Henry Street Staffers Go “Above & Beyond”
By Nicole Fogarty
A PATHS art event (top) and an Expanded Horizons class (bottom).
Henry Street celebrated its talented staff this month with the announcement of the winners of Above & Beyond 2.0, the Settlement’s newly revamped employee recognition program.
Designed to reward teams doing work that exemplifies the tenets of Henry Street’s vision statement (innovation, inclusivity, integration, and excellence), Above & Beyond 2.0’s first cycle saw a first-place tie between two entries: PATHS (Promoting the Arts Throughout Henry Street) and the Expanded Horizons College Success Program.
PATHS is an ongoing collaboration between Henry Street programs and the Abrons Arts Center. It connects Settlement clients to Abrons Engagement programs, providing art opportunities like performative karaoke, constructing clay vessels for personal affirmation, using improvisational theater techniques for job interview prep, and more. These experiences create opportunities for self-expression, enhance social/emotional well-being and critical thinking, strengthen resilience, and promote community building.
This cycle’s programs included Primary & Behavioral Health, Senior Services and Transitional Housing. Team PATHS members are Jean Lagalia (PROS Express), Charisse King (Urban Family Center), Milvi Vehik (Good Companions), Jeanie Tung (Employment), Brian McCollum (Education) and Abrons Engagement staffers Ben Schrier, Chantara Ellis, Millie Kapp, Emma Zurer and Kim Cox.
Expanded Horizons College Success was chosen for its new eight-year program model. Recognizing that support needed to be offered to students from 9th grade through college completion, the team designed the new model to ensure both college readiness and success. Over its first year of implementation, the team continued to think critically about all aspects of programming, and diligently made changes where needed.
Team College Success includes Expanded Horizons staff members Rhea Corson-Higgs, Izzy Fortuna, Chris Fagan and Suemanda Pompey.
A total of seven teams were nominated in the first cycle. Each nominated team saw high-quality collaborations across departmental lines in the form of projects that helped propel forward Henry Street’s mission of opening doors of opportunity for all New Yorkers through innovative, inclusive, integrated and excellent work. See below for highlights and team members from the nominated teams:
Team Cornerstone
Leonor Colon, Aaron Cummings, Ramon Vargas, Sammy Cardona, Mario Ferreira, Miguel Arroyo, Clayton Davis, Raphael Ortiz, Angel Sanchez, James Turner
For working across departments to open a brand new day camp at Jacob Riis Cornerstone Community Center in under three weeks.
Team CAB
Talia DeRogatis, Debbie Cox, Kim Cox, Rhea Corson-Higgs, Jay Koo
For the creation of a robust and involved Community Advisory Board, which serves as a vehicle to ensure Henry Street remains inclusive of community needs.
Team New Website
Chelsea Jupin, Nicole Fogarty, Anne Kim, Frank Rotundi, Gail Flowers
For working together to completely redesign Henry Street and Abrons Arts Center’s website in record time, implementing forward-thinking and inclusive components like Peer 2 Peer fundraising, mobile optimization and a dynamic design, and ensuring a smooth rollout process.
Team CCC
Jean Lagalia, Patty Karbowski
For being the “glue” that holds it all together—ensuring clients are the number one priority and allowing the entire clinic to operate in a more efficient manner.
Team Third Street Women’s Residence
William Martinez, Shari Siegel, William Rodriguez, Jose Pena, Leo Rodriguez, Santos Rivera, Shawanda Stephany, Amina Singh, Felipe Ferreira
For quick thinking during two crises events to ensure clients’ needs were continuously met.
Nominations were reviewed and winners were chosen by the Above & Beyond 2.0 Achievers Review Panel, made up of staff members from across programs and divisions. The winning teams received individual awards, will be featured on an Above & Beyond Winners plaque at Henry Street Settlement’s historic headquarters at 265 Henry Street, and will be treated to a group professional or personal experience, and all nominated teams will attend a luncheon celebrating their achievements.
