“I was persecuted for my sexual orientation, so I came here for a chance at a better life,” said Rosario, wearing a suit and tie. “I could never dress this way or be who I am. I was shamed, couldn’t live my life, and could never sleep. One thing that is ignored is the mental health of asylum seekers and the mental stress they have experienced before [coming here]. It puts you in a shell.”

Rosario was among the asylum seekers who shared their personal stories at Fordham’s “Women and Girls on the Move,” a March 16 event sponsored by the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) and held in conjunction with the United Nations 63rd Commission on the Status of Women.

The conference, which brought together educators, politicians, social workers, health care providers, lawyers, and students, came at a time when nearly 80 percent of the 68.5 million refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless and displaced persons documented in the last fiscal year are women and young people; 52 percent are children under 18.

Held at Fordham Law School, the conference aimed to shine a light on the intensifying struggles of women and girls who are fleeing their homes in the midst of violence, persecution, and disaster. The organizers hope to use this knowledge to better help others who are also seeking new lives.

And the time for new solutions is now, presenters said. One person is displaced from their home every two seconds, noted Sandy Turner, Ph.D., director of the GSS Institute for Women and Girls, which presented the conference with the International Health Awareness Network (IHAN).

In addressing the U.N. event’s theme—social protections and public services—the conference also highlighted displaced women and girls’ limited access to health care, education, justice, and humanitarian protections throughout the process of migration and resettlement.

“This is about finding solutions to the global migration crisis,” said Sorosh Roshan, M.D., IHAN founder and president.

A panel discussion featured several women, including Rosario, who represented different communities of asylum seekers.

Mahnaz Sarachi, Ph.D., Executive Director of IHAN, said it’s important to understand the different kinds of people in crisis. “Why are they moving?” she said. “They are in search of a better life… they have left their homes to seek safety.”

A Hard Adjustment

Anna Elvira Brodskaya, an LGBTQ and asylum-seeker rights activist, left Russia, where there is a homophobic culture and the LGBTQ community is often victims of violence. In New York, job opportunities were few.

“Women are not perceived as good enough for decent jobs like ones requiring strength,” she said. “You face harassment and you can do nothing about it, because you are undocumented and you have no rights.”

Rosario spoke of how her life here was initially weighed down by locating affordable health insurance, housing, and health care. “Living in New York is expensive, so you might have to live on the street,” she said. “Yes, there are shelters, but they are not always safe.” Now, thankfully, life has improved for Rosario; she has a wife and is writing a book.

Julia Gagliardi, FCRH ’19, of the Social Innovation Collaboratory at Rose Hill, delivered a moving narrative that was created from a collection of stories from resettled students attending colleges and universities in New York City. “On my own, I had to apply for health insurance outside of my university, because I was not eligible, and pay for it at a higher cost,” shared Gagliardi, quoting a student. “On my own, I had to look for ways to finance my tuition, because I was not eligible for financial aid or scholarships. On my own, I had to meet with a lawyer several times a week to apply for a work permit. On my own, I was connected to an independent donor who heard my story and helped fund part of my tuition.”

Ideas and Suggestions

Discussion led to ideas about how universities can create safe spaces.

Brodskaya suggested schools could offer free courses to women new to the U.S. about career options. “They need to be enlightened about the possibilities … they can be employed not just as nannies and cleaners,” she remarked.

Panelists suggested college campuses would be a safe space to learn about U.S. procedures impacting migrants. “Many are now afraid to apply for asylum,” said one.

They also agreed that universities might help the public understand migrants’ lives.

“We could incubate goodwill on campuses,” said Gagliardi, an English and sociology major.

New Challenges

The conference also featured dialogue about what migrants entering the U.S. are facing, including word that the accepted number of refugees entering the country has been lowered.

Frank Kearl, J.D., LAW ’18, spoke of a “walled prison facility” in Dilley, Texas, where migrants are being held in poor conditions.

Although there are lawyers and advocates helping women and children in Dilley, more volunteers are needed, he said.

“These people are sick, they are scared, and they have no idea what is going to happen to them until a volunteer sits down with them and tells them,” said Kearl, a Workplace Justice Legal Advocate at Make the Road New York. “It’s disgusting what is happening now.”

–Meg McCaffrey

The event was presented in part by One Girl, Barakett’s nonprofit, which seeks to empower young women to be leaders in their chosen philanthropic cause. She said she started the organization after meeting so many young women from the pageant circuit, who had specific philanthropic goals but got sidetracked by life events ranging from college to work and children.

“For me, I wanted to do more with my community, but I didn’t know how to get involved,” she says. “Through the conference, we’re creating community that helps young women get involved or keep the momentum on projects they may have already started.”

For her part, Barakett doesn’t easily tout the volunteer work she has done. It takes a bit of probing before she reveals personal passions. Her main concern is keeping others on track to give back.

“Being a part of their journey is what’s important to me,” she says.

The Nov. 17 event, now in its third year, aimed to help women network and discover how they can make change in their own lives and the world around them. The event included panels on social change through activism, through business, and through personal wellness.

The Graduate School of Social Service (GSS), the Institute for Women and Girls, and the Center for Nonprofit Leaders cosponsored the conference. Barakett got her master’s in nonprofit leadership from GSS just two years ago. She said that she had already set up a 501(c)(3) when she started at Fordham, but needed a bit more to get her organization organized.

“I had the passion, but I lacked the formal education underneath,” she says. “They took me through all the behind the scenes stuff, like the paperwork, and the taxes. It just gave me a lot more confidence.”

In addition to Fordham faculty experts on women’s issues, like Marciana Popescu, Ph.D., associate professor of social work, the event featured GSS students out in the field, like Ph.D. candidate Felicia Pullen, CEO of the Pillars, a Harlem-based recovery center. It also included social media influencers, like Sophia Roe, and spoken-word poet Dailyn Santana.

Many of the panelists detailed how they arrived at their particular cause and how they got involved, says Barakett.

“We really try to get into the individual and find out what they care about,” said Barakett. “It usually comes from something personal, maybe something happened to them or to a family member, or maybe something struck their heart strings, like a book, and that opens the flood gates.”

For Barakett, a book detailing an activist’s imprisonment and eventual escape from the sex trade inspired her activism. She began working with an organization that combined activism and yoga—which she practices regularly. She was soon teaching yoga to victims of sex trafficking and domestic violence.

“The work we do for the community is important, but so is the internal work that we do,” she says, stressing the importance of wellness for those caring for others.

Stories of triumph, hope, and perseverance filled the room at a Feb. 28 event at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, celebrating the 15^th anniversary of the University’s Club Amigas/Mentoring Latinas.

“This is inspirational because there are people out there who tell Latinas ‘don’t apply to this job or school because you are not good enough,’” said mentor Briana Alejandro, a student at the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS).

For 15 years, the program has helped Bronx Latinas overcome obstacles and excel in high school and college while maintaining their cultural identity.  AT&T, which has provided $450,000 to the Mentoring Latinas over the past nine years, was recognized as the program’s largest funder. 

“We firmly believe that the influence of mentor can significantly improve young person’s potential for success,” said Ed Bergstraesser, director of external affairs at AT&T. “The event is a celebration of the 350 young women who have come through this program, and [whom]we believe are stronger [because]of it,” he said.

Empowerment Through Mentorship

Mentoring Latinas was founded in 2003 as part of the GSS’s Institute for Women and Girls. The program pairs a Latina college student from Fordham with middle and high school Latinas from local schools in the Bronx— the New York City borough with the largest population of Hispanics.

Despite their challenges, Sandy Turner, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Women and Girls, said the mentees had high hopes for their future. During the ceremony, she shared that many of them wanted to be doctors, teachers, architects, and social workers when they grow up. A video made by Fordham College at Lincoln Center senior Roberta Munoz, the head mentor for the high school division of the program, served as a testament to Mentoring Latinas’ impact.

“It has empowered young Latinas to believe in themselves and achieve goals that they wouldn’t have tried otherwise,” she said. “It teaches them that Latinas are more than what the media portrays them as.”

Personal Stories of Achievement

Eileen Torres, executive director of BronxWorks, and Marlene Cintron, GSE ’77, president of The Bronx Overall Economic Development Council, were among the distinguished local leaders who shared personal stories about their struggles as adolescents and how they went on to prove naysayers wrong.

“Their roles are usually not dominated by people of color,” said mentee Mariely Gomez, a sophomore at Belmont Preparatory High School. “Now I can see my future a little bit brighter.”

Torres recalled her Puerto Rican parents working hard “to make ends meet.” She had to fill out college enrollment forms on her own since no one in her family graduated from college, she said.

She encouraged the mentees to lean on their mentors during tough times. “Once you accomplish a goal, come back, reach out, and give someone who might be in similar circumstances a chance,” she said.

Cintron, the ceremony’s second speaker, described what it was like to grow up in the South Bronx to immigrant parents who stressed the importance of education. Though she went on to hold prominent positions in finance, including serving as a financial analyst at Merrill Lynch and Citibank, as a teen, she wrestled with self-doubt and a high school counselor who didn’t think she’d amount to anything.

Today, she fosters economic development in the Bronx for the Office of the Bronx Borough President.

Advice From the Heart

She advised the young Latinas, whom she described as as “shining, beautiful promising faces [of]our future,” to recognize that they have the power to make their dreams a reality.

“The future is in your hands, and I can’t wait to see what you are going to do with it,” she said.

Belmont Preparatory High School student Belinda Reyes, who dreams of becoming a chef or a fashion designer, said she felt motivated to work harder after the celebration.

“I felt excited because I always thought the things I wanted to do were impossible,” she said.

The speakers’ words of encouragement also resonated with mentor Alondria Agurcia, a senior studying finance at the Gabelli School of Business.

“I could see the girls tearing up when I looked around,” she said. “Even though I’m graduating this year, this reminds me to keep pushing forward.”

The event, “Fashion + Sustainable Development + Women’s Empowerment,” brought together designers, models, academics, and fashionistas for a runway show and panel discussion about the unique ways that the fashion industry is embracing sustainable practices and improving social and environmental conditions.

The event was sponsored by the Institute for Women and Girls at the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) and hosted by Lyn Kennedy Slater, PhD, a clinical associate professor at GSS and creator of the popular blog The Accidental Icon.

“GSS and the sustainable fashion movement share the goals of environmental, economical, and social justice, and the realization of human rights and the empowerment of women and children,” Slater said. “When one comes to a conversations about similar issues from different perspectives, new and creative approaches to solving social problems can emerge.”

In her introduction to the event, Veronique Lee, merchandising director for Modavanti, said that fashion is the second largest “dirtiest industry” in the world, coming in just behind the oil and gas industry. Besides producing large amounts of toxic dyes and chemicals, the fashion industry is a significant consumer of natural resources and is notoriously wasteful.

The industry is in need of major overhaul to meet the global challenges we face, Lee said.

“We’re seeing this revolution happen with cars and with food, and now it’s time to start impacting our awareness of how we get our clothes, where they come from, and who is making them,” she said.

Nearly a dozen designers were present for the runway portion of the event, which showcased clothing and accessories that were sustainably made and ethically sourced. Models wove through the aisles of Pope Auditorium wearing clothes made from recycled water bottles and fishnets and sporting artisanal jewelry made by Alaskan and Peruvian natives.

Several designers emphasized that through their brands they aim to make positive social as well as environmental change. Panelist Chid Liberty, owner of the fashion company Uniform, said that for every purchase made, the company donates a school uniform to a child in Liberia.

“It’s about human, environmental, and financial well-being,” said panelist Amy Hall, director of social consciousness for Eileen Fisher. “This means [products or initiatives]that have the lowest environmental impact possible, the greatest social impact possible, and enough financial return to make that work possible.”

Lee recommended that consumers be mindful of what they are buying. Modavanti, she said, created a badge system to make it easy for consumers to tell whether the items they purchase are eco-friendly and ethically sourced. Smartphone apps can also help buyers research products and brands.

Most importantly, Lee said, don’t underestimate the power that consumers—particularly women—have in revolutionizing fashion. According to Forbes, women control $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, making them the largest market opportunity in the world.

“Women have enormous control through their purchasing power and influence, and it’s increasing,” Lee said. “Women can change fashion—the companies are listening.”

The panel was moderated by Jeff Trexler, associate director of Fordham School of Law’s Fashion Law Institute, and included:

• Amy Hall, director of social consciousness for Eileen Fisher;
• Rebecca van Bergen, executive director of Nest;
• Debera Johnson, executive director at the Pratt Institute; and
• Chid Liberty, co-founder of Liberty & Justice.

Adopted by 189 Member States, the Declaration was a framework for achieving equality and empowerment for all women, including rights to education, health, freedom from violence, and equal pay for equal work.

On March 14, Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) commemorated this momentous event in women’s history with a daylong conference at the Lincoln Center campus titled “Looking Back, Looking Forward: Economic and Health Issues for Girls and Women of All Ages Around the World.”

Inclusive in spirit and timely (March is Women’s History Month), the conference comprised professionals, academics, and students.

Co-sponsored by the GSS’ Institute for Women and Girls, “Looking Back, Looking Forward” coincided with the UN-sponsored Beijing+20 conference, both events seeking to consider the progress achieved over the last 20 years and focus attention on areas where change is still needed.

Irene Hoskins, former president of the International Federation on Aging and a participant in Beijing as an NGO representative, opened the day by reflecting that the world conference had been a “defining experience” that “opened many windows for us all.”

Acknowledging that the struggle to achieve true equality continues, Hoskins said that “we have to recognize that it takes more than 20 years to bring about profound change in cultural and societal practices and attitudes towards women, many of which are very deeply ingrained and have lasted for centuries.”

Hoskins’ sentiment was echoed in the panels that followed, which addressed two major themes—economics and health. The discussion covered such topics as workplace inequalities, career development across the life cycle, equal access to technology, family planning and fertility, sexual violence on college campuses, health issues for older women, and combating ageism.

In assessing the work to be done, Hoskins provided a rallying call for the future. “We have to. . . be vigilant and ensure that the spirit of Beijing lives on and continues to unlock the enormous potential of women and the contributions women make to their societies all around the world,” she said.

Joanna Nappi, a Fordham graduate student in social work and a youth representative at the United Nations, gave a talk, “Bridging the Digital Divide with Women and Girls.” One organization helping to bridge that divide is Close the Gap, an NGO based in Brussels, Belgium that provides refurbished computers for medical, social, and educational projects in developing and emerging countries.

Nappi said one of Close the Gap’s most important new resources is the digitruck, a solar-powered computer classroom that brings technology to marginalized areas. According to her, bridging the psychological gaps that result from the lack of access to technology is just as important as bridging gaps in infrastructure.

“Feeling connected, capable, and empowered enables one to not only utilize and implement new knowledge, but take ownership over one’s life and environment, weakening barriers of discrimination and expanding one’s potential,” she said.

– Nina Heidig

This week marks the UN-sponsored Beijing+20 conference reviewing the progress on women’s world status in the last two decades. At GSS, the parallel conversation is titled, “Looking Back, Looking Forward: Economic and Health Issues for Girls and Women of All Ages Around the World.”

Co-sponsored by the GSS’ Institute for Women and Girls, the event takes place on Sat., March 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Costantino Room at the Fordham Law School. It continues across the plaza in the Lowenstein Center’s South Lounge from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

“We’ll be concerning ourselves with gender equality, health, and economic empowerment,” said Elaine Congress, DSW, associate dean of GSS and a spokesperson for the event.

Congress said that among the health issues being discussed are women’s mental health, elder health, and family planning. There will also be a panel discussion on economics.

“The panels will bring perspectives about [female]lifespans,” said Janna Heyman, PhD, one of the conference organizers, “and will look at women throughout their lifetime.”

Congress said events like the one at the United Nations offer a great opportunity for universities throughout the city.

“There are women’s issues everywhere and we want to bring them together so that our students understand the connection between the issues in the developing world and ours here at home,” she said.

The mission of the Institute for Women and Girls is to promote the well-being of women and girls who experience poverty, violence, health problems and workplace discrimination.

GSS’s Institute for Women & Girls, however, is bringing those topics to light, kicking off the year with an open discussion on navigating the social work profession.

Telling Our Stories: Successful Women in Social Work Share Their Professional and Personal Journeys
Thursday, Oct. 4
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Room 713, Lowenstein Center, Lincoln Center Campus

A panel of four female social workers will share their unique experiences in the field, and tackle topics ranging from choosing a specialty to negotiating salaries and balancing family life.

“There are a lot of things these young women are thinking about,” said Rachelle Kammer, Ph.D., assistant professor at GSS and director of the Institute for Women & Girls. “I put myself in the mindset of an incoming student who has an interest in social work, but doesn’t really know what they can do with the degree, or what the field is about, or even how to make money and balance having children or a relationship.”

The panelists, who represent an array of field and life experiences, include:

• Pearl Fiske, a social worker with the New York City Department of Education, specializing in children with special needs, and an adjunct professor of social work at GSS;
• Lisa Haileselassie, domestic violence coordinator at the Crime Victims Treatment Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital;
• Smita Ekka Dewan, Ph.D., Tk20 database manager and trainer, and an adjunct faculty member at GSS; and
• Marciana Popescu, Ph.D., an associate professor at GSS specializing in social policy, international social work, and family violence, and a former UNICEF consultant in her native Romania.

A large group discussion will follow the panel presentation.

“I want to encourage our students—that’s the whole purpose. I want them to hear from successful and powerful women in the field and hopefully inspire them to do the same,” Kammer said.

The event will also provide students with information about the Institute for Women & Girls’ student organization.

All social work students are encouraged to attend, including members of the bachelor’s of social work program who are considering graduate study.

To RSVP for the event, contact [email protected].

In conjunction with Women’s History Month, the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) sponsors its Seventh Annual Women and Girls Symposium on Wednesday, March 23rd at 6 p.m. on the Lincoln Center campus in the 12th Floor Lounge Lowenstein Center.

This year’s symposium is “Social Work and the Arts for women and Girls: Innovations from the Field.” FROM THE FIELD looks at new outcomes from arts-based care and creative social work for women and girls. Its three keynote speakers are:

—Sandra Bennett-Pagan, LSCS, regional women’s health coordinator for the United States Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Women’s Health;

—Drena Fagan, LMSW, LCAT, a social worker and certified arts therapist at New York Creative Arts Therapists PLLC; and

—Nathaly Rubio-Torio, executive director and co-founder of Voces de Latinas.

Since the emphasis is on healing and the arts, this year’s celebration also features a musical performance by Las Hermanas Marquez.

For a full schedule of events or to RSVP go to the website.

The mission of the Fordham Institute for Women and Girls is to promote the well-being of women and girls who experience poverty, violence, health problems and workplace discrimination.

—Janet Sassi

Debra Zimmerman, executive director of Women Who Make Movies, the largest distributor of films and videotapes by and about women in North America, will give the keynote address. She will discuss women’s filmmaking from a global perspective. During the event, Marymount will also screen six films, including Blue Steel, Real Women Have Curves and The Client, depicting women in a variety of careers. A panel discussion will follow, featuring women who work in several of the depicted careers.

The event is free and is open to the public. Registration will occur from 9:30 to 10 a.m.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2
TIME: 9:30 A.M. TO 4 P.M.
PLACE: MARYMOUNT COLLEGE OF FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
100 MARYMOUNT AVE.
TARRYTOWN, NY 10591
CONTACT: ELLEN SILBER, (914) 332-4917