BROOKLYN-USA.ORG 17
HEALTH HEROES BROOKLYN NEWS
Borough President Adams is proud
to recognize “Heroes of the Month,” individuals
who stand out in the borough for
their outstanding courage, tenacity, and
assistance to their community.
This growing roster of Brooklynites
includes everyday women and men,
from all walks of life, who have done
truly extraordinary things. For this
health-focused issue of One Brooklyn,
he has named a special group of “Health
Heroes.”
“Across our borough there are individuals
who stand up and make a difference
in people’s lives every single
day,” said Borough President Adams. “I
am grateful for their service to the communities
in which they give back. These
heroes have helped make One Brooklyn
a great place to raise healthy children
and families.”
To nominate a potential future hero,
email askeric@brooklynbp.nyc.gov.
HIV/AIDS ACTIVIST JOSÉ JAVIER BOSQUE
Bosque is a health educator in the
Latino Religious Leadership Program at
the Latino Commission on AIDS. He also
works part-time at the Southside Community
Mission in Williamsburg outreaching
to Spanish-speaking houses
of worship in Brooklyn on sexual health,
HIV, and hepatitis awareness (previously
he served as its executive director).
Bosque has worked for more than
30 years in sexual health education in
the Latino community dating back to the
AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Originally
from Spain, Bosque has devoted his
career in Brooklyn to expanding awareness
of critical sexual health prevention
and treatment services, and empowering
people in Spanish-speaking immigrant
communities to take ownership of
their health and end the stigma.
WE RUN BROWNSVILLE CO-FOUNDERS
SHEILA GORDON AND DIONNE GRAYMAN
We Run Brownsville is a grassroots
organization working to encourage
women of color who are living and working
in Brownsville to take ownership of
their emotional and physical health.
Its focus is to encourage participants
to combine walking, running, strength
training, and cardiovascular activities
into their daily routines in combination
with personal development workshops
and wellness education. Participants are
part of an eight-week walk-to-run program
that prepares them for a 5K race.
Gordon and Grayman’s ultimate goal
is to raise awareness of wide health disparities
in central and eastern Brooklyn,
particularly in the African-American
community, which experiences higher
Borough President Adams celebrated a special group of “Health Heroes.”
than average rates of diabetes, heart
disease, and obesity.
GALLOPNYC FOUNDER ALICIA KERSHAW
Kershaw, a retired attorney, is a lover
of horseback riding and has channeled
that passion into helping special needs
kids learn how to ride. She is the founder
of GallopNYC, which offers therapeutic
horsemanship programs to children
and adults with disabilities and special
needs, including veterans dealing with
post-traumatic stress disorder or brain
injuries and at-risk youth.
The program, which started in Brooklyn,
serves more than 500 riders each
week at six locations including Prospect
Park, teaching basic horsemanship
skills to lift spirits across the borough.
In her spare time, Kershaw is also a
volunteer for the New York City Parks
Enforcement Patrol Mounted Auxiliary
Photo Credit: Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP’s Office
Unit, helping to deter crime by patrolling
Prospect Park on horseback.
MIDWIFE JESSICA LYNN
Dubbed the “diabetes midwife,” Lynn
is a nurse midwife, diabetes educator,
and health coach based at Woodhull
Medical and Mental Health Center in Bedford
Stuyvesant. Her passion is helping
women with diabetes in pregnancy, having
lived with Type 1 diabetes for most of
her life. Throughout her career, she has
delivered more than 1,300 babies.
Her work focuses on caring for women
from preconception through postpartum
as pregnancy with diabetes requires
special preparations. Lynn’s two
decade career has taken her to institutions
such as the Naomi Berrie Diabetes
Center at Columbia University Medical
Center as well as public hospitals from
Guatemala and Jamaica to Brooklyn.