12
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, FEB. 17, 2019
Schneps Media salutes Brooklyn’s Power Women
The annual awards night honors formidable ladies who help shape the borough
BY COURTNEY DONAHUE
Save the date!
Schneps Media will host its
eighth-annual Power Women
Awards and Networking Event
on March 14 to honor and celebrate
the ladies whose contributions,
work, activism, and heart
have had a positive impact in
Brooklyn — and we’re inviting
you to join us!
The event honors top Kings
County women for their outstanding
leadership and contributions
to the community. This
year’s festivities, at Sirico’s Caterers
in Dyker Heights, will be
co-hosted by Lisa Evers of Fox
5, and will include an interactive
business expo, followed by
a dinner and awards ceremony.
The night is a great way to thank
the wonderful women who give
their all to this borough, said the
event’s organizer.
“There is so much talent and
there are so many successful
women who give back to the community,”
said Lori Pedone. “This
is an opportunity for them to network
with each other and be recognized
for all that they do.”
The beautiful night is made
possible by our wonderful sponsors,
Dime Bank, JP Morgan
Chase, MetroPlus Health Plan,
Northwell Health, The Avondale
Care Group, Broadway Stages,
and DMV Service Centers LLC /
JSA Tags Inc.
This year’s event will feature
a new award, the Global Leadership
Award, which will be presented
to Elizabeth Melendez
Fisher, the founder of the Selah
Foundation, a national organization
that focuses on ending sex
traffi cking and exploitation.
Fisher says her passion
started with a resolve to help
victims of sex abuse. When she
was planning an event and looking
for a charity to give to, she
learned about the horrifi c level
of sex traffi cking in America,
and how it impacts local communities.
She became interested in
helping, and has since become
a crusader whose aim is to educate,
prevent, and help children
and women affected by this. She
adds that the root of sex traffi cking
is often a child who has suffered
sexual abuse.
Fisher founded Selah Freedom
in 2011, and later founded
the global arm, Selah Way Foundation.
Selah Freedom’s initiative,
Prevention, arms kindergarten
through 12th-grade children,
parents, and caregivers with the
knowledge they need to recognize
and avoid traffi cking through
materials that are placed in
schools and community centers.
Fisher says the curriculum also
teaches those who may be victims
of abuse and traffi cking to
safely disclose what they’re experiencing.
The program is currently
in Brooklyn and throughout
the tri-state area.
The Protection program
trains law enforcement personnel
to recognize signs of traffi cking
— and Fisher says this is particularly
important for offi cers to
learn because it isn’t always easy
to spot.
She says, for instance, a young
child could be riding in the back
of a car with an adult in the front.
She trains the offi cers to recognize
if it looks questionable — for
instance, if the child looks scared
— and to intervene.
“A young girl or boy in the
back of a car with an adult that
looks questionable, they should
stop the car, take a moment with
the child, take a moment with the
adult,” said Fisher. “If they know
what they’re seeing, they won’t
miss it. The key to stopping traffi
Our 2019 honorees
Our 2019 Power Women are remarkable ladies who have had
a positive impact on Kings County, so buy your ticket today at
www.brooklynpaper.com/powerwomen and join us as we cheer
on the efforts of these fabulous women:
Global Leadership Award
Elizabeth Melendez Fisher
Founder and Chief Executive Offi cer, Selah Foundation
Hall Of Fame
Margarette Tropnas, LMSW
Program Director, Urban Resource Institute
President, UNA-USA Brooklyn Chapter
Adjunct Lecturer, Hunter-Silberman School of Social Work
Lifetime Achievement Award
cking is intervening before it
gets out of control.”
Receiving the Global Leadership
Award is a true honor, she
says, because it’s a chance to
make more people aware of her
cause — and could spark that
same passion in someone else.
“It means more to me than
you would ever understand,”
said Fisher. “My passion is training
other people. Speaking about
sex traffi cking, you open people’s
eyes. Nothing makes me more
excited than when I can have a
platform, because that’s the only
chance you have to awaken leaders.
It takes my breath away.”
One hundred percent of the
proceeds from the evening’s raffl
e will go to the Selah Foundation.
And don’t miss the Brooklyn’s
Power Women issue, on stands
March 8, where you can read
about the important work all
of our honorees do everyday to
make the borough a better place.
Eighth-annual Power Women
Awards and Networking Event
at Sirico’s Caterers (8023 13th
Ave. between 80th and 81st streets
in Dyker Heights) March 14, 6–9
pm. Tickets $150 and available at
www.brooklynpaper.com/powerwomen
.
Sylvia Mariamoff
The Attitude Lady
Dynamic Duo Award
Michelle Lee and Monica Holowacz
Broadway Stages
Honorees
• Cristen Agostinacchio
• Josephine Augello
• Natacha Aurelien
• Dr. Kim Best, PhD
• Angela Blum-Finlay
• Sonia Bonilla
• Jessica Burdo
• Carrie Anne Cavallo
• Raisa Chernina
• Caroline P. Cohen
• Pamela Esposito-Amery
• Danielle Fairbairn-Bland
• Barbara Felker
• Hon. Alice Fisher Rubin
• Paula Ingram
• Cloe’ Luv
• Onida Coward Mayers
GLOBAL REACH: Elizabeth Melendez
Fisher will be honored for her work
with the Global Leadership Award at
the Power Women Awards on March 14.
Elizabeth Melendez Fisher
• Ingrid Murray
• Regina Myer
• Michelle Neary
• Margarycel
E. Nunez
• Karen Overton
• Caroline Pardo
• Dr. Ionie Pierce
•Elise Pettus
• Tere Pettitt
• Briget Rein
• Bonnie Schwerin
• Susan Siegel
• Pat Singer
• Gail L. Smith
• Melanie Wiener
• Ana Zen-Ochoa
POWER WOMEN AWARDS
HOSTING LIVE: Lisa Evers of Fox 5 will co-host the night’s festivities.
/power-women
/power-women
/powerwomen
/power-women
/powerwomen