Centennial Celebration

On January 31, 1916, 100 women met in lower Manhattan for the first meeting of the Women’s City Club of New York, now Women Creating Change. One hundred years later on January 31, 2016, WCC held it’s Founders’ Day event to kick off a year of celebratory events. WCC’s trailblazing founders consistently stood on the right side of history. Today, WCC remains committed to advocating for economic, gender and racial justice in key advocacy areas. Our Centennial was an opportunity to build a future as distinguished as our past. We know our next century can be even stronger than our first and we need YOUR SUPPORT to make that happen.

On January 31, 1916, 100 women met in lower Manhattan for the first meeting of the Women’s City Club of New York, now Women Creating Change. One hundred years later on January 31, 2016, WCC celebrated the anniversary of that event.

The Founders’ Day celebration featured an oral history of WCC as well as a Centennial History Exhibit which included rare archival images. WCC was honored to have United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York as the event’s keynote speaker.

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WCC recognized women whose civic contributions to New York City embody the characteristics of the organizations founding mothers: courage, commitment, innovation, and a passion for equality and a better life for all.

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HONORING

• Jennifer Buffet and Pamela Shifman — NoVo Foundation
• Maria Cuomo Cole — Chair, H.E.L.P., USA; President, Cuomo Cole Productions
• Jessica Neuwirth — Founder/President, ERA Coalition; Founder/Director, Donor Direct Action; Founder, Equality Now
• Helen D. (“Heidi”) Reavis — Managing Director, Reavis Parent Lehrer LLC

The Perkins Roosevelt Symposium was held on Friday, June 17, 2016 and focused on recent efforts in New York State to achieve economic justice. Panelists examined how Eleanor Roosevelt and Frances Perkins addressed issues of their day, the unique challenged they faced as women, and how women today can further advance economic, gender, and racial equality in New York State.

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New York City faces significant challenges relating to extreme differentials in access to affordable health care, quality public education, affordable housing and jobs that provide a living wage. The Centennial Conference, held on Thursday, September 29, 2016, examined key problems of availability, affordability and access in four critical areas: Health Care, Education, Housing and Homelessness and Employment. Expert speakers and panels explored the interconnectedness of public policies, private programs and community engagement in reducing the scale and scope of disparity in our city.

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The Centennial Annual Meeting, held on October 26, 2016, was a reflection of the past accomplishments of WCC for the past 100 years. The program focused on what WCC can do as it enters its second century of activism. The keynote speaker for the event was Heather C. McGhee, President of Demos, a public policy organization working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy.

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The WCC Centennial Medal for Women in Leadership was awarded between 2015 and 2018 to women who have made significant contributions to shaping policy that improves the quality of life for all New Yorkers.

• Ruth E. Acker, Past WCC President (2016)
• Susan Alt, Past WCC President (2016)
• Carmen E. Arroyo, New York State Assembly, District 84 (2016)
• Maria del Carmen Arroyo, City Council Member, 17thDistrict, Bronx (2015)
• Inez Barron, City Council Member, 42ndDistrict, Brooklyn (2015)
• Rodneyse Bichotte, New York State Assembly, District 79 (2016)
• Jo Ivey Boufford, Clinical Professor of Global Health, New York University School of Global Public Health and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine (2016)
• Gale Brewer, Manhattan Borough President (2015)
• Venida Browder, Mother of Kalief Browder, advocate (2016)
• Jennifer Buffett, Co-President, NoVo Foundation (2016)
• Margaret Chin, City Council Member, 1stDistrict, Manhattan (2015)
• Annette Choolfaian, Past WCC President & Board Member. (2018)
• Maria Cuomo Cole, Chair, H.E.L.P, USA; President, Cuomo Cole Productions (2016)
• Vivian E. Cook, New York State Assembly, District 32 (2016)
• Elizabeth Crowley, City Council Member, 30thDistrict, Queens (2015)
• Laurie Cumbo, City Council Member, 35thDistrict, Brooklyn (2015)
• Matilda Raffa Cuomo, First Lady of New York State (1983-1995); 2017 Women’s Hall of Fame inductee (2017)
• Margarita Curet, President, NYCHA Amsterdam Houses Resident Association (2016)
• Maritza Davila, New York State Assembly, District 53 (2016)
• Inez E. Dickens, City Council Member, 9thDistrict, Manhattan (2015)
• Monica Drinane, Attorney-in-Charge of the Juvenile Rights Division (co-chair of the NYC Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board, former Supervising Judge of Bronx Family Court (2016)
• Soffiyah Elijah, Executive Director, Correctional Association of New York (2016)
• Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, City Council Member, 21stDistrict, Queens (2015)
• Vanessa Gibson, City Council Member, 16thDistrict, Bronx (2015)
• Kirsten Gillibrand, United States Senator (2016)
• Deborah J. Glick, New York State Assembly, District 66 (2016)
• Ruth Hassell-Thompson, State Senator (2016)
• Kathy Hochul, Lieutenant Governor of New York State (2015)
• Margaret B. Howard, Past WCC President (2016)
• Alicia Hyndman, New York State Assembly District (2016)
• Letitia James, Public Advocate for the City of New York (2015)
• The Reverend Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, Executive Pastor, The Concord Baptist Church of Christ; Administrator of the Brooklyn/Bridgeport Pastoral Residency Collaborative (2016)
• Latoya Joyner, New York State Assembly, District 77 (2016)
• Pamela Joyner, Businesswoman and art collector (2016)
• Melinda Katz, Queens Borough President (2015)
• Karen Koslowitz, City Council Member, 29thDistrict, Queens (2015)
• Liz Krueger, New York State Senator (2016)
• Nora Lavori, Past WCC President (2016)
• Blanche E. Lawton, Past WCC President (2016)
• Jennifer B. Lee, Curator, Performing Arts Collections, Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Butler Library, Columbia University (2016)
• Elizabeth Lubetkin Lipton, Past WCC President (2016)
• Phyllis Lusskin, Past WCC President (2016)
• Nicole Malliotakis, Representative-elect, 11th District, Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn (2016)
• Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, United States Congress, New York (2016)
• Jennifer March, PhD, Executive Director, Citizens’ Committee for Children (2016)
• Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York City Council Speaker (2015)
• Heather McGhee, Trustee Emeritus, Demos Board; President, Demos, 2014-2018; and Co-Chair of Color of Change (2016)
• Darlene Mealy, City Council Member, 41stDistrict, Brooklyn (2015)
• Rosie Mendez, City Council Member, 2nd District, Manhattan (2015)
• Julie Menin, Commissioner, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment
• Velmanette Montgomery, New York State Senator (2016)
• Peg Myerson, Past WCC President (2016)
• Jessica Neuwirth, Esq., Founder/President, ERA Coalition; Founder/Director, Donor Direct Action; Founder, Equality Now (2016)
• Catherine Nolan, Assemblymember, 37th District, Queens (2016)
• Ana L. Oliveira, President & CEO, The New York Women’s Foundation (2016)
• Ethel S. Paley, Past WCC President (2016)
• Annabel Palma, City Council Member, 18th District, Bronx (2015)
• Elisabeth Israels Perry, Ph.D., John Francis Bannon Professor Emeritus of History and Professor Emeritus of Women’s and Gender Studies, Saint Louis University. (2016)
• Roxanne Persaud, New York State Senator (2016)
• Jessica Ramos, New York State Senator (2018)
• Luna Ranjit, Independent Strategy Consultant (2016)
• Helen D. (“Heidi”) Reavis, Esq., Managing Partner, Reavis Parent Lehrer LLP; Emmy Award-Winning Executive Producer (2016)
• Diana C. Richardson, Assembly Member, 43rd District, Brooklyn (2016)
• Sharon Richardson, Founder and Executive Director of Re-Entry Rocks (2016)
• Annette Robinson, Assembly Member, 56th District, Brooklyn (2016)
• Margarita Rosa, Executive Director, National Center for Law and Economic Justice (2016)
• Deborah Rose, City Council Member, 49thDistrict, Staten Island (2015)
• Helen Rosenthal, City Council Member, 6thDistrict, Manhattan (2015)
• Linda B. Rosenthal, Assembly Member, 67th District, Manhattan (2016)
• Nily Rozic, Assemblymember, 25th District, Queens (2016)
• Linda Sarsour, Co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March, the 2017 Day Without a Woman, and the 2019 Women’s March (2016)
• Diane J. Savino, New York State Senator (2016)
• Rebecca A. Seawright, Assemblymember, 76th District, Manhattan (2016)
• Pamela Shifman, Executive Director, NoVo Foundation (2016)
• Jo Anne Simon, Assemblymember 52nd District, Brooklyn (2016)
• Aravella Simotas, Assemblymember, 36th District, Queens (2016)
• Joanne Smith, Founder/President/CEO, Girls for Gender Equity (2016)
• Toby Ann Stavisky, New York State Senator (2016)
• Michele Titus, New York City Civil Court Judge (2016)
• Latrice Walker, Assemblymember, 55th District, Brooklyn (2016)
• Helene E. Weinstein, Assemblymember, 41st District, Brooklyn (2016)
• Blanche Wiesen-Cook, Professor and Eleanor Roosevelt Biographer (2016)