Movers and shakers, executives and entrepreneurs, nonprofit founders and union leaders, educators and administrators united in Midtown on May 7 to celebrate the annual Manhattan Power List honoring a diverse group for their impact on New York City.
They met at the Bryant Park Grill at the Schneps Media event and included those from Broadway to the boardroom and nonprofits focusing on everything from healthcare to homelessness.
“We are here to celebrate you, the New York swagger,” said Cheryl Wills, emcee and Emmy Award winning journalist with Spectrum News New York 1, “the movers and shakers who will not take no for answer.”
Power List events honor people in various boroughs, but the Manhattan event honored groups with New York City and national impacts. Raffle proceeds went to the Police Athletic League.
“Manhattan’s the center of the world,” said DéVon Christopher Johnson, chairman and CEO of the BOMESI Foundation and winner of TD Bank’s Outstanding Entrepreneur Award. “You’ve got to have a presence in the epicenter of business.”
Nonprofits and groups working with nonprofits also talked about New York City as a nonprofit hub.
“Manhattan is my favorite to build on just the energy here,” Brandon Parkes, CEO of Parkes Philanthropy said. “The momentum of everybody trying to build and get to the next level makes New York City the best.”
Networking New York City style
The event brought together honorees from businesses to unions such as Rebecca Damon, of SAG-AFTRA; Henry Rubio, of the Council of School Supervisors & Administrators, as well as Arva R. Rice, of the New York Urban League.
“I made quite a few connections,” Johnson said. “I met people I knew in name, not in person. It’s been great to put a face on a name.”
Carlos Velazquez, Chief Executive Officer – Police Athletic League of New York City (PAL), winner of the Community Advocate Award, talked about the benefits of bringing people together in an electronic age.
“I think it’s amazing, the idea of the Power lists,” he said. “And the ability of people to get together to impact New York City and the greater good.”
Parkes said rather than being in silos, it’s important for groups to partner and talk to those in their and other sectors.
“It’s fantastic being able to meet so many different leaders of non-profit organizations across New York City,” said Parkes. “We’re making an impact across our communities.”
Small biz, big impact
Small and large companies talked about bridging the gap between small and big businesses.
Nancy Dalton, Director of External Affairs, Marketing and Social Impact for Amazon Access, talked about their efforts to work with communities and small business.
“We truly believe that our success and our scale bring a broad responsibility,” Dalton said. “That responsibility is about being in community.”
Craig Ratigan, TD Bank’s senior vice president in Manhattan, said they are hosting a Small Business Week event on May 14.
“We will try to give a wide range of different information regarding ways to help,” he said. “Ways to grow, promote and help protect your business.”
Entrepreneurs talked about the benefit of getting out of the office and meeting those at other companies.
“This event is an eclectic group of individuals from many different backgrounds doing such monumental things within many industries,” said Mark D. Shirian, founder and principal of Mark David Shirian, a law firm.
Craig Ratigan, SVP/Regional Vice President, Manhattan, TD Bank U.S.Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Benefiting business
While some serve consumers directly, others talked about benefiting other businesses.
DéVon Christopher Johnson said BOMESI supports 350 Black-owned media companies, 2,500 Black and diverse (LGBTQ, Hispanic and Asian) business people.
“We help connect audiences with brands that want to reach these audiences,” Johnson said. “We drive revenue to these platforms. We’re the Uber of diverse owned media.”
Banks and credit unions talked about financing growth and helping amid adversity in an interconnected world.
Andrew Weltman, general Counsel for Municipal Credit Union, said his more-than-a-century-old credit union a few years ago expanded to serve anyone who lives, worships or attends school across New York City.
‘We’re still very committed to serving our core membership,” Weltman said. “We’re excited to offer our services to all of New York City.”
Other bankers talked about enjoying their ability to help companies, including entrepreneurs, grow.
“Originally, I wanted to be a chef. I was not cut out for cutting onions,” said Louis Alvarado, SBA lending administrator for Ponce Bank. “I decided to make the transition into banking. I can help small business owners access capital. That to me is priceless.”
Nonprofit City
Others making differences in New York City focus on helping those most in need, such as Julie Chisolm, Site Director – Housing Solutions of New York (HSNY), which operates shelters for families, children and single adults.
“Our biggest challenge as always is affordable housing,” Chisolm said. “We don’t just want to get people out of shelters. We want them to never have to come back.”
The Police Athletic League, founded over a century ago, has been expanding to help more with daycare.
“We’ve evolved to 27 locations through the five boroughs serving 50,000 kids from day care centers, after schools and more,” Velazquez said.
Josiane Peluso-Tomczyk, vice president of employer solutions and market growth and integration for MetroPlus Health, said they offer a wide range of plans.
“We’re letting people know they have access to high quality care,” she said of her organization, in New York State since 1985.
Deborah Hunt, Dr. Betty L. Forest Dean and Professor at Adelphi University’s College of Nursing and Public Health, said they had “arrived in New York City” with a new Manhattan campus opening.
“Nursing is a really important part of the healthcare arena,” she said. “We support our students. There is less funding. We can’t do it without our generous benefactors.”
The festival factor
Harlem Week’s new leadership, including chairman Marko Nobles and L. Ade Williams, the son of the late Lloyd Williams, as first vice chairperson, talked about the event slated for Aug. 1-16.
“The joke is Harlem is the only place where a week can last for two weeks, three weeks, six weeks, six months,” Nobles said.
Williams said Harlem Week is “meant to uplift the community and make sure the needs of the community are being addressed.”
“If you live in Harlem, you feel great about your community and yourselves,” Williams said. “If you don’t live in Harlem, you think that’s a place I need to visit and spend money.”
Gwendolyn Black, CEO and founder of Gwen Black Arts/Jazz Festival of New York City, said festivals are important for jazz and many other musicians.
And Deeksha Gaur, executive director of the Theatre Development Fund, or TDF, talked about theater as an economic and cultural force.
Applause rang out as winners collected awards, while Chisolm noted the value of honoring important, often invisible, work.
“I believe this is a great way to recognize people that do the work that doesn’t get recognized,” she said of helping those in need. “We are a population with very few thank you’s in between the late nights, the midnight calls, working with this population, trying to make differences in the lives of others.”
Manhattan Power List Full List of Honorees:
ICON Leonard Achan, LiveOnNY, President & CEO
Louis Alvarado, Ponce Bank, SBA Lending Administrator
Trailblazer of the Year Award/ICON Na’ilah Amaru, Advocacy and Policy Strategist
Gwendolyn Black, Gwen Black Arts/Jazz Festival of New York City, CEO & Founder
Larry Scott Blackmon, The Blackmon Organization, CEO
Joe Bonilla, Relentless Awareness LLC, Managing Partner
Vincent Boudreau, The City College of New York, President
Julie Chisolm, Housing Solutions of New York (HSNY), Site Director
Olivia Cohen, MS, MT-BC, LCAT, CaringKind, Director of Early-Stage and Engagement Services
Social Impact Award Nancy Dalton, Amazon Access, Director, External Affairs, Marketing & Social Impact
Rebecca Damon, SAG-AFTRA, Chief Labor Policy Officer & NY Local Executive Director
Deeksha Gaur, Theatre Development Fund (TDF), Executive Director
Educator of the Year Award Dr. Charles J. Gibbs, Metropolitan College of New York, President
Dr. Jeffrey Ginsburg, Volunteers of America-Greater New York, President & CEO
Ron Gold, Marketing Works, President & CEO
Sean T. Granahan, The Floating Hospital, President and General Counsel
ICON Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg, Greenberg Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology, Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon
HARLEM WEEK
Deborah Hunt, PhD, RN, ANEF, Adelphi University, Dr. Betty L. Forest Dean and Professor College of Nursing and Public Health
ICON Leilani Irvin, Port Authority NY & NJ, Senior External Client Relations Manager, Government & Community Relations
TD Bank Outstanding Entrepreneur Award DéVon Christopher Johnson, BOMESI Foundation, Chairman and CEO
Brian Krist, Esq.
Sir Shefik Macauley, Sovereign Imperial and Royal House of Ghassan, Special Envoy to the United Nations
Marc H. Morial, National Urban League, President and CEO
LGBTQ+ Award Brandon Parkes, Parkes Philanthropy, CEO
Alexander Paykin, Esq., PAYKIN LAW, Managing Director
Josiane Peluso-Tomczyk, MetroPlus Health, Vice President, Employer Solutions and Market Growth/Integration
Craig Ratigan, TD Bank U.S., SVP/Regional Vice President, Manhattan
ICON Arva R. Rice, New York Urban League, President & CEO
ICON Henry Rubio, Council of School Supervisors & Administrators (CSA), President
ICON Rebecca Seawright, Assembly District 76, NYS Assemblymember
ICON Wally Sedgewick, BroadwayHD, Vice President of Analytics and Strategic Planning
Mark D. Shirian, Esq., Mark David Shirian P.C., Founder and Principal
Ibrahima Souare, New York Professional Advisors for Community Entrepreneurs (NYPACE), Executive Director
Community Advocate Award Carlos Velazquez, Police Athletic League of New York City, Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Weltman, Municipal Credit Union, General Counsel
Mistress of Ceremonies Cheryl Wills, Spectrum News New York 1