New York State

Assembly Member

Rebecca A. Seawright
Presents

n ual
3 A n
rd
ti nction
Dis
Women of eremony
C
Awards

In the 76th Assembly District

Upper East Side, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island
Special thanks to Marymount Manhattan College
for hosting our community celebration.
 Thursday, March 16, 2017
Marymount Manhattan College
Regina Peruggi Room

Performances
Chopins Prelude, number 15, opus 28
Nailya Khalizova Hunter College, Muse Scholar, Piano Performance Studies
Spanglish in America, an original response to
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Sara Tabio Hunter College, Thomas Hunter Honors Program, English and Human Rights

Welcome
Dr. Kerry Walk President, Marymount Manhattan College
Rebecca A. Seawright New York State Member of Assembly, 76th District

Presentation of Awards
Michele Birnbaum
Eva Bosbach
Judy Buck
Mary Coleman
Maureen Fairlie
Linda Heimer
Sherie Helstien
Wendy L. Hersh
Jean Kim
Dara Lamb
Jacqueline Ludorf
Valerie S. Mason
Dr. Marilyn Mehr
Sonia Ossorio
Barbara Parker
Liz Patrick
Joyce Short
Louella Streitz
Lynne Strong-Shinozaki
Dr. Betty Walker
Dr. Elaine M. Walsh

2 Closing
Helene Goldfarb President, Feminist Press
 Assembly Member Rebecca A. Seawright
Dear Neighbor,
Thank you for attending the 3rd Annual Women of Distinction
Awards Ceremony!

As we approach the end of March Womens History Month we

must take a moment to commemorate this monumental period that
we are in. This year marks 100 years since the Womens Suffrage
Movement. In 1848, our own New York State hosted the first
Womens Rights Convention in Seneca Falls. Eighteen years later, the same organizers
of the convention, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, created the first ever
American Equal Rights Association. 1917 was the year New York granted women the
right to vote, three years before the 19th Amendment passed, which gave women voting
rights nationally.
When we think of history, we think of a timeline of events printed in school textbooks
or maybe old archives on the floors of the New York Public Library. But we have to stop
thinking of history as a closed book, a story with an end, because as women, our story is
not nearly over. This year, a record-breaking 21 women were elected to the U.S. Senate.
In January, 3.5 million women marched in over 500 rallies across the country, with sister
marches on all seven continents. We are making history.
Despite all the progress we have made as a nation, there are still too many women
who are denied the ability to make decisions about their own body and reproductive
health. On January 17, 2017 I voted for and helped pass in the Assembly the Reproductive
Health Act that prohibits New York State from denying a womans right to obtain an
abortion, and the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act that requires insurers to
continue covering contraception at no cost to the consumer. As my mentor, Roe v. Wade
attorney Sarah Weddington once said, It is time to renew the battle for reproductive
rights. We have been outmaneuvered, outspent, outpostured, and outvoted by a group
of single-issue activists. It has taken them nearly two decades to turn back the principles
of Roe. Lets make sure it takes us a shorter time to replace protection for reproductive
choice.
Nationally, women earn 79 cents for every dollar men make on average, yet represent
57.2% of the workforce. According to the U.S. Joint Economic Committee Gender Pay
Inequity Report released by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, lower earnings and longer
life expectancies make women 75 years and older, twice as likely to live in poverty as
men. The Institute for Womens Policy Research estimates at the current rate of change, the
gender pay gap will not close until 2059. Earlier this month, I introduced the Equal Rights
Amendment Resolution in the New York State Assembly that calls for all members of the
U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in the 115th Congress to co-sponsor, support,
and pass into law the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment into the Constitution. It
is up to our State to stand up and be a leader in this movement.
Celebrating Womens History Month is not just about honoring women who came
before us, it is about reminding ourselves of the heroines who inspired us and using their
courage, their spirit, and their accomplishments as motivation to keep fighting for our rights.
Best Wishes,

3
 Contents
Michele Birnbaum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Eva Bosbach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Judy Buck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mary Coleman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Maureen Fairlie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Linda Heimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sherie Helstien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Wendy L. Hersh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Jean Kim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Dara Lamb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Jacqueline Ludorf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Valerie S. Mason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Dr. Marilyn Mehr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Sonia Ossorio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Barbara Parker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Liz Patrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Joyce Short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Louella Streitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Lynne Strong-Shinozaki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Dr. Betty Walker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Dr. Elaine M. Walsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Women of Firsts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4
 Michele Birnbaum
Michele Birnbaum has lived in New York
her entire life and has always been active in
her community. She has a Masters Degree
in the Teaching of the Speech and Hearing
Handicapped, and began her career as a school
teacher and speech therapist. She took art business classes, and in 1981
opened Michele Birnbaum Fine Art LLC.
As a founder and President of the original East 85th/86th Street Lex-
Park-Madison Block Association, Birnbaum helped fight for a leading
pedestrian way signal on 86th and Lexington Avenue, and after observing
accidents involving turning vehicles, she was successful in having stop
on red signal signs installed at intersections all along Park Avenue. She
later became a member of the Executive Committee of the East 86th Street
Association.
Birnbaum is also a founder and President of Historic Park Avenue, which
led the nine-year effort to have Park Avenue between 79th and 86th Streets
recognized as a Historic District and was honored by Friends of the Upper
East Side Historic Districts for this accomplishment. This effort was also
honored when Historic Districts Council chose Historic Park Avenue as one
of its Six to Celebrate.
She joined Community Board 8 ten years ago where she is a member
of four committees as well as the Co-Chair of the Vendor Task Force
Committee which she formed. As an outgrowth of community attendance
and interest in the effect of street vending on quality of life in the
community, she became a founder of New Yorkers for Street Vending
Reform, a loose coalition of retail groups and community organizations
making a unified effort to implement reasonable controls and enforcement
of vendor law.
Birnbaum lives with her husband of 47 years, Dr. Stanley Birnbaum. They
have two daughters, Courtney Birnbaum and Bree Bullingham, a son-in-
law, John Bullingham and two grandchildren, Spencer, 10, and Riley, 7.

5
 Eva Bosbach
Eva Bosbach was born in Prague, Czech
Republic, and lives with her husband and
children on Roosevelt Island. She is a higher
education manager and comparative U.S.-
German higher education expert and holds
an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cologne, Germany. Her
publications include a study about the Humanities in the U.S. on behalf
of the German Council for Social and Economic Data as well as two
comprehensive books about the doctoral education in Germany and
the U.S.
As a resident of Roosevelt Island since 2007, Bosbach holds different
leadership roles in her community. In 2012, she founded the Roosevelt
Island Parents Network (RIPN) and as its coordinator, she grew the social
network to a community organization of over 600 members. Bosbach
established various activities and events offered to the community by RIPN
free of charge including educational workshops, panel discussions,
events for children and parents, community advocacy, and an online
information exchange platform.
From 2012 to 2016, Eva held a bi-annually elected position as a Common
Council Representative of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association
(RIRA), representing her district constituents in a community of 14,000
residents in various topics including education and public services. She
also served as a member of the Island Services committee and, as a
nominated member of the Public Purpose Fund Committee, she reviewed
applications of local non-for-profit organizations for the annual distribution
of $100,000 in the community.

6
 Judy Buck
Fifteen years ago, Judy Buck left a rent
stabilized apartment in the east 60s, moved
into a Mitchell Lama apartment on Roosevelt
Island, and has never looked back. As a single,
senior citizen, Buck was welcomed to weekly
brunches and put to work by Ellen Polivy, Joyce Short, and Linda Heimer
who invited her to help create the Roosevelt Island Community Coalition
(RICC).
RICC is a group of Island organizations that advocated for protection
of community life during the years of Cornell Techs construction. RICC
pushed for more barging and fewer trucks to transport construction
materials, urged Cornell Techs adoption of Roosevelt Islands PS 217,
and raised issues of increasing needs for transportation, policing, and
security.
In addition to serving as RICC co-chair, Buck sits on Community Board
8s Roosevelt Island Committee, and was appointed by State Senator
Jose Serrano to the Cornell Tech Community Construction Task Force
Committee. She also works with Roosevelt Islands Wildlife Freedom
Foundation for the rescue of all hurt and abandoned animals.
Professionally, Buck was an Advertising Manager for Random House Trade
Division, she worked as a writer and copy chief for a number of New
York City advertising agencies (as portrayed in the TV show Mad Men!)
and spent a decade at New York University as the Assistant Director of
Development for the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human
Development, where she solicited funding for faculty initiatives that
included early reading intervention, research on HIV-AIDS prevention,
recovery for female victims of human trafficking, and environmental
education. She was a volunteer for Louise Wise Services, and served on
the boards of the Hells Kitchen AIDS Project and the St. Cecilia Chorus of
New York.

7
 Mary Coleman
Mary Coleman has been a resident of Roosevelt
Island for over 40 years. Her definition of
volunteering is giving of ones time and services
to a cause where no monetary payment is
involved. Volunteering is the way of life she
learned from her mother who started a Block Association in the Bronx
where they lived. She remembers her mother founding a tenants patrol
in 1958 and admired her service to various community organizations.
Coleman loves being responsible for putting a smile on someone elses face
and most importantly, convincing someone else to volunteer.
Since retiring from AT&T in 2006, she has devoted her time to anyone
in need of help. You might find her helping out with the Cherry Blossom
festival that is held on Roosevelt Island, accompanying someone to the
doctor, or stuffing Easter eggs for the Easter egg hunt.
Coleman was involved in starting an organization called the Roosevelt
Island Womens Health Organization, a group that meets once a month to
discuss issues of womens health. She now holds the position of treasurer.
Through Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewers office, she works
with the Fresh Vegetable and Fruits for Seniors, a program that runs
in the summer and averages 40-50 bags for distribution. She and her
colleague Wendy Hersh have been instrumental in getting members of the
community to sponsor the program.
Coleman is also a member of the Pay it Forward Committee, and this past
Thanksgiving she helped distribute 80 bags and boxes of food to residents
on the Island. She helped fight for the dementia ward at Coler Hospital
and assisted in delivering 60 Valentines bags to patients at the hospital
last month.

8
 Maureen Fairlie
Maureen Fairlie has been a resident of the
Upper East Side for over thirty years. She
received her undergraduate degree in English
from Siena College and her M.S. in Teaching
English to Speakers of Other Languages
(TESOL) at SUNY Albany.
After working as an educator and marketing executive, she founded and
became President of her own supply company, Snappy Solutions, Inc.,
in 2006. Her business first sold janitorial supplies but Fairlie expanded
her companys product line to better serve its customers after seeing the
need to cater to the diversity of city and state agencies and public works
contractors.
Fairlie conducted business with clients such as the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, New York City and New York State agencies, the
City and State Universities, major construction contractors, and numerous
private schools. She is especially proud of securing a partnership with
Industries for the Blind to provide employment opportunities for those with
disabilities.
In 2015, she attended New York Universitys Stern School of Business
Strategic Steps for Growth, management training for entrepreneurs. The
program is a nine-month, intensive executive business education program
for Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises that offers peer-to-
peer learning, advice from business experts, financial management skills,
and human resource development.
Fairlie is a member of Women Builders Council (WBC), Green Builders
Council (USGBC), and the East End Organic Farming Community.

9
 Linda Heimer
Linda Heimer has been a life-long activist. As
a young adult, she was involved in fundraisers
for world hunger, homelessness, AIDS research,
has volunteered at homes for the aged and at
hospitals, helped refurbish a Harlem playground,
and held clothing drives for womens shelters
among many other initiatives. But it wasnt until she was mugged on the
subway station at Lexington Avenue that she became involved in the politics of
community activism.
As a resident of Roosevelt Island since 1980, Heimer formed the Roosevelt
Island Safety Coalition (RISC) in 1992 to improve safety at the Lexington Ave.
and Roosevelt Island stations. With the support of Representative Carolyn
Maloney, transit officials, and police brass, this four-year, million-dollar
project involved installation of annunciators, CCTV cameras, and other safety
measures, which resulted in a significant drop in the crime rate.
Heimer has served as Chair of the Government Relations Committee of the
Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA), was founding member of MTG,
a group advocating for greater resident control of governance of the Island,
and was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Roosevelt Island
Community Coalition (RICC), which represents 37 Island organizations in
negotiations with Cornell Tech regarding the impact the building and opening
of their campus will have on the Island. Additionally, she is a member of CERT
(Community Emergency Response Team), a member of Main Street Retail
Advisory Committee, a member of the Cabrini Church Council, a member
of the Church Plaza Design Committee, has been on the editorial staff of
The Main Street WIRE for 20 years, advocated for Island issues in print and
broadcast media, Albany, and Washington D.C., and is a founding member of
Indivisible Roosevelt Island (IRI), a public advocacy group promoting equality
and justice.
Professionally, she was a fourth grade teacher and Grade Chairman in Yonkers,
for which she earned the title of Master Teacher. She was an art teacher and
professional development lecturer in Italy and England, an award-winning
Regional Sales Manager for an educational publishing company, the VP/Search
Consultant for a boutique executive search firm, the owner/principal of her
own executive search consulting practice serving clients such as Bankers Trust,
American Express, and Sterling Drug for 20 years, and was an active member
of the Executive Search Roundtable, who honored her with an award from the
Financial Womens Association of New York.

10
 Sherie Helstien
Sherie Helstien has been a resident of
Roosevelt Island since 1989. She served for one
semester as a Learning Leader at the Roosevelt
Island PS/IS 217 before becoming involved
in the Roosevelt Island Residents Association
(RIRA) where she served for a total of 19 years, ten of which she acted as
Secretary. Currently, she is the Secretary of the Roosevelt Island Seniors
Association (RISA) and is a Common Council Member and Chair of the
Housing Committee for RIRA.
She organized a Renters Insurance Fair after a very bad fire in an
Island building left folks surprised to find out that management was not
responsible for replacement of their personal property. Helstien was also
heavily involved with nearly a hundred other residents who wanted to
change the governance of Roosevelt Island. That group named itself the
Maple Tree Group because it held its first informal meetings by the
Blackwell Farmhouse under maple trees!
Helstien worked with fellow RIRA members to fundraise and created
the Roosevelt Island International Cook Book based on the local PTAs
International Dinners. She also developed a unique tram design for hats
and visors sold to benefit RIRAs treasury.
Helstien returned to RIRA in 2014 and served as Vice President after
overseeing the Nominations Committee and the Election Committee. She
was actively involved in the Government Relations and SC&E Committees,
supporting what has become an annual Cherry Blossom Festival, and a
myriad of other RIRA programs. She organized, served on, and guided the
RI Day RIRA Blood Drive while training new RIRA members for this job.
In 2016, Helstien was elected Secretary of RISA. Her goal and hope is to be
able to fundraise while also creating interesting and innovative programs,
attracting a broader age range of older residents in the community.

11
 Wendy L. Hersh
Wendy L. Hersh CRC, LMHC is a 40 year
resident of Roosevelt Island. She received a
Bachelors degree in Sociology/Psychology
from the University of Hartford in 1973 and her
Masters degree in Rehabilitation Counseling
from New York University in 2001.
She is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a Licensed Mental
Counselor. She has been working for the New York State Education
Department, ACCES-VR as a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor
assisting individuals with disabilities since 2004 and specializing in the
fields of mental health, substance abuse, and criminal justice. Hersh is Co-
President of the Metro chapter of the National Rehabilitation Association
and a board member of various counseling associations.
Hersh has been actively involved over the past nine years with the senior
community on Roosevelt Island. Three years ago, she partnered with
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewers office to bring fresh fruit
and vegetables to the seniors on Roosevelt Island. She has recently been
participating in the efforts of an Island Committee to bring food and
necessities to those in need on Roosevelt Island and in Coler Hospital.
She is currently a board member of the Roosevelt Island Disabled
Association and throughout the years has collaborated with multiple
organizations on Roosevelt Island to bring events and programing to the
senior population.

12
 Jean Kim
Jean Kim is an Upper East Side resident and
a veteran of New York City politics. She has
experienced the political world from the
perspective of a successful campaign manager,
a union organizer, and a businessperson.
Kim has held many high-ranking positions and helped to elect two
Assembly Members and one Senator. She played an instrumental role in
the election of two political Asian pioneers: the first Asian New York City
Comptroller in 2009 and the first Asian female New York State Supreme
Court Justice in 2002.
In 2003, she was the citywide Immigrants Rights Director for the New York
City Central Labor Council and gathered 100,000 New Yorkers at Flushing
Meadows Park to advocate for federal comprehensive immigration reform
and protection of workers rights.
In 2005, as the anti-Walmart coordinator, she ensured that the anti-union
corporation did not gain a foothold in New York City. To this day, no Wal-
Mart has set foot in the five boroughs.
Kim is a founding member of TLM Associates Consulting where she is
a Government Relations Specialist. She has used her diverse skill-set to
focus on issues of concern to groups such as Reach Out and Read which
provides books to pre-school aged children so that the young children have
tools to be ready for school.

13
 Dara Lamb
Dara Lamb is CEO and designer at DARA
LAMB Custom Clothing. With over thirty years
experience, she is recognized by peers as the
best in the business.
Her namesake company, DARA LAMB,
offers women hand-tailored, custom, and made-to-measure garments,
individually created to convey their signature style in every situation and
occasion. Every garment is made one at a time, in her New York studio,
with heritage bespoke tailoring techniques and workmanship insuring the
finest quality, a holistic relationship between craftsperson and client and
continuing investment in the local community.
Although her vehicle is fashion, her mission is empowering women to use
their wardrobes to amplify their message and help them succeed and thrive
in the workplace. She started her business when wearing the right outfit
changed her life and helped her achieve the success she dreamed of. A
firm believer in the life changing impact the right wardrobe can have, she
and her team work with each client individually to understand their needs,
and craft a wardrobe authentic to their leadership style. Her clients include
some of the most powerful women in business, philanthropy and politics.
Lamb is the first woman tailor elected to the board of the Custom
Tailors and Designers Association, our countrys oldest continuous trade
association. She has been featured in Business Week, The New York Times,
The Wall Street Journal, Departures Magazine, New York Magazine,
Huffington Post, New York 1, WINS and Marketwatch Radio Network.
She is a frequent speaker at companies, organizations, and law and
business schools lecturing on clothing as a tool for professional
development. She discusses strategic dressing, becoming client ready
(designed for MBA and EMBA candidates), and entrepreneurship. She has
spoken on these topics at many universities including Harvard Business
School, Columbia Business School, Fordham Law School, Brooklyn Law
School, and Baruch College.

14
 Jacqueline Ludorf
Jacqueline Ludorf has been a resident of the
Upper East Side for over 40 years. When
she first came to New York from Granby,
Connecticut, she worked at Mount Sinai
Hospital doing medical research while
simultaneously studying for her Masters in Biology at Hunter College.
She went on to work as a researcher at Hoffmann-La Roche, the third
largest pharmaceutical company in the world and again simultaneously
attended New York Universitys Stern School of Business for her MBA. After
graduation, she went to work at Citibank where she was a manager for
nine years and then she worked for the Long Island Rail Road as a manager
of their capital budget for 20 years. Following her successful business
career, Ludorf studied to receive her third graduate degree, earning a
Masters in Religion Pastoral Ministry which comes in handy when she
volunteers at various churches around the community.
She joined Community Board 8 thirty-seven years ago and served as
Chair of the Land Use Committee and was the Chair of the Street Life
Committee for 10 years. From 2010 to 2013, she because the Chair of CB8
and is proud of supporting the Budget Committees decision to provide
funding for the renovation of the womens homeless shelter at the Seventh
Regiment Armory. Currently, she Co-Chairs the Committee on Health,
Seniors, and Social Services, which addresses and discusses issues affecting
the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of the community and the local
institutions that serve them.
Additionally, Ludorf has been on the board of the Metropolitan Hospital
for seven years, where she was Finance Chair for two years and is currently
Head of Community Outreach and Membership.
Ludorf used to be a master of sewing in her free time. She now enjoys
reading books on the New York Times Best Sellers list and catching up
with her two brothers in Granby, her sister in Atlanta, her six nieces and
nephews, and her grandniece.

15
 Valerie S. Mason
Valerie S. Mason was born and raised in
Astoria, Queens. She is a high school graduate
of New York Citys public schools, received her
A.B., Magna Cum Laude, from Barnard College,
and her J.D. from Duke University School of
Law. She is a long-time resident of the Upper East Side.
In addition to being a wife and mother, Mason is a partner in the banking
and finance practice group of a New York law firm, has been an annual
recipient of the Super Lawyer recognition since 2009, and is a member of
its Hiring and Diversity Action Committees.
Mason has been involved in community activities for all of her adult life.
She is the past president, current Chair of the Development Committee,
and a member of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the
Womens Prison Association & Home, Inc., a 170 year old not-for-profit
serving the needs of women involved in the criminal justice system and
their families. Shes a Trustee of The Brick Presbyterian Church in the City
of New York, a member of the New York Junior League, serves as the Vice
President of her buildings co-op board, and was involved as an advocate
for the community during the planning and construction of the Second
Avenue Subway project.
She was one of the founding members of the recently formed East 72nd
Street Neighborhood Association and currently is President. E72NA is
committed to establishing a desperately needed SBS Bus Stop at 72nd
Street on First and Second Avenues and promoting commercial bike safety
on the Upper East Side.

16
 Dr. Marilyn Mehr
Dr. Marilyn Mehr is a professor, psychologist,
writer, and social activist. After earning
her Ph.D. from the University of Southern
California in 1972, she joined the faculty
of Childrens Hospital in the Department of
Adolescent Medicine. In 1980, she became Director of Behavioral Science
at the Glendale Adventist Family Practice Residency Program, followed by
a Professorship in 1994 at the University of Kentucky Medical School.
Throughout her professional career, Dr. Mehr has been active in human
rights organizations such as Physicians for Social Responsibility, National
Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, Gay Academic Union and
Peace Action. Most recently, she has served as the co-chair of the East
End Gay Organization (EEGO) and President of the Board of the Unitarian
Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO).
Notable among Dr. Mehrs publications is The Courage to Achieve: Why
Americas Brightest Women Struggle to Fulfill their Promise, a book that
she and Dr. Betty Walker, her partner and fellow nominee, co-authored.
She also wrote a novel, Holding the World Together, and most recently,
Such Charming Exiles: How Two Gay Women Learned to Love Openly and
Love Fierce.

17
 Sonia Ossorio
Sonia Ossorio is President of the National
Organization for Women of New York. NOW
is the nations largest organization working to
advance womens rights. With more than 5,000
NYC activist members and supporters, Ossorio
has led the organization in changing laws and policies to further womens
equality and to improve local government and law enforcements response
to gender-based violence and workplace discrimination. In 2007, she was
awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award from New York Attorney
General Andrew Cuomo. In 2016, she was appointed to the New York City
Commission on Gender Equity by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Ossorio has spoken widely on the topics of American feminism, women
in politics, the glass ceiling, human trafficking, and the evolution of rape
laws in the criminal justice system. Prior to her current post, she served as
Director of Public Information for Catalyst, the preeminent research and
advisory organization working to advance women in corporate America.
She started her career as a journalist and has worked for American City
Business Journals, Knight-Ridder and Gannett Newspapers. Her reporting
and commentary on human rights, feminist issues, women in business and
entrepreneurship have appeared in USA Today, the Denver Post, the St.
Petersburg Times, and the New York Times, among others.

18
 Barbara Parker
Barbara Parker is an active 30 year resident
of Roosevelt Island. In June of 2015, she was
elected President of the Roosevelt Island
Seniors Association, a member organization.
Her main goal has been to continue providing
essential services, and broadening the organizations outreach and
programs to a wider range of active older adults and special populations.
Parker has been active in her community as a past Roosevelt Island Seniors
Association Board Member, acting as the Secretary and Community
Outreach Liaison for the Board. While serving in this capacity, she worked
on community outreach with our elected representatives, overseeing a
variety of presentations: IDNYC, MYLAG/Mobile Legal Van, NY State
Senior Action. She restructured the RISA Membership Drive to include
significant Island merchant discounts.
Parker is heavily involved on the Board and in the classroom of the Main
Street Theatre and Dance Alliance (MST&DA), where she has taught a
variety of Pilates, Zumba, Aeropump for adults, Hip-Hop classes for
teens, as well as performing in the theaters various sophisticated musical
productions.
She is a Certified Health and Fitness Instructor, and has organized several
Island-wide health and fitness events put on by the Roosevelt Island
Operating Corporation. She is a Certified Healthy Lifestyle Consultant &
Coordinator with over 20 years of experience and has many private clients
in the community. It should be known that Parker is also proficient in sign-
language, a useful plus!

19
 Liz Patrick
Liz Patrick is the Vice President of the East
72nd Street Neighborhood Association
(E72NA). Currently, E72NA is focused on three
initiatives: a request to NYC Transit to add 72nd
Street stops to the M15 SBS route, improving
commercial delivery bike safety practices, and streetscape beautification
along the new Second Avenue Subway corridor.
In addition, she is the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the
International Preschool, the largest nonprofit private preschool in
Manhattan with three neighborhood locations serving over 350 students
aged two to four.
Professionally, she is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and is currently
developing a workshop for college seniors and recent graduates entitled 5
Steps to Take Control of Your Financial Future. She spent 20 years working
at JPMorgan in various investment capacities including Institutional Fixed
Income Sales, Private Banking Brokerage and Investor Relations for Private
Equity clients.
Patrick has a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA in
Finance from New York Universitys Stern School of Business.

20
 Joyce Short
Joyce Short was the first female Bond Trader
for Salomon Brothers and later served as the
Global Director of Faculty for the NY Institute
of Finance, once owned and operated by the
NY Stock Exchange.
She has authored two books on romance scams and is endeavoring to raise
societys awareness and pass laws to prevent this defiling crime.
Short is an Associate Real Estate Broker with Charles Rutenberg Realty,
specializing in the purchase, sale, and rental of NYC residential properties.
In her 41 years as a resident of Roosevelt Island, she served on the boards
of several community organizations including the Roosevelt Island
Residents Associations (RIRA), Common Council, and The Roosevelt
Island Community Coalition which represented the communitys views
during the ULURP process related to Cornell Techs Development. Short
also served on the Maple Tree Group and helped to establish resident seats
on the board of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. She currently chairs
RIRAs Government Relations Committee.
For the past 28 years, she has encouraged character development in
Roosevelt Island and New York Citys youth by directing the New York
Junior Tennis and Learning program on Roosevelt Island. She also acts as
a District Developer, bringing tennis instruction to New York Citys public
schools. Many of her students have won college scholarships and gone on
to play with their high school and college teams.
At a time when the only community newspaper for Roosevelt Island, The
Main Street WIRE, had collapsed, she recruited Dick Lutz, and together
they co-edited the newspaper to put it back on its feet.

21
 Louella Streitz
Louella Streitz is a long time resident of
Roosevelt Island and has always been
committed to community development. From
starting a parent support group when her two
children were toddlers, organizing group play
dates to ensure stay-at-home parents an opportunity to have a day off, to
creating food chains to cover emergency situations for parents of toddlers,
she has always been involved in community support.
After her 14-year career as a graphic designer with UNICEF, she found
her lifes passion in volunteering while raising her children. In 2009,
she founded DASH (Disabled Association, Support for the Homebound,
Disabled & Seniors), a volunteer organization which provides support to
the neediest on the Island.
As a certified AARP Tax Preparer since 2012, she does free tax preparation
for low to mid-income, seniors, homebound and disabled persons. Streitz
works closely with all organizations on Roosevelt Island and is very active
at the Carter Burden Senior Center. She visits the homebound, takes them
for walks, accompanies them to doctors appointments, helps with grocery
shopping, picks up prescriptions, assists with computer issues, and aids
with paying bills. She encourages high school students to volunteer with
the seniors by doing chores for them and also coordinates for young girl
scouts to do birthday visits.
Streitz has disabled all her diplomas and licenses in order to enable those
in need. She gives all the credit to her fellow volunteers and to Dr. Jack
Resnick, whose mission is to keep the frail and elderly at home with proper
care instead of sending them to hospitals or nursing homes. The team tries
to build relationships with everyone rather than just doing a job.
She dreams of the Roosevelt Island Lighthouse being a beacon of light to
other communities.

22
 Lynne Strong-Shinozaki
Lynne Strong-Shinozaki was born in Twin
Falls, Idaho. She is a former Toy Executive
for a well-known toy company, as well as an
activist, organizer, philanthropist, wife and
mother of two adult children and one teenager.
She is currently working on giving children
on Roosevelt Island a voice by creating a Public Service Announcement
program that features their response On Roosevelt Island we. She is
the co-founder of #PayItForward, a community-based program to help
economically challenged individuals and families.
In 1989 and 1990, Strong-Shinozaki received consecutive United
Way Awards for her dedication to volunteerism and was a company
spokesperson for volunteering. In 2015, she earned a Proclamation
of the New York Council for her extraordinary contributions to the
Roosevelt Island Community. She is also a 2015 recipient of American
Heart Associations LifeSaver Award for her hands only CPR activism. In
2013, she received a Proclamation of the New York State Assembly for
community advocacy and improving the quality of life on Roosevelt Island.
She works as a family Genealogist and in November 2010, she contributed
to A Genealogy and Historical Sketch of the Dependents of Peter Kleberg
by John M. Selle.

23
 Dr. Betty Walker
Dr. Betty Walker is a writer, retired professor,
counseling psychologist and social activist. She
taught and counseled students for nine years in
New York City schools. After participating in the
first teachers strike in 1960, she received an
award for outstanding service from the United Federation of Teachers. Dr.
Walker received her Ph. D. from USC in 1971, and then joined the faculty
of her Alma Matter. During the height of the Vietnam War, she was invited
to teach in the Universitys overseas program for military and civilian
personnel in Germany.
Upon her return to the United States, Dr. Walker resumed her duties as
a faculty member at USC while assuming leadership roles in womens
and gay human rights issues. In 1994, the Family Medicine Department
invited her to join the faculty of the University of Kentucky Medical
School as Behavioral Scientist and Director of Education where she also
developed an addiction recovery program for physicians and health care
professionals.
Dr. Walker has lectured widely at educational and political conferences
and has been published in numerous peer reviewed academic journals.
Her most notable publication is the trade book The Courage to Achieve on
intellectually gifted women of the twentieth century which she wrote with
her partner and fellow nominee, Dr. Mehr.

24
 Dr. Elaine M. Walsh
Elaine M. Walsh, Ph.D., LCSW is a lifelong New
Yorker who has been a passionate and dedicated
advocate in her community her entire life. She
was an undergraduate of College of White Plains,
now Pace University, and received her MSW and
PhD from Fordham University Graduate School of
Social Service. Dr. Walsh is not only accomplished professionally but also has
as impressive history of selfless volunteerism.
She worked for 15 years as a caseworker and staff consultant at New York
Foundling Hospital and then later as Director of the Senior Citizen Crime
Prevention in the New York City Department for the Aging and Director of
Elderly Services at the Victim Services Agencies.
Dr. Walsh is an associate professor in the Department of Urban Affairs and
Planning at Hunter College where she has directed the Public Service Scholar
Program for 30 years. She teaches courses in nonprofit management, strategic
planning, policy, and program development. She has served as the principal
investigator of the Hunter College Liberty Partnership Program from 1989 to
present and was the principal investigator of the Gallagher Initiative, a study of
aging Irish residents in the city.
She has been actively engaged in the Fund for the Advancement of Social
Services, the Feminist Press at CUNY, and National Association of Social
Workers.
Currently, she is President of the East 86 Street Merchants and Residents
Association, an organization she helped found, Co-Chair of the East 86th
Street Network and a member of the Manhattan Community Board 8. In these
roles she advocates for policies and programs that benefit local residents and
businesses and helps to secure services from the city. Her East 86th Street
organization is working to turn the blighted East 86th Street corridor into what
will be a boulevard area that is more welcoming with historic lampposts, new
sidewalks and street furniture, legal signage, trees, and plantings.
Dr. Walsh has received a litany of awards including the New York City Chapter,
NASW, Leadership Award, the Fordham University Alumni Award, the Advocates
Award from the NYC Public Advocate, the Womens Leadership Award from the
Manhattan Borough President, the NYC Comptrollers Award as an Outstanding
Irish Educator in Social Policy and Leadership, the Our Town Thanks You Award
(OTTY) for her leadership with East 86th Street Association, and the New York
State Senate Women of Distinction Award from Senator Liz Krueger.

25
 Women of Firsts
Elizabeth
1849 First female physician
Blackwell

Margaret
1916 Opened first birth-control clinic in the U.S.
Sanger

Alaska P.
1922 First woman to be a Special Agent
Davidson

First American woman to receive the

Jane
1931 Nobel Peace Prize for her outstanding
Addams
efforts in social work

First person to fly over both the Atlantic Amelia

1932
and Pacific Ocean Earhart

First female member of a presidential

Frances
1933 cabinet after being appointed Secretary
Perkins
of Labor by President Roosevelt

First woman to host a television game Arlene

1949
show on Blind Date Francis

Sandra
First woman nominated to the Supreme
1981 Day
Court by President Reagan
OConnor

Geraldine
1984 First woman to run for Vice President
Ferraro

26
There is no limit to what we, as women,
can accomplish. Michelle Obama

First winner of the Olympic Womens

Joan
1984 Marathon, which she completed in
Benoit
2:24:52

First woman inducted into the Rock and Aretha

1987
Roll Hall of Fame Franklin

Janet
1993 First female Attorney General
Reno

First female Secretary of State, appointed Madeleine

1997
by Bill Clinton Albright

First First Lady to run for public office and

Hillary
2000 became the first female U.S. Senator to
Clinton
represent New York

First woman Speaker of the House of Nancy

2007
Representatives Pelosi

First woman to win an Oscar for Best Kathryn

2010
Director with her film The Hurt Locker Bigelow

First woman to be named Chair of the

Janet
2014 Board of Governors of the Federal
Yellen
Reserve System

First female presidential nominee of a Hillary

2016
major party Clinton

27
 Compliments of
New York State Assembly Member

Rebecca A. Seawright
1365 First Avenue
New York, NY 10021
212-288-4607
seawrightr@nyassembly.gov

For more information or to sign up for the weekly E-newsletter visit:

nyassembly.gov/mem/Rebecca-A-Seawright

www.facebook.com/RebeccaASeawright/

@SeawrightForNY