WDN 2021
SUMMIT SPonsoRS
GOLD
BRONZE
Contributors to the
Sustainability of wdn
Our
Womans Diversity Network Leaders
Ama Yawson
WDN Leader
Trainings Team
Adesuwa Obasohan
WDN Partner-National Committee of Negro Women - Suffolk Section
Justice Chair
Barbara Beatus-Vegh
WDN Org Partner
Youth Justice Team
Ama Karikari Yawson, Esq. is the founder of Milestales Publishing and Education Consulting and the author of The Talk: A Black Family’s Conversation about Racism and Police Brutality, Sunne’s Gift, and other best-selling books.
Her unique understanding of social issues, business, and law has enabled her to become a relevant voice on issues as varied as race relations, women's issues, dating, parenting, self-love, hair-bullying, and entrepreneurship. Her articles have been published in MSNBC's The Grio, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, Madame Noire, and other publications. Ms. Yawson has also appeared on The Today Show, Al Jazeera's The Stream, The Nate Berkus Show, and Fox Business. Additionally, she is a celebrated radio personality who can be heard on WBAI in New York on 99.5 FM Pacifica Radio as she broadcasts her weekly show, How to Make it in the City.
Through her company, Milestales, Ms. Yawson along with her team of thought leaders and artists facilitate life-changing diversity and inclusion training sessions that incorporate legal analysis, storytelling, drama, dance, history, cutting-edge psychological research, mindfulness, and restorative justice circles. The sessions engage participants and organizations and truly propel them toward their goal of fostering a more equitable, cohesive, and productive work environment. Additionally, these programs may be customized to include diversity issues such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, political affiliation, and ability.
Carole Benjamin
WDN Leader
Justice and Events Team
Carole Benjamin-Morgan is a Licensed Social Worker with over 20 years of experience. She currently holds a degree in Public Administration and a master’s in social work. Carole has served on the Suffolk County Advisory Committee for Women’s services. Served on the Board of Directors of the League of Women voters of Smithtown, Assistant Secretary of the Islip Town Black Republican, and the Islip Town NAACP. Carole was also part of the Suffolk County HIV care Network, and the women of AIDS Coalition of Suffolk county. Carole currently ,holds the position of Clinic administrator of Western Suffolk Center, an outpatient clinic of pilgrim psychiatric facility. Carole joined WDN because the work the organization does is much needed in today’s society.
Christine Keller
WDN Org Partner
Youth Justice Team
Dana Garcia
WDN Leader
Engagement Team
Dana Garcia is excited to be a WDN member because WDN is fighting for the right things, by building communities while fighting to build change.
Deena Hadhoud
WDN Org Partner
Justice Team
Dena Spanos
WDN Leader
Justice Team
El Schneider
WDN Leader
Engagement Team
Eugenia Woods
WDN Leader
Hughette Clark
WDN Leader
Co-Chair Health Equity Task Force Advocacy/Action Workgroup
Hughette N. Clarke, represents Sigma Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She earned a Doctorate in Educational Administration and is a retired educator after over 30 years of service in elementary and middle school grades. Hughette wants to fight the good fight to reduce maternal mortality.
Jenna Kern -Rugile
WDN Leader
Jenna Kern-Rugile is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist who has written and edited stories for a variety of publications, including Scholastic; Family Magazine; Newsday; Working Woman; Working Mother; Fortune Small Business and many others. Her areas of coverage are varied and include parenting; adoption; health and wellness; mental health; social justice; the arts and music; animals; and the environment.
For the past six years, Jenna has also been the Director of Communications at North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, a children's mental health nonprofit on Long Island. She is passionate about the well-being of all of our children, and hopes that we make diversity, equity and inclusion a central part of our educational system.
Jillian Gibson
WDN Supporter
Trainings Team
Josephine Hall
WDN Supporter
Youth Justice Team
Josephine is a New York State Certified Educator and Co-founder of We Are Just Write. She has worked in public education on Long Island for most of her teaching career. Josephine is also the Co-founder of We Are Just Write. Its mission is to nourish and sustain the advancement of listening, reading, thinking, writing, speaking, and debating skills by offering classes online or in-person. Our classes connect historical context to current events, allowing participants to have a safe space to critically think about their role in our democracy.
Josephine was the Co-Chair of the WDN Youth Council in its early stages. She hopes to continue working with WDN to provide young adults with a safe space for social interaction, self-discovery, and civil discourse about social issues that directly impact their development. It is through this work and teaching, that Josephine understands the asset students are to their own development and our democracy.
Laura Jacobson
WDN Leader
Health Equity Task Force, Justice and Engagement Team
Laura has a background in business and is currently working in business consulting. On her free time, she volunteers for Women’s Diversity Network because she is deeply troubled with maternal mortality numbers in her community on Long Island, NY. She wants to contribute to WDN efforts to enact a much-needed change. She believes in standing together and working constructively to make a difference.
Lauren LaMagna
WDN Leader for Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic
Justice Team
Lauren Lamagna loves being apart of WDN because they are able to connect, learn, and grow with and from leaders in their community.
Leah Richberg
WDN Supporter
Justice Team
Leah Richberg is excited to advocate for all women and politics that break-down social determinants of health.
Livia A.Polise
WDN Leader
MelRose Corley
WDN Leader for EOC of Nassau County, Inc.
Justice Team
Nathalie C.Lilavois
WDN Leader for Malik Melodies Sisterhood, Inc.
Youth Justice Team
I have been an educator for 34 years as a teacher, principal, and district administrator and retired this past July. I am the CEO/Founder of Zahara Crown, Inc., an educational consulting company that provides support, curriculum, and guidance through workshops, presentations, webinars, and mentorship tailored to the client’s needs. My mission is to empower families of color with the educational and financial information, resources, and tools they need to build a strong legacy for their future. In addition to my top job as a mom, I am an author, speaker, wedding officiant, and the curator/executive producer of TEDxDeerPark. I have also served in the US Army Reserve as a Captain. I completed my B.A at Hofstra University, my Master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, and my doctorate from Hofstra University.
Nicole Hicks
WDN Leader
Youth Justice and Engagement Team
I have been an educator for 34 years as a teacher, principal, and district administrator and retired this past July. I am the CEO/Founder of Zahara Crown, Inc., an educational consulting company that provides support, curriculum, and guidance through workshops, presentations, webinars, and mentorship tailored to the client’s needs. My mission is to empower families of color with the educational and financial information, resources, and tools they need to build a strong legacy for their future. In addition to my top job as a mom, I am an author, speaker, wedding officiant, and the curator/executive producer of TEDxDeerPark. I have also served in the US Army Reserve as a Captain. I completed my B.A at Hofstra University, my Master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, and my doctorate from Hofstra University.
Nona Fontnel
WDN Leader
Justice Chair and Justice Team
Pia Alexander
WDN Leader Co-Chairperson Health Equity Task Force/Research Workgroup
Pia represents WDN as a leadership team member of the NY State Legislature’s Suffolk County Maternal Mortality & Morbidity Task Force. Pia is a NYS Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist at North Brooklyn Marriage & Family Therapy where she sees individuals, couples, and family therapy clients. Pia is also a family-wellness educator and clinical justice advocate whose research in Couple & Family Therapy and training in Medical Family Therapy, focuses on the overall health, reproductive health, and the impact of stress on maternal and infant health among African American women and their families. Pia has presented her research at numerous conferences including Critical Race Studies in Education (CRSEA), the Groves Conference on Marriage and Family, the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) and the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT).
Pia is the newest member of Core Faculty at Antioch University – New England in the Couple and Family Therapy Low-Residency Program, where she was previously awarded the President’s Doctoral Fellowship. She has provided volunteer support as a licensed mental health professional for NYS during COVID, and she has facilitated support groups for essential workers as a volunteer for NYS’s pilot Coping Circles program in the Summer of 2020. Pia earned her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Hofstra University with Distinction, where she received the highly competitive MFP Masters Fellowship from American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).
Retha Fernandez
WDN Supporter
Retha Fernandez offers personal development through mindfulness and meditation instruction. As a Certified Meditation Instructor, through the Chopra Center for Well-being, she instructs and guides individuals through the process of embracing meditation and mindfulness as a life skill that complements and supports personal and professional development programs. Through her company, Soul of Long Island, LLC, Retha offers instruction in a four-session course, taught in groups or individually, to learn meditation as a stress management and self-empowerment tool. Also available are customized leadership development workshops that offer meditation and mindfulness as a pathway to compassionate leadership.
Retha’s teachers include Deepak Chopra, Roger Gabriel, Vamadeva Shastri (David Frawley) and Yogini Shambhavi. She is trained in Transcendental Meditation, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and also completed Mindful Schools Educator Essentials training to deliver mindfulness curriculum for children in Kindergarten through 12th Grades. She has delivered programs to local businesses, organizations, and schools, including Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Girl Scouts of America, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, The Knox School, Brentwood High School, Queens Public Library, and Cedar Realty Corp. Retha holds a Bachelor of Science degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Organizational Management from St. Joseph’s College.
Retha Fernandez is the newly appointed Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Suffolk County, a new role created to promote diversity and inclusion in the Suffolk County workforce. She is devoted to her personal practice as she believes meditation and generating feelings of love and compassion for ourselves and others are the way to affect social change. "Live well, be well" is her mantra! Retha resides in Babylon with her husband of 14 years and son, Taylor.
Sarika Kumar
WDN Leader
Sol Marie Alfonso-Jones
WDN Supporter
Stephanie Freese
WDN Supporter
Trainings Team
Stephanie Freese, Ed.D. is a member of the Women’s Diversity Network Leadership Team, and is representing WDN at Hofstra’s Center for Civic Engagement.
Her background is in education, first as a preschool director and religious school principal, then teaching and facilitating programs for adults. Currently, she is a Teaching Assistant for Professor Michael D”Innocenzo’s Hofstra class, History and the News.
She is also a docent at the Nassau County Museum of Art.
Stephanie Henriques
WDN Leader for LI Doula Association
Justice Team
Tova Harris
WDN Leader
Engagement Chair, Youth Justice and Trainings Team
Tova Harris has a background in Clinical Psychology, Research, and Education. Tova is an advocate for intersectionality when addressing injustice and discrimination on Long Island and works with various nonprofits to attain those goals, together. They joined WDN because of the organization's commitment to empowering powerful and important voices to finally be heard across Long Island.
They will be pursuing their MSW in Fall 2022.
Vanessa Miller
WDN Leader for Malik Melodies Sisterhood, Inc.
Trainings Team