The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

women

NY17 Candidate Allison Fine Emphasizes a Commitment to Empowering People

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My interview with Allison Fine, congressional candidate for the 17th District, took place late in February and was slated to run as part of the mix inside May Mother’s Day editions prior to the print editions being canceled. So here it is for our online edition, one in a series of profiles of congressional candidates for the 17th District we have been presenting. 

During this period of quarantining and isolation too, if there is one thing I’ll remember most from speaking with Allison Fine it was her immediately relaying to me her #1 passion: to make sure every single person is known, seen and heard. “So much of what has pulled us apart in the last 30 years is people feeling invisible, unheard and powerless.”

Allison Fine, candidate for the 17th District  PHOTO by Grace Bennett

Fine has authored three books relating to harnessing technology for social good. “My entire career has been about giving people the tools and the power to manage their own life,” she said, noting she initially focused on helping nonprofits define and measure their success. More recently, she has worked with the Gates Foundation on the impact of artificial intelligence and automation on social change. As chair of the National Board of NARAL, the Pro-Choice America Foundation, she also sought to give people the tools to have autonomy over their own lives.

“Over the last 30 years we have seen the collapse of the middle class, and that is why our politics don’t align with our people, why we don’t have the political will for common sense gun control and reproductive freedom,” Fine said, noting the resultant loss of accountability. She believes that her focus on giving people that voice and power makes her unique in this race.

“It is that kind of building and shifting power to give more people a voice and the ability to control their own life that I know best in this race. So, this is not a moment in time to elect people who are career politicians and have worked inside this system – this is a time to have people who have very different experiences building and creating power outside to take us into the next chapter,” Fine argues.

Policy Priorities

The mother of three (her children are 24, 22 and 19), she is excited about trying to pursue change now that she is an empty nester. Fine is particularly passionate about women’s issues, dedicated to enabling women to control their own futures, both physically and financially. “The Republican Party is centered in controlling women; if it’s not abortions, it’s birth control or making sure we don’t get paid equally or we don’t have paid family leave,” she said. Citing the fate of Roe v. Wade and the realities in many states, she adds that “this is a fight worth having and winning, because over 70% of people in every state of the country believe in safer legal access to abortion. We need to build the political power and will to move past this bottleneck to full women’s equality,” she added, pointing to the Women’s Freedom agenda detailed on her website.

Fine is also dedicated to increasing job security. “So many people feel like the ground is moving beneath their feet economically.” She notes the uncertainty regarding benefits for increasing numbers who are contractors, freelancers, or “gig” workers, as well as everyone’s concerns about retirement and their children’s futures. She worries that her own kids will never be able to afford to live in communities like where they grew up (Irvington) or where she lives now (Sleepy Hollow, where she was raised).

Fine points out that with a quarter of NY17 LatinX, immigration must be addressed, noting the current administration’s “shameful” terrorization of both the documented and undocumented. “We need comprehensive immigration reform, a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people living in the shadows, we need to protect the DACA kids. We also need to hold accountable companies exploiting undocumented workers. I would love us to become a country where don’t just accept immigrants, we welcome them, as wonderful participants in our society, as people starting businesses, raising their families, working very hard, as those are the principles our country is built on,” Fine said.

A former synagogue president, Fine is also committed to fighting the rising wave of antisemitism and hate crimes. She points to the “separating” of communities, and advocates for having community mediators to bring different groups together in creative ways to increase understanding.

Noting too how technology has aided isolation of people and communities, Fine adds that “we are at the beginning of what I call “Online Onland Intersection.” As a legislator, she would push to hold social media companies accountable for misusing and selling personal data and failing to keep people safe online. She also points to co-working spaces as an example of maintaining the need for communal contact even while pursuing individual business interests.

Relatedly, Fine says “we desperately need people in Washington who understand automation and what is about to happen to our jobs, to our people, to our communities,” and calls automation an “equal opportunity disruptor” that will result in job losses everywhere – Wall Street, paralegals, the medical profession, and service industries. “Across the board, we need to make sure we have people who are making sure technology is harnessed ethical ways, that people are in charge of the technology and not the other way around and that we are investing heavily in workforce development because people are going have to create different kinds of occupations.” She added that access to capital, especially for traditionally overlooked groups like women and people of color, is crucial to create new businesses to support these new realities.

Fine also agrees that “the climate crisis is our existential crisis of the time,” and that the federal government “must invest in innovations that become commercial enterprises, to protect communities from rising temperatures, rising water, to vary the grid, and create jobs.” And she finds the lack of common sense gun control “confounding,” supported by the majority of the country but the inaction political.

A Crowded Field, With Many Women

Fine is impressed with how smart and well-intentioned her competitors are for this congressional seat. She is proud that so many women are running: “It’s awfully important who is at the table.. It matters for what issues are at the top of the agenda,” she said, pointing to countries like Finland that have a legislative majority of women that focus on issues like equal pay.

“Last year I created an effort called The Network of Elected Women because women are getting elected at record levels, at the municipal level around the country, county, town and village. We have 25 women here in Westchester who come together once a month and they support one another and they learn together and some of them are then taking the next step,” Fine said, describing the “virtual” meetings of the group. She added that New Castle Town Supervisor Ivy Pool has been a part of the council from the beginning, and it convinced her to run for Supervisor after being on the Town Board, an example of the need to convince women to take the next step for leadership positions.

“A couple of weeks ago, Goldman Sachs said it wouldn’t take any company public that didn’t have one female board member. Really? One? That’s how low the bar is set. Why isn’t it a third? Why isn’t it two-thirds? One?”

Personal Role Models and Being A Fighter

Fine points to her own mother and grandmother as her role models. Her grandmother, eventually fired for leaving her Lower East Side sweatshop sewing machine to march for suffrage, had arrived in the US in 1905 at the age of five on a boat from Lithuania, but found the courage to be an early fundraiser for Israel and fight for women’s rights while raising three sons. Fine describes her own mother as an introvert who found the courage to run for chair of the Westchester/Putnam Girl Scouts and eventually the Tarrytown school board, where she fought for children’s education for 10 years.

From them, Fine became a fighter: “you have to lift people up and move them forward. That’s what I do – I build communities and move them forward every step of the way,” she said.

Visit allisonfine2020.com for more information on Allison and her policy positions.

Impact100 Westchester: Strong Women Transforming Our County Via Collective Giving

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Impact100 Executive Board (L-R): Laura Rotter, Roberta Shapiro, Susan Bloom, Samantha Schwam, Laura Stone, Dawn Hoesterey, and Blakely Brodbeck

It’s amazing what women can do when they come together. Skilled, talented and intelligent women across Westchester County have been joining forces since 2014 to make a difference in our community by collective giving. Through Impact100 Westchester, these women have pooled their resources and awarded over 1.5 million dollars in grant money to local non-profits.

What is Impact100?

The concept is simple yet brilliant. The goal is to harness the energy and resources of a large group of women to achieve a transformational effect on an organization. The first Impact100 was founded in 2001 by Wendy Steele, a Cincinnati woman who recruited one hundred women to donate one thousand dollars each to help fund a dental clinic for the homeless.

“The theory is that a thousand dollars is a lot of money for some people and not so much for other people, but it is enough money that regardless of which end of the spectrum you’re in, you have skin in the game to feel like you’re tied to the money that you’re giving,” explains Armonk resident and Impact100 Westchester co-president Samantha Schwam. Since its inception, 53 chapters of Impact100 have formed around the world and over $55 million has been awarded by Impact100 groups globally.

The Westchester chapter was founded in 2012 by Edgemont resident, Sharon Salomy Douglas. After many kitchen table meetings amongst friends in Edgemont, Scarsdale, Armonk, and beyond, the first grant cycle started in 2014 with 132 members. Impact100 Westchester has since grown to 352 members and just completed its sixth grant cycle and awarded $352,000 in grants this year. Grant money is collected exclusively from membership dues of $1100 per member—$1,000 per year for the grant fund plus $100 to cover administrative costs such as accounting fees, tech support and the annual meeting.

Longtime Armonk resident and outgoing Impact100 Westchester co-president Susan Bloom was one of the original Westchester members. “My next door neighbor in Armonk had an information session at her house and as soon as I heard the idea, I thought it was a brilliant concept. The collective aspect is what really appealed to me. Here is a way that you can give money and feel like you are making a difference. You really feel like you are part of something big when you give that big check at the annual meeting,” she says.

A grant review committee at work

The Mission Behind Impact100

The mission of Impact100 Westchester is to engage women in philanthropy and to fund transformational grants for Westchester non-profits. “We do that in three ways,” says Schwam, “first, by connecting like-minded women in Westchester; second, by educating women on the non-profit community and the needs in Westchester; and lastly, by hopefully transforming Westchester by granting the transformational private grants.”

The educational component has been an important focus for the current executive board. “We felt that we want all our members, not just those who are part of grant review, to understand the process. We put together a rubric to help guide members in their decision-making process,” says Bloom. “We also run educational events for our members to help educate them on specific issues in the non-profit world.”

The Process

Every grant cycle, Impact recruits and registers members. Once membership closes, the size of the grant fund is determined and announced to the public. Depending on the number of members, the transformational project grants are anywhere between $80,000 to $100,000. Applications from non-profits across Westchester are then accepted for review. Members can participate on committees, review grant applications, perform financial due diligence, attend site visits or simply vote at the annual meeting.  Non-profits that do not move on to become finalists are provided with feedback from Impact’s advisory council on how they can improve their project. Grant finalists present their projects and the entire membership votes at the annual meeting.

Chappaqua resident Rachel Rader who just completed her third year at Impact says that the flexibility was one of the things that really appealed to her. “I liked the fact that I could write a check and be as involved or uninvolved as I want and then throw myself into it as time allows.” Rader has co-chaired a Chappaqua-based grant review committee for the last two years and plans to continue in the coming year.

WJCS (L-R): Lisa Scott, Program Director of Center Lane, Sean Michael, Program Participant at Center Lane, Paula Santa-Donato, Director of Youth Services at WJCS and Shannon Van Loon, Assistant Executive Director at WJCS
Gilda’s Club (L-R): Dr. Laura Moore, Children, Teens and Families Manager, Rachel Weisglass, Member of the Youth Committee and Jen Scully, Director of Program Administration
Make The Road (L-R): Lisette Rodríguez, Client of MRNY,
Theo Oshiro, Deputy Director,
Arlenis Morel, Chief of Staff and
Jessica Young, Westchester Supervising Attorney

This Year’s Grant Recipients

The 2019 grant cycle culminated in an exciting evening at the annual meeting at Brae Burn Country Club on May 21, 2019. Six finalists made it to the final round and all gave compelling presentations. Ultimately, three $100,000 transformational project grants were awarded to Gilda’s Club Westchester, Make The Road New York, and The Center Lane Pride Program at Westchester Jewish Community Services.

Gilda’s Club will use the grant money to build a teen center and to implement teen programming. Make the Road New York, located at “La Casa Azul” in White Plains will use the grant money to renovate their space to create a family center with a childcare area and private meeting space to allow them to expand their legal services and social work. The Center Lane Pride Program will use its funds to deliver “LGBTQ 101” cultural competency training to school staff, medical practitioners and parents. Center Lane also intends to create a “Youth Pride Curriculum” that can be shared at schools throughout Westchester and beyond.

The remaining three finalists did not leave empty-handed. Each was awarded a $12,333 core mission grant to help fund their ongoing operations. A $15,000 focus area grant was also awarded to an arts organization as Impact has observed over the years that arts organizations rarely make it to the final round.

Past Recipients

One of Impact’s many success stories, Pace Women’s Justice Center, after receiving a $100,000 transformational project grant from Impact in 2016 to fund a walk-in clinic to better serve victims of abuse, was able to attract additional funding from Pace University, multiplying their grant ten-fold. Beyond the new walk-in clinic, this allowed for new office space and additional staff and lawyers. They can now serve over 500 clients each year.

Another transformational $100,000 grant recipient in 2016, Latino U, a college preparatory service for first generation Latino students, was awarded money to pilot a program to help their students successfully transition into college life. Based on the success of this pilot program, they were able to secure additional funding from New York State to continue the program for beyond Impact’s initial grant period.

“It’s so interesting how interconnected the Westchester non-profit world is,” observes Rader. “I joined Latino U as a tutor and later found out that it had been a recipient of an Impact grant. It’s cool to be on the inside of an organization that benefited from Impact.”

Unforeseen Benefits for Impact100 Members

Impact has been rewarding for its members in so many unexpected ways.

“My work with Impact has been really inspiring for me,” says Schwam. “I love sitting in a grant review meeting and hearing people’s perspectives. Everyone is coming to grant review from different personal experiences, whether having dealt with medical issues, cancer, domestic violence… Everyone is also coming from different educational backgrounds and skill sets. A finance person might be looking at the financial statements while a lawyer will approach it from a different perspective. The beauty of sitting in grant review and hearing those conversations has been a great process. I might walk in to a meeting thinking one applicant is my favorite but then I end up being swayed after listening to what someone else says and think to myself, ‘wow, I never thought about it that way.’ We try to foster a judgment-free zone where everyone feels comfortable to express their opinion.”

“For me,” says Bloom, “it has been an incredible growth experience–I joined and a couple of years later I was president,” she laughs. “Ultimately, the women that I’ve met have really blown me away. I would not have met them if not for this organization. Impact is a great way to network and for women to get outside their small bubble and get involved in something meaningful.”

“So many of us, working or not working,” says Rader, “are involved in things relating to our children’s education, our own communities, etc. It feels eye-opening to be involved in something where you’re helping people who are having a completely different experience of living in Westchester than you.”

Impact100 is always looking for new members. For more information, check out their website at impact100westchester.org

The Ossining Children’s Center: A Rich History of Celebrating Women

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BY HOWARD MILBERT

Ossining Children’s Center has a keen eye on the future, but they are also celebrating their rich history–a history of women’s empowerment. The Ossining Children’s Center was founded by the women’s association of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in 1895 as the Christ Child Day Nursery and Bethany Home. At that time, Ossining was home to many widowed immigrant women who wanted to work to support their families, but “day care” did  not exist.

The story of Ossining Children’s Center began nearly 120 years ago as a response to the needs of working immigrant mothers. It is now a crucial resource for all families, providing nurturing and educational care for children 6 weeks to 12 years old.  Through the years, the community has generously supported our mission to keep high quality childcare affordable for working families.

We’ve aimed to support women of every socioeconomic status since our inception an we know that families and mothers have to make difficult choices regarding their careers and we do our best to provide an inclusive environment for all women.

OCC’s Fearless Females & Female Supporters

Edith Baker played a leadership role over the course of 60 years of involvement with OCC, in seeing the Center through difficult times and running pivotal projects in the Center’s history. She served as board president four different times. In 1948, Edith Baker was among the Board members who believed strongly that the childcare program was an important service to the community. Edith, herself, was a working mother and had served as treasurer of her father’s company for many years. When the existence of the child care program was threatened, Edith spearheaded the “Sponsoring Committee” which took over responsibility for running the child care center. A special campaign raised the needed funds, the Board of Education gave the use of space in Park School, and the Ossining Children’s Center was incorporated as a separate entity.  Although Edith passed away in 2004, her legacy lives on.

Jessica Yanqui-Zhinin found herself pregnant at 17. She wanted to finish high school and to go college. When she was accepted to SUNY Binghamton, she did not anticipate she would be able to attend, but Jessica didn’t want to be another statistic. Fortunately, she found the Ossining Children’s Center. At OCC, she not only found a village but an extended family. When Jessica dropped her daughter Nube off in morning, she knew Nube was in loving hands. The caring teachers gave Jessica constant support helping with everything. The office door was always open offering more shoulders to lean on. Ossining Children’s Center gave Jessica the stability and support to earn dual masters’ degrees. She is now a teacher at Ossining High School.

Left to right at OCC to kick off the capital campaign: Assemblywoman Sandy Galef; OCC Executive Director Howard Milbert; OCC Board Member and Campaign Co-Chair Marilyn Wishnie; OCC Board Member Vanessa Pairis; Westchester County Executive George Latimer; and Capital Campaign Committee Member Richard Wishnie

The Future is Female

Child care is a vital factor in a woman’s ability to be a productive worker, and thereby being able to improve her family’s economic security. For more than 50 years, the Ossining Children’s Center (OCC) has been in the forefront of advocacy for public funding for child care.

Thanks to advocacy by Ossining Children’s Center families who spoke at the Northern Westchester 2019 Budget Hearing, Westchester County recently re-opened the “Title XX” Child Care Subsidy Program, which had been closed to new applicants since 2016. Title XX makes child care subsidies available to families who make slightly more than the income ceiling* for the Low-Income Child-Care Subsidy Program.

Currently, two Ossining families have applied for Title XX child care subsidies from the Westchester County Department of Social Services to help them to keep their children enrolled at OCC.

Last month, we announced a $17.8 million capital campaign to build a new child care and education center at 32 State Street. The Center, which has raise $12.8 million to date, is seeking support from the community to reach their campaign goal. This facility will serve an additional 50 children and bring all of the OCC’s programming to one central location. Over 75 of OCC’s Children participated in the choreographed dance in front of a large banner featuring a rendering of the new space. It’s a privilege to work in a town that truly values children and families. If you’d like to learn more about the programs and services offered by the Ossining Children’s Center, visit www.ossiningchildrenscenter.org

Dancing for Child Care!

More than 75 children from the Ossining Children’s Center (OCC) joined together on April 24 in a choreographed dance to kick off OCC’s capital campaign to build a new child care and education center.

The festive and exciting kickoff event, which was held at OCC’s current location at 90 South Highland Avenue, was attended by local, county and state officials including Westchester County Executive George Latimer, NYS Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg, Ossining Village Mayor Victoria Gearity and friends and supporters of the Ossining Children’s Center.

The campaign, which is titled Our Children. Our Future. The Ossining Children’s Center Campaign, is seeking to raise $17.8 million. To date, OCC has raised approximately $12.9 million. Groundbreaking for the new facility is scheduled for later this spring.

“It is a privilege to work in a town that truly values children and families,” said Howard Milbert, Executive Director, Ossining Children’s Center.

“It is so exciting that the children and teachers will have a facility worthy of the high-quality work of the Center,” said Campaign Co-Chair Rebecca Samberg.

“This new child care and education center will be a game changer for the entire community,” said Campaign Co-Chair Marilyn Wishnie.

Last August, OCC unveiled plans for the construction of a new 27,000-square-foot building that will enable it to consolidate its programs under one roof. Centrally located in downtown at 32 State Street, the new center will replace operations currently housed at two 120-year-old buildings OCC owns on South Highland Avenue, as well as space it rents at a nearby church.

The new 2.5-acre site at 32 State Street was acquired for $1.8 million and donated to OCC by a long-time generous benefactor. An existing building on the site has been removed. The new building will house all of OCC’s current programs while meeting the growing need for infant, toddler, preschool and after-school care in Ossining. The projected enrollment for the new facility is 200-222 children. OCC’s current enrollment is 148.

Designed by KG&D Architects of Mount Kisco, the attractive three-story building will include nine classrooms, five toddler and infant rooms, four outdoor play areas, staff and administrative offices, a multi-purpose room, conference room and kitchen. There will be 22 on-site parking spaces for parents, staff and visitors. Additional parking will be secured at a nearby off-site location.

The new facility will make childcare available to all income levels helping parents to maintain steady employment. Having the facility downtown will help anchor the State Street neighborhood, bring increased economic activity, and create job opportunities.

A new modern facility will also attract more families from a wide variety of income levels, allowing children from throughout the community to grow together, and enabling OCC to serve more families in need. For more information about the programs and services offered by the Ossining Children’s Center, visit www.ossiningchildrenscenter.org

*Income ceiling for families seeking a “Low Income” child care subsidy: $50,200 for a family of four. Income ceiling for Title XX: $55,475 for a family of four.

Howard Milbert, Executive Director of the Ossining Children’s Center, has spent his career advocating for children and parents, especially low-income working parents who are striving to improve their families’ economic situation. He is known throughout New York State as a public policy expert on and advocate for high quality child care.

March Boutique: A Local Gem with On-Trend Clothing for Fashionistas

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Nestled into a corner of downtown Briarcliff Manor’s main thoroughfare, Pleasantville Road, March Boutique offers Westchester fashionistas on-trend apparel and accessories. Whether you are looking to mimic the styles of a model on a Milan runway or looking for a more casual Instagram-worthy outfit, this jewel-sized boutique should be on your radar.

Lynn Puro, the owner and a Briarcliff Manor resident opened the store twelve years ago. Her exquisite taste and style is evident as soon as you step into the store. Puro scouts fashion showrooms in New York, Paris, Milan and Los Angeles and carries lines that you may not be familiar with such as Bailey 44 and Fifteen Twenty plus well-known and beloved labels like Nicole Miller and Joseph Ribkoff.

Everything But the Shoes

Saturday is the store’s busiest day as many customers come in needing something to wear that evening. “We get a lot of last-minute requests and we love helping clients choose an outfit and accessories such as handbags and jewelry. We offer everything but the shoes.” Puro strives to offer many options for customers at different price points.

“Fit is everything” is Puro’s cardinal fashion rule. To that end, she always tries on every product in her store when visiting showrooms. She brings an additional employee to showrooms as well with a different figure to see how the clothing fits before deciding to sell it in her boutique.

On a recent visit, I had fun perusing the racks and checking out spring trends. The store reminded me of a trendy Soho boutique with exposed brick and a copper tin ceiling. Everything was thoughtfully displayed and photos of Puro’s fashion icon Audrey Hepburn adorn the walls.

As a petite person, I’ve been wondering how to embrace the wide-legged pants trend seen all over the spring fashion magazines. “Not to worry,” advises Puro and she pulls out a wide-legged jean made by Just Black Denim which I try on and lo and behold, it actually looks good. Puro and all her employees have a strong sense of style and can immediately size up your silhouette and provide ideas of items to try on. I wonder what shoes to wear with the jeans and Puro offers suggestions. “The number one question we get from customers, is what shoes should I wear with an outfit?”

Next up, I want to try on a floral dress as the fashion magazines are saturated with them for spring. On a small frame, prints can look overwhelming but Puro knows what patterns will work with my figure. The kelly green floral wrap dress by Cupcakes & Cashmere is a winner and best of all, it is not like the dozens of black dresses I have hanging in my closet. With graduations and baby showers on the horizon, I am all sorted with this little number.

Snapworthy Spring Trends

I want to know what other spring trends are blooming and Puro is at the ready with several sartorial suggestions. Flower prints and pastel colors are popular. She also carries several leopard print items.  Leopard print is big this spring but if you don’t want a full outfit with it, the store has leopard print hats, scarves and bags. Other trends include cropped and slightly flared jeans or pants and any item in blue. “Blue is the new black this season,” proclaims Puro.

“Fashion should also be fun,” attests Puro. She holds several themed events to coincide with popular television shows that have stylish costumes such as “Downton Abbey” and “Mad Men”.

As Puro wraps up my items (I also purchase a Nicole Miller dress for an upcoming Bar Mitzvah on my visit on the sale rack no less), I notice the lovely tissue paper decorated with delicate dragonflies. It’s no surprise that before opening March, Puro worked in beauty for Estee Lauder. Confidence breeds beauty was one of Lauder’s favorite sayings and as I walk out the door with my fashion-forward items, I feel like a million bucks and can’t wait to wear my new dresses this spring.

March Boutique

1207 Pleasantville Rd

Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510

Phone: (914) 923-2100

Marchboutique.com

Local Women Forge Unexpected Career Paths to Success

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(L- R): Elise Orlando, Susan Draper, Kelly Leonard, Kathy Benardo and Holly Blum
PHOTOS by Carolyn Simpson, DOUBLEVISION PHOTOGRAPHERS

A common question children are asked is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question infers that there should be a short and simple answer. Yet, realistically, the answer is often quite complex. Many factors impact career journeys: economic fluctuations, family needs and personal maturation are just a few. Whether stemming from a prior career or from working as a stay-at-home mom, experiences rich with growth opportunities accrue continuously throughout one’s lifetime making the answer to this question far from straightforward.

“Career paths aren’t linear. They shouldn’t be seen as a continuous assembly line leading directly from graduation to retirement.” says Mindy Berkower, a former Chappaqua resident and Chief Client Officer and General Counsel, iRelaunch LLC (irelaunch.com), a pioneering company in career reentry. “Women may not only off-ramp from and on-ramp back to their careers over a lifetime–they may also pivot toward a number of different careers, tapping their extensive transferable skills and building new skills and developing new interests along the way.”

Growth doesn’t stop at any point throughout life. It is not possible to predict where life’s twists and turns will lead; there are too many moving variables. Yet, as exemplified by the stories of five inspirational local women, unexpected detours can translate into unique and valuable opportunities.

Investing in Personal Objectives

Chappaqua resident Elise Orlando worked on a trading floor for an investment bank assisting companies through the public offering process for over ten years before she became pregnant

with her son, the oldest of her three children. A year later her daughter was born and eventually her family grew to include a second daughter.

After her son’s birth, Elise went back to work full-time. As time went by she found herself becoming more and more concerned with her son’s development. Shortly after she brought her middle child home from the hospital, Elise’s son was diagnosed with autism. This became the impetus for her career change. Giving up a career in finance was easy for Elise because she had a new and important purpose that took precedence over corporate finance: to care for her son and her newborn.

Elise quickly realized there were few educational opportunities in her community for children with autism. Through research, she learned of a cutting-edge teaching model pioneered at UCLA. She set up a home program, hired a team of therapists and taught her son using this program’s “Applied Behavior Analysis.” It was during this period she realized he could learn and this teaching method would be able to reach him. She connected with other local families who were in a similar position. Together, they established a nonprofit group to raise funds for autism education. These efforts ultimately lead to the opening of the Devereux Millwood Learning Center for 5-21 year olds with autism in Millwood in 1996. “There were many challenges getting there, but my goal to have a place for my son to learn was realized.” The Devereux Learning Center has since moved and is now located in Mount Kisco.

Elise feels that her career has followed a somewhat unique path in that she didn’t have a choice about many of the decisions she made. Her family was growing; she wanted to provide opportunities for her son and to be there for her daughters. For Elise, her family’s needs provided an abundance of motivation and a clear purpose. Today, she continues to advocate for her son who is now an adult. She serves on the Board of Directors at Extraordinary Ventures New York (www.EVNY.org)  in Mount Kisco, NY, and FECA (Foundation for Empowering Citizens with Autism (www.fecainc.org) working to provide opportunities for adults with autism and other developmental disabilities within their communities.

Following Your Passion

Holly Blum was a Vice President at a healthcare public relations firm. She was successful and proud of the work she was doing; she was helping to promote medications and treatments that were saving lives. However, when Holly became a mother she found the demands of her job were not in alignment with her family’s priorities. She decided to pause her career to be with her kids.

While at home in Chappaqua, Holly opined on what she enjoyed about the work she had done in public relations. She knew she loved the parts of her job that related to writing and working with patients. She especially liked learning about people’s stories as she prepared them to interact with the media.

Since she was a young girl, Holly has had a gift for expressing emotion through writing; the countless notes and cards she wrote to her family were an important part of her childhood. As she grew older it became clear that this was a natural talent and passion.

Then, one day, Holly was at a wedding listening to “the worst wedding speech she had ever heard” when she had an epiphany. Holly’s speech writing company, A Speech to Remember (www.aspeechtoremember.com), was born. The company focuses on speeches for life’s special occasions. The ideas come from her clients and each speech is unique. Holly gathers information, and drafts the speech in collaboration with them; taking great care that authenticity is preserved. Besides loving her work, Holly appreciates that her job has the flexibility to allow her to be present for her family.

Holly advises people evaluating career paths to think about their interests and skills; then ask family and friends what strengths they perceive you to have, to help pinpoint what direction to go in. It can be hard to rise to the challenge of pursuing your passions but “sometimes it takes a leap of faith and you just have to believe in yourself.”

The Birth of a New Career

Kathy Benardo of Chappaqua has a master’s degree in art history and spent five years as a product developer for the retail division of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and then eight years at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2002 she married Sanford Benardo, an adoption lawyer who was just beginning to branch out into third party reproduction law.

After having their second child in 2005, they decided to create the Northeast Assisted Fertility Group (www.assistedfertility.com), a surrogacy and egg donation program that filled a need for these services in the Northeast (most of these programs were on the West Coast). It was a natural transition for Kathy, who felt that she had gotten all she could from museum product development, whereas third-party reproduction was a growing field.

The husband and wife team avoids the expected marital conflicts through a clear division of duties. Kathy’s husband handles the surrogacy side of the business and she directs the egg donor program. As much as Kathy enjoyed being a part of the art world, owning a business allows her the flexibility to work from home and be with her kids after school.  She feels that her new career path is more stressful, but helping people build families is also more rewarding. In her second career, Kathy applies the same creativity and entrepreneurial spirit fostered in her museum work. “You are always you, no matter what job you do. You bring your strengths along with you and can apply them to whatever career path you choose to take.”

Nurturing Your Ambition

Kelly Leonard O’Keefe of Chappaqua had a long and successful career in book publishing. When a change in executive management occurred at her company, Kelly and several of her contemporaries were laid off. She used this opportunity to set up her own digital marketing consulting company that she still manages serving authors and local nonprofits.

In 2016, Kelly’s beloved father passed away. She witnessed hospice for a second time in the family and it resonated with her deeply. Being with her loved ones during their last days and hours of life was a spiritual and transformative experience. In the months following her father’s passing, Kelly realized she wanted to focus on end-of-life care

and hospice as a new career. With no healthcare background, she was starting from square one.

She applied to a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) program at Westchester Community College and was accepted. The 12-week course included over 90 hours of classroom instruction and 30 hours of hands-on clinical work in a nursing home. The direct care experience of helping non-family members convinced Kelly further that this was work she could do as a new profession.

Since completing the course and passing the New York State CNA Competency Exam, Kelly volunteers with Hospice Care in Westchester & Putnam (part of Visiting Nurse Association of Hudson Valley) and was recently hired by Home Helpers Tri-County, in-home care serving Westchester, Putnam, and Fairfield counties.

Realizing Your Dreams

Susan Draper from Armonk was a buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue before she became the Director of Women’s Planning at Barney’s New York. While working, she enjoyed spending her spare time being active in her community through her role as Commissioner of Outreach on the vestry at her church.

She took some time off from work when her youngest child was born. For three years, she focused on her family and the volunteer work she found so rewarding. When she returned to the workforce, Susan decided to take a job as a part-time trainer and spinning instructor. She enjoyed exercising and staying in shape and this role allowed enough flexibility to be there for her kids. The yoga studio Susan attended was having financial troubles and was about to close. Though she was new to yoga, Susan thought the studio was “simply too pretty to close.” In a completely unexpected venture,  she became the new owner of Quest Yoga Arts in Mount Kisco.

Susan embarked on a yoga teacher training program and used the buying skills from her days at Saks to create a fitness wear boutique in the reception area of the studio. Her vision was to offer yoga classes that were accessible to everyone, not just expert yogis.

Susan loved her time at Quest. She created a community filled with warmth and found the experience of teaching and helping others feel better to be very uplifting. Yoga has brought her so much joy over the years–from an opportunity to teach side by side with her daughter to occasionally teaching yoga to her son’s college swim team.

However, in planning for the future Susan reexamined her path and decided to return to her educational roots. During her time as an undergraduate at Kenyon College, she had excelled in math and science. Back then, she had considered going to medical school but wasn’t comfortable with the debt an advanced degree would require. However, the timing was now right and she decided she was ready to pursue her interest in healthcare.

Susan completed her nursing degree with honors and was subsequently hired at Greenwich Hospital. It was daunting to start her first day in a stressful career at age fifty-five, but the caring and nurturing role of being a nurse is Susan’s clear calling.

Finding Fulfillment Through Reinvention

Self-discovery can be a lengthy excavation process and can take a lifetime to explore. Circumstances inevitably change and careers often must be modified in tandem. Adaptability, resilience and self-confidence play an important role in navigating flexuous career paths. These women stepped out of their comfort zones to embark on new experiences, finding success and fulfillment through reinvention.

The question of what one wants to be when they grow up is difficult to answer because it infers that growth stops at a certain point in adulthood. But growth doesn’t end when adulthood begins; it is ongoing, continuing throughout a lifetime. Therefore, the answer to this question is ever evolving, making the journey of a career’s path as significant as the final destination.