NOW-NYC 2008 Board Members
Sonia Ossorio, President
Her first protest was at the Vienna Philharmonic’s opening night at Carnegie Hall—which had no women musicians, and made no apologies for it. It was just enough of an initiation. She was on the frontline for the next action held at the Rainbow Room to protest the dearth of female servers at one of New York City’s top restaurants. In 2000, Sonia formed the Women & Media Committee at NOW-NYC and 2001 she took on the expanded role of Vice President of Public Information. Sonia was elected as President in January 2004. Recruiting by Gannett Newspapers, Sonia moved to New York in 1993. Writing extensively on women in business, her work has appeared in USA Today, The Denver Post, The Journal News, and the San Jose Mercury News, among others. Sonia has spoken widely on the subject of women in the workplace, including the keynote address at the 2000 conference of the National Association for the Empowerment of Hispanic Women. Sonia first joined the board of NOW-NYC in 1999.
Judi Polson, Chair
Judi joined NOW-NYC in 2000, participating in the Women in the Workplace Committee. She joined the Board in 2003 as Director of Membership Processing, and was elected Vice-President of Development in 2006, where she brought once-dormant grant applications to fruition. She led a cadre of demonstrators to the 2004 March for Women’s Lives in Washington, and in New York City, participated in the 2004 March for Women’s Lives, NOW-NYC’s 2007 Viacom action and the 2008 Martin Luther King Day march. Raised on a family farm, Judi has lobbied state and federal representatives from her native Midwest as well as from New York. Judi has a B.A. from the University of Kansas and an Executive M.B.A. from Duke University. As an actor, she appeared as Liam Neeson’s sister in the Oscar-nominated Kinsey; most recently her appearance in The Onion’s 2008 online dating video segment reached “most-viewed” and “most-dugg” status. From 2000 through 2008, she was a Vice-President in technology with a Wall Street firm.
Rosemary E. Coluccio, Treasurer
Rosemary joined the board of the National Organization for Women and the Service Fund of NOW-NYC in early 2006 to oversee the organization's financial restructuring. Currently the Director of Finance and Administration at the International Women's Health Coalition, she has 17 years of experience creating and implementing effective financial strategies, policies, and processes in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. Prior to joining IWHC, Rosemary served as a financial consultant providing technical assistance to several local and national non-profits. Her work experience includes serving as the Director of Finance and Administration at both the Latino Commission on AIDS and the Empire State Pride Agenda, and 11 years as an Accountant in the private sector. Rosemary earned an MS in Taxation from Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business, a BS in Accounting from the Stern School of Business and an Associate's in Liberal Arts from New York University.
Gabriela Moreno, Secretary
Gaby first joined NOW at the age of 16. A passionate defender of reproductive freedom, Gaby has worked on the frontline protecting women’s right to choose. She has chaired the Reproductive Rights Committee of NOW-NYC, developing numerous action campaigns that include protests, zap actions, letter writing and lobbying in Albany. In response to repeated assaults on women’s reproductive rights, she has worked as a group facilitator during Operation Rescue attacks on New York City abortion clinics. She also marched in the largest pro-choice demonstrations in Washington DC in 1992 and again last year at the March For Women’s Lives. Gaby received the Susan B. Anthony Award in 2001 for her tremendous contribution and long dedication to the National Organization for Women.
Noreen Connell, Vice President of Legislation
Noreen Connell, a leading women’s rights advocate in New York, is former president of NOW-NYS (1984-88) and NOW-NYC (1977-79). Under her leadership, the state organization grew to 36 chapters and 20,000 members and played a key role in creating progressive child custody laws and reforming the court system. While president of the New York City Chapter, Noreen initiated a job development program that resulted in creating 40 longshore jobs for women for the first time in New York City history. During the 1980s, Noreen formed delegations of feminists who traveled to Iceland, Spain, England, and Norway to learn how other feminist movements functioned, especially in helping to elect more women to office through the creation of women's parties or policies on gender parity in candidates for parliament. Noreen also created the annual Susan B. Anthony Awards, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Unlike most awards, the Susan B. Anthony Awards, honors and spotlights grassroots feminists who have advance women’s rights – regardless of their status and wealth.
Maureen Shaw, Chair of the Reproductive Rights Action Committee
A publicist by profession and long-time feminist, she works to educate the community on issues pertinent to reproductive freedom and ensure that New York remains a beacon for women's rights. Empowering women is a priority for Maureen and she believes that creating an open forum for discussion is a critical step in bringing visibility to issues that affect women. Since becoming involved with NOW-NYC, Maureen has researched the cost of EC in Manhattan pharmacies, urged the passing of the Prevention First Act, and lobbied for sponsorship of the Freedom of Choice Act. Maureen holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from James Madison University and is currently pursuing her Master's in Human Rights at Columbia University.
|
