City & State 03252016 Above and Beyond

March 31, 2016

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EDITOR’S NOTE / Contents New York City has never had a female mayor. A woman has yet to serve as governor of New York. The country has only ever elected men to be president.

That last milestone could be reached this year if a former senator from New York beats out a onetime Brooklynite and then, most likely, a certain billionaire from Queens.

But locally, the gender gap in our highest elected offices is likely to persist, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio both signaling their plans to run again in coming years.

Across a variety of professions, however, women in New York are breaking down barriers that, just a generation or two ago, would have held them back.

In this special edition, City & State explores a number of obstacles that many women still are struggling to overcome, from domestic violence to a lack of paid family leave.

And we put a spotlight on 25 remarkable New York women who are leading the charge.

Jon Lentz Senior Editor

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THE HONOREES Meet the Above & Beyond class of 2016, some of New York’s most dedicated leaders in the fields of public service, business, organized labor, nonprofits and media.

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FROM THE SLANT PODCAST Alexis Grenell leads a debate about whether Women’s History Month should be a thing of the past.

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FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS New York City Small Business Services Commissioner Gregg Bishop says it is critical that women get access to the services they need to start and grow a business.

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PAID FAMILY LEAVE New York Slant columnist Alexis Grenell argues that paid family leave is a responsibility, not a luxury.

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HELPING SURVIVORS Sanctuary for Families Executive Director Judy Harris Kluger speaks to the importance of providing job training to survivors of domestic violence.

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BACK & FORTH A Q&A with New York City’s first lady Chirlane McCray on Thrive NYC and her own take on Women’s History Month.

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MAGAZINE

City & State is the premier multimedia news organization dedicated to covering New York’s local and state politics and policy. Our in-depth, non-partisan coverage serves New York’s leaders every day as a trusted guide to the issues impacting New York. We offer round-the-clock coverage through our weekly publications, daily e-briefs, events, oncamera interviews, weekly podcast and more.

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CHARTER FANATICS’ ROTTEN-CORE MATH: They’re twisting the truth to demean district schools Charter school advocates love to cite numbers that they claim demonstrate the superiority of their schools over public schools. But a close look at the numbers themselves, whether about student scores or safety incidents, often reveals a much more nuanced — and sometimes completely different — picture.

Let’s start with the basics. Contrary to the perception charter advocates try to create, the fact is that on average charter students do not read as well as public schools students — 29.3% proficient in charter schools, vs. 30.4% in the public schools in the state 2015 reading test.

This is true even though the city’s overall reading proficiency totals are now approaching the statewide average (excluding New York City) of 32.5%, a remarkable achievement in itself since 10 years ago, city reading proficiency rates were 11 points below the statewide average.

In addition, the city’s Independent Budget Office — in order to make apples-to-apples comparisons — took into consideration the rates of student need, such as poverty, special education status, gender and race. By these calculations, schools in New York City are actually doing better than those in the rest of the state.

A recent article by a member of the Manhattan Institute claimed that charter schools were “a major factor” in this progress. But the IBO’s weighting formula says that when demographics are taken into account, city public schools are 14.1 percentage points ahead of the state average.

However, when city charter schools are taken out of those results, the city average falls only one percentage point (14.1 percent to 13.1 percent).

Public school partisans have become used to exaggerated claims by charter proponents, but a one-percentage-point effect doesn’t sound very “major,” unless you use charter cheerleader math.

Meanwhile, relying on a state database that has been criticized by the former head of the state Education Department, a charter-school lobbying group — Families for Excellent Schools — has been attacking Mayor de Blasio’s statements that city public schools are getting safer.

In his Feb. 4 State of the City address, de Blasio said that crime had declined 29% in city schools since 2012. FES accused the mayor of “lying” about the security situation, saying that incidents registered on the state’s Violent and Disruptive Incident Report (VADIR) for 2014-15 had increased by 23% from 2014 to 2015 alone.

It said that according to these figures, 2015 was “the most violent year on record in New York City’s public schools.” FES has even created alarmist TV ads claiming that “Almost every public school child is exposed to violence at school.”

But FES failed to use the same state standard to evaluate charter schools. According to the very database it has cited, incidents in charter schools rose twice as fast from 2014 to 2015 in charter schools (54%) as they did in public schools, including much higher rates of increase for weapons and drug possession. The same state database also showed dramatic increases in assaults (68% up in charters vs. 39% in public schools) and criminal mischief (65% in charters vs. a decline of 6% in public schools.)

And while incidents in the 10 most violent public schools increased by 112%, incidents cited in the state VADIR database in the 10 most violent charters increased by an astonishing 485%.

Former state Education Commissioner John King called the VADIR system “well-intentioned but poorly enacted.” If FES has put its faith in a database whose validity is questioned by state officials, then city charter schools are the ones suffering from a huge spike in violent and other incidents — a subject on which FES is strangely silent.

If in fact the state numbers are not reliable, then we are seeing yet another instance of charter advocates looking only at the numbers they want to see.

This column originally appeared in the New York Daily News

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Clean, lower cost energy for New York’s families and businesses

BY D E B O R A H M I LO N E

As the executive director of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce, my goal is to help our communities work better. One way to help is by reducing the cost of doing business and raising families, especially for those headed by women.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women are more likely to work parttime or be self-employed than men, and more women are becoming business owners. In New York City between 2007 and 2012, the share of businesses owned by women grew by 36%, while the corresponding figure for men increased by only 8%.

CLASS OF 2015 This year’s Above & Beyond honorees join an exceptional and ever-expanding group of leaders who have been recognized by City & State for their contributions in New York. Last year’s class included SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher; NYSUT President Karen Magee; CUNY Graduate School of Journalism Dean Sarah Bartlett; Food Bank for New York City CEO Margarette Purvis; Metro-North Railroad Executive Vice President Catherine Rinaldi; and many more extraordinary professionals.

On the home front, women head over one million households in New York.

Unfortunately, more of these households also live below the poverty line. Of all the working mothers in New York, over 60% contribute at least 25% of the income for their family.

The many women working, running businesses, and raising families in New York deserve their best shot at success. Let’s start with cutting the cost of their energy.

New Yorkers pay the second highest electricity costs in the country—and up to a quarter of their utility bills consist of taxes and fees. These costs can and should be reduced and eventually eliminated.

Also, our state should aim to maintain and improve the transmission grid to ensure that power reaches us steadily. Outages impede business, interrupt families, and cost us more.

Ambitious new clean energy plans will also cost ratepayers more. Governor Cuomo has called for carbon emissions to be reduced dramatically over the next 15 years. This could be great for New Yorkers, but as the Public Service Commission starts to implement the plan it must prioritize limiting the related costs for consumers and keeping our grid reliable.

Fortunately, our state has a head start on clean energy with our nuclear fleet, including the Hudson Valley’s own Indian Point. These plants are among the best and cleanest ways to generate power in New York. Without them we’d face significantly increased costs, lower reliability, and polluted air, because it’s going to take many years to bring renewable sources up to baseload level—and we don’t want to trade zero-carbon power for fossil fuels in the meantime.

For the sake of all businesses and families in New York, especially those that are headed by women, let’s be sure to keep their energy costs affordable, starting with these ideas. They will go a long way to help our communities work better.

About the Authour: Deborah Milone is the executive director of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce. The Gateway Chamber is a member organization of the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (New York AREA).

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The New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (New York AREA) is a diverse group of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working together for clean, low-cost and reliable electricity solutions that foster prosperity and jobs for the Empire State.

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Clockwise from top left, master of ceremonies Julie Menin, then NYC consumer affairs commissioner, now commissioner of media and entertainment; Bolton-St. Johns partner and cofounder Emily Giske; Wanda Williams of DC37; Maggie Moran, president and CEO of M Public Affairs (now Kivvit); Elaine Kim of 32BJ; and Maureen Salter of UFT.

Consider this ad a high-five from your 50,000 co-workers.

Time Warner Cable is pleased to recognize NY1’s Cheryl Wills for being named to City & State’s 2016 Above & Beyond: Honoring Women of Public and Civic Mind.

You make our workplace a better place.

Congratulations to all the honorees!

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Honoring 25 of New York’s most remarkable women

Every day, women go above and beyond what’s asked of them.

They blaze trails in typically male-dominated fields like construction and biotechnology.

They rise to the highest levels in major nonprofit organizations, labor unions and media companies.

They advocate for their causes at City Hall, in Albany and in Washington, D.C., and they hold influential roles at every level of government.

And, fair or not, they often do it all while being the primary caregiver in their families, tending to children and elderly relatives alike.

In recognition of their accomplishments, City & State is honoring 25 remarkable New York women serving in government, business, nonprofit organizations, organized labor or the media.

One of the women honored in this year’s Above & Beyond class is driving immigration policy in New York City and beyond. Another has been at the forefront of groundbreaking changes in national health care policy. A third has reported from places like the White House and ground zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

You likely know some of these remarkable women already, but we’re pleased to introduce you to the ones you haven’t met.

The profiles have been edited for length and clarity. You can read them in full online at cityandstateny.com.

Profiles by Jeff Coltin, Ashley Hupfl, Jon Lentz, Gabe Ponce de León, Aimée Simpierre, Justin Sondel, Jeff Stein and Sarina Trangle

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When Nisha Agarwal addresses audiences, people will occasionally hold up their municipal IDs, acknowledging her role in designing and implementing IDNYC, the largest municipal ID program in the nation. Agarwal also spearheaded the launch of ActionNYC, which provides free legal help to immigrants in their community and language, and the city’s ongoing work to ensure immigrants who are not eligible for medical services under the Affordable Care Act can access health services. After starting at City Hall, Agarwal said she was startled by how frequently she was the only woman in the room during immigrant leader convenings. So she created a four-month fellowship to support and train immigrant women leaders and tapped the first class of graduates to serve in the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs’ new Women’s Advisory Cabinet.

C&S: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MOST EXCITING TREND IN YOUR FIELD? NA: One of the most exciting trends … is increased recognition that cities and local governments are doing a lot and can do a lot with respect to immigrant inclusion. So in the U.S., obviously, it’s the federal government that actually makes immigration law. And yet, so much of the implementation of those laws, so many of the policies that actually help people get work, get educated, get housing, are done at the local level. And I think there’s now increasingly recognition of that, and as a result, more dialogue across cities about what people are trying; what’s working, what isn’t working. And I think that’s leading to a lot of innovation and kind of replication of good policies, which is pretty exciting to see.

Nisha Agarwal

C&S: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME TO BE SUCCESSFUL? NA: One experience that I feel like I have had consistently through my life is having lower expectations of me than I should have of myself. So I think this underestimation, particularly of women and what they can do, has been something I’ve experienced since I was a girl. And now, I think the goal and the struggle is really to set high expectations … I think that’s really helped, certainly in the kind of work that I’ve done, where you have to set your own goals and motivations, and sort of strive for them – even if folks are saying, “Oh you can never do that” or “Oh, this thing will never be successful.” I think it’s really important to be able to look beyond that and look for your own horizon, if you will.

COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR’S OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS

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Congratulations to our friend, Audrey Weiner, a 2016 Above & Beyond Honoree.

Your exemplary leadership is an inspiration to us all.

We salute all of the 2016 honorees.

Warmly, Your friends at Greenberg Traurig Michael A. Berlin Judith D. Fryer Harold N. Iselin

Jane M. Preston* Steven C. Russo Ed Wallace

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Greenberg Traurig is a service mark and trade name of Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Greenberg Traurig, P.A. ©2016 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Attorneys at Law. All rights reserved. °These numbers are subject to fluctuation. *Not admitted to the practice of law.

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As an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Marisol Alcantara has devoted her career to empowering communities of color, women and immigrant workers. After graduating from Manhattan College and Queens College, she worked in both local and national political arenas. She coordinated SEIU’s Latino outreach efforts in 2004, organized Latino voters to increase voter turnout in the 2008 presidential election and has been a union organizer in several states. As an organizer for the state Nurses Association, Alcantara arranges nurses around healthcare disparities and delivery of care in poor communities of color.

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST EXCITING TREND OR ISSUE IN THE HEALTH SECTOR RIGHT NOW? MA: The Safe Staffing bill. The hospitals in New York City and the state of New York behave like for-profit corporations.

Our nurses are seeing nine or 10 patients, and it’s impossible to provide the best care for the community when the nurse doesn’t have enough time to spend with each patient, especially in a poor community like the south Bronx.

C&S: WHAT’S THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE YOU HAVE HAD TO OVERCOME? MA: When I used to work for a building service local, all the owners (were) mostly white men. I think some of the owners didn’t have respect and they feel like, “Hey I’m the owner of a company, do I have to meet with you? You’re not going to tell me how to run my business.” It’s getting respect on the job.

Marisol Alcantara

C&S: WHAT CAREER ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG WOMEN? MA: To strive, to seek and not to yield. To have courage and not to be afraid to go with your heart. It’s okay to go against the grain.

COMMUNITY AND POLITICAL ORGANIZER, NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION

C&S: DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE A FEMALE PRESIDENT IN YOUR LIFETIME? MA: It’s so interesting because in the United States, we present ourselves like we are so much more advanced than other countries and the region and we’re so much better than everyone else. But Brazil has a female president, Argentina had a female president, Nicaragua had a female president … So, I hope so, even though I’m a Bernie (Sanders) supporter. For example, if you look at New York state, we have one of the highest Latino populations, but we have two Latinas in the Assembly, we have no Latinas in the (state) Senate and we have five in the (New York City) Council, and three are going to be term-limited, so we have a long way to go in terms of achieving equality for women.

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The UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS Salutes CITY & STATE MAGAZINE on its ABOVE & BEYOND AWARDS Honoring Women of Public and Civic Mind We join in celebrating this year’s award winners, including our own Evelyn DeJesus, UFT Vice President for Education.

United Federation of Teachers A Union of Professionals Michael Mulgrew, President 52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 www.uft.org

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Anderson takes pride in leading a different kind of law school – one with a diverse faculty and one where the majority of students are female. A preeminent scholar on rape law and a former clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Anderson has been dean at CUNY Law since 2006.

Under her watch, the school was named the country’s best public interest law school, and moved into a gleaming new campus in Long Island City. Anderson will step down from her deanship this summer, but will continue teaching and writing as part of the law school’s faculty.

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB? MA: I’m lucky to serve an institution with a goal of teaching law students and serving the public good more broadly.

I’m thrilled to be at an institution that has a specific mission – to graduate outstanding public interest lawyers and help diversify the legal profession.

Michelle Anderson DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW, CUNY SCHOOL OF LAW

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST EXCITING TREND IN LEGAL EDUCATION? MA: Legal education is in a challenging time. Across the country, the number of applicants over the past five years has dropped 35 to 40 percent. One of the exciting challenges is how to reimagine legal education in a way that will attract strong students and service the community at the same time that we’re responding to a downturn in the economy that has led to an increase in legal needs among people who are impoverished or of moderate means.

C&S: WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG WOMEN LOOKING TO GET INTO THE LEGAL PROFESSION? MA: About 64 percent of our student body is female, which is unusual for a law school. And our faculty and administration are likewise populated with a majority of women, also unusual for a law school. So I think going to a place where women’s issues are taken seriously and where there’s a critical mass of female leaders is an important thing for both men and women to consider when they’re both deciding where to go to law school and where to practice when they become attorneys. And I think women in general in the profession, thinking about a critical mass of women and of people of color wherever you decide to serve and be employed is an important factor to consider, for both men and women.

Since 2004, Lou-Ellen Barkan has served as president and CEO of CaringKind (formerly known as the Alzheimer’s Association, New York City Chapter), which provides free programs and services to thousands of New Yorkers afflicted with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, as well as their family members and caregivers. Barkan began her career on Wall Street, holding senior executive positions at several major financial institutions. She later served in the Giuliani administration in a number of top posts, including director of fiscal and administrative management for the Office of the Mayor, chief of staff to the deputy mayor for operations, and special adviser to the School Construction Authority.

Prior to assuming her current position, Barkan spent three years at the UJA-Federation of New York as vice president for administration.

Lou-Ellen Barkan PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARINGKIND

C&S: DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE ABOUT THRIVING IN A PROFESSION THAT MAY BE DISPROPORTIONATELY MALE? LB: That is the story of my career, actually. It’s very interesting, I always have said – and maybe I am sort of dreaming here – but if people just focused on the quality of the work, then a lot of the issues around gender would sort of go away, for the most part. That’s not entirely true, but I think it’s truer today than when I was in the early stages of my own career.

I think today so many young people are working in environments that are less one gender or the other than they were when I started on Wall Street, and you would walk into a conference room and maybe one in 10 people was a woman – if that, frankly. I think it’s different today. But I do think that the most important thing for women to do is spend time really thinking about the quality of the work, and making sure they have good bosses along the way, and finding the appropriate mentors in an organization, male or female. I was blessed with wonderful mentors early in my career. It really added value, and I have tried as I’ve developed my own personal career to act as a mentor for young professionals coming up, to help them advance as well. Those things are really invaluable.

The City University of New York congratulates

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and Michelle Anderson, Dean, CUNY School of Law and all distinguished honorees on the occasion of the

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Deborah Bradley got into construction almost by accident. After tiring of her work as an accountant and going back to business school over two decades ago, she knew little about construction. But a friend of her husband’s had lost a job as a painter, and Bradley decided to launch a business to help out him and his former co-workers. She has since built her business into a key player in the New York public works sector, doing small local jobs as well as work on major projects like the new Tappan Zee Bridge. And not only is she blazing a trail as a woman in a male-dominated field, she’s sharing her hard-earned knowledge and experience with her peers as president of the Women Builders Council.

Deborah Bradley PRESIDENT, WOMEN BUILDERS COUNCIL; FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, DEBORAH BRADLEY CONSTRUCTION & MANAGEMENT SERVICES

C&S: DO YOU HAVE ANY CAREER ADVICE FOR WOMEN, EITHER IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OR IN GENERAL? DB: I would say to really get out there and participate in the industry, in events. Just to go to work and go home is one thing. To really get involved in what you do is another, and it can really create so many new opportunities. Don’t put your head in the sand. Get off your computer. It’s really about meeting and greeting in the industry. You’d think it’s a huge industry in New York, but construction is really a small industry, and people give work to people they know or they give promotions to people that they see. The reputation that you have is because of all the people in the industry. Get out there and take some risks. Women tend to be more risk-averse. It’s time to take a little risk, ask questions; don’t be afraid, be bold.

C&S: WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? DB: I take a lot of pride in some of the things we do. We did some work on the new Tappan Zee Bridge, and I go over the bridge and I see some of the work we just did. That’s really fun, to say, “Hey, I just did that, I just did that.” Even in my son’s school, he’s in high school, and we’re renovating the cafeteria in his school, and I see him telling all his friends, “Hey, mom’s company is doing that big cafeteria renovation for us.” It’s always fun.

As vice president for education for the United Federation of Teachers, Evelyn DeJesus has worked to ensure that the nation’s neediest students get an education – and it all started with her own child’s needs. First an engaged parent, DeJesus decided to become a teacher, and her innovative instructional strategies soon became a model. DeJesus rose through the education system to her current position by advocating for public schools and students.

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB? ED: The most rewarding aspect of my job is when I got into schools and I see magic happen. We live in a very cynical world, a world full of a lot of noise. But then you go into these schools and you see a child with special needs or an English language learner cracking a code or getting a strategy that the teacher is teaching – that’s magic happening. You see growth in that child and you see a bonding that makes a difference in that child’s life forever. That the most rewarding thing.

Evelyn DeJesus VICE PRESIDENT FOR EDUCATION, UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

C&S: DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE A FEMALE PRESIDENT IN YOUR LIFETIME? HOW ABOUT A FEMALE GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK OR A FEMALE MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY? ED: Absolutely, positively, I believe it! I think everything is possible. I think women have arrived, I think they have a voice. Women bring home the bacon, they fry it up in the pan, they divvy it up and wash the dishes afterwards and make sure everyone gets to bed safely. We’ve been doing it for years, we just haven’t been labeling it. Women are able to do everything and anything. The issue is: Life is tough, and sometimes (it) throws you a curveball. The greatest thing is to look at it straight in the eye and say, “I can do this, regardless of all of this, I can get up and move.” On your journey, remember your journey is not only for you, but also for the people behind you and as you move up – I’m a very spiritual person, and the Bible says we go from glory to glory – as you move up glory to glory, you bring somebody with you, and I believe paying it forward every step of the way.

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Beth Finkel has spearheaded a number of policy initiatives aimed at supporting AARP’s 2.6 million members, from using surveys to prompt city and state legislation on retirement savings to co-creating the New York State Medicare Savings Program Task Force that endeavors to eradicate obstacles to enrolling in Medicare. She led the most successful effort in the nation to attract municipalities to AARP’s network of age-friendly communities, worked to raise awareness about food insecurity among older adults and improve support for grandparents raising grandchildren. Finkel, who has been with AARP for two decades, is also committing to helping the organization’s members plan for their future by arming them with financial, health and other information.

Beth Finkel NEW YORK STATE DIRECTOR, AARP

C&S: WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST PRIORITIES FOR YOU RIGHT NOW? BF: At the state level, right now we are working on getting paid family leave in the New York state budget. … We’re working very hard at getting more money in home- and community-based care, both at the city and at the state level. And we’re also working to make sure … that people who are running for office at the federal level have a plan for keeping Social Security secure – we have a national campaign called Take a Stand. And finally, we’re working on policies to have a New York State-facilitated savings option for employees.

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST EXCITING TREND IN YOUR FIELD? BF: There’s a huge demographic shift going on, with people aging – there’s going to be more and more people who are going to be seniors in generations to come. By 2040, there will be a 40 percent increase in senior citizens – and making sure that society and government are prepared for that. And also, to think about how we’re going to combat ageism, because it’s everywhere. And we really need to disrupt aging and the way people think about aging. It’s been terribly stigmatized. And as people live longer and more vibrant lives, we have to beat back those prejudices.

Jennifer Goodstein leads one of the largest community media groups in the Northeast. Community News Group and NYC Community Media have a weekly circulation of over 300,000 across New York City. Goodstein uses her platform to support women and women’s causes, including a massive breast cancer awareness program. Prior to owning the media groups, Goodstein worked in technology for more than 25 years building and managing large corporate websites and systems.

Jennifer Goodstein PRESIDENT AND CEO, COMMUNITY NEWS GROUP AND NYC COMMUNITY MEDIA

C&S: REGARDING YOUR TECH BACKGROUND, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO WOMEN WHO WORK IN A FIELD THAT IS DISPROPORTIONATELY MALE? JG: First of all, stay on a technical track, because too frequently women in technology get pulled into the non-technical areas of sales, technical documentation, testing or other things that are not really stressing their technical muscles. I think it’s important to know yourself as well, so going in you understand what your skills are. You understand what your expertise is, and stand your ground and stand up for yourself. And from a pay scale perspective, the technical roles pay a lot more than the non-technical roles. One of the keys to being independent is having financial stability on your own. I just think too frequently it’s easy to get pulled in a different direction. If your first love is really technology, and you got into the field because of programming, don’t forget it. Remember how you got there to begin with.

C&S: ARE THERE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ON THIS THEME OF WOMEN SUCCEEDING IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL LIVES? JG: I think the only thing I would add is that, as a businesswoman, it’s important to support women in general. For example, one of the first projects that we took on when we bought CNG was to do a breast cancer awareness issue. We actually print all of our papers on pink paper, just to bring focus to the issue. It was great because it got a lot of attention, both from our readers and media and so forth. I do think it’s important that if you have a voice you use it to support other women and women’s causes.

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CityAndStateNY.com

Karen Ignagni was a health care leader for more than 20 years before recently becoming president and CEO of EmblemHealth. Before joining EmblemHealth, she was president of the American Health Insurance Plans, one of the most powerful health care lobby organizations in the country.

As part of a turnaround effort, she has made difficult decisions to help improve the organization, all while ensuring consumers have better health outcomes and more affordable health care. She has also pushed for the expansion of Emblem’s Neighborhood Care locations to help consumers get answers, solutions and support to help them live healthier lives.

Karen Ignagni PRESIDENT AND CEO, EMBLEMHEALTH

CS: WHAT IS THE MOST EXCITING TREND IN THE HEALTH SECTOR? KI: I think one of the most exciting trends is the commitment to expand access to coverage, and at the same time redesign the whole payment structure. In the old days of health care, the way clinicians, doctors, hospitals were paid, it was kind of based on a body-part-by-body-part treatment. So, if you treated a broken arm, sprained ankle, a sore throat, you got a particular payment. If you did a test, you got a specific payment. Now we’re stepping back and thinking, “How do we move from volume-based payment to value-based payment? How can we partner with hospitals and physicians to encourage them to intervene early, help people get the preventative care they need, help people get the coordinated care they need, help people with chronic conditions to actually improve their health?” Those are the really exciting things that are going on. The changes on the access side, the chances on the payment side and then the third part of the triangle is really the whole health care field is turning more outward toward consumers. It’s evolving to be a consumer-based field.

CS: WHAT CAREER ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG WOMEN? KI: I would say to take advantage of any opportunity that’s presented. Volunteer to take on a project, don’t wait for others to volunteer or to be asked. Two, always sit at the table, not at the perimeter, and three, never be afraid of offering your opinion.

T:9.75”

THANKS TO BETH FINKEL FOR FIGHTING ON BEHALF OF 50+ NEW YORKERS.

Get to know us at aarp.org/nyc /aarpny @aarpny

New York

T:6”

On behalf of everyone at AARP New York, we’d like to congratulate our visionary state director Beth Finkel on being selected as an Above & Beyond awardee. Throughout her entire career, Beth has tirelessly crusaded on behalf of 50+ New Yorkers and their families. She’s shined a light on adult hunger, supported family caregivers, empowered grandparents raising grandchildren and helped New Yorkers secure their financial futures. Thank you, Beth, for championing meaningful change. And congratulations to all the other Above & Beyond awardees who are also helping make New York an even better place to live, work and play.

CityAndStateNY.com

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Elizabeth Jensen came to NPR last year after a long career covering media for publications like The New York Times, the Columbia Journalism Review and Current. She brings to her position as the link between the public and the newsroom decades of experience covering a range of important and sensitive issues, giving her insight to the sometimes delicate nature of the relationship between journalist and audience.

C&S: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WORK IN JOURNALISM? EJ: It’s a little bit of a cliche, but I saw the movie “All the President’s Men.” I was originally planning to be a social worker and I saw the movie and I said, “nope, I want to do journalism.” There was an entire class of journalists who went into the field, I think, because of that. It was a really exciting time for newspaper journalism in particular.

Elizabeth Jensen OMBUDSMAN AND PUBLIC EDITOR, NPR

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST EXCITING TREND IN YOUR FIELD RIGHT NOW? EJ: Obviously we’ve all seen the turmoil that digital has brought about. I think it’s scary because some people have lost jobs, the skills that are demanded are different. But, I actually think digital overall has just been terrific in terms of audience engagement. It’s allowed the public to participate way more, as opposed to a one-way street. I think it’s brought about new forms of storytelling, if you look at the radio business, just the whole trend of podcasting is really a new form of storytelling. It brings a depth of storytelling to audio that maybe wasn’t there anymore and it’s allowed a lot of length and a little more experimentation.

C&S: DO YOU THINK YOU WILL SEE A FEMALE PRESIDENT IN YOUR LIFETIME? GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK? MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY? EJ: I stay out of current political races given my current role, so this is not a comment on the current presidential race, but yes, I do like to think there will be a female U.S. president in my lifetime. I think there have been amazing candidates coming up through the ranks and I think that at some point it will happen. As far as the governor of New York goes, I don’t see any reason why there would not be. Same for the mayor. Yes, absolutely. I don’t think gender is a barrier to getting elected these days.

Congratulations to NYSUT Board of Directors member Evelyn DeJesus and all the honorees

Karen E. Magee, President Andrew Pallotta, Executive Vice President Catalina Fortino, Vice President Paul Pecorale, Vice President Martin Messner, Secretary-Treasurer

Representing more than 600,000 professionals in education, human services and health care.

800 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, N.Y. 12110 518-213-6000 • 800-342-9810 • www.nysut.org

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CityAndStateNY.com

Camille Joseph, the youngest deputy comptroller in New York City history, oversees Comptroller Scott Stringer’s communications with all levels of government and the public, including through his Community Action Center, which assists and provides information to those who complain about inadequate municipal services. She and her team bring reports such as Take It To The Bank, which researched which banks provided services in various languages, accepted municipal IDs, and other factors important to the city’s demographic groups, to communities through forums and other events.

When not at the office, Joseph volunteers and gives back through her church.

Camille Joseph NEW YORK CITY DEPUTY COMPTROLLER FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB? CJ: One of my mentors once told me that no matter what job I hold in government, if at the end of the day I’m not responding to, or at least addressing, constituent needs or constituent concerns, then it’s all for naught. And I really do think on a very basic level, no matter what we’re doing, if the underlying premise is not helping an individual here in the city, then it’s not worthwhile. That should be the driving force – not just here in the comptroller’s office, but good governance altogether. I mean it sounds pretty basic. And I’m not trying to be naïve. But it’s what we’re called to do. I take great esteem, and there’s great purpose behind my position. It’s a lot of responsibility, but that responsibility hinges on my ability to help people throughout New York City address their needs and their concerns, and using this municipal office as a mechanism for change, hopefully, positive changes that can help them.

C&S: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MOST EXCITING TREND IN YOUR FIELD? CJ: The way our office engages and interfaces on multiple social media platforms is something that I still relish ... We briefly did one of our first forums on Periscope. And the ability to connect with tons of people at once, regardless of their location, is great. I mean we have families who work nine to five, (or) sometimes late at night, and they can’t make it to our events; but thinking creatively and collaboratively on using these mediums to make sure that they can still be at the table and still engaged like we did at our town hall through Periscope, I think is really exciting.

Women in Corporate Leadership By: Carlo Scissura and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney

Anyone who has examined the status of women in the economy knows that for too long women have faced tremendous barriers to economic prosperity.

The great disparity between the incredible talent of women and the small number of female CEOs and board directors is staggering, and it isn’t going to budge without action. Indeed, only 20 – four percent – of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and women make up just 16 percent of board directors at S&P 1500 companies, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report Congresswoman Maloney requested. This needs to change, but that won’t happen until people from the across the political spectrum acknowledge that this disparity is a problem and are willing to take action to address it.

That’s why we are so pleased that a diverse group of organizations, from the National Women’s Law Center, to investors, and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have endorsed Congresswoman Maloney’s bill to address this striking disparity.

The legislation, the Gender Diversity in Corporate Leadership Act of 2016 (H.R. 4718), will require companies to disclose the gender of board directors. This simple change will give investors, policymakers, and corporate leaders the information they have said they specifically seek to make useful comparisons and evaluate progress.

The bill will also create a new advisory committee to the Securities Exchange Commission (S.E.C) to recommend strategies the S.E.C. can take to level the playing field on corporate boards.

The fact is, even if women assumed 50 percent of board seats from

today forward, the GAO estimated it would take over 40 years for women to reach parity in corporate boardrooms.

That’s unacceptable, and, frankly, it’s counter-productive. A growing body of research shows that companies with female leadership are better-positioned to succeed in today’s economy. In fact, a 2014 Credit Suisse report found that companies with at least one woman on their board outperformed their peers by five percent.

But right now, it’s difficult for investors or even policymakers to determine which companies value female leadership. Under existing law, just finding out the number of women on a board often involves making educated guesses or looking through photos on a website.

This legislation will fix that.

It’s often said that institutions value what they measure. The representation of women in corporations should be a universal value across corporations, and for good reason. Improving opportunities for women in corporate leadership correlates with both increased productivity and profitability. Women’s experience and perspective in the boardroom will enhance company performance and empower women in the workplace.

Carlo Scissura is the President & CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th District

CityAndStateNY.com

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One of the leading advocates for higher education in New York state, Lesley Massiah-Arthur has lent her voice to a variety of causes and issues, including Pell Grants, the New York State Tuition Assistance Program, the Higher Education Opportunity Program and the Dream Act. Outside of higher education, Massiah-Arthur has personally supported worthwhile causes such as voter registration, after-school and summer youth programming, and improving services for one of New York City’s largest naturally occurring retirement communities. Prior to joining Fordham, Massiah-Arthur worked for the Assembly Ways and Means Committee as a legislative budget analyst specializing in housing, judiciary and higher education issues.

Lesley A. MassiahArthur ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS & URBAN AFFAIRS, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

C&S: ARE THERE ANY ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION THAT YOU ARE PARTICULARLY PASSIONATE ABOUT, OR THAT ARE PRIORITIES FOR YOU RIGHT NOW? LMA: In terms of higher education I am very passionate about pipeline programs that increase the number of students of color as well as women in technological fields and the STEM fields. So I am very passionate about the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program. I am very passionate about any program that allows our students in particular to be able to have access to fields such as science and engineering, which, quite frankly, is where the economy is going. The manufacturing jobs that carried the United States through the last century, they’re not the jobs that will carry us through the next century, and population shifts indicate that people of color – African-Americans, Latinos – regardless of where they’re from, will become the dominant population. Yet when it comes to employing that population in jobs that will carry us through the next century, we are woefully underrepresented. So programs that focus on maintaining the pipeline – not just from college, but from middle school and high school and beyond – are very important to me. And I am fortunate to work for an institution like Fordham where the pipeline, the academic pipeline, is important to the mission of the institution as well.

F O R D H A M U N I V E R S I T Y C O N G R AT U L AT E S

Lesley A. Messiah-Arthur ASSO CI AT E V ICE PRESI DEN T OF F ICE OF GOV ERN MEN T RELAT ION S

for winning the

A B OVE & BEYOND AWARD And salutes the Other 2016 Award Recipients eeo

CityAndStateNY.com

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When Jeanne Mullgrav joined Capalino+Company to oversee its Corporate Social Responsibility Group, which advises private companies on strategies to give back their time, talent and resources to the communities in which they operate, she brought with her extensive experience in government and the nonprofit sector. From 2002-2014, Mullgrav served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development, where she designed and implemented various innovative programs, including the Out-of-School Time Initiative, the Fatherhood Initiative, the Young Adult Internship Program, the Teen ACTION service learning program and the Cornerstone Community Center program.

Jeanne Mullgrav EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CAPALINO+COMPANY

C&S: YOU HAVE WORKED FOR NONPROFITS, IN GOVERNMENT AND IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO YOUNG WOMEN WORKING IN AND AROUND GOVERNMENT? JM: You noted that I have worked in many different sectors, and I think that perspective has been helpful to me, because it means that you can perhaps be more analytical, perhaps problem solve in a different way, because you have perspective from nonprofit management, from government and now I am of course in the private sector. So I would encourage young women to broaden their horizons and to have that diverse experience, because that helps them become good decisionmakers.

C&S: ARE THERE ANY OBSTACLES THAT YOU HAVE COME ACROSS AS A WOMAN, OR WITNESSED OTHERS FACE? ANY LESSONS THAT YOU LEARNED? JM: Unfortunately, and this is not particular to any one sector, I think very often women and professional women are underestimated, and not taken as seriously sometimes as leaders. I think that as a woman you should just forge ahead and continue to be resilient and continue to work on the things that are important to you, and do them in a way that those projects will speak for themselves and leave behind a legacy. Sometimes it’s not as important whether you take personal credit for things. I really come from a place where it’s the deeds that matter. It may feel hurtful if you are in some way underestimated, or not seen to be as intelligent as you actually are, but just look at the amazing things you can get done when you are underestimated, because people are looking in other directions and meanwhile you are accomplishing things.

Amanda Norejko has dedicated her career to serving female victims of domestic violence and trafficking. After graduating from NYU School of Law, Norejko has gone on to engage in legislative and policy advocacy aimed at combating violence against women and promoting women’s economic empowerment on the local, state, national and international level. She serves as a senior policy advisor and UN representative for the international NGO Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and is co-chairwoman of the Judiciary and Domestic Violence committees of the New York Women’s Bar Association. Norejko was an active participant in the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition and the Maintenance Standards Coalition, which led to sweeping new laws to assist vulnerable New Yorkers.

Amanda Norejko MATRIMONIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE PROJECT DIRECTOR, SANCTUARY FOR FAMILIES

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB? AN: There are a lot of rewarding parts of this job, but really helping clients – and we really are assisting them, we’re not the ones pushing them – assisting them to make a transformation for their lives to be better. And when I see the difference between the position a client was in when they came to us and the position they get to when they’re leaving in terms of safety, in terms of their feelings about confidence and self-worth, in terms of financial stability, which is a big focus point for us, in terms of, hopefully, child custody – just seeing the difference that we can make, I think, is really rewarding.

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST COMPELLING TREND IN WORK WITH VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND TRAFFICKING? AN: With trafficking, I think we have a pretty good trend toward starting to recognize human trafficking for what it is in order to be able to provide appropriate services for victims who really need to be recognized as victims. I think where we had been in terms of domestic violence, we’re really now getting there in terms of trafficking with law enforcement recognition of the issue, with social services agencies recognizing the issue, and developing the services and the systems that are needed for victims. That’s one of the things that’s very exciting, and that’s an issue that I was interested in really since the 1990s.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR COLLEAGUE

VERONICA M. WHITE

©2016 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. S67452129 0316

2016 CITY & STATE ABOVE & BEYOND HONOREE

Veronica M. White volunteers with the Best of Bloomberg service program in Rockaway Beach.

CityAndStateNY.com

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Since 2006, under Ana Oliveira’s leadership, the grantmaking of The New York Women’s Foundation, the largest women’s fund in the country, has increased from $1.7 million to $6 million, impacting women and girls in poverty across New York City. Oliveira was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and resides in Manhattan. At the heart of her work is a passion to set right imbalances of power by working from the community level up. She is full of energy and has, by her example, empowered and motivated others to advocate for justice.

C&S: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME TO BE SUCCESSFUL? AO: Challenges are opportunities – right? The Chinese language has the same word for challenges and opportunities.

That’s something for me that I meditate on every day. I’m going to say that, it’s helping people walk through fear – from a perspective of scarcity to a perspective of abundance.

Ana Oliveira PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEW YORK WOMEN’S FOUNDATION

C&S: HOW DO YOU HELP PEOPLE WALK THROUGH THAT PROCESS? AO: I would say that “either-or” paradigms are pretty much defunct. That it’s more like “with” paradigms, and one doesn’t cancel the other out. The New York Women’s Foundation was very honored last year to be able to honor Black Lives Matter at our breakfast. And we did that and do that because black lives matter, period. The fact that black lives matter, you know many people say “well, all lives matter.” Of course all lives matter. But black lives have not mattered like all other lives. And black lives matter in and of themselves, right? So, this is what I mean, it doesn’t have to be a paradigm where if you say one thing you cancel the other one out.

Helping people walk through these fear-based paradigms – that if someone else has more it does not mean that I’m going to have less. If someone else has more influence, more power, more visibility, more resources, it does not mean that we are going to replicate scarcity paradigms towards others. We live in the United States of America. It is a very, very rich society. New York City is a city of incredible wealth on so many levels: economic, intellectual, on the generosity level, on the spiritual and ethical level. We should be leading the conversation in paradigms of abundance.

Eunic Ortiz manages all digital communication for the largest health care workers union in New York, and helps mobilize its members around some of the labor movement’s foremost goals, such as the “Fight for $15.” Ortiz also serves as president of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York, the largest LGBT Democratic club in the state, where she works with elected officials and community groups to help formulate policy and pass pro-equality legislation. Prior to joining 1199, Ortiz worked in newsrooms and as a spokesperson for the New York City Council. She has emerged as one of the leading young voices for equality in New York.

Eunic Ortiz DIRECTOR OF ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS, 1199 SEIU; PRESIDENT, STONEWALL DEMOCRATIC CLUB OF NEW YORK

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR WORK? EO: Through my work with Stonewall we have launched a scholarship partnership in conjunction with CUNY. So a CUNY student, if they are LGBT, or focused on LGBT issues in their studies, can apply for a full year of tuition to be paid for on behalf of Stonewall Democrats. That is something that we did to give back to the community in a very meaningful way. To read some of these stories of these students … even at CUNY, a public university, it still costs money to attend, and this scholarship is the difference between going to class and not being able to go to school, and it is something that for me has really been a powerful difference, and very, very positive to be able to be a part of.

C&S: HOW DID YOU MAKE THIS COME TO FRUITION? EO: We started working with different LGBT student groups in colleges and universities across the five boroughs. Since I am not that far out of college myself, one of the things that I realized was that one way to really engage people is to give back, and creating this new partnership with CUNY we were able to do that. So through that work and working with college organizations we started the scholarship, and it’s been a really great addition to the work we do every year, alongside working with elected leaders to pass pro-equality legislation, electing pro-equality leaders to office, holding events to talk about the latest issues facing our community throughout the five boroughs, working at City Hall and with our state leaders to make sure that our voices are heard – not only legislatively, but also policywise as well.

The Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving

Congratulates our President & CEO,

Lou-Ellen Barkan 2016 City & State Above & Beyond award honoree, on your well-deserved recognition as a leader in public service Your leadership, passion, and drive make a difference in the lives of thousands of New Yorkers facing the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias You truly go “above and beyond” in making CaringKind a place where no one is afraid to ask for help and where families are given guidance, confidence, and hope as they embark on their caregiving journey

CaringKind, the Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving 360 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor New York, NY 10017

24-hour Helpline | 646-744-2900 www.caringkindnyc.org /caringkindnyc

@caringkindnyc

@caringkindnyc

*FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION, NEW YORK CITY CHAPTER

CityAndStateNY.com

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After years of advocating for needy New Yorkers and women in government, Christine Quinn took the helm of Win, the largest nonprofit in New York helping homeless women and children find shelter and access supportive housing. In her new role, Quinn manages crises that flare up at facilities and with clients and collaborates with management on fundraising, policy platforms, planning and improving social services with data from a tool that tracks clients’ lives. Quinn is focused on attracting more private money to Win so it can provide more primary health and mental health care, substance abuse services, job training and GED and other licensing courses at Win facilities.

C&S: WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? CQ: My biggest accomplishment so far at Win – and I’ve only been there about four and a half months – is working collaboratively with our staff and with the city to improve the physical quality of our shelters.

Christine Quinn PRESIDENT AND CEO, WIN

C&S: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME TO BE SUCCESSFUL? CQ: I think the biggest obstacle that’s played out in different ways in my life is just not being thwarted by setbacks, not allowing bad things that have happened or disappointments to cause me to stop, not allowing them to put me in a position of giving up.

C&S: WHAT CAREER ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG WOMEN? CQ: Figure out what you like to do, what makes you smile when you think about doing it every day, and then go look for a job in that area. Don’t worry so much about the paycheck or the title, but just figure out what you love to do, and the rest will get worked out. And, expect that it won’t all be successful. Expect that there will be hurdles and bumps, and if you expect that, you’ll be in a better position to learn from them and to respond to them when they come forward. My third piece of advice would be those setbacks are just setbacks – they’re not defining moments; you’re the only one who can decide what is a defining moment for you and your future – nobody else.

C&S: DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE A FEMALE PRESIDENT IN YOUR LIFETIME? CQ: I expect to see a female president at the next swearing-in ceremony.

C&S: HOW ABOUT A FEMALE GOVERNOR OR MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY? CQ: Incredibly quickly – very soon.

A founding partner of Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., Suzanne Shank has helped steer the firm from its early days as a start-up to its current position as one of the top municipal bond firms in the nation. Since its founding, SBSCO has completed more than $1.3 trillion in financing for municipal issuers, and $800 billion in corporate bond and equity transactions. Shank has been named to NBC’s theGrio’s 100 list, which honors African-American leaders nationwide, and was recognized by U.S. Banker Magazine as one of the Top 25 Women in Finance, by Essence Magazine on its Power List,

by Black Enterprise as one of the “50 Most Influential Black Women in Business” and one of the “75 Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street.”

Suzanne Shank CHAIRWOMAN AND CEO, SIEBERT BRANDFORD SHANK & CO. LLC

C&S: WALL STREET IS OFTEN DEPICTED AS A WHITE- AND MALE-DOMINATED CULTURE. AS A WOMAN OF COLOR, HAVE YOU FACED ANY OBSTACLES? SS: You’re absolutely right: There is a lack of both gender and ethnic diversity, particularly as you get higher and higher within the Wall Street ranks. However, it’s probably gotten better in recent times than when I entered the market, almost 28 years ago. And I think in general – not just on Wall Street – we’re seeing positive developments in two areas. There’s been some progress on fair pay – we’re not equal yet, but it’s better than it was years ago, which is a big deal. And we’re also seeing women heading departments at major Wall Street firms. Although they may not be heading whole firm, they are heading major profit centers. I think it’s critical that clients and other executives embrace women in these positions, because, obviously, if we’re getting to these positions, we’re well trained and have performed well – we’re not getting it for any other reason – and hopefully we can continue to mentor young women, so that they will be able to improve the numbers even more.

C&S: DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE ABOUT JUGGLING PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL OBLIGATIONS? SS: Don’t apologize for having a family. It makes you well-rounded. Men seem to get a prize when they leave early to go to a soccer game, but women are embarrassed to say so. As long as you are getting your work done, and you are able to be reached and communicative with your job, don’t apologize for your family obligations.

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Over the past 30 years, Victoria Schneps-Yunis has built a chain of community publications in the New York City region, where Schneps Communications is the largest publisher of community newspapers and magazines. The network encompasses a diverse spectrum of publications, including the only Spanishlanguage community papers in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as the only business newspaper in Queens.

In recent years, Schneps has sought to complement her print portfolio with digital platforms geared toward new audiences. Schneps is also the founder of Life’s WORC, a nonprofit that provides group homes and day services to children with developmental disabilities and autism.

Victoria SchnepsYunis CEO, SCHNEPS COMMUNICATIONS

C&S: HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE NEWSPAPER BUSINESS? VSY: It goes back to my first-born daughter, who was brain damaged at birth. She was at a state facility on Staten Island named Willowbrook, where there was a big scandal in early ’70s (over the poor conditions of the facility). There was a cub reporter by the name of Geraldo Rivera who covered the story, and that made a world of difference in terms of us getting the message out about the needs of our children. I saw the power of the press and said: “Someday I’d like to be in this business.” Ten years later, I started my newspaper, Queens Courier, from scratch in my living room, with four children and a $250 investment.

C&S: WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST REWARDING PART OF THE WORK? VSY: Making a difference in people’s lives who live in the communities we serve.

C&S: IS THERE ANY CAREER ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO YOUNG WOMEN? VSY: Work hard. And smart. And don’t give up.

C&S: ARE THERE ANY EXCITING TRENDS THAT YOU ARE WITNESSING IN YOUR FIELD? VSY: We just bought a website called Brokelyn that has a millennial audience, and so we are looking to be relevant to that age group. We also just built the brand The Best of Long Island, and 2.2 million people voted online for the best Long Island businesses. We’re moving towards acquiring digital property, so we have two pedals to the metal: print and digital.

C&S: DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR PRINT OR DIGITAL? VSY: To me there is nothing better than holding a newspaper in my hand.

Since 1993, Nancy B. True has served as director of the Teamsters Local 237 Retiree Division, which offers retirement planning programs to the union’s working members, in addition to a wide range of social services and educational, recreational and political activities to those who have retired. True has initiated the union’s first programming around Black History Month, Latino, Italian and Irish heritage, and women’s history. She also fills the role of “unofficial” historian, having initiated the Local 237 Oral History Project. True has established herself as a vital link not only between the union’s present and future, but between its past and present, too.

Nancy B. True DIRECTOR, TEAMSTERS LOCAL 237 RETIREE DIVISION

C&S: WAS THERE ANYTHING IN THE ORAL HISTORIES PROJECT REGARDING THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE LABOR MOVEMENT THAT CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION? NT: One thing we are very proud of in the local, and this is part of our recent history, is that we had one of the largest class action suits for pay equity for women. We represent school safety agents, and school safety agents are peace officers, and we represent hospital police as well, who are also peace officers – and hospital police, as a rule, tends to be a title that is predominantly male. There are women, but it is predominantly male. The school safety agents, on the other hand, are predominantly female. And, on average, the school safety agents with the same qualifications, and equivalent work responsibilities, were making around $7,000 less. This is something that was raised during the last mayoral election. We had a forum here, and we asked all the candidates what they would do, if elected, about this situation, about this lawsuit, which was in the courts. And one of the candidates, Bill de Blasio, said, “In my second day in office, I would resolve that.”

Well, he was elected mayor, and our president returned to him and, though it wasn’t the second day, it was something that got settled, and they got the increases in pay. It really exemplifies how this union believes that all members, men or women, should be treated in a fashion that is fair and equitable. So we haven’t interviewed some of the most recent people yet, but this is a recent part of our history that we feel very proud of.

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Erica Vargas began her career as a volunteer for former City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, which eventually led to a job in DC 37’s Political Action and Legislation Department. Although she started as clerical, Vargas recalls in her early career seeing off busloads of union members as they departed for Albany, where they would lobby for issues such as health care, fair wages and pensions. It sparked in her desire to join the fight on the causes that were vital to her members and workers around the state.

Now Vargas has plenty of opportunity to act on her commitment to social justice. Her contributions to the labor movement have come in many forms and influenced countless advocacy campaigns in recent years.

Erica Vargas ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DISTRICT COUNCIL 37 POLITICAL ACTION AND LEGISLATION DEPARTMENT

C&S: WHICH PART OF YOUR WORK DO YOU FIND MOST REWARDING? EV: I have done, and still do, many things in terms of campaigning, especially when we endorse a candidate. It’s very interesting when I knock on doors and have one-on-one conversations with our members, and learn what their needs are while also letting them know what is going on in their neighborhood. I think that’s one of my biggest contributions, bringing that information to the members. I also oversee a community association in northern Manhattan, and have grown very close to our members who live up there, and some are unable to make it down to our headquarters. So I feel good about bringing them information and also sharing that with everyone else.

C&S: WHAT CAREER ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG WOMEN? EV: I think they should actually have a passion for what they are doing, first of all. Do something that they passionately want to achieve in their life, so that they can give more of themselves toward whatever that is. I have seen a lot of folks where they move from place to place and they are not really happy about their jobs. And once they do find it you can see the growth that they’ve had.

C&S: IS THERE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT OR A MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER THAT HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY GRATIFYING? EV: I’m going to have 15 years here – this month, actually, on March 26. Throughout the years, the greatest success for me is every time we get in a politician who actually goes through with our ask in terms of legislative issues.

Audrey S. Weiner oversees an organization serving 13,000 elders a year through a wide range of services, including rehabilitation, long-term skilled nursing, housing, home care, adult care, care management and telehealth. Beyond the work she undertakes for The New Jewish Home, Weiner serves as the co-chairwoman of Age-friendly New York City and as a board member of The Beryl Institute, an organization dedicated to the patient experience. She is the past chairwoman and current board member of LeadingAge, a national organization representing nonprofit long-term care providers, as well as the Continuing Care Leadership Coalition, the New York area nonprofit long-term care provider association. The founding editor of the Journal of Social Work in Long-Term Care, Weiner has also written extensively on services for elders, person-centered care and women’s leadership.

Audrey S. Weiner PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE NEW JEWISH HOME

C&S: I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN ARTICLES ON WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP. WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU WANT TO GET ACROSS? AW: A lot of what I have written about has been based on conversations with women who have been successful, particularly in the not-for-profit world. And the message for young women is always to network, to accept responsibilities that allow them to learn more, particularly if those are unpopular responsibilities that nobody else might want. And to make certain that they have the financial grounding, or the grounding in the financial aspects of the work that they do, so they can be competitive. And in the not-for-profit world it’s also very important for women to both publish in peer-reviewed journals and for them to present at important conferences.

C&S: WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY THAT WOMEN SHOULD ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITIES THAT ALLOW THEM TO LEARN MORE, PARTICULARLY IF THOSE ARE UNPOPULAR RESPONSIBILITIES THAT NOBODY ELSE MIGHT WANT? AW: Having an opportunity to learn a new skill, demonstrate a new competency and take a “job” that no one else wants enables a young woman to demonstrate her capacity, her ability to learn and her willingness to step up. It often distinguishes her from her colleagues and says to management, “I am someone you want to mentor and coach, and I am the future.”

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Veronica White has held high-ranking positions in the private and nonprofit sectors, but it’s her public-sector work she is most proud of. She got into government work in the Koch administration, carrying out his groundbreaking housing program. During the Bloomberg years she founded the New York City Center for Economic Opportunity, a public-private partnership aimed at combating poverty. Later she took the reins of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and oversaw its response to Superstorm Sandy – working overtime to provide humanitarian help and then successfully reopening the city’s beaches. Like many Bloomberg alums, she joined the former mayor as he returned to the private sector, and she now runs the office of Bloomberg co-founder and Vice Chairman Tom Secunda.

Veronica White CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE VICE CHAIRMAN, BLOOMBERG LP

C&S: WHAT’S MOST REWARDING ABOUT YOUR CURRENT POSITION? VW: The fact that I’m part of a really smart team that’s focused on getting and providing needs-driven solutions for Bloomberg clients, but that it’s as a part of a company where giving back is really part of the DNA. Mike has really woven service and philanthropy into the culture of the company. It’s great for me, having worked for him in two different jobs in the city and then having worked for him here, it’s pretty amazing to be part of a company where the majority of the profits go to philanthropy.

C&S: WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER? VW: When I started as a young lawyer, I really enjoyed my career. But going on to work, starting at HPD and later on at parks and at CEO, it’s great now when I visit parks and neighborhoods all throughout the five boroughs. I can look at a park and remember, and see all the years of building neighborhoods and housing. I had a great privilege in working with exemplary teams in what I consider a historic Bloomberg parks department – and also in the Koch administration with the historic housing plan that we started then. One of the momentous moments for me was when Sandy happened. My staff responded first of all to the humanitarian issues that were there, and then rebuilding our parks and beaches and getting everything done in record time, working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the various other parts of government.

Molly Williams has spent decades in and around government and the health care field, working in both the state Senate and the Assembly before joining the Medical Society for the State of New York and eventually entering the private sector. Williams has advocated for patient rights to health care and medicine in all her roles and continues to do so for Pfizer in New York and beyond. Williams’ work has specifically centered around oncological medicine, something she is particularly proud of as she has seen many advances in the field during her career.

Molly Williams DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, PFIZER

C&S: WHAT IS THE MOST EXCITING TREND IN YOUR FIELD RIGHT NOW? MW: I’m not an expert on our medicines, per se. I’m an expert on policy. But when I get to find out about new medication, the developments that are going on right now in breast cancer and lung cancer, people are living longer, people are living healthier. It’s easier to take medicine. It’s fascinating. Cancer is a horrible, horrible, horrible thing. But to see that there’s been groundbreaking developments, that’s the most exciting thing. My father, unfortunately, passed away from cancer, and the development for the type of cancer he had wasn’t there yet. That’s why I like working for the pharmaceutical industry. We look for new pathways, new cures and you actually get to see these things come to fruition. That’s why I do what I do.

C&S: DO YOU HAVE ANY CAREER ADVICE FOR YOUNG WOMEN LOOKING TO GET INTO POLITICS AND POLICY? MW: Not being afraid to try things that you don’t have all of the answers to. I have a 17-year-old daughter and she’s struggling right now to figure out what she wants to be. You don’t always know what you want to be, but it’s important to try a lot of different things and to not be afraid to try. You may fail, but you can always build off of those experiences. I’ve had a lot of those experiences and they’ve strengthened me as an employee, as a person, as an advocate. Don’t be afraid to just try.

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What kind of a local reporter interviews a sitting president or the U.N. secretary general? One supremely confident in her voice, like NY1’s Cheryl Wills. It’s a voice she has cultivated over 25 years at NY1, reporting from places like the White House and ground zero on 9/11 and reliably anchoring behind the desk in their Manhattan studios. She’s highly respected by her fellow journalists, and as an iconic face of New York broadcasting, she’s often asked to appear in TV and film.

C&S: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME TO REACH SUCCESS? CW: Finding my own voice. That’s not an easy thing to do. You’re urged to fall in line and do what everyone else does.

You don’t want to stand too far out because of fear of being criticized or being told “we don’t do it that way.” That was an obstacle for me because I have a unique voice and I wanted to express it, not only as a journalist, but also as an author. I believe I’ve finally overcome it where I can speak without fear of what I believe in and do the stories that I’m passionate about. And I’m really passionate about stories related to history, the history of New York City, the history of all the different immigrant groups that have come to New York City, including African-Americans, and I’m very honored that I can work for a network that has allowed me to explore all of these great issues.

Cheryl Wills

C&S: WHAT CAREER ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG WOMEN? CW: I’m pretty old, I’ll be 50 this year. So my career advice is find your voice right away! It took me 25 years to find my voice. And that’s a long time! So I would say to women, forge ahead without fear. Almost be brazen. Forge ahead, have no apologies for being the type of journalist you want to be. Just take a chance. And if people tell you to go back in your shell, don’t listen to them. Just be yourself at all costs. There’s only one you.

NEWS ANCHOR, NY1

WOMEN BUILDERS COUNCIL PROUDLY SUPPORTS CITY & STATE’S ABOVE & BEYOND GALA

CONGRATULATIONS TO WBC’S DEBORAH BRADLEY PRESIDENT, WOMEN BUILDERS COUNCIL

and all of City & State’s 2016 Honorees

Nisha Agarwal, Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs • Marisol Alcantara, NYS Nurses Association • Michelle Anderson, The CUNY School of Law • Lou-Ellen Barkan, CaringKind • Evelyn DeJesus, United Federation of Teachers • Beth Finkel, AARP New York • Jennifer Goodstein, NYC Community Media, LLC • Karen Ignagni, EmblemHealth • Camille Joseph, Office of New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer • Elizabeth Jensen, NPR • Lesley A. Massiah-Arthur, Fordham University • Jeanne Mullgrav, Capalino+Company • Amanda Norejko, Sanctuary for Families, CBWLS • Ana Oliveira, New York Women’s Foundation • Eunic Ortiz, Stonewall Democrats of New York City/1199 SEIU • Christine Quinn, Win • Victoria Schneps-Yunis, Schneps Communications • Suzanne Shank, Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. • Nancy True, Local 237, IBT • Erica Vargas, District Council 37 • Audrey Weiner, The New Jewish Home • Veronica White, Bloomberg L.P. • Molly Williams, Pfizer • Cheryl Wills, New York 1 News

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FROM THE SLANT PODCAST

DO WE NEED WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH? March is Women’s History Month, and New York Slant columnist Alexis Grenell is deeply conflicted about what that means. So for a special episode of our New York Slant podcast, she invited three other journalists for a gender-balanced discussion with Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max and Politico New York’s Azi Paybarah and Gloria Pazmino. Here are some highlights of their conversation:

ON REPLACING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: Grenell: I’m not trying to say that Women’s History Month to me couldn’t possibly serve a purpose.

OK, I do hate it, and yes, I want to get rid of it so – full disclosure.

Paybarah: What would you replace it with?

Max: March.

Grenell: Feminist History Month? Could this be about gender?

Gender Awareness

Month? I feel like the problem with Women’s History Month is that left out of the conversation are men. And that problematizes the issue of gender equality as a “women’s issue.” It also makes it the responsibility of women to advance the equality agenda when – it’s a relational issue. Right? It’s like saying civil rights are for black people. To me, that’s ridiculous.

White men are told they don’t have standing in this conversation, like

they need to shut up and sit down and let women speak, and that to me is the opposite of inclusion.

you can even address. You need to look at this thing in a much longer view.

ON HOW TO REALLY CELEBRATE: Paybarah: It’s much harder to integrate the idea of Women’s History Month into what you’re doing and it’s much easier and quantifiable to tell reporters and the public, “I like women, I went to Women’s History Month. I had an event in the council chamber or the surrogate’s court, I’m done with that checkbox.”

Max: I think you can want to have the month where you’re really focused on this and also push for year-round parity and inclusion and acknowledgement. And both should happen.

ON MALES AND MACHINES: Pazmino: When we’re talking about local office and the (New York) City Council, if we look at the way the power structure is built, if we look to county politics and those kinds of machines that are still, in some cases, putting people in power – I mean we just saw it in the case of (former City Councilwoman) Maria del Carmen Arroyo, who stepped down. There were two women in the running, but ultimately the guy who won was backed by the county party, which is led by a man. The same is true in Queens. It happened with Barry Grodenchik, who got elected to replace Mark Weprin. He was backed by county, county is led by men. There was a woman running in there, a young woman from an outer borough, Rebecca Lynch. And when we talk about who someone like the speaker is going to back, she, as much as she might want to back the woman who’s running for office, she also has “higher powers” to answer to.

Depending on what the election is, you’re supposed to line up with the county party or not.

ON CHANGING NORMS: Max: The real way for elected officials to celebrate the theme of Women’s History Month is to have a staff or a cabinet that has as many women as it has men!

It’s (not) just about having an event, it’s about showing it in real practice throughout the year. And I also think as part of this conversation we get at it with race, we get at it with gender. We just saw it with the announcement the mayor made about bathrooms. We’re getting to a place where we’re not seeing everything in such a binary way.

We’ve known that about race for a long time, and we’re seeing that now with gender as well.

Paybarah: It’s a much more complicated thing to address women’s issues. It’s like a messy, nuanced thing that you don’t answer in a single story or a single appointment of somebody to office. It’s like, you’ve got to get messier. The issue about whether checking the box is fair and adequate is not something that

QUOTABLES: Grenell: For Women’s History Month, what I’d like to see is more men being like, “Equality is a shared struggle!” But that’s not what happens.

Grenell: If you want to give me something for Women’s History Month, discount everything for me 78 cents!

You can hear the full conversation by searching New York Slant on iTunes or Stitcher or by going to NYSlant.com.

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NYSlant.com

A fresh perspective on opinions Edited by NICK POWELL

Paid family leave is a responsibility, not a luxury

By ALEXIS GRENELL

IN HER CLASSIC 1989 book “The Second Shift,” the sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild documented the increase in women’s workforce participation with the unchanged burden of carework. Although women had broken the stay-at-home-mom mold, a “stalled revolution” meant that they were still expected to cook, clean and take care of the children.

Hochschild calculated that this second, unpaid shift amounted to an additional month of 24-hour days.

Long before Anne-Marie Slaughter’s 2012 article “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” Hochschild was tearing down the supermom myth as a “cultural cover-up.” The well-tailored woman strapped to a baby and a briefcase was a lie, and the American workplace remained as hostile as ever. Until men’s responsibilities changed at home, women wouldn’t advance at work. But that meant that the workplace also had to change to accommodate the shifting model of care.

Seventeen years later, with paid leave finally on the political agenda, the United States is starting to catch up to Hochschild’s ideas.

Unfortunately, New York still has a ways to go.

At his State of the State address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a 12-week paid leave proposal to allow parents to care for a newborn or sick relative. Rather than split the cost with employers, Cuomo’s plan would be entirely employee-funded, with a weekly contribution

cap of 60 cents.

It’s consistent with programs in California and Rhode Island, but contrary to New Jersey’s, which both employees and employers support through the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance program.

In contrast to Cuomo, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s proposal in Congress would create a federal social insurance fund, supported through a shared payroll tax, like Social Security.

The problem with the employee-funded model is that it reinforces the message that childrearing is a private matter rather than a public good. In fact, the data reflect the opposite: Policies like paid leave benefit employers and the economy at large by boosting retention and keeping people out of poverty.

With the rising cost of child care and flatlining wages, the lack of familyfriendly policies means it’s cheaper for some workers, primarily low-income women of color, to stay home rather than work.

That puts more stress on social welfare programs and slows economic growth.

McKinsey & Company estimates that women’s unrealized workforce potential is costing the global economy as much as $12 trillion a year.

That’s why high-performing companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook offer generous paid leave packages and other options such as on-site child care and flexible work schedules.

But paid leave isn’t a

THE WELL-TAILORED WOMAN STR APPED TO A BABY AND A BRIEFCASE WAS A LIE, AND THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE REMAINED AS HOSTILE AS EVER.

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ALTHOUGH PAID LEAVE DISPROPORTIONATELY BENEFITS WOMEN, IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO. COUNTRIES LIKE FINLAND, NORWAY, SWEDEN AND GERMANY (MAKE) IT MANDATORY FOR MEN TO TAKE PATERNITY LEAVE, OR BOTH PARENTS RISK LOSING IT. luxury product only Silicon Valley can afford. A recent study, financed in part by the U.S. Department of Labor, looked at small and mediumsized businesses in Rhode Island and compared them with those in neighboring states without paid leave.

Not only were businesses not adversely affected, but an employer poll found that 61 percent strongly support or were somewhat in favor of the program, and another 15 percent said they had no strong feelings either way.

So why would Cuomo ask employees to carry the entire cost of the program?

Perhaps the answer lies in his rhetoric.

During his speech, Cuomo talked about his father, Mario, and his own regret at having failed to spend more time with him before he died – not as a caregiver, but as a son. It was very moving, but it framed paid leave as some sort of salvo for society’s lost values, rather than an economic solution to his own responsibilities: “At the end of the day family matters, intimate relationships matter. And in this 24/7 world, let this state make a statement about what’s really important.”

Like many men, the governor does not shoulder most, or even much, of the “second shift.” As a high-income individual, he has the option to outsource caregiving to the vast industry of domestic workers, 93 percent of whom are female. The gendered nature of the labor market plays into the common misconception of caregiving as an extension of female gender roles.

That might explain why the governor spoke of maternity leave, rather than parental leave, and “mothers (who)

run the risk of losing their job if they stay home with their child,” as opposed to fathers.

Although paid leave disproportionately benefits women, it’s not supposed to.

Countries like Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany compensate for the internalized bias against men as caregivers by making it mandatory for men to take paternity leave, or both parents risk losing it.

What the governor fails to fully grasp is that paid leave is about streamlining the workforce, and redistributing the unpaid labor of care, not by giving women the benefit of paid leave, but by sharing the responsibility with employers and the men in their lives.

To his credit, it’s definitely an improvement over last year, when he invoked his familiar refrain that there was no “appetite” in the Legislature for paid leave, despite proposals from the Independent Democratic Conference and Democrats in the Assembly and Senate. It seems hardly coincidental that when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gave municipal employees six weeks of paid leave in December, the governor’s appetite grew.

The only problem with policymaking through a pissing match is that the product tends to be cheap.

Alexis Grenell is a Democratic communications strategist based in New York. This column originally appeared on NYSlant.com.

Entrepreneurship:

One Way Around the Pay Gap Sandra Wilkin, President of Bradford Construction and M/WBE Advocate

On November 19, 2015, the World Economic Forum released its 10th Annual Report on Gender Parity estimating it would take 118 years to close the global gender pay gap.

That same day 1,200 U.S. women launched a business.

That’s right. American women are launching 1,200 businesses a day, or nearly 500,000 businesses a year. This is less surprising when you consider that women already own about 9.5 million (or nearly a third of all) U.S. businesses. In New York State, which ranks third nationally for woman-owned businesses, nearly 750,000 firms are owned by women. In Greater NYC, the nation’s top-ranking metropolitan area, nearly 700,000 businesses are also woman-owned, a figure that has risen 43% since 2002.

That matters. Most woman-owned businesses are also small businesses, and small businesses employ more than 50% of New York State’s private workforce. In 2012, woman-owned businesses also created 154,264 net new jobs State-wide. That matters, too.

Both City and State recognize the job-creating abilities of womanowned firms. In 2015, the City launched Women Entrepreneurs NYC (WENYC), a first-in-the-nation program intended to grow and sustain woman-owned small businesses. In 2014, Governor Cuomo increased state-wide contracting goals for certified minority- and woman-owned business enterprises (W/MBEs) to a U.S. high of 30%, which increases government contracting opportunities for woman-owned business enterprises (WBEs); this is especially important in historically womenunfriendly industries like construction.

This is all good news, right? Yes. Entrepreneurship increases women’s employment opportunities, letting them bypass the glass ceiling and develop a work environment that better serves their work-life needs. It can also help address pay inequity by letting women entrepreneurs set their own wages.

But there’s bad news too: Woman-owned business (WOB) revenues comprise only 3.8% of the $38 billion national aggregate. In NYC, for every $1.3 million a WOB earns, a business owned by a man earns double, or $2.9 million. That is one of the better outcomes; aggregated nationally, businesses owned by men earn nearly seven times ($10 billion) what woman-owned businesses earn ($1.5 billion).

If we consider that building long-lived businesses is good for the economy, and woman-owned businesses comprise a growing part of the economy, we’ll realize that everyone wins if we address the wage gap by supporting proven initiatives that support woman entrepreneurs.

A well-rounded home-grown shortlist that should be influencing policy nation-wide would include: • Gov. Cuomo’s 30% M/WBE state contracting goals; • The NYC School Construction Authority’s (NYCSCA’s) learn-andearn mentorship and technical assistance programs; and • Initiatives that increase M/WBE participation in private-public economic development projects.

Together, these models can help women entrepreneurs grow their skills, business capacity, market sectors and opportunities¾and more women can earn equal pay now, not in 118 years.

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JOBS SKILLS, LIVING WAGE ARE CRITICAL FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS

By JUDY HARRIS KLUGER

CASSONE

THREE YEARS AGO, Abigail made a decision that would change her life forever: With her young son Landon in her arms, she packed up and left her abusive husband.

Although Abigail was finally free from her husband’s violent and manipulative behavior, she had no income, no path to re-enter the workforce and could barely afford to feed her son. She had been isolated, prevented from working and made

financially dependent by the man who mistreated her.

Abigail’s story is far too common.

One in four women will face domestic violence in their lifetimes and 98 percent of domestic violence victims encounter financial abuse. Abusers prohibit their victims from pursuing career opportunities, control their bank accounts and prevent them from pursuing education and other means of career development. As a result, when a victim leaves, she is likely to fall into a cycle of reliance upon public benefits and low-wage work.

In New York City, this problem is compounded by the exorbitant cost of living and the citywide housing crisis.

Most victims of domestic violence, along with their children, will join the flood of New Yorkers who are

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homeless and living in poverty.

To address this problem, Sanctuary for Families, the state’s largest service provider focusing exclusively on survivors of gender violence, launched in 2011 the Economic Empowerment Program, an in-house workforce development and technical training initiative.

A new report, “The Economic Empowerment Program: 5 Years of Transforming Lives,” documents how the program successfully provided career readiness to more than 500 survivors of gender violence by training them in skills that lead to living-wage, career-track jobs. The vast majority are women of color living below the poverty line. The results have been life-changing: 88 percent of participants graduate with an average pay of $13.71 per hour, almost $5 more than New York state’s private-sector minimum wage.

EEP employment specialists are also social workers with a deep knowledge of the trauma faced by survivors of gender violence, actively addressing the barriers specific to victims of domestic violence.

Providing stipends for child care and other household needs, MetroCards, and internship placements are also keys to success.

This holistic approach works. After graduating, Abigail was hired by a major New York City university in an administrative support position with a salary and full benefits. Today, she supports herself and her son in an environment free from violence.

Models such as this could make a difference for many more gender violence survivors throughout the city. But to “scale up” this programming, collaboration with government is paramount. At present, New York City and New York state invest millions of dollars in workforce development, education and training for young, at-risk and formerly incarcerated individuals in our community. However, those

funds are disproportionately directed at men, leaving vulnerable women, survivors of domestic violence and particularly women of color without the resources to achieve economic stability.

In October, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito took an enormous step in the right direction by launching the Young Women’s Initiative in New York City. Details of the program, modeled after the existing Young Men’s Initiative, have yet to be released, but stated priorities include reducing systemic disparities for women and investing in women’s futures.

This new initiative should take a holistic approach to directly address the many barriers to economic stability that women in New York City face: access to child care, tuition support, transit and housing assistance.

New York state must follow MarkViverito’s lead. The state Department of Labor and Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, agencies that control significant workforce development funds, consistently neglect to recognize domestic violence victims as a special population in their proposal processes and reinforce a system of funding that is exclusionary of women.

Our government has an obligation to all women in our city and state to ensure that they have fair access to workforce development resources. In failing to do so, thousands of women and children are forced to remain reliant upon public benefits with no path to self-sufficiency.

Judy Harris Kluger is the executive director of Sanctuary for Families, New York’s leading provider of services for survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking and related forms of gender violence. She also served as a state judge for 25 years. This article was originally published by New York Nonprofit Media.

CityAndStateNY.com

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WORKING TO EMPOWER NEW YORK CITY’S WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

CELESTE SLOMAN

By GREGG BISHOP

I CARE DEEPLY about women’s entrepreneurship. Having grown up in Grenada with my grandmother, who supported our household as an entrepreneur, I understand firsthand that business ownership can empower a family for generations. Mayor Bill de Blasio and his administration are committed to addressing the myriad issues faced by women and girls in New York City, and we know that entrepreneurship is a critical pathway to economic security and opportunity for women.

Women entrepreneurs are also critical to New York City’s economy, employing over 190,000 people and generating approximately $50 billion in sales annually. Vanessa Best is one of these thriving women business owners. As CEO and founder of Precision HealthCare Consultants, Vanessa began a fledgling medical billing firm more than 20 years ago, obtaining her first contract with a doctor who opened a practice after leaving a prestigious New York City hospital. There is nothing novice about Precision HealthCare Consultants today.

Vanessa’s company provides clients with all phases of revenue cycle management, clinical documentation improvement programs and office management training. She has four employees.

Her company is a city-certified minority/woman-owned business

enterprise, and she is exploring opportunities to sell her services to government.

Vanessa is not alone. In the past decade, the number of womenowned firms grew by 43 percent, as compared with 25 percent growth in men-owned businesses. Yet, despite the important economic impact and vibrant growth of womenowned businesses in New York City, there exists an unacceptable entrepreneurship gender gap: Men own 1.5 times more businesses than women, employ 3.5 times more people and make on average 4.5 times more revenue. Our research also uncovered that while all entrepreneurs face challenges when it comes to accessing capital, education, information and business networks, women often experience these challenges more acutely.

To address this challenge, this administration with the vision of Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen has launched WE NYC (Women Entrepreneurs NYC) – a firstof-its-kind initiative in a major American city to expand the economic potential of women entrepreneurs across the five boroughs, with a specific focus on the needs of women in underserved communities. Over the last year we have engaged more than 1,500 women business owners to cocreate solutions and services that can make a difference in the everyday lives of women looking to start and grow a business in New York City.

In the coming months and years, WE NYC will offer free support to thousands of women, providing the education and connections they need to succeed.

Through WE NYC, Vanessa and 16 other entrepreneurs will mentor women across all five New York boroughs through the WE Connect Mentors Program, sharing knowledge about what it really

takes to run and grow a company.

We are also offering free business courses on topics like credit building, funding and leadership with partners that include microlender Grameen America, Kiva, Citi Community Development, Babson College, Deutsche Bank, Ariva and Next Street. There is also an online portal in development by the New York City-based company Blenderbox to help synthesize resources for women entrepreneurs in one location. Outside of WE NYC, this administration is committed to strengthening our MWBE program and ensuring that city procurement reflects the great diversity of New York City business

owners. In fact, we are on track to reach the mayor’s ambitious goal of increasing total city contract awards to MWBEs to $16 billion over the next 10 years.

We believe that as one woman’s business flourishes, so does her family and her community. WE NYC’s tailored services allow women entrepreneurs to unlock their full economic potential, uplifting thousands of New York City women and their communities, as well as serving as a model for governments around the world.

Gregg Bishop is commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services.

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CityAndStateNY.com

THRIVING IN NYC

A Q&A WITH CHIRLANE MCCRAY

A KATZ / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

As first lady of New York City, Chirlane McCray has pushed for better access to mental health services and blogged frequently as FLONYC. She talked with City & State’s Jeff Coltin about her signature issue and impressing her son, Dante. The following is an edited transcript.

C&S: You played a huge role in Thrive NYC, the plan to make a more effective mental health system in the city. Why did you choose to make that your signature issue?

CM: I chose to focus on mental health because it’s been something that has kind of troubled me all my life. You’ve probably heard me talk about my parents suffering from depression.

And I’ve also mentioned that I had a friend in high school who took her own life. I’ve had many deeply troubling episodes in my life which involved people who suffered from mental illness. And then when our daughter came to us and told us that she was suffering from anxiety and depression and addiction I just – that really gave me a deeper understanding of, first of all, how common it was. And how much we needed to do to help families throughout our city who are suffering.

C&S: And it can be so hard to talk about.

CM: It is really tough. We’re going to make it easier for people to navigate services come fall. We are launching NYC Support. It’s going to be one phone number, one website, one place people can text to actually get an appointment with someone who takes their insurance, has a place to go to in

their location. And we’re going to make sure people actually get to that first appointment, too. Because sometimes it’s so hard, if someone is not well, to actually make the call and get to the appointment. I think that will go a long way to helping New Yorkers get the kind of services they need where they live, where they work, where they go to school. It’s a start, but it’s something that’s desperately needed.

C&S: March is Women’s History Month, but on a recent podcast our columnist Alexis Grenell criticized the concept, saying we should just integrate women’s history with all history. What do you think about Women’s History Month? Is it important?

CM: I think it’s wonderful to have a women’s history month! I think she’s exactly right, of course. Women should be so fully integrated into our society that there be no need to have a special month to point out that we’ve made these contributions to history and the world. It would be great if we arrived at that point, but here we are. I think we’re working towards that day. I’m happy to say that nearly 60 percent of this administration’s senior leadership positions are women of all ethnicities.

We’ve got two deputy mayors out of

four that are female. And we’ve got at least a couple dozen commissioners and directors – and again, women of all ethnicities. And we are always recruiting. Because women are more than half the population, and when we have a seat at the table, we bring a unique perspective, an important perspective. We bring a perspective of more than half the population!

(Laughs) So it’s really important that we’re at the table.

C&S: So feminism, intersectionality – it seems like the public terms of the discussion have changed so much over the past 20, 30 years. Do you have a constant conversation, dinner table conversation with Mayor de Blasio every night to keep him and yourself up to date on feminist rhetoric and discussion?

CM: Well Bill and I are always talking, always talking. I was an early member of the Combahee River Collective, which is actually where that term, from my understanding, came from. I learned about that word, intersectionality, which we did not use, from Dante, actually! (Laughs) He came to me one day and said, “Mom, you were in Combahee?” And he was very impressed! I said, why, what’s going on? He explained to me they

were talking about intersectionality and I said, yeah, we did that! (Laughs) First of all, black, low-income, gay, I mean living in the world that I was living in, it was very natural to talk about our day-to-day experiences.

And you look at the materials that were coming out at the time, especially. I mean they talked about women, but it was always about white women. They talked about men, but it was always within the framework of the ’60s and ’70s, it was black men.

And black women and black gay women were invisible. So it was very necessary for us to come together and talk about our perspectives on life, which was very different from the public conversation that was going on at that time. And obviously, things have not changed that much, because the conversation continues. And yes, Bill and I, Chiara does it. We’re always talking about this stuff. Our kids are very politically savvy, they’re very social justice-oriented, and we learn from them just as much as they learn from us.

For the full interview, including McCray’s thoughts on the need for diversity in Hollywood and her reservations about Donald Trump, visit cityandstateny.com.

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