CONTACT: Carrie Oman, 92Y, coman@92Y.org, 212-415-5435

92nd Street Y’s Women inPower Fellows for 2017 Selected

Including Inaugural Catherine Hannah Behrend Fellows in Visual Arts Management

and Women Leaders in Business, Finance, Philanthropy, Law Enforcement, Medicine, Media, Religion, Tech, the Arts, Higher Education and LGBT Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2016

NEW YORK – 92nd Street Y’s Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact announced the 2017 class of Women inPower, a fellowship program to help senior-level women advance to the highest levels of leadership across sectors. This group of 27 fellows was selected from an applicant pool that quadrupled compared with applicants to last year’s inaugural fellowship. This year’s fellows include leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions, including business, finance, media, nonprofit, medicine, global development, religion, government, the arts, LGBT services, and law enforcement. The group also includes two Catherine Hannah Behrend Fellows, the first fellows in a new, specialized track for rising female leaders in visual arts management.

This one-of-a-kind free program provides women with executive mentorship, educational seminars, CEO workshops, and membership in an active community of female leaders. The initiative also includes a social impact component, encouraging fellows to think ambitiously about their role in creating not only more success and power for themselves, but a healthier and more egalitarian society for all. The Behrend Fellows also receive instruction in visual arts management via monthly meetings with senior staff in various 92Y departments including marketing, development, programming and education.

Fellows are mentored by a group of leaders that includes New York City Commissioner for International Affairs Penny Abeywardena, media executive Cathie Black, Founder of Motive and former CEO of (RED) Jenifer Willig, Catalyst Executive Director Deepali Bagati, Coach Foundation Executive Director Margaret Coady, NBCUniversal Executive Vice President Lori Conkling, Director of No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project at the Clinton Foundation Terri McCullough, and Rothenberg Ventures Partner Fran Hauser.

“We are thrilled to welcome our second class of Women inPower Fellows,” said Asha Curran, Director of 92Y’s Center for Innovation and Social Impact. “Our incoming fellows, along with our soon-to-be alumnae, mentors and advisory board members, are creating a dynamic group of leaders committed to advancing the equal representation of women in top leadership positions across sectors while emphasizing the importance of doing well and doing good.”

The 2017 Fellows are:

• Cidem Altay Binal, Director, L-Spark • Komal Bajaj, Reproductive Geneticist & Clinical Director, Simulation Center, New York Health + Hospitals • Pamay Bassey, Global Head of Learning Platform and Professional Development, BlackRock • Monica Bloom, Global Vice President, Integrated Marketing, Getty Images • Samra Brouk, Director, Business Development, DoSomething.org • Marisa Buchanan, Executive Director, Sustainable Finance, JPMorgan Chase & Co. • Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, Director of Media Strategy, Orthodox Union • La Neice Collins, Communications & Advocacy Advisor, United Nations • Ilaria Conti*, Exhibitions and Programs Director, Center for Italian Modern Art • Maria Dautruche, Vice President, Foundation Partnerships, National Urban League • Alison Go, Product Lead, Facebook • Aida Gureghian, Assistant Dean for Students, Graduate School of Arts and Science, NYU • Aliya Haider, Director, Head of Fixed Income Regulatory, Guggenheim Partners • Laura Heck, VP, Strategy & Business Development, NBCU News Group, NBCUniversal • Melanie Heller, Vice President & General Manager, Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg BNA • Ilana Jaffey, Values Aligned Systems Director, Etsy • Adjoa Jones de Almeida*, Director of Education, Brooklyn Museum • Shijuade Kadree, Senior Director of Government Programs and Affairs, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center • Melissa Kivett, Senior Vice President, Strategy Officer, Prudential Annuities • Edlynne Laryea, Global Director, Social Media, Johnson and Johnson • Melissa Lavin, Chief Reporting Officer, Belfer Management, LLC • Lindsay Moroney, Vice President of Strategy and Operations, The Muse • Sehreen Noor Ali, Vice President, Business Development, Kaplan NEST • Minh-Thu Pham, Executive Director of Policy, United Nations Foundation • Alexsandra Sanford, Director of Communications, Eurasia Group • Amy Spitalnick, Press Secretary, Office of New York Attorney General • Erica [last name omitted], Production Manager, NYPD Police Commissioner’s Daily Intelligence and Counterterrorism Brief; Briefer to the Chief and Commissioner of Intelligence

* Indicates Catherine Hannah Behrend Fellow

Advisory Committee members include Deepali Bagati, Executive Director of Catalyst; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; Jimmie Briggs, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Man Up Campaign; Fran Hauser, Partner at Rothenberg Ventures; Ellen Hives, Partner at Ernst & Young LLP; Fashion designer Norma Kamali; Morra Aarons-Mele, Founder of Women Online and The Mission List; Shiza Shahid, Co-founder of The Malala Fund; Kristy Wallace, COO of Ellevate Network; and Jennefer Witter, CEO and Founder of The Boreland Group Inc.

For more information, visit WomeninPower.org.

About 92nd Street Y 92Y is a center for the arts and innovation, a convener of ideas, and an incubator for creativity. Founded in 1874, it seeks to create, provide and disseminate programs of distinction that foster the physical and mental growth of people throughout their lives. 92Y offers thousands of programs from its New York headquarters and creates community far beyond its four walls, bringing people from all over the world together through innovations like the award-winning #GivingTuesday and the Social Good Summit. It’s transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action all over the world.  All of 92Y’s programming is built on a foundation of Jewish values, including the capacity of civil dialogue to change minds; the potential of education and the arts to change lives; and a commitment to welcoming and serving people of all ages, races, religions and ethnicities. For more information, visit www.92Y.org.