Keynote Luncheon - Bronx Green Business
The Bronx Green Business Summit Ethical Culture Fieldston School - Bronx, NY
Friday, June 25, 2010 9:00am - 4:00am
Keynote Luncheon
12:00pm - 1:00pm Tickets are available on-site for $30 per person. First come, first serve. Cash only accepted.
HOSTED BY
PARTNERS
Featured Keynote Speakers
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
Elected Bronx Borough President in the Special Election on April 21st, 2009, Ruben Diaz Jr., previously served in the New York State Assembly since 1997, representing the 85th Assembly District. Throughout his seven terms in the State Legislature, Ruben Diaz Jr. was a champion for working families in the Bronx. He demonstrated passion for constituent service, social advocacy and community empowerment balanced with support for sensible, green economic development and job creation programs. He sponsored and secured passage of important and innovative laws to address the consequences of the intolerable levels of asthma in the South Bronx, healthcare insurance fraud, and quality of life concerns. Borough President Diaz has proven himself to be a fearless and tireless advocate for justice and equality for all. A staunch defender of the environment, he is a leading voice against environmental racism and injustice and helped lead the fight to restore the Bronx River. Due to his tireless and relentless advocacy in the case of his constituent, Amadou Diallo - a law-abiding young African Bronx resident who was wrongly killed by four NYPD officers in a hail of 41 bullets – Ruben Diaz Jr. became known around the world for his advocacy for civil and human rights. In the State Assembly, Ruben Diaz Jr. served as Chair of the Committee on Election Law and on the Assembly’s Standing Committees on Education, Ways & Means, Children and Families, Environmental Conservation and Transportation. He was also a member of the Assembly’s Puerto Rican and Hispanic Task Force and the Black/Puerto Rican and Asian Legislative Caucus. Since becoming borough president, Diaz led the opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, based on concerns over future wages at the retail mall, traffic impact on the neighborhood and the potential of the new project to conflict with businesses on nearby Fordham Road. Following that victory, Diaz is now leading the fight for a new “living wage” law in New York City, which would require developers that receive heavy taxpayer funding for their project to pay the employees of that development a “living wage.” In addition, Diaz hosted the borough’s first ever economic summit, in coordination with the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, which brought together business, community and not-for-profit leaders from across the Bronx and the region to discuss the economic goals of the borough. Diaz has also created a Public Housing Advisory Council, which meets to discuss and find answers to the issues faced by the residents of the borough’s public housing buildings; and an African Advisory Council, which works with the Bronx African community to resolve its emerging issues and make recommendations on strategies to improve the quality of life of this growing population. A lifelong resident of the Bronx, Borough President Diaz lives in the Southeast Bronx with his wife Hilda Gerena Diaz and their two sons, Ruben Diaz III and Ryan Isaiah Diaz. He graduated from Lehman College, City University of New York, with a Bachelors degree in political theory.
Majora Carter
Born, raised, and continuing to live in the South Bronx, Majora believes you shouldn’t have to move out of your neighborhood to live in a better one, and that this notion has environmental and economic implications that span the globe. In 2001, after successfully shifting the Giuliani administration’s plans from more municipal waste handling to positive economic development, she founded the non-profit environmental justice solutions corporation, Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx). Her first major project was writing a $1.25M Federal Transportation planning grant for the South Bronx Greenway with 11 miles of alternative transport, local economic development, low-impact storm-water management, and recreational space. This led to the first new South Bronx water front park in over 60 years. While needed parks are highly visible manifestations of her work, the real focus is creating intensive urban forestation, green roofing/walls, and water permeable open spaces. This robust horticultural infrastructure cleans the air, reduces urban heat island effect, efficiently manages storm water run off, calms the soul, and creates jobs – reducing poverty. In 2003, SSBx opened the Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training program (BEST): one of the nation’s first urban green-collar job training and placement systems. After 5 years it boasts an 85% employment rate with 10% now in college. Many of these success stories were formerly incarcerated, and all of them were on some form of public assistance before completing the nationally recognized 10-week course. Her local and global environmental solutions rest on poverty alleviation through green economic development, because the local jobs they create can empower communities to resist bad environmental decisions. Majora Carter is a 2006 MacArthur “genius” Fellow, one of Essence Magazine’s 25 most influential African-Americans, one the NY Post’s 50 Most Influential Women for the past 2 years, co-host of the Green on the Sundance Channel, a board member of the Widerness Society, SJF, and CERES, and host of a special national public radio series called “The Promised Land” (thepromisedland.org). She is currently president of the green-collar economic consulting company, The Majora Carter Group, LLC. Follow her on twitter at @majoracarter and on facebook.com/majoracarter
With Remarks From
Steven Brown President & CEO Greyston Foundation
Steven had been a member of Greyston’s Board of Directors since 1998 before becoming President & CEO in 2004. Steven has a background in housing, community development, foundation leadership, fundraising and organizational management. Immediately prior to joining Greyston’s staff, Steven served as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the New York City Housing Partnership, where from 1983 to 1998 he served as Director and then Vice President of Housing and Retail programs. From 1998 until early 2004, he was President of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a national foundation providing scholarships, mentoring, and career and academic support to promising minority college students. A graduate of Harvard University and resident of White Plains, Steven brings extensive leadership skills and experience to Greyston.
William J. Forrester President & CEO Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey
William J. Forrester was appointed President & CEO of Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey on July 1 2009. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer during the previous 10 years. Throughout his 27-year tenure at Goodwill, he developed programs for children and youth; expanded employment services for all populations, helping Goodwill become the largest nonprofit provider of welfare to work services in the City; created new services for individuals with disabilities, and helped usher Goodwill into an era of renewed community service, development and partnership. Forrester has sat on several boards, maintains membership in numerous professional associations, and is an avid educator. Forrester is the recipient of various awards, including the 2002 Goodwill Industries International’s Edgar J. Helms Staff Award, the 1999 George M. Estabrook Award for Distinguished Alumni from the Hofstra University Board of Trustees, and the 2007 Outstanding Association Executive Award from the New York Society of Association Executives.
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