NYCHA Now

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NYCHA Now
April 2015 

Women’s History Month Celebration

Michael Corwin
Members of NYCHA’s Committee on Women’s Concerns
Members of NYCHA’s Committee on Women’s Concerns, which co-hosted the event, with EVP Melanie Hart and Chair Shola Olatoye. From left: Melanie Hart, Cora Casey, Roselaine Lamarre, Zahra Mollaahmad, Chair Shola Olatoye, Terri McCullough, Juliee Troutman, Joanne Chapusette, and Cassandra Deas.

On Tuesday, March 24, about one hundred NYCHA employees celebrated Women’s History  Month. The event featured a keynote address by Terri McCullough, Director of No Ceilings: The Full  Participation Project, a Clinton Foundation initiative.

The evening was emceed by Community  Programs and Development EVP Melanie Hart. NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye introduced Terri McCullough with a quote from Hillary Clinton: “Equality for women remains the great unfinished business of the 21st century.” No Ceilings aims to chart the path forward for full participation in political, civil, economic and cultural life for women and girls in the 21st century.

Guests also enjoyed a delicious dinner buffet and some classic jazz standards performed by Samantha Echo. The event was attended by NYCHA Board Members Beatrice Byrd and Victor Gonzalez in addition to several senior staff members and female employees from all five boroughs.

Sheela Sreekumar, a Family Services Community Associate, reported that this is her favorite NYCHA event of the year: “I love coming to seethe speakers and I enjoy seeing my colleagues from other boroughs.”

Rico Velez, Revenue Director, remarked that “The good thing about Women’s History Month is that we recognizethe women of NYCHA with the respect they deserve. It’s the women in NYCHA who really reinforce the importance of our mission — they  should be recognized like this every day!”