2017 District V conference

AAUW Rockland Cty and Westchester Cty  Branch members

On October 28, 2017 the AAUW- NYS District V Conference was held at the Greenburgh Public Library in Elmsford, NY. The theme of the event was “Who’s Wearing the Hat? Women in Non-Traditional Careers”. Panelists were Channel 12 Reporter, Lisa LaRocca (moderator), Jamoire O. Johnson, an aspiring fire fighter, Dione Koerner, biochemist and educator, Leah Rambo, Director of Training for the Sheet Metal Workers Union, and Lourdes Rivas, Architectural Engineer on the Tappan Zee (Mario Cuomo) Bridge Project. The event was attended by members of several District V branches, and there were also a number of high school and college students in attendance.

2016 District V Conference

NY State President, District V Branch Presidents with Panelists

On October 15, 2016, we had a successful District V Conference on “Diversity and Inclusion in Today’s Workplace.” I believe all of the participants would say that this conference was very informative. We had Bich Ha Pham of the New York City Public Advocate’s office as our Keynote speaker who discussed relevant issues on gender equity. She discussed the fact that New York City was drafting legislation to end the practice of asking the question about previous salary history, and she was interested in AAUW possibly being a cosponsor of this legislation. This would be a significant collaboration for AAUW.

Members of Rockland Cty Branch

The panelist discussion was very well-received. Our panelists: Azadeh Khalili, First Executive Director of Commission on Gender Equity, Mayor Office City Hall; Pamela Abner, Chief Administrative Officer of Diversity and Inclusion, Mount Sinai Health System; Rippi K. Karda, Assistant General Counsel, Verizon Communications, Inc.; and Gabrielle Lyse Brown, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, New York City Bar Association, discussed topics relevant to understanding why we need to have a diverse and inclusive workforce, how this can be achieved and what the next steps are to ensure that this mandate continues to be the practice.
If you were not able to attend, you missed a very lively discussion, but I believe AAUW District V gained individuals with whom we can collaborate in any future endeavors.