2012 Board, Officers and Nominating Committee
Officers:				Term Expires 12/31:
President		Beverly Neufeld	Individual Member	2012
VP - Operations & Finance		Liz Schroeder	Advertising Women of NY	2012
VP - Communications/Media		Beth-Ellen Keyes	Individual Member	2012
VP - Membership/Coalition		Natatia Griffith	Individual Member	2012
VP - Advocacy/Programming		Marilyn Abalos	Individual Member	2012
VP – Development		Linda Hartley	Individual Members	2013
Treasurer		Linda Hamilton	Individual Member	2012
Secretary		Kendra Bridel Weinman	Women's Jewelry Association	2013***
*Ad Hoc Officer		Poonam Prasad	Individual Member	2013***
*Legal Counsel		Meryl Lynn Unger	Individual Member
**Immediate Past President		Karen Karpowich, Ex-Officio	Individual Member
*Not an elected position
**The Immediate Past President serves as a Director, ex-officio, and is not counted in the total number of Directors. ***To be nominated and elected at Feb 9, 2012 Board Meeting
Individual Board Members:				Term Expires 12/31:
1	Marilyn Abalos			2013
2	Rebecca Cruz			2012
3	Kathy Dunphy			2013
4	Lena Feygin			2013
5	Natatia Griffith			2013
6	Linda Hamilton			2013
7	Linda Hartley			2013
8	Carole Hyatt			2013
9	Joyce Johnson			2013
10	Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy			2013
11	Lauren Paige Kurtz			2013
12	Pat Lewis			2013
13	Robin Merle			2013
14	Beverly Neufeld			2012
15	Poonam Prasad			2013
16	Nadine Schramm			2013

Women's Organization Board Members:				Term Expires 12/31:
1	A Better Balance		Dina Bakst	2012
2	Advertising Women of New York		Liz Schroeder	2012
3	Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority		Kimberly Singelton	2013
4	Center for the Women of New York		Ann Jawin	2012
5	Financial Women's Association of New York		Susan Perry	2012
6	The Links, Incorporated, Greater New York Chapter		Gerri Warren-Merrick	2012
7	Institute for the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly		Suleika Cabrera Drinane	2013
8	Junior League of the City of New York		Gena Lovett	2012
9	League of Professional Theatre Women		Melanie Sutherland	2012
10	Metro NY Chapter of USNC UN Women		Cheryl Benton	2013
11	Nation To Nation Networking Ltd.		Abaynesh Asrat	2012
12	National Assoc. of Women Business Owners-NY Chapter		Carolyn Sevos-Hamilton	2012
13	National Council on Women's Health		Lee Rodriguez	2012
14	National Organization of Italian American Women		Barbara Gerard	2012
15	New York Coalition of 100 Black Women		Aquila Haynes	2012
16	New York Women in Communications, Inc.		Beth-Ellen Keyes	2013
17	New York Women in Film & Television		Amanda Moore	2012
18	New York Women’s Bar Association		Catherine Foti	2013
19	NYCREW Network		Deborah Falcone	2012
20	Professional Women in Construction		Lena Gottesman	2013
21	Senior Umbrella Network of Brooklyn (SUN-B)		Vicki Ellner	2013
22	The Transition Network		Janice Johnson	2013
23	Women Chefs & Restaurateurs		Kathrine Gregory	2012
24	Women in Development, New York		JuWon Choi	2013
25	Women in Housing & Finance, Inc.		Patricia Havelka	2012
26	Women Presidents' Educational Organization		Melissa Wahl	2012
27	Women's City Club of New York		Ruth Acker	2012
28	Women's Jewelry Association		Kendra Bridel Weinman	2012
29	YWCAs of the Northeast		Maria Imperial	2013
Nominating Committee:				Term Expires 12/31:
1	Ruth Acker			2012
2	Melissa Bernstein			2012
3	Gina Bolden-Rivera			2012
4	Katherine Dunphy			2012
5	Marcella Maxwell			2012
6	Lee Rodriguez			2012
7	Dolores Swirin			2012

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENTS

2012 NYWA Officers and Individual Members

 

MARILYN ABALOS

Marilyn Abalos, Vice President for Advocacy & Programming of (NYWA) New York Women’s Agenda, is the Administration and Human Resources Manager for Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York City. She was a Business Analyst for Citigroup where she founded and served as Co-Chair of Citigroup’s Asian Pacific Employee Network. She has worked with arts and cultural, publishing and public service organizations, including Japan Society, Pacific Voice, Filipino Reporter, the Guam Legislature and the Office of the Governor of Guam.

She has also volunteered in leadership roles in development, pubic relations, special events and government affairs with various groups including the Ayala Foundation USA, Human Rights Campaign, New York City Opera, Princess Grace Foundation USA and the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation. She was also involved with community outreach for a number of recent city, state and national political campaigns in New York. She has represented the US Territory of Guam at the National Women’s Conference in Houston, TX. 

Ms. Abelos holds an MA in Arts Management from New York University and a BA in Communications from Fordham University.

 

REBECCA CRUZ

Rebecca Cruz is the Director of Business Development for Wall Street Project, a nonprofit organization which promotes inclusion, opportunity and economic growth for women and minorities in public and private companies. The areas of focus are the promotion of women and minorities to senior level positions in the C suite and to corporate boards, and the facilitation to access to capital. As a result of the work, the inclusion of minority owned investment companies in highly public financial transactions has markedly increased.

 

KATHERINE DUNPHY

Kathy Dunphy has been a member of NYWA for over 15 years. She came to the organization as the representative of Women in Health Management, after serving as their president for three years. She has previously been a Board member of NYWA and served as Vice President-Quality of Life, a senior oversight position covering Domestic Violence, Pay Equity and NY Reads. Ms. Dunphy is also a current member of the Nominating Committee and serves on the Star Breakfast committee.

Her work experience involves management roles at National Government Services, the Medicare contractor for New York State where she serves as the national director of Congressional Affairs.

 

LENA FEYGIN

Executive Business Coach, Organizational Development and Marketing/PR/Branding Professional with solid record of enhancing the workforce transition to achieve strategic goals. Effective in creating blended learning and performance support solutions designed to transition global and national workforces to new services, technologies, business processes, and strategies. Instrumental in brand creation, name recognition, web presence and content development, as well as general marketing and lead generation campaigns as part of the overall business development. Project success is built on strong analytical, communications, facilitation, instructional design, and coaching skills using individual and corporate personality and cultural assessments.

Ms. Feygin serves as Co-Chair of NYWA’s Internet/Website Committee and as Chair of Individual Memberships

 

NATATIA L. GRIFFITH

Natatia Griffith was recently appointed to serve as Commissioner of Mayor Bloomberg’s Commission on Women’s Issues. She is a member of the Advisory Council of Equality Now - NYC, a member of the Multicultural Audience Development Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Advisory Board of Ogilvy North America. 

As Assistant Director with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, she is part of a team that oversees a budget in excess of $10 billion dollars. In her voluntary capacity, Ms. Griffith is the Vice President of Coalition/Membership for NYWA and is a past president of the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, Founding Chapter.

 

LINDA HAMILTON

Linda Hamilton is Certified Public Accountant with over 20 years of experience in taxation, accounting and consulting. She began her career in public accounting at Coopers & Lybrand where she worked in both the audit and tax practices serving emerging business companies. In 1990, Ms. Hamilton founded the firm of Hamilton & Scarpati, where she oversaw the firm's growth from a single partner firm to a four partner, 12-person firm with a sizeable practice. She has worked extensively with small and mid-sized businesses including global companies in financial services, retail, and telecommunications.

 

LINDA C. HARTLEY

With 25 years of frontline fundraising experience, Linda C. Hartley founded Hartley Consulting in 1999. Hartley combines creative problem solving with the fundamentals of fundraising and business management to achieve bottom line results. Her experience encompasses her work at major New York institutions of higher education, the arts, public advocacy and social services, as well as related international projects. She has expertise in overall management and assessment, volunteer and staff training, strategic planning, board development, capital campaigns, and major gifts and planned giving, as well as in communications, alumni relations, and annual giving.

Linda has been a dedicated leader of NYWA and held positions including VP Quality of Life, Co-Chair Government Affairs, and now VP of Development.

 

CAROLE HYATT

Carole Hyatt has been addressing career subjects in her best-selling books, lecture tours, and television appearances for the past 35 years. She is an acknowledged leader in the work field. Her books, The New Woman's Selling Game, Shifting Gears, When Smart People Fail, and Lifetime Employability have helped millions of people throughout the world effectively identify and accomplish their goals. Her works have been reviewed as seminal and she is frequently quoted in the media. Ms. Hyatt's Leadership Forum seminars are attended worldwide by top executive women from diverse fields who are interested in assessing and advancing their careers. Her workshop attendees have benefited from the support and skill she provides though an analysis of their needs and examination of alternative means of meeting them. Ms. Hyatt is a powerful facilitator and conducts focus and ideation groups for Fortune 500 companies.

 

JOYCE S. JOHNSON

Joyce S. Johnson comes from a long line of proud activists who lived their belief in public service. Her father, Columbus L. Stanley, was the first African American elected to the city council in Poughkeepsie, NY. Her mother Dorothy B. Stanley was Poughkeepsie’s first African American school teacher and, later, school principal. Together they helped found the Poughkeepsie Voters League, the first grassroots organization to empower the city's black population.

A graduate of Howard University with a degree in Microbiology, Ms. Johnson began her professional career with Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, Inc. managing a union crew in a distillery plant. She quickly rose through the ranks and broke the glass ceiling at corporate headquarters to become its National Director of Equal Employment Opportunity.

After 17 years, Joyce left the corporate world to devote herself to public service. She spent many years in New York City government, in a wide range of leadership positions in the Manhattan Borough President’s office, as Director of Community Relations for the New York City Comptroller, in the Mayor’s Office of Children and Families, and as Director of Business and Community Relations for the NYC Schools Chancellor. Ms. Johnson ran her own education consulting firm, and later served as Director of Operations for Readnet Charter School, getting that school up and operational in only three days. Most recently, she was the President and CEO of the coalition building, non-profit organization Black Equity Alliance. She remains very active politically.

 

HONORABLE TANYA R. KENNEDY

The Honorable Tanya R. Kennedy is an elected Civil Court Judge and an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law. Upon her election to the bench, Judge Kennedy was initially assigned to the Criminal Court of the City of New York, and currently sits in Civil Court. Prior to joining the judiciary, Judge Kennedy served as Principal Law Clerk to former Associate Justice Barry A. Cozier in the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department. She also served as Principal Law Clerk to Justice Cozier in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. Judge Kennedy commenced her legal career at the New York City Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel, where she worked in both the Bronx Family Court and Bronx Tort Divisions and was promoted to Deputy Assistant Chief while assigned to the Tort Division.\

Judge Kennedy is a member of various judicial and bar organizations, including the National Association of Women Judges and the Metropolitan Black Bar Association. She is an Executive Committee member of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Alumni Association and the former Co-Chair of the Manhattan Criminal Court Gender Fairness Committee. In addition, Judge Kennedy, along with other judges throughout New York State, was appointed by former Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to serve on the New York Lawyer Assistance Trust Judge Advisory Panel to provide guidance in addressing drug/alcohol abuse and mental health issues among the judiciary and the bar.

As an individual who is committed to the pursuit of higher education, Judge Kennedy serves as a mentor and visits various churches and New York City public schools as a youth motivational speaker. In addition, she serves as a board member of the NAACP, Mid-Manhattan Branch, and is a member of the Greater New York Chapter of The Links, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc., Tau Omega Chapter, New York Coalition of 100 Black Women and the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ. 

She is the recipient of various community service awards, including the 2004 New York Women’s Agenda Galaxy Award for her “leadership, intelligence, and commitment to her profession”, the Council for Unity’s 2006 Peace Maker Award for “promoting achievement in schools and communities” and the 2007 Children’s Inspiration Award from The Children’s Storefront.

 

LAUREN PAIGE KURTZ

Lauren Kurtz joined NYWA in 2010 and became heavily involved in its Technology Committee. She served as its co-chair the following year and continues to be dedicated to supporting and maintaining NYWA’s web-based needs.

Ms. Kurtz has a MSW from Hunter College where she focused on community organizing. She has been involved with various women’s organizations throughout New York and continues to be an advocate for equality. Lauren is passionate about integrating technology with social justice in a way that provides organizations with easily manageable and user friendly tools, in order to better collaborate and engage with their communities.

 

PAT LEWIS

For over 10 years, Pat Lewis has been helping companies create focused digital marketing strategies and build successful online brands through her company Social Media Concepts NY. Her specialties include Social Media (Publishing, Promotion & Engagement), Emerging Media, Content Generation, Analytics and Tools, Trending, Social Technologies, and Search Engine Optimization. Previously, Pat worked for BBDO, HBO Downtown, Comedy Central, the BBC, and the Fox News Channel. She also co-produced a bi-weekly program on Manhattan  Neighborhood Network for five years, and was awarded two production grants from that organization. She received a video production grant from the Film/Video Arts organization, and won two awards for her works entered into national and international film festivals.

Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, Ms. Lewis has always been an avid activist, and participated in rallies and marches in both New York and Washington. She has been to the White House as a result of her political volunteer work. She has also served on event planning committees for the nonprofit organizations GLAAD, and the Pride Agenda. Ms. Lewis received a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from the University of Maryland. She also graduated from New York University’s Film, Television, and Broadcast program at the School of Continuing Education.

 

ROBIN MERLE

Robin Merle has been in the development profession for more than 25 years, providing strategic leadership in fundraising and board relations for higher education, healthcare and scientific research organizations. She has directed institutional campaigns to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for research, capital, and endowment programs. 

Currently the Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), Ms. Merle oversees the fundraising for this tertiary care academic medical center specializing in orthopedics and rheumatology. Prior to joining HSS, she raised significant support for New York University and Rutgers University, where she received the Council for Advancement of Secondary Education Award for Excellence in Educational Fundraising Leadership. 

Ms. Merle is a Member of the Board and Co-Chair of the Governance Committee of Women in Development, NY. She is also proud to serve as Vice Chair of the 20th Anniversary Program of the New York Women’s Agenda. She founded and co-chairs a Senior Executive Leadership Group for development professionals in the New York and Connecticut area and is a member of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, Association of American Medical Colleges, and Association of Fundraising Professionals. Ms. Merle has a master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa as a member of the first class of women at Rutgers College. She has been a long-standing volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America, the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Friends of Burnt Meadow Mountains. Ms. Merle is married with two children.

 

BEVERLY NEUFELD

Beverly Cooper Neufeld is the founder of BCN Consulting which specializes in services to nonprofit organizations, including strategic, organizational, advocacy, and programmatic advice.  Prior to starting her firm, Ms. Neufeld was the Executive Director of The White House Project/ Women’s Leadership Fund and the Director of Finance and Operations for Congresswoman Nita Lowey. Ms. Neufeld currently serves on the boards of Free The Children and Sing for Hope. She became President of NYWA in 2011.

 

POONAM PRASAD

Poonam Prasad is Founder and President of Prasad Consulting & Research, established to help charities attract philanthropic dollars following drastic government funding cuts in the late 1980s. The firm has provided board and staff training, advanced research, audit, major gift, capital campaign, and publication services to more than 100 nonprofits.

Ms. Prasad is on the faculty of NYU’s Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising and is a sought-after trainer at seminars. She is the immediate past President of Women in Development New York and is also on the board of the Giving Institute: Leading Nonprofits to Consultants (formerly the American Association of Fundraising Counsel). She joined the NYWA Board of Directors in 2011 and is heading up its 20^th Anniversary activities. Ms. Prasad has been honored by the US Ambassador to Jamaica as President of the American Women’s Group and was also recognized by the Rotary Club of Calcutta Midwest in India. She began her career as an investigative reporter and worked for two decades in journalism, advertising and public relations in India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Jamaica and the US, before transitioning to fundraising for nonprofits.

 

NADINE SCHRAMM

Nadine Schramm received the STAR Award in 2006 and has been a friend and important part of NYWA ever since. She has been involved with the Domestic Violence Committee, an issue she is committed to because of her personal experiences which she shared publicly for the first time at STAR. Nadine brings a sensitivity to this NYWA agenda, as well as an entrepreneurial knowledge and spirit, and large network of relationships to the NYWA Board.

Ms. Schramm’s husband, Louis C. Schramm (Budd), carried on his family's trucking tradition and formed Budd Enterprises, Ltd. with his wife in 1979. The family business had started in the 1800's with horses and wagons, hauling coal in the Chelsea district of New York City. Then, as moving of household goods became a large part of the business, Allied Van Lines was founded. When Ms. Schramm’s husband passed away in 1990, she became president of the family trucking company. Since then, she has more than quadrupled the size of the business. Additionally, she founded Budd Leasing, Ltd. to meet the growing needs of the movie and television industries in the New York metropolitan area.

 

LIZ SCHROEDER

Liz Schroeder is Executive Director of Advertising Women of New York. Prior to this, she served on its Board of Directors. She has an extensive background in publishing and marketing, working with firms such as Fawcett Publications, Petersen Publishing Company and DM News.

Ms. Schroeder is currently the Vice President of Operations and Finance on the Board of the New York Women’s Agenda.

 

KENDRA BRIDEL WEINMAN

Kendra Bridel Weinman, founder and lead designer behind Lusciouss, credits her enthusiasm for fashion and creative expression as the primary inspirations behind the 2010 launch of her hip and relevant, new jewelry line.Kendra was born in Houston, Texas, where she lived in the early years of her life before moving to Los Angeles. Kendra graduated from the University of La Verne in California with a degree in business administration. She currently resides in Manhattan. She is the International President of the Women’s Jewelry Association, a GIA career coach, an avid skier, and a physical fitness aficionado.

Kendra is taking on the role of NYWA Secretary in 2012.