2009-2010 Past Events
YouthBridge-NY Fundraiser 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP - 1177 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
On Monday, April 12, 2010, friends and supporters of YouthBridge-NY joined together to honor Edward Bullock (L'Oréal USA), Marvin E. Jacob (Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP), and Ada Rodriguez (Health Plus). The event was a great success with Board Members, Fellows, Bridgers, partners, and supporters all gathering to celebrate the work of YouthBridge-NY and give tribute to our honorees for their ongoing dedication to training future New York City leaders. YouthBridge-NY is thankful to its supporters for helping us raise over $70,000. We'd like to thank event co-chairs Martin Bienenstock, Suzie Davidowitz, and Tom Early for all their help, as well as Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP for generously hosting us.
Please click here to view photographs from the 2010 YouthBridge-NY Fundraiser.
Our 2010 honorees:
Edward Bullock, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, L'Oreal USA
Edward Bullock is the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for L'Oreal USA, and a member of the company's Executive Committee. In his position, Mr. Bullock has expanded the diversity efforts of L'Oreal USa. He is responsible for the reviewing Human Resources representation, Supplier Diversity, Multicultural Advertising, Philanthropy, and all Diversity and Inclusion training programs. L'Oreal USA has won several awards including the Diversity Best Practice Global Award, the World Diversity Leadership Council's Corporate Diversity Innovation Award, the Diversity in Advertising Leadership Award, and the President's Award from the Urban League Guild of Trenton, New Jersey.
Marvin E. Jacob, Partner (Retired), Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP
Marvin E. Jacob was Partner in the Business Finance & Restructuring Department of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP. Mr. Jacob was concentrated his practice in the representation of debtors, creditors, and committees in domestic and cross-border restructurings of financially distressed companies in and out of formal court proceedings. His practice included litigation in the bankruptcy courts and federal districts and appellate courts. In addition, Mr. Jacob has served as adjunct professor of law at New York Law School, as co-editor of Reorganizing Failing Businesses, and as co-editor of Restructurings. Mr. Jacob is a founder and outgoing chairperson of YouthBridge-NY.
Ada Rodriguez, Chief Marketing Officer, Health Plus
Ada Rodriguez is Chief Marketing Officer of Health Plus, one of the largest providers of government-sponsored health insurance plans in the New York area. As Chief Marketing Officer for the managed care provider, Ms. Rodriguez is responsible for the strategic planning and direction of the sales force. She supervises the Marketing, Communications, Special Events, Community Relations, and Recertification Departments, as well as the company's incoming Call Center in all five boroughs and Nassau County. Through the years she has developed and maintained partnerships with elected officials, community, and faith-based organizations, Department of Education representatives, and providers to reach the underserved and uninsured.
YouthBridge-NY Rings the Closing Bell at NASDAQ!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
3:45pm - 4:15pm
NASDAQ MarketSite
On February 10, 2010, YouthBridge-NY visited the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City's Times Square. In honor of the occasion, William Boyland, Jr., New York State Assemblyman, Board Member Lorraine Watson, Alumnus Santiago Mueckay and YouthBridge-NY Fellow Laura Halperin presided over the NASDAQ Closing Bell. Despite the inclement weather, 20 YouthBridge-NY Fellows, alum, board members, and staff helped end the trading day and celebrated the organization's work in training diverse teen leaders for a better New York City. YouthBridge-NY would like to thank Robin Verges and Lorraine Watson of Rubenstein Associates for providing YouthBridge-NY with this opportunity. Check us out at NASDAQ.com or at the YouthBridge-NY photo gallery!
2009 Mid-Year Retreat for Fellows and Bridgers
Sunday, December 6, 2009
3:30pm - 6:00pm
Hunter College & The Pond at Bryant Park
Fellows and Bridgers came together for the first time since the summer retreat for a fun afternoon of pizza, poetry, and ice skating. Jamele Adams, Dean of Diversity at Brandeis University, led an exciting poetry slam and brought out the creative side our Fellowship. Fellows and Bridgers wrote haikus about each other, making for some good laughs. We then trekked down to Bryant Park for an evening of ice skating at The Pond.
Allianz Engaging Workplace Diversity Internships
Summer 2009
The five YouthBridge-NY Fellows participating in the Engaging Workplace Diversity (EWD) Committee recently completed their summer internship program. The goal of the EWD internship program, which is sponsored by the Allianz Foundation for North America, was to emphasize the importance of diversity in the workplace and to expose Fellows to careers of their interests. In addition to their six-week paid internships, Fellows met with key business leaders once a week to further discuss how diversity can be used as an asset and worked in two groups to create their own cultural competent businesses.
The internship placements varied depending upon the interests of the Fellows:
Jacki Bryk, a recent graduate of the YouthBridge-NY Fellowship and Ramaz High School, and rising freshman at Columbia University, interned with Fox News. Jacki was assigned this placement given her interest in the media.
Sam Gersten, a rising senior at Ramaz High School, interned at the Office of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. While at the Member Services Division, he was able to get an introduction into the world of local politics and assist in a variety of events sponsored by City Council.
Renee Kim, a rising senior at Saint Francis Preparatory High School, interned at Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP. This opportunity allowed for Renee to work in the Legal Recruitment Department, and helped her decide that law is something she wants to pursue in the future.
Hui Lin, a recent graduate of the YouthBridge-NY Fellowship and High School of Environmental Studies, and a rising freshman at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, interned at Health Plus. While working in the Member Services Department, Hui was able to better understand the issues and concerns of the diverse community being served by Health Plus.
Merlin Valdez, a rising senior at Washington Irving High School, interned at Sovereign Bank in the Community Reinvestment Department. This experience introduced Merlin to the strategies banks use to improve low-income communities.
Members of the non-profit and business communities served as vital guides to the Fellows both prior to their internships and throughout their placements. They met with professionals over an eight month period, hearing an array of issuing relating to diversity in the workplace and business development. Speakers included Rabbi Bob Kaplan (CAUSE-NY/JCRC-NY); YouthBridge-NY Board Members Marsha Haygood (Stepwise Associates), Grace Lyu-Volckhausen (Tiger Baron Foundation), and Ivy Cohen (Ivy Cohen Corporate Communications, Inc.); Antoinette Hamilton (L'Oreal USA); Lauren Tapper (Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP); Young Lee (Coney Island Hospital); and other top leaders from around the City.
In addition to the internship program, Fellows focused on their entrepreneurship projects. The assignment called for Fellows to create their own business plans for culturally competent companies, which they were to then present upon completion of the program. Renee, Sam, and Hui created Envision (see business plan and powerpoint presentation), a recycling company directed toward large businesses, and Merlin and Jacki worked together on RecLess (see business planand powerpoint presentation), an online program for digitally converting and editing home videos.
The program was celebrated at the Engaging Workplace Diversity Closing Luncheon on Friday, August 14, 2009 at Weil Gotshal, and Manges LLP. Fellows presented their companies, discussed their internship experiences, and celebrated their accomplishments with their advisors and YouthBridge-NY Board Members.
YouthBridge-NY would like to give special thanks to the wonderful supervisors who made this summer so enjoyable for the EWD Fellows:
Krista Gambacorta, Fox News
Howard Pollack, New York City Council
Lauren Tapper, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Michelle Bethea, Health Plus
Nia Rock, Sovereign Bank
End-of-the-Year Banquet
June 15, 2009
YouthBridge-NY held their first annual End-of-the-Year Banquet this year at CUNY Graduate Center. Board members, staff, past speakers, partners, supporters, family, and friends were invited to celebrate the accomplishments of this year's Fellows. Each committee shared their happenings and activities of the year. Diversity Lens premiered their photography exhibit, A Unique Lens, which will be on display at other locations throughout New York City this summer. Shared Resources for a Shared Future announced the recipients of their grant. Social Marketing & Media shared their anti-hate speech public service announcement and photo campaign, which can be found on their Facebook group: Hate Hurts-NY. And lastly, Engaging Workplace Diversity announced that they are gearing up to start their internships this summer. Special honors were given to Merlin Valdez, Timmy Li, and Gario Graham for their exceptional attendance; Laura Halperin received a certificate for "Going Above and Beyond" in the name of YouthBridge-NY; and Kevin Lin received a certificate for serving as YouthBridge Intern. We are going to miss our Fellows who are graduating and going off to college, but excited to start another great year!
YouthBridge-NY Fellowship Recruitment
Spring 2009
We received an overwhelming number of applications for the 2009-2010 YouthBridge-NY Fellowship. We are currently undergoing interviews and look forward to welcoming in a new batch of amazing Fellows!
Habitat for Humanity Build
March 8, 2009
Fellows volunteered with Habitat for Humanity-New York City at a new apartment building in Brooklyn. They had the opportunity to learn how to install wood flooring and interact with other volunteers from around the city, as well as those who plan on living in the apartment building once it is completed.
2009 YouthBridge-NY Reception
February 26, 2009
Over 130 people attended the 2009 YouthBridge-NY Reception at Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP. This year we honored fellow board members Martin Bienenstock (Dewey & LeBoeuf) and Grace Lyu-Volckhausen (Tiger Baron Foundation), along with Thomas Early (Health Plus) for their dedication to the mission of YouthBridge-NY. In addition, Speaker Sheldon Silver (New York State Assembly) was the proud recipient of our Leaders to Leaders Award. The reception was a great success as we surpassed our fundraising goal to ultimately bring in over $90,000 to benefit YouthBridge-NY.
The Shared Resources for a Shared Future committee held a special silent auction at the reception, with prized goods such as signed athletic memorabilia and an exquisite gift basket from L'Oreal. The committee is currently working on their own request for proposal and will be accepting grant applications from New York City organizations working on the issues of health, diversity, and/or health.
