Making a Difference: Creating Communities of Inclusion

This Think Tank with Steve Adubato panel celebrates the work of four Russ Berrie Make A Difference Award-winners who create inclusive communities that enable individuals to thrive and reach their full potential despite significant obstacles. The panelists talk about the challenges individuals in underserved or overlooked communities face and the ways to better “include” them in society.

Guests Include:

Melina Garcia, Founder & Executive Director, Union City Music Project
A’Dorian Murray-Thomas, Founder & CEO, SHE Wins Inc.
Lorna Henkel, Board Member, First Friends of New Jersey & New York
Karen Monroy, PhD, Founder & CEO, Ability 2 Work

1/25/2020 #127

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Welcome to Think Tank I'm Steve Adubato, this is a very distinguished and thoughtful panel making a difference every day in their work talking about creating communities of inclusion. What does that mean? We're about to find out. Let me introduce you to some special folks. She was with us in one on one, one on one on one, I'll get that out but now she's back in this panel discussion. She is Dorian Murray Thomas founder and CEO of a great organization called She Wins. Karen Monroy is founder and CEO of Ability to Work. Lorna Hankel is a board member of First Friends of New Jersey and New York and finally Melina Garcia is founder and executive director of Union City Music project. I want to thank all of you for joining us. Thank you. Let's clarify this all of you are winners of what has called the Russ Berrie award for making a difference Mm hm there's a great organization the Berrie foundation runs that event it's up at Ramapo College as we speak right now and I've been honored to host that event for about twenty years all of you let's but if you were telling someone what did you win you're the winner of the award for making a difference how do you describe it? I describe it as Russ Berrie taking the time to see what small individual organizations nonprofits contributors do that's significant that's pioneering and that larger corporations maybe could take and pay attention to. That's right. So they highlight and spotlight you know the efforts I think and hope that other people will say hey there's something really cool going on here we should pay attention. Well said and so here's what we're gonna do I'll give you a chance to talk about your organizations but first thing is when I looked at the description of the show creating communities of inclusion each one of your groups does that your nonprofits tries to do that in one way or another Mm hm. What is it a community of inclusion A and B how do you and your organization she wins help to create it? I think a community of inclusion is kind of implicit in the name right it's a community that includes everyone and so with she wins, our goal is to make sure that all young women even girls with experience extraordinary traumas like I ..."