![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Caribbean-Impact-Award-Naomi-Hopkins-Photo-Credit-Ramy-Mahmouf-rotated.jpg\")
Naomi Hopkins receives the Caribbean Impact Award.Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\nMore than 300 people gathered last Thursday to cheer, celebrate and honor dozens who make a difference in Brooklyn from educators to entrepreneurs, small business leaders to bankers, attorneys to advocates, accountants to arts groups, housing to healthcare and more.<\/p>\n
Schneps Media honored them as individuals, and leaders of organizations, on March 19th at El Caribe Country Club Caterers at an event also including Caribbean Impact, Gay City News Impact and entrepreneur recognition in a night to celebrate the best of Brooklyn. The evening also raised money for the Medical Society of the County of the Kings, an organization that provides support and standards for the physician community. The National Anthem was sung by the talented Amy Santoso from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music<\/p>\n
\u201cThe group of honorees is as diverse as the borough in terms of background and industries,\u201d said Schneps Media CEO Joshua Schneps. \u201cThey have all types of organizations, from small businesses, to diverse nonprofits to education and healthcare. Having them all together in a room is uplifting.\u201d<\/p>\n
While there is a saying that it \u201ctakes a village\u201d to do many things, in this case it takes a borough, not simply competing, but often cooperating. All roads led to Brooklyn for honorees, some born abroad and some in other parts of the country, as well as Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey build a great camaraderie, getting to know each other better and their stories,\u201d Schneps said. \u201cA lot of them have overcome a lot of obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schneps Media Sr. Vice President of Events Elizabeth Schneps Aloni described the group as \u201cthe ones making this borough what it is,\u201d overcoming problems often to benefit so many others.<\/p>\n
Schneps has become a big presence in Brooklyn, serving the borough with The Brooklyn Paper, Brownstoner and Courier Life chain including The Bay News, Mill Basin Marine Park Courier, Park Slope Courier, Bay Ridge Courier, and Brooklyn Graphic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It also owns Caribbean Life and Gay City News (and the celebration included Caribbean\u00a0 and Gay City News impact awards) as well as KingsCountyPolitics.com, amNewYork Metro and other publications.<\/p>\n
The business of Brooklyn<\/b><\/p>\n
Brooklyn is home to over 70,000 small businesses, according to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, with some honored at the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love hearing the stories of people that had hope and a dream. And being part of them getting that dream going and thriving and succeeding and accomplishing what they want to achieve,\u201d said honoree Ana Oliveira, senior vice president and Northeast Regional Manager, Small Business Banking, Valley Bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She talked about bankers as being \u201cdream makers,\u201d helping go from wanting to doing, creating careers and companies.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always need a trusted advisor,\u201d she said. \u201cSmall businesses sometimes do not know where to go for help.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Finding your path<\/b><\/p>\n
Honorees talked about finding their path, whether it be a profession or launching a company in numerous sectors.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Some went into the same field as their parents or took over a family business. \u201cIt just so happened that I followed in her steps,\u201d Shannon O\u2019Rourke, director of radiology at Optum Medical Care, said of becoming a radiologist as her mother did.<\/p>\n
Caribbean Impact Award winner Naomi Hopkins pointed to her grandparents, who came from the British Virgin Islands, as role models.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThey met in New York City and had seven children and 23 grandchildren. Their names are etched into the walls on Ellis Island,\u201d said Hopkins, vice president of government relations for the Northeast Region of First American Financial Corp. \u201cMe receiving this award this evening is such an honor to them and their heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naomi Hopkins receives the Caribbean Impact Award.Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n
She pointed to personal progress, as families advance with one generation doing things the other couldn\u2019t imagine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are our grandparents\u2019 wildest dreams,\u201d Hopkins said. \u201cThey had small ambitions when they first came here. We have doctors, lawyers, teachers. The list goes on and on. I feel like me sitting here tonight is not just about me. It\u2019s a testament to them and the hard work they put into our family here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lennox DeBarros, senior associate director of New York City Health and Hospitals\/Gotham Health, said his family produced many role models. \u201cI come from a long string of nurses,\u201d he said. \u201cMy mom, sister, aunt, niece.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mentors and moments<\/b><\/p>\n
Others pointed to mentors who made a difference in their life, such as Linda Ihesiaba, vice president and branch manager at Dime Bank, who grew up in Nigeria. She pointed to a manager who had faith in her.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe made me who I am today,\u201d Ihesiaba said. \u201cShe said to me, \u2018Linda, you have the will. You don\u2019t have the skill. I\u2019m going to impart the skill.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeBarros talked about a patient he helped who changed his life. \u201cThis shaped my career. The first week I worked as a nurse, a patient asked me to walk her down the hallway. She had asked several other nurses. I walked her,\u201d DeBarros said. \u201cTwo weeks later, the supervisor read a letter, saying I was the best nurse she ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n
He still remembers that and recharges himself with memories like that. \u201cThat motivated me. From that day, I wanted to have a greater impact. I became a nurse practitioner in mental health,\u201d he said. \u201cI realized that this is a field that is much needed in the community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gabrielle Napolitano, Director of Partnerships and Communications for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, said diverse experiences rather than a clear path took her to where she is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat career path? There\u2019s no path,\u201d Napolitano said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
She worked as art director for Columbia House\u2019s Record Club, then in retail, concerts and finally at the Brooklyn Chamber.\u00a0 \u201cWhat were all of those things? Businesses, commerce. That\u2019s my history,\u201d she said. \u201cIt really brought me full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Education<\/b><\/p>\n
Many honorees in the education sector stressed the importance of education in their life, and for others. Dr. Patricia Ramsey, sixth president of Medgar Evers College, honored for excellence in education, in turn honored her family for instilling a belief in the value of education.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad said he wanted all of his children to get an education, because he didn\u2019t get that opportunity,\u201d she said. \u201cHe made sure that all of us did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramsey said Medgar Evers is working hard to make sure students, who often come from families with limited resources, graduate without debt. \u201cThe reason I\u2019m at Medgar Evers is I want to make a difference,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Medgar Evers also hopes to be able to provide continuing education free to students ages 25 to 55. \u201cWe\u2019re not a community college,\u201d she added, \u201cbut we do have associates degrees.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale Kelly, executive vice president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, also spoke of education as essential. \u201cWe are education advocates,\u201d he said. \u201cOur mantra is every great school begins with a great leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
Healthy Brooklyn<\/b><\/p>\n
Hospitals provide a crucial service to Brooklyn, including Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where president and CEO Vali Gache was honored.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an immigrant story. I came here in 2000 a few months before 9\/11,\u201d she said of her trip from Romania. \u201cI started my career as an economist overseas. I entered healthcare by accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
After working in accounting, she rose through the system and now holds a key role in leading a Brooklyn hospital. \u201cI fell in love with healthcare, the complexity of the healthcare system,\u201d She said. \u201cI started from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under Gache\u2019s watch, Wyckoff has been investing in infrastructure, such as emergency and cardiology departments to see more patients and reduce wait time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re continuing to meet the needs of people regardless of insurance or non-insurance,\u201d said attendee Elisa Viesta, director of network development for Wykcoff Heights Medical Center, a safety net hospital. \u201cOur goal is to serve our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Vali-Gache-Wyckoff-Heights-Medical-Center-Struts-the-Red-Carpet-Photo-Credit-Ralph-Depas.jpg\")
Vali Gache of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center struts the red carpet.Photo by Ralph Depas<\/p>\n
Dr. Joanna Mercado, chair of the department of medicine for NYC Health and Hospitals\/Woodhull, talked about the mission of medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love helping people one patient at a time, but also the population,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re able to have an impact on the population.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Dr. Fabienne Gaillard Ulysee, nurse leader and assistant vice president of nursing education and research at Maimonides Health, provides community education on cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I wanted to be a nurse educator. I believe education is the foundation,\u201d she said, noting the hospital has a health fair on June 23.\u201cIf people are educated, they are able to make appropriate choices. And they will be healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Lisa Eng, a practicing ob-gyn, owner of a freestanding birthing center and trustee for the Medical Society of the County of Kings, put things simply. \u201cMy patients have become my friends,\u201d said Dr. Eng, who speaks five languages. \u201cThe women are fabulous. I like starting families, caring for my women. I like community work.\u201d<\/p>\n
She likes practicing on her own, rather than as part of a healthcare system, bumping into her patients at Foodtown and knowing her community.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not beholden to a system telling me how to practice,\u201d she said. \u201cIf a patient needs a half an hour of my time, I sit with my patient for a half hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doing the right thing<\/b><\/p>\n
Various people talked about the importance of standing up for rights, although those ranged from freedom to housing to healthcare. HousingPlus CEO Karen Ford said she believes \u201chousing is a right from birth.\u201d And many talked about healthcare as not just a service, but essential.<\/p>\n
Thekra El-Rowmeim, a community leader and advocate, won the Trailblazer Award, using Zoom to connect, communicate, educate and empower women in the Muslim community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that empowering women is empowering the whole community,\u201d she said. \u201cWe started educating women, raising awareness through zoom. Most women in our community are very conservative. They have a lot of duties like taking care of the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Pride Chair Mickey Heller said his group is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, as the second oldest Pride organization in New York, following New York City Pride. Their big event is the second Saturday in June, including a run, street festival and more. \u201cWe do events throughout the year, but the focus is the pride week,\u201d Heller said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They lately are finding themselves fighting old battles, including a concern that there could be efforts to overturn the right to gay marriage.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old saying is everything old is new again. History seems to repeat itself,\u201d Heller said. \u201cWe have made so many strides in civil rights. Now we\u2019re in a time where these rights are slowly being eroded again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Technology\u2019s time<\/b><\/p>\n
Some talked about how they use technology, including AI, in their business or nonprofit. But others are focusing on improving technology for others.<\/p>\n
Alexander Paykin, managing director of Paykin Law and chair of the New York State Bar Association\u2019s technology committee, is working to get the courts to embrace more technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to improve lawyers\u2019 and judges\u2019 use of and understanding of technology to streamline legal practice,\u201d he said. \u201cBe it adequately grasping AI and its limitations, to understanding the advanced features of Microsoft Word.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is working on a pilot program for technology education at law schools, as well as a proposal for the New York State Bar Exam to have a technological component, or require technological competence certification.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould you still even consider hiring a lawyer who hasn\u2019t mastered AI?\u201d Paykin asked. \u201cDoes your lawyer know his tools?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Paykin said technology can both help lawyers and clients, but believes it needs to be better integrated into law school education and practice. Paykin has been meeting with officials, seeking to find ways to make technology a bigger part of the practice and education for his profession.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Team-TD-Bank-Photo-Credit-Ralph-Depas.jpg\")
Team TD Bank.Photo by Ralph Depas<\/p>\n