Brooklyn honors Haitian-American leaders at Women of Distinction Awards


Overview:

Neighborhood leaders, advocates, and elected officers gathered at Brooklyn Faculty’s Woody Tanger Auditorium on March 6 for the ninth Annual Ladies of Distinction Awards Ceremony, hosted by Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn in honor of Worldwide Ladies’s Day and Ladies’s Historical past Month. The occasion, emceed by Haitian immigration lawyer Stephanie D. Delia, govt director of Little Haiti BK, acknowledged ten excellent ladies from Meeting District 42 (AD 42) for his or her contributions to enterprise, training, well being, housing, environmental activism, and the humanities. Among the many honorees have been a number of Haitian American leaders making a long-lasting affect of their communities.

Neighborhood leaders, advocates, and elected officers gathered at Brooklyn Faculty’s Woody Tanger Auditorium on March 6 for the ninth Annual Ladies of Distinction Awards Ceremony, hosted by Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn in honor of Worldwide Ladies’s Day and Ladies’s Historical past Month. The occasion, emceed by Haitian immigration lawyer Stephanie D. Delia, govt director of Little Haiti BK, celebrated ten excellent ladies from Meeting District 42 (AD 42) for his or her contributions to enterprise, training, well being, housing, environmental activism, and the humanities. Among the many honorees have been a number of Haitian American leaders making a long-lasting affect of their communities.

Honorees on the ninth Annual Ladies of Distinction Awards obtain citations at Brooklyn Faculty’s Woody Tanger Auditorium on March 6, 2025. From left: Wendy Jules, Carla Nelson, ZamZam Murtaza, Gail L. Smith, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Dr. Carol Reneau, Melissa Dain, Dina Rabiner, and Dr. Florence St. Jean.

Haitian-American honorees acknowledged for management

  • Dr. Marie Lily Cerat (Particular Presenter) – Affiliate Director of the CUNY Haitian Research Institute at Brooklyn Faculty and a scholar on Haitian language, tradition, and training. She can also be the co-founder of Haitian Ladies for Haitian Refugees, a corporation supporting Haitian immigrants.
  • Dr. Florence Saint-Jean – Government Director of International Trauma Analysis (GTR) and a psychological well being advocate offering trauma restoration companies for Haitian-Creole-, French-, and Spanish-speaking communities.
  • Wendy Jules, RN, and Carla Nelson – Haitian-American sisters and founders of Fleur De Lis Magnificence & Esthetics, a Flatbush-based luxurious spa specializing in skincare and wellness for folks of colour.
  • Dr. Carol Reneau – NYC educator and Housing Chair for Neighborhood Board 17, advocating for inexpensive housing in Brooklyn.

Honoring excellence throughout industries

The awards additionally celebrated:

  • Gail L. Smith (Lifetime Achievement) – A public well being chief with 26 years of service, most just lately as COO of MetroPlus Well being Plan.
  • ZamZam Murtaza (Arts & Leisure) – Children’ Efficiency Director on the Pakistani American Society for Ladies’s Outreach (PASWO).
  • Melissa Dain (Environmental Activism) – Founding father of the East nineteenth & Church Avenue Inexperienced Staff, engaged on environmental sustainability.
  • Dina Rabiner (Neighborhood Engagement) – VP of Financial Growth on the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Cortelyou Highway Retailers Affiliation President.
  • Principals Judith Ranft-Quartana (P.S. K315) and Gina Smalley (P.S. 152) (Training Honorees) – Acknowledged for his or her contributions to native colleges.

A celebration of management and progress

The occasion featured performances, speeches, and particular shows highlighting the achievements of girls in AD 42. Attendees included elected officers, group advocates, and native leaders who praised the honorees for his or her dedication to uplifting their communities and provoking future generations.

“Our Annual Ladies of Distinction Awards Ceremony is simply one of many methods we present much-deserved appreciation for the distinctive ladies making an immense affect in Meeting District 42 and past,” stated Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn in a press release.

She emphasised the importance of recognizing Worldwide Ladies’s Day, reinforcing the necessity to help ladies’s management, equality, and alternative.

“It was an honor to showcase our group’s exceptional contributions, which illustrate the facility of unified ladies breaking glass ceilings in our district and past,” she added.

Highlight on Haitian-Owned Fleur De Lis Magnificence & Esthetics

Among the many honorees, sisters Carla Nelson and Wendy Jules have been acknowledged for his or her entrepreneurial success with Fleur De Lis Magnificence & Esthetics, a Haitian-owned spa in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Raised by Haitian immigrant dad and mom, Nelson and Jules constructed their enterprise to serve hundreds of shoppers, guaranteeing skincare remedies have been accessible and efficient for communities typically neglected within the magnificence business.

Their enterprise is deeply rooted within the Haitian and Caribbean group, providing remedies tailor-made to pores and skin of colour and guaranteeing that Haitian and different Black shoppers obtain the best normal of care. The title Fleur De Lis is impressed by the French image of royalty and honors their mom, Elise.

Honoring Brooklyn’s numerous changemakers

The Ladies of Distinction Awards proceed to highlight Brooklyn’s numerous skills and changemakers. Because the district celebrates its ladies leaders, advocates, and entrepreneurs, the occasion reaffirmed its dedication to uplifting voices, fostering inclusion, and provoking future generations.

“Be part of us in congratulating this yr’s Ladies of Distinction honorees and each shero making a optimistic distinction!” Bichotte Hermelyn stated.



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