Feb Newsletter

Newsletter Feb-March 2

www.youthbridgeny.org

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Marsha Haygood Teaches YouthBridge-NY Fellows About Public Speaking On January 26, 2009, the YouthBridge-NY General Meeting was held at the Board Room of One Hundred Black Men. Marsha Haygood, who is also a YB-NY Board Marsha Haygood giving Member, trained the tips to the Fellows Fellows in enhancing their public speaking skills. She gave them tips on how to refrain from saying “like” and “um” too many times. Additionally, she advised them on how to dress, act, and deal with “mishaps” while speaking. She stressed how important it is to maintain eye contact with everyone in the room, to enunciate their words and to

make sure the entire room may hear. She was very engaging and it was obvious she knew what she was talking about as she was an excellent public speaker herself! It was easy for Fellows to ask questions and be involved Ms. Haygood teaching Fellows how to vocalize properly since it gave them the opportunity to practice what they had recently learned. It was a great meeting and gave Fellows the opportunity to learn this vital skill that all leaders must have.

-Santiago Mueckay, YB-NY Fellow

Inside this issue: 1 Marsha Haygood Teaches YouthBridgeNY Fellows About Public Speaking Alumni Ice Skating in 1 Bryant Park YB-NY Fellow Spotlight: Kevin Lin

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Ways to Get What You Want

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Committee Updates

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Save the Date: YouthBridge-NY Cocktail Reception: February 26th, 2009

Alumni Ice Skating in Bryant Park The YouthBridge-NY Alumni Partnership reunited on December 29, 2008 at The Pond at Bryant Park for the very first Alumni Ice Skating Trip. The attendees included Emmanuel Afrifa (Swarthmore ‘11), Cheryl-Ann Bisram (NYU Alumni from left to right: Cheryl'12), Preethulina Kowshik Ann Bisram, Kevin Shi, and Preethulina Kowshik (NYU Stern '11), Kevin Shi (NYU Stern '11), Amy Tong (Binghamton '11), and Victor Wong (Harvard '11). The alumni supported each other in their endeavors to circle the rink while conquering the human obstacle course persistently present at The Pond. After several hours of skating, the alumni sat down for dinner at a nearby fast food

restaurant and traded fun stories about their college experiences. Unwilling to leave each other after dinner, the group traipsed back to Bryant Park, where they watched the evening crowd on The Pond and Alumni from left to right: collectively reflected on Victor Wong, Amy Tong, and Emmanuel Afrifa life and love. When it started getting late, the group reluctantly departed, looking forward to the next YouthBridgeNY Alumni reunion event.

-Victor Wong, YB-NY Alumus ‘08

YouthBridge-NY is managed by CAUSE-NY, a division of the Commission on Intergroup Relations & Community Concerns at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. The JCRC is an affiliate of UJA-Federation of NY.

YouthBridge-NY Fellow Spotlight: Kevin Lin The first time Kevin had ever heard of YouthBridge-NY was when he saw YB-NY Alumnus Victor Wong's photograph and experiences plastered in the Education section of a Chinese newspaper called “World Journal”. Extremely interested in an opportunity like Victor's, Kevin applied and became a YB-NY Fellow at the start of his ninth grade year. YouthBridge-NY has played a transformative role in Kevin's life. In fact, he remembers his ninth grade year when he would sit in meetings and take in the conversations, but participate on a very small scale. After all, he was one of the youngest members in a large group of junior and senior students. However, as Kevin gained more YouthBridge-NY

experience he decided to "take the bull by the horns," as they say. He became a YB-NY Intern and began to seize as many opportunities as he could. This included going onstage at the Martin Luther King Breakfast and making cold calls for the fundraiser last year in order to practice

Kevin building with Habitat for Humanity-NYC

his communication skills. Throughout his years at YouthBridge-NY, he has gained valuable knowledge and skills that he can use towards achieving all of his future aspirations. Currently, he is a part of the Shared Resources for a Shared Future committee and the Diversity Lens

committee. Besides for participating in YouthBridge-NY, Kevin attends the Horace Mann School and is engaged in many clubs. For one, he is the Vice President of the East Wind West Wind Asian Culture Club. In that position he has planned student events and bake-sale fundraisers for the sake of educating his fellow students about Asian culture. In addition, he is also the Senior Editor of the Horace Mann Review, his school's political magazine and Junior Officer for the Model Congress debate club. Kevin has gained valuable experiences from all of these extra-curricular activities. Although Kevin is still a half a year away from college applications, he is thinking of majoring in economics and politics. He hopes to go to college to learn ways that he can make the world better through creative capitalism.

Ways to Get What You Want

Members from the Engaging Workplace Diversity committee met with Clement Booth (far left), North American Chair of Global Investors Allianz and Christopher Worthley (second from the left), Executive Director of the Allianz Foundation for North America. Feb-March 2009

At the General Meeting on December 22nd, 2008, YB-NY Fellows met with Erez Harari who is getting his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Fordham University. Erez currently works as a therapist at Bellevue Hospital doing Dialectical Behavior Therapy with patients with severe personality disorders. He also worked as a group and individual therapist with substance abusers. He began the meeting by asking for any type of conflict that the Fellows had experienced recently. The most common were matters that dealt with parents, teachers and friends. Erez said to always keep in mind D.E.A.R. M.A.N. G.I.V.E. F.A.S.T., which is an acronym that describes ways of directing the conversation by using rational statements and emotional self-awareness. It allows both sides of the argument to benefit and be heard. The Fellows engaged in a few role-playing scenarios using the examples of conflict they had mentioned earlier. After each demonstration, questions were raised on whether the individual’s feelings were being addressed, if there was a compromise and if the conversation stayed on topic. The meeting wrapped up with a few important tips: be clear with what you want by expressing your opinions, make sure the person does not feel threatened by your statements, and press the importance that whatever you are arguing for is what you truly want. Fellows understood that communicating respectfully and appropriately is a crucial skill for leaders to have.

-Hui Xian Lin, YB-NY Fellow Page 2

Committee Updates The Diversity Lens committee met on January 13th, 2009 to discuss the photos they had taken in the course of the last month. The meetings will culminate with the preparation of an exhibition at the “Conflict” by Timmy Li, member YouthBridge-NY closing ban- of the Diversity Lens committee quet on June 15, 2009. Kodak has also agreed to support the committee by donating equipment such as cameras and a photo printer. Over the past several meetings, the Shared Resources for a Shared Future committee has been preparing for the upcoming YouthBridge-NY Reception in February. The YB-NY Fellows have also been learning the keys to effective grant making and has continued to discuss, implement and even alter its grant making process. The Shared Resources committee also welcomed Mia Herndon from the Third Wave Foundation, which does philanthropic advocacy, strategic grant-making and leadership development mainly for women and transgender youth. The Social Marketing and Media committee met on

January 21st, 2009 at the New York Times building. YB-NY Fellows met with advertising representatives Karen List, Laurie Wienert and Matthew White to discuss the challenges and opportunities in advertising, both in print and online, and also had the opportunity to tour the new building. On January 12th, 2009, the Allianz Engaging Workplace Diversity committee welcomed Antoinette Hamilton, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at L’Oreal U.S.A., to speak about the importance of understanding one’s own personality and work habits, as well as the importance of bringing diverse personalities together to create a successful workplace. On February 9th, the Allianz Engaging Diversity committee also invited Christopher Worthley, Executive Director of the Allianz Foundation for North America, to teach them the benefits of running a diverse business. Through an interactive workshop, Christopher demonstrated the importance of building business relationships with diverse companies and the value of bringing diverse consultants to the table.

-Timmy Li and Ethan Stein, YB-NY Fellows

YouthBridge-NY Reception Martin Bienenstock Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

Grace Lyu-Volckhausen

Sheldon Silver New York State Tiger Baron Health Plus Assembly Foundation Speaker Leaders to Thursday, February 26, 2009 Leaders award Thomas Early

6:00 pm — Cocktail Reception 7:00 pm — Program Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP 1177 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY Contact: Steve Klein at [email protected] or 212-983-4800 x 147

YouthBridge-NY Staff Bob Kaplan JCRC-NY/CAUSE-NY Director, CAUSE-NY

Monica Merlis JCRC-NY/CAUSE-NY Program Coordinator, YB-NY

Kevin Lin YouthBridge-NY Fellow Intern, YB-NY

Emily Loubaton JCRC-NY/CAUSE-NY Program Director, YB-NY

Karen Lander JCRC-NY/CAUSE-NY Social Work Intern, YB-NY

Ravi Seujattan YouthBridge-NY Fellow Intern, YB-NY

Feb-March 2009

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YouthBridge-NY Board of Directors Abenaa Abboa-Offei, Affinity Health Plan

Matthew Hiltzik, Hiltzik Strategies, LLC

Alejandro Munoz, YouthBridge-NY Fellow Alumnus Anna Carbonell, WNBC- 4 New York

Michael S. Miller, Jewish Community Relations Council of NY

Charlotte Frank, The McGraw-Hill Companies

Mohammad Razvi, Council of Peoples Organization

David Chen, Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc.

Ninfa Segarra, Esq., Tonio Burgos and Associates, Inc.

Debbie Almontaser, NYC Department of Education

Philip Banks, Jr., One Hundred Black Men

Dorothy Bowser, NYC Department of Education

Rami Nuseir, American Mideast Leadership Network

Grace Lyu-Volckhausen, Tiger Baron Foundation

Serafin U. Mariel, New York National Bank

Hector Gesualdo, ASPIRA of New York

Sylvia Deutsch, Chair Emeritus, CAUSE-NY _______________________________________

Pat McGann, Community Consultant

Ivy Cohen, Ivy Cohen Corporate Communications, Inc.

Founding Directors (Ex-Officio)

Jennifer Frommer, CondeNét Joe Korner, Astoria Graphics

Hon. Dennis M. Walcott, Office of the Mayor of the City of New York

Keith Brauer, Health Plus

Ira M. Millstein, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Lorraine Watson, Rubenstein Associates, Inc.

Michael Gill, GillWright Group

Marsha Haygood, StepWise Associates

Virginia Kee, Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc.

Joanne Oplustil, CAMBA

Martin Bienenstock, Dewey & LeBouef LLP Marvin Jacob, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

YouthBridge-NY Fellows 2008/2009 Bianca Rey, Hunter College High School

Moe Pyar, High School of American Studies

Caroline Lobel, Ramaz Upper School

Peter Daskalov, Bayside High School

Esther Ha, Roslyn High School

Ravi Seujattan, High School for Environmental Studies

Ethan Stein, Ramaz Upper School

Raya Abat, St. Vincent Ferrer High School

Evan Leung, Midwood High School

Renee Kim, St. Francis Preparatory High School

Gario Graham, High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety

Ronald Jeganatahn, Susan E. Wagner High School

Gila Schwarzschild, Ramaz Upper School

Sanitago Mueckay, Stuyvesant High School

Hui Xian Lin, High School for Environmental Studies

Sean Wong, Stuyvesant High School

Jacki Bryk, Ramaz Upper School

Segufta Amin, Bayside High School

Jane Shi, Bayside High School

Stella Cao, Stuyvesant High School

Kenny Yu, Stuyvesant High School

Steven Jung, Susan E. Wagner High School

Kevin Lin, Horace Mann School

Supreet Kaur, High School for Environmental Studies

Laura Halperin, Floral Park Memorial High School

Timmy Li, Hunter College High School

Merlin Valdez, Washington Irving High School

Waheed Ameen, High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety

Michelle Caballero, High School of Economics and Finance Feb-March 2009

Sam Gersten, Ramaz Upper School

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