place to eat in New York?

MH: My house. Anytime that I can have a home cooked meal, I’m like, “Yeah!” Or the Central Park Boathouse. I think it is so New York and so romantic.

MARCH 2015

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MEDIA

SANDRA LILLEY

EDITOR NBCNEWS.COM LATINO SECTION

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 4 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Managing editor of NBCLatino.com; editor and reporter at NBC, Telemundo

Born in Puerto Rico, Sandra Lilley has been in TV and digital news for over 25 years. Starting out as a general assignments reporter for Telemundo, she went on to become a national reporter at NBC News. She began writing stories for NBCLatino.com when the site was conceived in 2011, and became managing editor in 2013. Now as editor of the Latino section of NBCNews.com, she highlights stories on issues highlighting an integral part of the American fabric.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

SL: Not second guessing yourself, learning to say, “You know what, I can do this and I have the passion and I have the ability to do it.” I think that many of us sometimes question what we can do versus what we see other managers doing. It’s a constant lesson for women to just say, “I’m in this playground, I’m in this space.”

C&S: As you reflect on your career, have you seen a cultural shift in how women are treated?

SL: Oh absolutely. I think of top management in the news structure at NBC and there’s a lot of women in leadership positions. It’s a little more seamless than it used to be. I think it has become easier for young women to see women at different levels, whether it be editor or a news assistant, and realize it’s something that can be done. You have to have those blinders on to have that confidence and just keep going.

C&S: What’s the best way to spend the weekend?

SL: A combination of getting out and seeing sunlight, because when you’re in a newsroom you feel like a bunker.

Going for a run if its warm. I love reading, so catching up on reading and watching some good TV shows with my husband.

C&S: If not New York, where would you want to live?

SL: I really am an adopted Jersey girl. I just feel like New Jersey has become my second home and I think sometimes the state is a little underrated when it comes to the fact that you can have a little beach and a little green. I really like the tri-state area. It’s become my home.

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MARCH 2015

MEDIA

LIZ WILLEN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF HECHINGER REPORT

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Nearly 5 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Reporter at Bloomberg News; reporter at Newsday

After an award-winning career at Bloomberg News, Liz Willen set her sights on a topic she had spent a large portion of her career covering—the New York City public school system. As the editor-in-chief of the awardwinning Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news outlet based at Teachers College at Columbia University, she leads a team providing some of the most in-depth education coverage across the country, relying on data as well as firsthand accounts to identify ways schools can be improved and telling stories in a clear and concise way that all can understand.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

LW: Journalism is a tough job to do with children. One of the biggest obstacles for women has been just handling the constant deadlines with daycare, school, after-school, pick up and traveling. The news is constant, and it doesn’t let up for your childcare schedule or your kids’ schedule.

C&S: What is the one thing you think society can do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

LW: Flexible schedules. An appreciation and understanding of how important it is to spend time with your children in the early years and to keep those schedules. I also think employers in New York City particularly have to recognize that school searching here, both public and private, requires an enormous amount of time, effort, energy and searching on the part of parents. And so I think employers have to understand how much time it takes to visit, search for and rank schools.

C&S: As you reflect on your career, have you seen a cultural shift in how women are treated?

LW: Now that I’m running a nonprofit website rather than a 24-hour news service, it’s much easier to have and provide the kind of flexibility that women journalists—and men—need to manage their family commitments and work commitments. We have a little more luxury and flexibly because were not just responding to daily news coverage.

C&S: What’s your favorite place to eat in New York?

LW: I live down the block from the best pizza in New York City, Grimaldi’s. They’re fantastic. But I only go there with out-of-town visitors. My favorite local neighborhood place is Jack the Horse Tavern, in Brooklyn Heights.

MARCH 2015

25

MEDIA

LIENA ZAGARE

PUBLISHER CORNER MEDIA

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 3 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Investment analyst at the IFC; director of special projects at Patch/AOL; running a shared workspace

Corner Media began when Liena Zagare decided to start a blog about neighborhood issues. Since then, she has devoted her time and attention to becoming one of the few people heavily invested in deepening community news through Corner Media, which operates seven websites. The New York Times last July reported that Bensonhurst Bean and Sheepshead Bites, two Corner Media websites, reached a combined 250,000 readers every month.

Zagare was nominated for this award because of the way she speaks of the importance of community news and the role it plays in improving neighbors’ lives—and her insistance that it can always be better.

C&S: Can you discuss your view of community news and the role it plays in residents’ lives?

LZ: Building strong communities is at the center of our mission as a company. A strong neighborhood needs people who are informed and who care. We try to make our neighbors’ lives better by keeping an eye on things that are very close to home and enabling them to act on local issues they care about—whether that may be planting daffodils, protesting testing at their kids’ schools, engaging local politicians on crime or patronizing a local business that they did not know about—through daily neighborhood news reporting.

C&S: As you reflect on your career, have you seen a cultural shift in how women are treated? How has that manifested itself in actionable change?

LZ: I think you need to have the courage to stand up for what you believe and your own worth, and work with people that appreciate you. Sometimes making sure that happens takes quite a bit of courage. Arianna Huffington put it well—you need to be fearless.

C&S: What is the one thing you think society can do to make it easier for woman in the workplace?

LZ: Provide excellent, means-tested, universal childcare from birth on, with hours that work for the working parent.

It would also improve the school situation in New York, I’m convinced.

C&S: If not New York, where would you want to live?

LZ: New York. I would not want to live anywhere else. Well, maybe London.

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NONPROFITS

CAROL CORDEN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NEW DESTINY HOUSING

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 17 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Vice president for community development at NatWest/Fleet Bank; director of the Small Buildings Rehabilitation Unit at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development; associate director of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City

Before Carol Corden joined New Destiny as its executive director, she was fighting to provide housing for lowincome residents and helping communities with development in both the private, public and nonprofit sectors. In her current role, Corden works to end the cycle of violence and homelessness for many families who struggle to find affordable and permanent housing. The organization also focuses on helping many New Yorkers achieve economic independence as a way to avoid homelessness.

C&S: How does gender play into the work that you do?

CC: We are dealing with women and children, and they’re easier in many ways to push aside. We’re seeing more and more families coming into the shelter system, and very frequently, domestic violence is the cause of that. One of our big challenges has been to get this population recognized as a really important segment of the homeless population—one that deserves to have both permanent housing and services that can help them sustain their housing and create a healthly, stable environment.

C&S: What is the one thing you think society can do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

CC: Childcare is huge. We claim as a country that we’re very interested in the family, but I don’t really see that carried through workplace policies that would actually help those women and men take care of their children and have some kind of work-life balance. The idea of having either daycare onsite or paying partially for daycare or encouraging people to take family leave or to leave early to go to their kids soccer game—that would really make a huge difference in terms of the quality of workplace for women and men.

C&S: How has gender played a part in your own career?

CC: I think that gender has probably played a part in every woman’s career. At the time that I started out, the feminist movement was taking off. It’s hard for me not to be conscious of the fact that many women have fought for the rights that we have currently, and it’s not something to be ignored or forgotten. And it’s also something that could be lost. The nonprofit sector is actually dominated by women, although probably the highest paying jobs in the largest organizations are held by men.

C&S: What’s the best way to spend the weekend?

CC: Someplace in New England with a fireplace, a lot of books and a good bottle of wine.

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MARCH 2015

Congratulations ALISON OVERSETH!!!!

SOOO Proud of You!!!

SETH

Ken, Hannah, Peter, Emily, Eric, Ryan and Scott

March 2015

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NONPROFITS

HARRIET MCDONALD

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT THE DOE FUND

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 27 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Actress; screenwriter

Harriet McDonald grew up in Greenwich Village but left for Los Angeles to be an actress and screenwriter. Those writing skills helped McDonald apply for grants and fundraising back in New York City when she and her husband launched the Doe Fund—a city nonprofit that provides paid transitional work, housing, education, counseling and career training for the homeless, formerly incarcerated and recovering substance abusers. Beginning at their kitchen table with no funding, the Doe Fund has grown into a comprehensive program with an annual budget of around $60 million.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

HM: The obstacles have really been much less related to my gender as the obstacles that are inherent in serving overwhelmingly African-American men with histories of incarceration, homelessness and substance abuse. The homeless people always have respected me, and not only that, they were incredibly protective. All these years later ,having served 22,000 men, I have never felt that my being a woman put me in any danger.

C&S: Do you think that being a woman has been an advantage?

HM: Most of the men that we have served never had fathers. They are the products of mass incarceration and single mothers, and so I think that being a woman has been a great benefit in my developing incredibly strong relationships with a very large number of the people we serve. I was non-threatening to them and they never felt they had to prove anything. I wasn’t judgmental.

C&S: What keeps you motivated?

HM: The people. I’ve been fortunate to know them, to see their potential. When we started and we said we were going to pay people to work, and it was the height of the crack epidemic, everybody said we were insane. Somehow the formerly incarcerated and the homeless have been infantilized. But these people are human beings and they want to be independent.

C&S: If not New York, where would you want to live?

HM: I can’t imagine living anywhere else because of our programs. Just to be in a really lovely place, though, I would have to say Denver.

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MARCH 2015

New York University congratulates Lynne P. Brown, Senior Vice President for University Relations and Public Affairs.

During her three decades at NYU, Lynne has led the university’s planning for a thoughtful, sustainable future in New York City and beyond.

She is a champion of local neighborhoods, through her leadership of business districts and neighborhood groups in Greenwich Village and Union Square, and a powerful advocate for the higher education sector and its economic contributions to a vibrant New York City.

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTION.

NONPROFITS

ALISON OVERSETH

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PARTNERSHIP FOR AFTER SCHOOL EDUCATION

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 5 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Investment banker; program director for the Fund for the City of New York; founding board chair of PASE

Alison Overseth’s genuine care for people is just one of the qualities that makes her an incredible leader at the Partnership for After School Education. The organization delivers services to 1,600 after-school programs that help half a million youths in New York City—a monumental task that Overseth achieves by setting high expectations for her staff, but also by mentoring them and stepping in to lend a helping hand as necessary. With an open door policy and a constantly filled candy jar, she has been able to help PASE grow into the positive force it is today.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

AO: When I was an investment banker, I was still one of the relatively few women there. I found that the nonprofit sector allowed far more acceptance of both personal and professional lives and finding balance between those things. So that has been a serious plus. In the nonprofit world, the hardest part of all is less to do with gender and more to do with the incredible fight for resources to provide really vital services.

C&S: What is the one thing you think society can do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

AO: I have three children, and that continues to be a challenge. Structurally, we need great childcare. But we don’t fully support women to the full degree to which they can be successful as leaders.

C&S: As you reflect on your career, have you seen a positive cultural shift in regards to how women are treated?

AO: I think on the whole we are moving forward. I think that we have a whole group of women a decade or so older than I am who really broke barriers, and we have been continuing that struggle. We have some really dynamite women who are leading the way, each in their own very individual ways, and we are getting away from a one-sizefits-all perception of leadership—I think that’s really important.

C&S: If not New York, where would you want to live?

AO: On a beach somewhere. Any beach.

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MARCH 2015

NONPROFITS

RESHMA SAUJANI

CEO AND FOUNDER GIRLS WHO CODE

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 3 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Attorney at a financial services firm; deputy public advocate under then-Public Advocate Bill de Blasio

After years of fundraising and campaigning for Democrats, Reshma Saujani broke ground as a South Asian woman running for Congress in 2010. During the unsuccessful campaign, she noticed a lack of women in New York City’s burgeoning tech sector. In response, she founded Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit that teaches young women computing skills and inspires them to pursue careers in the tech industry. She also advocated for women’s issues while running for public advocate of New York City in 2013, then penned a book titled “Women Who Don’t Wait in Line” to encapsulate her vision for a model of female leadership that embraces risk taking.

C&S: What are you focusing on at Girls Who Code?

RS: We’re having kind of explosive growth. So we’ve gone from having one program in 2012 to this year we’re running almost 60 summer immersion programs in California, Seattle, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C. We have Girls Who Code clubs in over 30 states. So by the end of this year, we’ll probably teach about 10,000 girls, whereas in 2012, we taught 20.

C&S: Could you tell me about the idea behind “Women Who Don’t Wait in Line”?

RS: We really are afraid of taking risks and of failure. For young boys, even at a young age, they are encouraged to take risks and to fail and to swing on the monkey swings. Girls are told to be careful and to go slow and to not call attention to yourself and to not be ambitious. I really do believe that a lot of what we’ve taught our young girls is deeply cultural. And it’s really what’s held women back. As we’re taking over the world, taking over the Internet, taking over colleges, taking over the labor force, we have to start asking ourselves how can we change things and what can we do differently and how can we take that into our own hands.

C&S: What is the one thing society could do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

RS: Paid parental leave. I am a new mom. I’m on my fifth week and it’s really hard. I feel so blessed that I have paid leave for three months. It’s completely unjust and unfair and wrong that we don’t offer paid leave to mothers and to parents. And we just don’t have workplace policies that are friendly to mothers and to parents at all.

C&S: What’s the coolest code?

RS: The coolest project that our girls recently built is a game called Tampon Run, which is a game to basically educate people about the menstruation taboo. So check it out. It’s tamponrun.com.

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MARCH 2015

www.newpaltz.edu SUNY New Paltz and President Christian congratulate Chancellor Zimpher on the 2015 Above & Beyond Award!

Dr. Richard Gottfried

Jumaane Williams

Tiffany Raspberry

Ydanis Rodríguez

Mark Weprin

Letitia James

ADVERTISE WITH CITY & STATE TO:

Reach elected officials • Educate NY’s most engaged leaders • Raise awareness and shape legislation For advertising information, please contact Jim Katocin at 212.284.9714 or JKatocin@CityandStateNY.com March 2015

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NONPROFITS

MARGARETTE PURVIS

CEO FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 3.5 years PREVIOUS POITIONS: Hands On New York; Bailey House

Margarette Purvis oversees a team of 178 staff members and thousands of volunteers who provide more than 63 million free meals each year to New Yorkers in need, while also providing other services like free tax preparation that returns millions of dollars each year back to the pockets of the most needy. Purvis has a hand in all parts of the Food Bank’s efforts, from organizing to informing the public. She also plays a key role in crafting hunger relief policy in the state as the chair of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York State Anti-Hunger Task Force.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

MP: To still see so many smart, funny, charismatic women who doubt their voices, doubt their voices as leaders, doubt the impact that they can and should have. I think it’s startling, especially when you come to a city like New York. Most people are not really seeing just how kick-ass they really are.

C&S: What is the one thing you think society can do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

MP: Something my mom always said to me was that you can play small all day, but it doesn’t change who you are.

You can’t give the world a piggyback ride. For us to make a decision and to be unafraid to be who we are and how we were made—and celebrate being a girl’s girl more often. There’s nothing wrong with that!

C&S: Who is your mentor and why?

MP: I’ve been very lucky to have lots of mentors. I don’t know if many people would call their mom their mentor, but I call my mom my first mentor. I was raised by a professional woman. I grew up watching her be happy and fulfilled in a career, and she led me to believe that I could have the same. When you’re raised that way you seek that out in the world.

C&S: If not New York, where would you want to live?

MP: I really love northern California. The people are really friendly, and in any given day you can experience three types of weather. And it’s a culinary area. Good food, good wine, nice people.

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MARCH 2015

PERSPECTIVES

CATHY NOLAN LEANS IN

By Alexis Grenell (Alexis Grenell @agrenell on Twitter) is a Democratic communications strategist based in New York. She handles nonprofit and political clients.)

I

n the race to replace Sheldon Silver as speaker of the New York State Assembly, a rumor emerged that Cathy Nolan was a “stalking horse” for Queens County Democratic Chairman Joe Crowley. This implied she was a proxy, intended as a bargaining chip for someone more powerful. Absent any facts, it served only to undermine her candidacy. But why was it even plausible that a 30-year veteran of the Assembly would feverishly phone bank members and publicly pitch herself for speaker if she wasn’t serious? The notion was easily debunked when Nolan remained in the race after Crowley threw his support behind Carl Heastie.

Submitting pleasantly to an insulting question, Nolan confirmed her motivation: “I chair one of the top committees in the Assembly. I’ve been here a long time. I felt that made me a contender.”

Cathy Nolan leaned in, but she couldn’t win a rigged game.

Albany is dominated by machine politics, and the patronage that comes with it. As party bosses, Heastie (Bronx), Joe Morelle (Monroe County) and Keith Wright (Manhattan) had a treasury of chits to cash in. Wright quickly bowed out with a suspected promise of support for an eventual run for Congress. Morelle couldn’t win in a conference dominated by New York City members, even though he was considered the governor’s favorite (but notably not his pawn). Lastly, the chairman of the powerful Codes Committee, Joe Lentol jumped ship when his own Brooklyn boss got behind Heastie.

That left Nolan with only her record to run on. Although she lost for many reasons not related to her gender, the maledominated party system mostly excludes women from entrenched political and social networks, putting them at a structural disadvantage.

“Politics is very much monopolized by men, they’re always taking care of each other,” said one assemblywoman who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “You don’t have a certain interaction with them because it’s always inappropriate. I’m not going to go hang out at my married colleague’s house on a Friday night and drink.”

The situation is different in the New York City Council, where traditional machine politics are less relevant, replaced by organized labor and the WFP-backed Progressive Caucus. In the 2013 race for Council speaker, the Caucus used its 21-vote bloc to effectively sideline the party bosses and elect Melissa Mark-Viverito. When the Kings County chairman caved to the Caucus, he left Heastie and Crowley, who were supporting Dan Garodnick, out in the cold.

But the Progressive Caucus didn’t just defeat the machine. It defied the conventional wisdom, spouted after Tish James won the public advocate’s race, that there couldn’t be more than one woman in citywide office. This outdated idea was not only sexist, but failed to acknowledge a more straightforward logic: as multiple female candidates run for city office, increasingly more of them will win. Today women make up nearly a third of the body, and half of all citywide elected officials.

In contrast, Nolan ran for an office only ever held by men, in a body that’s about a quarter female. Just as importantly, the hastily formed Reform Coalition, which wobbled into existence like a newborn foal, didn’t have the institutional capacity to redefine the process.

Despite the outcome, Cathy Nolan made a crack in Albany’s glass gavel.

“When I first got to Albany people told me it was a fluke that I won. I think it’s one of the reasons I stayed so long, because I wanted to show people it wasn’t a fluke, I wanted to show people I had talent and ambition,” Nolan explained.

She did more than that.

The first woman to run for Assembly speaker will not be the last.

MARCH 2015

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LIGHTING THE WAY FOR MORE WOMEN LEADERS

ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS Senate Democratic Leader

A

s a lifelong New Yorker, a lawmaker and a woman, I am grateful and privileged to serve the people of New York State. I am constantly inspired by knowing that I owe that privilege to the courage and tenacity of countless New Yorkers who came before me, men and women alike, who stood up for what is right and added their voices to the call for suffrage, civil rights and women’s equality. Their leadership empowered people, often silenced by the status quo, to rise, lead and ultimately be heard.

That constant reminder of the power of people ignited for a greater cause has guided my life’s path. As the first woman leader of a New York State legislative conference, I believe the best way to honor their contributions is to make sure

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I am not the last. Indeed, it is because of the opportunities afforded to me to sit in “some” rooms of power that I know the work to guarantee a brighter future for our daughters is still far from finished, and that more female representation is needed in our state government to achieve true equality.

Recent studies have demonstrated that to significantly influence policies, women must comprise at least 30 percent of the legislative body. In New York, women hold only 17 percent of the seats in the state Senate and 25 percent in the Assembly. We have also never had a female governor.

Furthermore, 160 years after the Seneca Falls Convention and the birth of the women’s rights movement right here in New York, the decision-making process behind our state’s approximately $140 billion budget continues to be defined as “three (or four) men in a room.” Never in our state’s history has a woman been part of this process. This reality leaves out the perspective of the mothers of over 2.5 million public school children whose quality of education is dependent upon this budget process. It weakens the perspective of the approximately six in 10 minimum wage workers who are women living in the shadow of poverty. Clearly, the more transparent and inclusive this process is, the better for everyone— especially the majority of women who make up our state and are greatly impacted by this budget.

While we fight for a more inclusive

government in Albany, women’s rights, health and equality must outshine partisan politics and political gamesmanship. In 1970, New York State served as a great example when 12 Republican senators joined most of their Democratic colleagues to decriminalize abortion, making our state a leader in protecting a woman’s right to choose years before Roe v.

Wade. Unfortunately, today we are once again fighting to protect this right along with so many others.

The failure of this Legislature to pass the entire 10-point Women’s Equality Act (WEA) despite overwhelming support from New Yorkers underscores how a lack of female representation directly impacts the many women’s issues currently before our state.

In addition to codifying Roe v.

Wade, this legislation also includes provisions to ensure women would receive equal pay for work and recognizes that gender-based income inequality continues to hold New York’s economy back. The WEA would have ended multiple forms of inequity that women face, including discrimination based on family status, pregnancy and source of income.

Although the WEA was not passed as a package, the message to women and our great male champions is clear. We must work together to educate, shape, name and be prepared to fight for the

Farmingdale State College

congratulates

issues important to the majority of New Yorkers who happen to be women. In so doing, we improve not only our own lives, but the lives of our families and the state of our economy. And more importantly, we honor the proud legacy of struggle and courage that got us to this point, empowering new voices to take on the status quo by rising, leading and having our voices heard—for the sacrifice of our mothers and for the sake of our

daughters, and for the ultimate benefit of a greater New York State.

I am proud to be the leader of the New York State Senate Democratic Conference, which is leading the fight for greater equality for the state’s women and for greater opportunities for all of New York’s families. Our conference will continue to author and support legislation to protect women’s rights, raise the minimum wage and empower and inspire

women to run for public office and have more seats at the table. I look forward to a New York with more women leaders and what will be a stronger and brighter future.

State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins is the New York State Senate Democratic Conference leader. She represents portions of Westchester County, including the City of Yonkers.

Nancy L. Zimpher

Farmingdale State College Chancellor of The State University of New York

congratulates recipient of the

Nancy L. Award Zimpher 2015 Above & Beyond Chancellor of The State University of New York

recipient of the

2015 Above & Beyond Award

2350 Broadhollow Road Farmingdale, New York 11735 n FARMINGDALE.EDU 2350 Broadhollow Road Farmingdale, New York 11735 FAR MINGDALE.EDU n

MARCH 2015

39

PUBLIC SERVICE

LYNNE BROWN

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS NEW YORK UNIVERSITY TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Over 30 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Worked as a staffer to former U.S. Rep. and Democratic Whip John Brademas on Capitol Hill; personal chief of staff to Brademas while he was president of NYU

Lynne Brown came to New York University (NYU) after her old boss, former U.S. Rep. and Democratic Majority Whip John Brademas, recruited her to help him get acclimated as the university’s president. Three decades later, the school still turns to Brown to coordinate its government and media affairs. Brown’s portfolio has grown to include advocating for resources and preferred higher education policies from federal, state and local officials, and handling press inquiries and major events. She helped articulate why NYU sought to expand its campus, which ultimately received the city’s approval amid resistance from some locals. Brown was also part of the team that coordinated a merger between NYU and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

C&S: Is there a particular hard-fought victory that you’re proud of?

LB: We were, two years ago, successful in getting city approval for NYU’s needed expansion of physical facilities here in the Village, and we’re moving forward on that. That’s always a long process. When you change and ask for changes in land use and what you can do in a particular area, it’s often not without controversy. But we really felt we needed the space to continue our academic progress. So I was proud of that.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

LB: It’s not a frame that I’ve ever looked at the world through. I think being a woman has given me as many opportunities as it has thrown up obstacles. I also think that the education and the not-for-profit sector has actually been one of the arenas that has really allowed for the advancement of women. We have more women deans here at NYU than men. I don’t tend to look at the world through that gender perspective, but I’ve never felt held back or facing obstacles.

C&S: What is the one thing society could do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

LB: I think that one is simple, and it’s three things: child care, child care, child care—affordable and accessible child care. At the national level, when I was there, we were trying, back in the ’70s and ’80s, to pass legislation to help expand the opportunities for child care . It really holds women back. But even for families where the men are helping out, the family needs the child care. It gets pegged as a women’s issue, but it’s a family issue.

C&S: What’s your favorite place to eat in the city?

LB: High end, I love Gotham on 12th Street between University and Fifth. It’s a really, really nice place. And then, for just a really quiet, neighborhood place, Arte. It’s the kind of place where you might not have to make a reservation, you walk by, they always greet you, you can hear each other talk.

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MARCH 2015

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A+ RATING

PUBLIC SERVICE

LISA FLORES

DEPUTY NEW YORK CITY COMPTROLLER; CONTRACTS AND PROCUREMENT TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Over 1 year PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Research for Children’s Aid Society; policy analyst at New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services; coordinating workforce development accounts at the New York City Department of Small Business Services; assistant director, associate director and deputy director at the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services

In her role at the New York City Comptroller’s office, Lisa Flores is creating an electronic processing system for procurement and otherwise modernizing the maze of rules and regulations facing those who want to do business with the city. Her time at the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services made her realize the process can be unclear for many in the vendor community, so she envisioned the Vendor Roadmap website that breaks down every step of the process for firms, from how bidding works to how to get paid. Flores also monitors Hurricane Sandy relief contracts to ensure taxpayer money is used effectively.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

LF: Definitely starting out right after college and then graduate school, in government there were lots of challenges in terms of being taken seriously. I am trying to instill in everyone that I encounter that regardless of age or regardless of being a woman that hard work is hard work and accomplishing your goal is sufficient to get the respect that you deserve in your professional career. Working in government for over 10 years at this point, when you work hard, you start to gain that respect and it comes easier. Young women who come to work for me as their very first job, I take very seriously using an opportunity as a manager to understand what interests them, where their longterm goals are, and within all of my power, offer them the opportunities to build their skills. I really feel that’s a big part of what my responsibility is as a manager, to offer those opportunities and help people grow.

C&S: What is the one thing society could do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

LF: I really believe that it’s about, long term, changing peoples’ attitudes about what you expect from women. And I think a lot of that, at least for me, is really taking the time to build relationships with people. As a woman, if I have a young man who works for me right out of college and he has a positive experience of seeing sort of a strong woman, an effective woman, I hope that that’s sort of part of helping mold that person to deal with women in the workplace. And as they go forward in their career, more of that environment shapes a more inviting environment for women in the workplace.

C&S: What’s your favorite place to eat in the city?

LF: One of my favorite places is a Puerto Rican restaurant in the Bronx, in Tremont. It’s called El Bohio. When I need my fix of traditional roast pork, that’s the place to go.

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University at Albany proudly congratulates

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher for winning the prestigious Above and Beyond Award.

President Robert J. Jones applauds your efforts for going above and beyond to champion public education, from cradle to career in Albany and across America.

Thank you to our generous sponsors:

COUNCIL OF SCHOOL SUPERVISORS AND ADMINISTRATORS · INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS · STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (SUNY) · METROPOLITAN TAXI BOARD OF TRADE · CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (CUNY) · M PUBLIC AFFAIRS · NYSUT · IBM

March 2015

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PUBLIC SERVICE

RACHEL HAOT

CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER AND DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR TECHNOLOGY NEW YORK STATE TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Over 1 year PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Chief digital officer for New York City; founder and CEO of Groundreport

Rachel Haot became New York State’s first chief digital officer and deputy secretary for technology in January 2014. In her first year, she completely redesigned the state’s official website and oversaw its overhaul and relaunch, a project she had experience with after doing the same with New York City’s official website during her time with the Bloomberg administration. Haot is also responsible for all digital content production for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, including press, programs, email newsletters and social media. Before being honored by City & State, she has also named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative Person in Business and recognized as a 40 under 40 by Crain’s New York and by Forbes and Fortune magazines.

C&S: Government and the tech sector are two very male-dominated fields, so did you find it difficult as a women to succeed in these fields?

RH: I think that on a personal basis, I feel like I’ve had so many amazing opportunities and I haven’t felt an enormous amount of personal bias or challenges and that may be just a result of working for employers or at companies where they were really committed to supporting women. I’ve also been fortunate to be supported by a number of incredible, inspiring women throughout my career. So, that said, there are obvious inequities in the industry and we need to do more to change them. There are far too few women in tech, too few women in government.

C&S: What can society do to better support women in the workplace?

RH: I think that just continuing to be role models for youths is important. That’s where the change happens, with change of generations. I just became a mother a year ago now and you just become aware of how you’re a part of this larger cycle and that the values and the opportunities that you make your children aware of is going to shape the future of the world more than anything else, because they’re the ones who will inherit the world and do incredible things with it.

C&S: If not New York, where would you want to live?

RH: My answer is going to sound ridiculous, but what I’m really excited about, being from a tech background and being the state’s digital officer, is the potential for exploration beyond the planet. So, I think it would be pretty cool to live on Mars.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO

ALISON OVERSETH

and GREETINGS from the Board and Staff of the Partnership for After School Education, to a visionary and thoughtful leader whose wisdom, intelligence and caring for the youth and adults served has guided PASE and the programs offered to work towards excellence in all that we do!!!

NASSAU COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONGRATULATES CHANCELLOR

NANCY L. ZIMPHER FOR ALL SHE DOES

MARCH 2015

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PUBLIC SERVICE

CATHERINE RINALDI

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT METRO-NORTH RAILROAD

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: Since January 2015 PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Legal clerk to chief judge of New York; clerk in state Supreme Court and Brooklyn federal court; chief of staff and general counsel at MTA; general counsel at Long Island Rail Road

Catherine Rinaldi was tapped as executive vice president of Metro-North Railroad this January after working as chief of staff at the MTA. As one person who nominated her put it, Rinaldi is the “first call for anyone who sees a looming issue,” adding that she has a great mind for solving “thorny” issues. She also oversees several aspects of the railroad, including human resources, planning, capital programs, compliance and procurement. In her role, Rinaldi monitors many details—everything from cleaning supply purchases in Grand Central Terminal to delicate personnel matters.

C&S: How did you become interested in transit or otherwise get involved with it?

CR: I worked in the governor’s office and part of my portfolio was the MTA. That was really my first exposure to the MTA and its issues. It was largely in the context of proposed legislation, but I got to know people at the MTA and worked closely with some of the people, actually, who are still here. I moved over to the MTA from that job in 2003 and have, for the most part, been part of the MTA family since then.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

CR: I’m in a traditionally male-dominated profession. I still go to meetings where I’m the only woman in the room.

I can honestly say, I’ve never really felt like I’ve experienced hostility or questioning or anything like that in terms of why is a woman in the room. People expect you to be prepared. People expect you to be knowledgeable. People expect you to hold your own in a professional setting, and I’ve always been able to do that.

C&S: What is the one thing society could do to make it easier for women in the workplace?

CR: Where I’m at here, people have been very accommodating and understanding of the demands on my time. And I think that if that were a mindset that pervaded industries as a whole, that would be enormously helpful to women who are trying to juggle the demands of family life and the demands of their professional life.

C&S: What’s the best Metro-North ride?

CR: I commute from Irvington on the Hudson line, and I’ve got to tell you, it’s a beautiful ride. When it’s light in the evening and you’re riding along the Hudson River, I mean, you could be in Switzerland. It’s a beautiful trip.

C&S: What’s your favorite station?

CR: Grand Central—Grand Central’s everybody’s favorite station. It’s a beautiful station.

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The New York State Conference International Union of Operating Engineers Proudly Congratulates Our Political and Legislative Director

MARINA V. O’DONNELL

and All of this Year’s “Above & Beyond” Honorees

Daniel J. McGraw President

JOHN DUFFY VICE PRESIDENT THOMAS CALLAHAN SECRETARY TREASURER EDWIN CHRISTIAN TRUSTEE WILLIAM LYNN TRUSTEE JEFFREY LOUGHLIN TRUSTEE

PUBLIC SERVICE

NANCY ZIMPHER

SUNY CHANCELLOR

TIME IN CURRENT POSITION: 6 years PREVIOUS POSITIONS’: President of the University of Cincinnati for six years; the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee for five years; worked at Ohio State University at various positions for about 30 years

Nancy Zimpher has spent more than 40 years as a higher education professional. When she was a graduate student working on her Ph.D., the dean of her school hired her to be his graduate assistant and she became intrigued with leadership and never looked back. Since she became the 12th SUNY chancellor in 2009, Zimpher has pushed SUNY as an economic engine and partnered with Gov. Andrew Cuomo to enact the START-UP NY and NYSUNY2020 initiatives. Additionally, she has established the Higher Ed for Higher Standards coalition to give college leaders a voice in support of the Common Core standards. Zimpher has gained international recognition for her visionary institutional and community leadership.

C&S: As a woman, what was the biggest obstacle to succeeding in your field?

NZ: I really think the challenge for most of us is around opening doors. I think that women have been prepared to be leaders for centuries, but have not always seen the pathway to leadership opportunities and after many, many years in higher education, I know now that people have to help you open those doors, and that’s not always been the case for women in my field—in higher education.

C&S: As you reflect on your career, have you seen a cultural shift in how women are treated?

NZ: I think we’re still pretty challenged. I know that we still have a heavy lift and we need to move faster. But, on the other hand, I see all the young women with whom I talk and the women are assertive, they know what they want to do, they don’t see any barriers, they think of themselves as being in very educated and challenging fields and I think that’s what inspires me the most. This generation of women really doesn’t talk as if there are any barriers—they will encounter them—but a big part of it is believing that you can succeed—and they do.

C&S: What is the one thing you think government can do to make it easier for woman in the workplace?

NZ: I think what is required on the ground to really complete the cultural shift can’t be legislated as much as it’s a matter of leaders of organizations and institutions just actually populating those organizations with more women. In the time I have been at SUNY I have hired 40 campus presidents—half of them are women. That’s a local, cultural shift, a major cultural shift.

C&S: What is the best way to spend your weekend?

NZ: It’s probably been a long walk in a very interesting locale. Walkability is very important for all of us and that on top of good plays, good dining, would be my priority.

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StonyBrook BrookUniversity UniversityCongratulates Congratulates Stony

Stony Brook University Congratulates

NANC NCYYL. L.ZIM ZIMPHER PHER NA

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And Salutes the Other 2015 Award Recipients

SAMUEL STANLEY JR., MD SAMUEL L.L. STANLEY JR., MD President, Stony Brook University President, Stony Brook University

SAMUEL L. STANLEY JR., MD President, Stony Brook University Stony Brook University/SUNY anrmative affirmative action, equal opportunity educator employer.

15031276 Stony Brook University/SUNY is anisaffi action, equal opportunity educator and and employer.

15031276 Stony Brook University/SUNY is an affirmative action, equal opportunity educator and employer. 15031276

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

JULIE MENIN Commissioner New York City Department of Consumer Affairs

J

ulie Menin, commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, was appointed

by Mayor Bill de Blasio in May of 2014.

As commissioner of the first municipal consumer protection agency in the United States, and with a staff of 400 and a budget in excess of $30 million, Menin administers a department that licenses nearly 80,000 businesses across 55 different industries, conducts enforcement of the city’s consumer protection laws and has subpoena power. Under Menin’s leadership, DCA spearheads the implementation of de Blasio’s Paid Sick Leave Law, which allows more than a million New York City workers to take time off for illness or care for a family member.

An accomplished lawyer and

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community leader, Menin began her career as a regulatory attorney at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington D.C. in 1992, and worked as a senior regulatory attorney at Colgate-Palmolive in New York City beginning in 1995.

After September 11, Menin founded and ran the nonprofit Wall Street Rising to help lower Manhattan recover. Menin helped small businesses collect business interruption insurance, expanded the organization to 30,000 members, and created a variety of community programs, including the Retail Attraction Program—which helped more than 600 small businesses stay in lower Manhattan.

Beginning in 2005, Menin served as chairperson for Community Board 1 for three consecutive terms, and was widely recognized as helping spearhead lower

Manhattan’s recovery after Sept. 11. In 2009, she created, hosted and produced NBC’s Give & Take, an interview show focused on politics, current events, media and health.

Among the awards that Menin has received are the National Association of Women Business Owners Community Service Award, The Women’s Club of NY “City Spirit Award,” Manhattan Youth’s Community Service award, 2010 NY League of Conservation Voters award and the 2011 Citizen Union’s 2011 Civic Leadership award. In addition, she was named as a “Rising Star 40 Under 40”

by City Hall newspaper in 2008.

Menin earned her B.A., magna cum laude, at Columbia University and attended Northwestern University School of Law.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Above and Beyond Award recipients who have made such a difference in their fields of business, labor, media, nonprofits and public service!

LABOR Elaine Kim Karen Magee Marina V. O’Donnell Maureen Salter Wanda Williams

MEDIA Sarah Bartlett Maria Hinojosa Sandra Lilley Liz Willen Liena Zagare

PUBLIC SERVICE Lynne Brown Lisa Flores Rachel Haot Catherine A. Rinaldi Nancy Zimpher

NON-PROFITS Carol Corden Harriet McDonald Alison Overseth Margarette Purvis Reshma Saujani

BUSINESS Jean Barrett Valeisha Butterfield-Jones Wendy Cai-Lee Emily Giske Maggie Moran Council of School Supervisors & Administrators LOCAL 1: AMERICAN FEDERATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, AFL-CIO 40 RECTOR ST., 12TH FL., NEW YORK, NY 10006 | TEL: 212 823 2020 | FAX: 212 962-6130 | www.csa-nyc.

ERNEST A. LOGAN PRESIDENT

|

MARK CANNIZZARO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

|

RANDI HERMAN FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

Great Schools Begin With Great Leaders!

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ANGELICA OLEG TANG

ngie Tang is a senior advisor at Asia Value Advisors, a leading venture philanthropy advisory firm based in Hong Kong. She is a columnist for The Diplomat, the premier online magazine on Asia policy.

From 2009 to 2014, Tang served as executive director of the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American leadership organization. Prior to her executive leadership position in the nonprofit sector, Tang was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao’s spokesperson and regional executive. Before joining the federal government, Tang was a cabinet

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MARCH 2015

official in the administration of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

She started her career in public affairs as a policy advisor to New York City Council President Andrew Stein. She was elected term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the board of directors of several nonprofit organizations. Currently a trustee of Berkeley College, she is a recipient of several leadership awards including the 2013 Above & Beyond Chairperson Award from New York’s City & State magazine. Tang is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Princeton University and Columbia Business School.

BIG IDEAS

re q u i re i n n ova t i ve s t ra t e g i e s Congratulations to our President & CEO,

MAGGIE MORAN and the 2015 Above & Beyond honorees!

Proud to be part of your team.

Rich Bamberger Vincent Ciniello Chris Donnelly Kay Gehshan Bao-Tran Huynh Jaclyn La Barbera Alex Lewis Annie Lydgate Sara Marino Laura Matos

WWW.MPUBLICAFFAIRS.COM

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GERSON BORRERO Editor-at-Large City & State

fter serving as the contributing editor for City & State’s “The Road to SOMOS” feature series, Gerson joined the team as editor-at-large.

Gerson was previously the editorin-chief and columnist for the largest and oldest Spanish-language newspaper El Diario La Prensa. Borrero currently serves as a political commentator at NY1 where, for the past eight years, he has appeared opposite WABC Radio’s Curtis Sliwa on a weekly segment as part of the program Inside City Hall. Borrero also

SUNY Oswego applauds

State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher for going above and beyond to improve the education pipeline for all.

Learn more.

www.oswego.edu admiss@oswego.edu | 315.312.2250

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has extensive experience in radio after serving as a radio broadcaster for two decades. He has hosted several morning and evening drive-time shows on both English and Spanish-language stations including NYC’s WNYM AM970, WADO 1280AM, Noticias 1380AM, and Puerto Rico’s Noti Uno 630AM and Noti Luz 740AM. Borrero is of Puerto Rican descent. A father of two, he lives in New York with his wife Ruth Noemí Colón, an attorney who is the former acting Secretary of State of New York.

March 2015

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is proud to salute City & State’s 25 Above & Beyond Award Winners.

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