ALUMNI
Alumna Honored for Making Workplace More Inclusive ELVIMAR RIVAS ’19 (KNOWN AS ELVI) was named Con Edison’s 2022 ASPIRA Circle of Latino Achievers Honoree at the ASPIRA annual dinner last spring for her outstanding work promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. The organization, which was founded 61 years ago by Antonia Pantoja, an educator and social worker who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, helps young people develop leadership skills and advocates for improving education in Latino communities. In recognizing Rivas, ASPIRA wrote, “Elvi’s passion for advocating for marginalized groups to experience true inclusion in the workplace is extremely commendable and inspirational.” Rivas was recognized for her work with Con Edison’s CapeABLE (Advocating, Belonging, Leading, Engaging) Employee Resource Group, a resource that supports the greater involvement, organization and inclusion of individuals with disabilities and those who support them within the workplace. She founded it in 2021, and currently, the group includes 45 subcommittee members and 165 general members. “I am passionate about diversity and inclusion because seeing different perspectives makes us a stronger company,” she says. “We serve New York City, one of the most diverse places in the world, and we should reflect that in our workplace.” Rivas is heavily involved in diversity, equity and inclusion work across Con Edison. She is a board member of the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group and a committee member of the Hispanic Resource Group CLARO (Cultivating Leadership and Actively Realizing Opportunities). Employed at Con Edison since 2013, Rivas is a senior analyst in its Steam division within the Technology Applications and Cyber Security department.
supervisor, senior advisor to the Westchester county executive, and executive director of the New York Republican State Committee. In 2018, Lawler was recognized as a “rising star” by Campaigns & Elections. He lives in Rockland County, New York, with his wife and daughter.
2010
Eileen (Veith) Leboff and Kevin Leboff welcomed their third daughter, Frances, into their family. She joined big sisters Joanne and Dorothy.
2011
Andrew Gabriel has worked in federal, state and city legislative affairs to identify and mitigate the everyday challenges faced by New Yorkers. Currently, Gabriel
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“Getting an award was inspiring and made me feel like I needed to continue to do the work, learn and grow in order to continue to give back to my community and inspire others,” Rivas says. “It’s important to always help people along your career trajectory. Success to me is the ability to uplift and give back.” Reflecting on who inspired her along the way, Rivas says that when she first began at Con Edison one of her mentors, Sylvia Meza, executive assistant to the president, told her about the graduate program in organizational leadership at Manhattan College and encouraged Rivas to look into it. Rivas, who earned her bachelor’s degree from Monroe College, thought it might be a good fit, considering her busy schedule. “The program allowed me to be a full-time employee and mother of three while taking classes online,” Rivas says. “I enjoyed the topics, such as ethics and spirituality.” Looking ahead, Rivas would like to “continue to push the needle forward toward a more inclusive world by continuing my work within the DEI space,” she says. “I hope to someday write a book and perhaps pursue a doctorate.”
is the vice president of Intergovernmental Affairs for CAMBA, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization that provides social services to New Yorkers in need.
2012
Brianne Carroll studied at Hunter College and graduated with a doctorate of physical therapy in 2015. Carroll currently works as a physical therapist at NYU Langone. Nick Miras started a new position as an associate manager for strategy and consulting at Accenture Federal Services and is also a faculty member at George Mason University, where he teaches a course on the U.S. Congress. He earned his doctorate in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, in the summer of 2021. Susan Fiorentino was given one of Staten
Island Economic Development Corporation’s 20 Under 40 leadership awards. Maria Jangsten obtained her M.S. in sustainable energy systems in 2016 and defended her Ph.D. in district cooling from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, in October. She says that pursuing her Ph.D. was initiated during her studies at Manhattan College and vividly remembers one of her professors encouraging her and her classmates to “find their niche.” She has also worked at an HVAC company located in New York City.
2013
Robert Fiore got married this past summer. He earned his Ed.D. from St. John’s University in 2020.