2014 Weschester Women’s SummitClosing Reportexploring intergenerational movement building thRough feminist skills and tools

Edited by Sheila Klatzkyfor the Westchester Women’s Agenda

Background and Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acknowledging Our Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Financial Support for the Westchester Women’s Summit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Members of the Westchester Women’s Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary Report and Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feminist Leadership for Social Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appendix A: Summit Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix B: Participant Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appendix C: Summary Report on 2013 Westchester Women’s Summit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix D: Message from Senator Gillibrand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix E: Westchester County Resources for Women and Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Financial Well Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Violence Against Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Free Legal Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Table of Contents2

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Background

The 2nd annual Westchester Women’s Summit was a collaborative effort, made possible almost entirely through the efforts of committed volunteers. Most, but not all of these volunteers are members of the Westchester Women’s Agenda.

WWA is a nonpartisan feminist coalition which plays a significant role in Westchester County by advocating for and influencing legislative and social policy affecting women and children. Its purpose is to ensure equal access to opportunity and equal rights for women, to champion reproductive freedom and other women's health issues, to end violence against women, to support civil rights for all and to oppose bigotry based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, class, age, disability or sexual orientation. Chairperson of WWA is Antoinette Klatzky, Program Director of the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation and the Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute. Vice-Chair is Rosemarie Noonan, Executive Director of the Housing Action Council, which acted as fiscal sponsor for the event.

Mission

The mission of the WWA is to create a strong voice for women in Westchester on legislative policy and program issues by bringing together a broad-based coalition of not for profits, corporations and individuals to work together and advocate on behalf of issues affecting women in Westchester County. We believe that by working together we create greater visibility and generate more resources to benefit the people we serve.

Member organizations of WWA serve a wide variety of underserved populations in Westchester County, including: 

• the 28% of female-headed households with children under the age of 18 who live in poverty

• the 3,182 severely overcrowded households

• the 20% of county households who pay more than 50% of their income on housing 

• the 1 in 4 women who will be raped in her lifetime

• the victims of sexual assaults and domestic violence, almost half of which go unreported

• the families whose child care financial assistance has been reduced since 2010

• the youth aged 16-19 whose unemployment rate in Westchester is 29.6%

• the 4 out of 5 persons whose need for free civil legal services cannot be met by existing programs

Our most recent successes have included funding for core programs in each of our issue areas, women’s cafes in communities across the county and the first Westchester Women’s Summit in 2013.  The Summit was a sold out event for which 300 people registered. It brought together community activists and influential women from all over the County to identify and prioritize issues of concern to women and children. Outcomes included a collaborative effort by the Pace Women's Justice Center, the Westchester County Office for Women and others to expand accessible legal services for immigrants; a campaign to disseminate information regarding the Affordable Care Act through door-to-door canvassing in conjunction with Planned Parenthood;, and the development of a directory of scholarships for women.

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Background& Mission

We wish to acknowledge all of the people who played vital roles in this unique collaborative effort and helped to make the 2014 Westchester Women’s Summit a success:

Summit Planning Committee:Antoinette Klatzky, Chair. Sheila Klatzky, Coordinator. Rose Noonan, Kim Jacobs, Anne Janiak, Ann Spaeth, Lucy Ortiz, Kathy Halas, Judith Schwartz, May Krukiel, Amanda Ready, Jon Wegienek, Laura Traynor, Katie Rapp, Aimee Aubin, Noelle Damico.

Pre-Planning Committee:Antoinette Klatzky, Katie Rapp, Aimee Aubin.

Speakers and Presenters:County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, White Plains Councilwoman Beth Smayda, Rev. Sarah Henkel, Beth Mount, Juanita O. Lopez, Kim Jacobs, Cora Greenberg, Antoinette Klatzky, Sheila Klatzky, Amy Attias, Maureen Darras, Jojo Thayer, Tess Edwards, Laura Traynor, Katie Rapp, Naomi Cameron, Praise Mkandawire, Zelle Andrews, Noelle Damico (moderator) and May Krukiel (moderator).

Volunteers: Betsy Klampert and Katie Rapp, Coordinators. Bo Zhang, Technology Assistance, Antoinette Klatzky, Judith Schwartz, Eva Dolgin, Lauren Shaller, Aimee Aubin, Caroline Traynor, Deby Finkelstein, Jojo Thayer, Jado Morris, Megan Mark, Michelle Araque, Leila Hirschfield, students from Sarah Lawrence College and Sister to Sister International.

Outreach Task Force: Kim Jacobs and Lucy Ortiz, Coordinators.

Technology Task Force: Antoinette Klatzky, Sheila Klatzky, Bo Zhang.

Introduction and Closing:Antoinette Klatzky, Katie Rapp.

Art Work: Aimee Aubin.

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AcknowledgingOur Contributors

We are grateful to the following sponsors and contributors for their generous financial support:

Event Sponsor: $2,500+Eileen Fisher Community FoundationEILEEN FISHER

Event Sponsor:Sarah Lawrence College

Platinum Contributor: $1,000+Women’s Research and Education Fund

Bronze Contributor: $250+Center for Aging in PlaceChild Care Council of WestchesterCommunity Capital of New YorkConcept Care New YorkHope’s DoorJon WegienekPace Women’s Justice CenterPlanned Parenthood Hudson PeconicWestCOPWomen’s Enterprise Development CenterYWCA White Plains & Central WestchesterWestchester County Office for Women

Friends of the Westchester Women’s Summit: $10-$249 Ann SpaethFran SnedekerJean SwansonJudith SchwartzKatherine DeringLaura NewmanLaura TraynorLinda BretonLottie HarrisMarcia BrewsterMaria ImperialMental Health Association of WestchesterSister to Sister InternationalSheila Klatzky

We also wish to acknowledge:the Elias Foundation whose support in 2013 for the purchase of voting technology allowed us to train and make use of volunteers to create and operate the interactive voting slide presentations which were used in this year’s summit.

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Financial Support for the Westchester Women’s Summit

The following are current members of the Westchester Women’s Agenda:

Ahrenna Akoma

Naomi Adler

Annette Alve

Jane Aoyama-Martin, Esq. Executive Director, Pace Women’s Justice Center

Cheryl Brannan, Founder & CEO, Sister to Sister International, Inc.

Colleen Brathwaite, Communications Manager, Westchester Jewish Community Services

Linda Breton

Lisa Buck

Karen Cheeks-Lomax, CEO, My Sisters’ Place

Reverend Noelle Damico, Director of Communications, Hudson River Presbytery

Marianne Delany

Lindsay Farrell, President & CEO, Open Door Family Medical Centers

Mary Grace Ferone, Esq.

Jan Fisher, Director of Public Affairs, Westchester Jewish Community Services

Cheryl Geller

Carol Greenberg

Cora Greenberg, Executive Director, Westchester Children's Association

Kathy Halas, Executive Director, Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc.

Lottie Harris, Ret. Former Executive Director of the Child Care, Council of Westchester

CarlLa Horton, M.P.A. Executive Director, Hope's Door

Nadine Hunt-Robinson

Maria Imperial, Executive Director, YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester

Kim Jacobs, Executive Director, Community Capital New York

Anne Janiak, Executive Director, Women's Enterprise Development Center 

Antoinette Klatzky, Program Director, Eileen Fisher Community Foundation

Sheila Klatzky

May Krukiel, Director, Victims Assistance Services, WestCOP

Shelley Mayer, NYS Assembly

Dennis McDermott

Camille Murphy

Rosemarie Noonan, Executive Director, Housing Action Council, Inc.

Lucy Ortiz, Legislative Aide to Legislator Ben Boykin, Westchester County Board of Legislators

Joy Rosenzweig

Reina Schiffrin, President/CEO, Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic

Robin Schlaff, Director, Westchester County Office for Women

Judith Schwartz

Christine Scott-Deutsch, Educational Consultant   

MaryJane Shimsky, Legislator, Westchester County Board of Legislators

Frances Snedeker

Ann Barringer Spaeth

Ann Spindel

Jean Swanson

Laura Traynor, Director, ReServe/Fedcap Community Impact Institute

Jon Wegienek, Community activist

Alfreda Williams, Legislator, Westchester County Board of Legislators

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Members of theWestchester Women’s Agenda

The following organizations are members of the Westchester Women’s Agenda:

Eileen Fisher Community Foundation

Hope’s Door

Pace Women’s Justice C enter

Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic

Professional Women of Westchester

Westchester Jewish Community Services

Women’s Enterprise Development Center

YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester

Overview

Fresh faces, fresh voices, and fresh ideas marked the 2nd annual Westchester Women’s Summit, held on March 29 on the campus of Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, NY. The event, which was hosted by the Westchester Women’s Agenda (WWA) and co-sponsored by Sarah Lawrence College, EILEEN FISHER, and the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation, with additional support from many other nonprofit organizations and individuals, brought women together across a 60-year generational divide to practice feminist leadership for social change.

The Summit was notable not only for how many people it brought together, but also for whom it brought together. Over 150 people registered for the event. They included members of nonprofit organizations, organized labor, religious organizations, business and corporate professionals,

educator s , s tudents , publ ic servants, elected officials, and members of the community, many of whom had never met before and welcomed the opportunity to network and make or deepen connections.

This year’s Summit focused on the motivat ion and tr a in ing of participants in feminist leadership practices and the application of t h o s e p r a c t i c e s t o t h e development of creative solutions

to social problems affecting women at the local and/or county level.

The goal for the Summit was to use the feminist lens to develop a common agenda around which to develop collective energy, attract key stakeholders, and begin to build the trust necessary for more effective cross-sector communication and collaboration among leaders of different generations.

More specific goals for the Summit were:

• to create a movement to engage local organizations in solving major social problems affecting women and children in Westchester County;

• to develop a two-pronged approach to the issues identified at last year’s Westchester Women’s Summit:

• develop feminist leadership tactics that will be effective for large-scale collaborative efforts.

• identify a younger cadre of feminists and create opportunities to engage them in civic participation.

In keeping with this last goal, this year’s summit attracted a substantially larger group of women under the age of 30 (21%) than did 2013’s first annual summit (11%).

Program Highlights

Members of the WWA, who organized the Summit, believe that the feminist narrative, which empowers women to free themselves from sexual and social repression, can offer women a narrative of hope and optimism; one that says we have the collective power to make lasting change, not only in our lives, but in the lives of others less fortunate than ourselves.

The Summit, in its multiplicity of voices and approaches to social change, offered proof of that hope and optimism. Across divides of age, gender, race and socioeconomic

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The Summit was notable not only for how many people it brought together, but also for whom it brought together.

2014 Westchester Women’s SummitSUMMARY REPORT & HIGHLIGHTS

by Sheila Klatzky

status, women spoke—and listened deeply—to the messages of feminist leaders and one another.

Antoinette Klatzky, Director of the Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute and Program Officer of the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation, opened the event and introduced Cora Greenberg who, with the technical assistance of Bo Zhang, carried out an exercise in interactive voting technology to identify the demographics of those in the room.

Antoinette then introduced the first speaker, County legislator MaryJane Shimsky; who brought the gathering up to date on the status of women in Westchester and spoke eloquently of the ongoing child care crisis in Westchester County.

White Plains Councilwoman Beth Smayda spoke to the state of women in elected office in Westchester County, saying “women are the only adults in Washington.” Yonkers high school student Naomi Cameron roused the participants to their feet with a stirring rendition of her original poem, “The Tree.”

Reverend Noelle Damico moderated the morning plenary session, which included the Reverend Sarah Henkel of the Hudson River Presbytery who spoke of food justice and the efforts to create community gardens on the front lawn of the White Plains Presbyterian Church. Artist Beth Mount talked about her work with the disabled and reminded the group that art, used as a tool for social change, can level the playing field. Community organizer Juanita Lewis, of Community Voices Heard, reminded the gathering that we need to have conversations about privilege in order to move the needle for everyone.

Former Co-Chair of the WWA, Kim Jacobs, brought the group up to date on the outcomes of last year’s Summit and discussed the importance of broad cross-sector coordination for successful large scale collective impact initiatives for social change.

Amy Attias and Maureen Darras spoke briefly about their “Big Ideas” for social change projects, which formed the basis for the afternoon breakout sessions. These ideas came, in part, out of a Summit preplanning conference held in February at Sarah Lawrence College, for which 60 people registered and which delved into the root causes of social problems facing women and children in Westchester County.

The participants moved to skillbuilder workshops to develop their skills in feminist leadership tactics. The skillbuilder workshops included using social media to create and support

a movement, with Jojo Thayer, Rapid Prototyping (“Fail fast, fail early and fail often to learn more about your project”) with Tess Edwards, NextDoor.com (a social media tool to build a private social network in your neighborhood) with Laura Traynor, and using circle formations to share leadership with Katie Rapp.

In the “Feminism: Then and Now” panel which followed over lunch moderator May Krukiel and speakers Praise Tamandani Mkandawire and Zelle O. Andrews spoke to the differences in perspective of the 2nd wave feminist movement and that of young feminists today. When Dr. Andrews asked, “How many of you have been raped or know someone who has been raped?” the sea of hands that rose across the room gave the gathering a sober reminder of how little has changed and how much needs to be done.

In the a f ternoon breakout sessions Amy Attias, a criminal defense attorney, single mother, musician, and domestic abuse and stalking survivor, led a spirited discussion of approaches to restorative justice and restorative practices as a tool for social change. In a second breakout session, Maureen Darras of the Envisioning Westchester Collective (EWC) described the components of a ‘Good Jobs, Fair Wages’ campaign which EWC is preparing to launch in Westchester County this month and which focuses on poverty and the low wage workforce (made up primarily of women).

Participants were invited to share their ideas and prepare to take action in one or the other of these ideas for social change.

Outcomes

An initial outcome of the breakout session on restorative justice is that the discussion helped its organizer to reframe and reformulate the proposal and suggested linkages to other organizations and individuals that are working on similar and/or related efforts in the County.

The breakout session around the Envisioning Westchester Collective’s campaign to raise the minimum wage and end the Work Experience Program (“WEP”) will be following up with outreach to individuals and organizations that expressed an interest in its campaign. It will also be organizing teach-ins

Participants were invited to share their ideas and prepare to take action in one or the other of these ideas for social change.

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to educate people on what is wrong with the WEP program, an emphasis which came directly out of the Summit.

Fur ther actions on both of these projects will be forthcoming.

Another significant impact of the summit arose from post-Summit reflections which took place at the WWA monthly meeting on April 7. The differing leadership styles in evidence at the Summit made members aware of a deeper set of issues around working intergenerationally and—more broadly—around collaborating across lines of division including age, race, gender, power and status. These include: respect for different viewpoints, different views of feminism, the difficulties involved in arriving at a common agenda, the real or apparent devaluing of younger women’s experience, the issue of “microaggression” and “microassaults” and their relation to assumptions of privilege, as well as the need for defusing and letting go of feelings of defensiveness and discomfort and countering intimidation. Discussions are under way about holding workshops to carry forward the work of coalition building in the context of these newly discovered issues which the summit brought to light.

Conclusions

The gathering ended with an evaluation and closing remarks by Antoinette Klatzky and Katie Rapp of EFLI. Results of the evaluation based on those in the room at the closing indicated that 86% of the attendees liked the format of the summit, 73% felt their concerns and ideas were heard and

valued, 87% found the morning panel inspiring and motivational, 80% said they would take action on ideas from the summit, 91% found the interactive voting technology (which was staffed this year entirely by volunteers) wa s u sed e f fe c t i ve l y and benefited the summit, and 84% thought that this year’s summit was successful.

Judged by the diversity of those in the room, the efforts on the parts of all those involved to listen, recognize and respect the

issues that both unite and divide us as feminists of different generations, backgrounds and persuasions, the 2nd annual

Westchester Women’s Summit succeeded in setting the tone for a broad-based and inclusive feminist movement.

The Summit also offered participants a multiplicity of voices and approaches to feminist leadership and social change; it increased the visibility of the Westchester Women’s Agenda, offered role models to a younger generation of feminist leaders, created the basis for future collaboration among a diverse group of organizations and individuals, and met its financial goals.

Discussions are underway about holding workshops to carry forward the work of coalition building in the context of these newly discovered issues which the summit brought to light.

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Structured inequality is the elephant in the room in Westchester County; obvious and ignored. Last year’s first-ever Westchester Women’s Summit, held on March 2, 2013, addressed issues of inequality and social justice by bringing together activists and influential women from all over the County to identify and prioritize issues of concern to women and children. A subsequent planning conference created task forces to take action on the top priority issues arising out of the Summit.

The Summit was considered by par ticipants and contributors to be a real success. It created open and honest dialogue among participants (90% of whom were women), many of whom had never met before. It offered opportunities for the development of new relationships among individuals and organizations working on related issues. And it led to specific actions, including a collaborative effort by the Pace Women’s Justice Center, the Westchester County Office for Women and others to expand accessible legal services for immigrants, a campaign to disseminate information regarding the Affordable Care Act through door-to-door canvassing in conjunction with Planned Parenthood, and the development of a directory of scholarships for women. Other task forces have met and are making progress.

As usual, these efforts have been spearheaded by a small number of women, who are at the same time struggling with the requirements of day-to-day operations of social service

organizations and fundraising and lobbying to keep those organizations going, in the face of cuts for safety net services at all levels of government, but especially at the County level.

It has become clear that solutions to the problems facing women and children in Westchester require larger collaborative efforts on the part of established stakeholders.

The question becomes: how do we create a movement that will engage enough local organizations to solve major social problems affecting women and children at the local and county levels?

At this year’s Summit we propose to develop a two-pronged approach to the issues identified at last year’s Westchester Women’s Summit. The first is to identify a younger cadre of feminists and to create opportunities to engage them in civic participation. The second is to develop feminist leadership tactics that will be effective for large-scale collaborative efforts.

Why the feminist lens?

In addition to the fact that the Westchester Women’s Agenda is itself a nonpartisan feminist coalition whose mission reflects a strong commitment to social justice for women, we also have reason to believe that the ideals of feminism have come to resonate with more women and, especially, younger women. According to a study by Ms. Magazine in conjunction with Lake Research, “The number of women who identify as feminists went up 12 percent from 2006 to 2012… The affiliation is especially strong among young women; a you.gov poll found that 42 percent of women under 30 call themselves feminists, the highest percentage of any age group.”1

We want to enlist the energies of these younger women in the progressive social issues of equality and social justice that have traditionally defined feminism and bring those energies to bear on the problems facing women and children in Westchester County. The same narrative that liberates and

Feminist Leadership for Social Changeexploring intergenerational movement building thRough feminist skills and tools

_________________________________________

1 “The New Do: Calling Yourself a Feminist,” Glamour, October, 2013, p.82.

by Sheila KlatzkyNote: The following document provided the background and rationale for this year’s Summit.

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empowers women to free themselves from sexual and social repression can and does also liberate them from the complacencies of their parents’ generation; the competing narrative that views the social problems of the

disadvantaged and the dispossessed as inevitable: that says, “This is the way things are. They can’t be changed.”

We believe that feminist leadership can offer these women a narrative of hope and optimism; a narrative that says we have the collective power to make lasting change, not only in our lives, but in the lives of others less fortunate than ourselves.

We recognize that there are difficulties. For example, Sheila Tobias claims that women today

acknowledge: “that there are profound and unalterable differences among women. It has not been easy--indeed, it may not be possible--to forge a common agenda among women who work in low-paying, low-status fields; women who are in the higher reaches of personal career attainment; women who are disadvantaged by race or immigrant status; and women who do not want to give up dependency on men to compete in an economic race they feel they cannot win.”2 Michaela Angela Davis refers similarly to the “’broken pieces in the feminist movement,’ namely, race and inequality.”3

Feminism has also been applied recently to the problems faced by women in corporate leadership positions, women who “lean in.”4 While we sympathize with these issues, we are concerned here with feminist leadership as applied to women who work, women who raise and support families, women who take care of children and elderly parents and put bread on the table to feed them. Women who have worked all their lives and retire to a meager pension or none at all. Women who have raised families and are left

insecure or impoverished by death or divorce. Women who worry that their children will be safe in school and safe after school and how or whether they will be able to afford to send them to college.5 And yes, women concerned about “Things like rape culture, pay equity and gender discrimination in the workplace, conventional standards of beauty, and quality child care.”6

We intend to confront these problems by inviting a panel of speakers from different generations of the feminist movement to share their experiences with building a social movement, to challenge our thinking and to come to terms with the social problems of inequality and social justice we face today.7

We know what the issues are. The objectives we defined at last year’s Summit include:

• To ensure equal access to opportunity and promote economic equality for women.

• To provide decent, safe, fair and affordable housing for individuals and families—for those who cannot afford to rent or buy; who live in substandard and overcrowded conditions; who pay more than 30% of their gross income on rent; and who live in shelters and on the street.

• To champion reproductive freedom and other women’s health issues.

• To end violence against women and girls, and to ensure that services for survivors are in place, securely funded, and accessible to all women and girls.

• To support and empower women in their child-rearing roles by providing accessible, affordable and quality services for children and youth including child care, after school, health and mental health.

• To support the creation of a just, safe and supportive environment for victims and survivors of domestic violence and abuse and to advocate on behalf of civil legal services for low-income families and individuals.

• To advocate on behalf of legal, housing, job assistance and other support services for immigrants.

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2 http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/tobias-feminisim.html

3 “Celebrating New Faces of Feminism,” Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2013.

4 Sheryl Sandberg,  Lean In:  Women, Work and the Will to Lead, Lean In Foundation, Alfred Knopf, 2013.

5 Our point of view is similar to that of feminist organizations such as the National Organization for Women ,http://www.nownys.org/ and the National Council of Women’s Organizations, http://www.womensorganizations.org/. However, these organizations primarily address policy issues at state and national levels. Our goal is to develop a pragmatic feminist movement that will solve social problems at the local and County levels.

6 Anna Holmes Glamour, ibid, p.84.

7 Thank you to May Krukiel, Rebecca De Simone and Chloe Heinz for reading an earlier draft and helping to shape my thoughts on this issue.

The question becomes: how do we create a movement that will engage enough local organizations to solve major social problems affecting women and children at the local and county levels?

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Leading for Collective Impact

If the first half of the Summit program is motivational, the second is tactical. In breakout sessions we will tackle three basic questions:

• What do we want to accomplish?• What are the obstacles that will get in our way?

• How can we overcome these obstacles?

A recent article by John Kania & Mark Kramer differentiates “collective impact initiatives” from other types of collaborative efforts, defining “collective impact” as “the commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem.8 Examples of “collective impact” initiatives include the cleaning up of the Elizabeth River in southeastern Virginia, improving student success in large citywide school districts in Cincinnatti and northern Kentucky, a citywide effort to reduce and prevent childhood obesity in elementary school children in Somerville, Mass.

Kania and Kramer point out that their research shows “that successful collective impact initiatives typically have five conditions that together produce true alignment and lead to powerful results: a common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support organizations.” 9

Clearly we have not at the present time met any of these conditions. But we have to start somewhere. Even a bonfire begins with a single spark.

The outcome that we seek at the Summit is precisely the development of that common agenda around which we can develop collective energy, attract sufficient stakeholders, and begin to build the trust necessar y for effective communication; in order to create a movement that can solve social problems at the local and County level.

We propose to address questions such as the following in the breakout sessions:

• What are the most important outcomes that we seek in each of the issue areas? What will make the most difference to social well-being? In the “Financial Well Being” issue area of last year’s Summit, for example, the primary issue priority was education for personal economic development. This is a worthy issue, but it

lacks specificity. A more specific outcome, for example, would be: Improving educational outcomes for children, especially in areas where low achieving students are concentrated.

• Where can we as a large-scale social movement have the greatest impact?

• How do we effectively measure the work we have done and are doing to achieve our objectives?

• Which of these objectives are already being met by other organizations within the County? Do existing organizations or entities have the resources or authority to bring about the necessary change?

• Where are we likely to meet with resistance from existing stakeholders?

• How can we overcome this resistance?• How do we find common ground among objectives of

the different groups of stakeholders in order to achieve cross-sector collaboration?

• Who can take the lead in coordinating the activities of different stakeholders through a “mutually reinforcing plan of action”?

• How can we develop sufficient trust among the various stakeholders to engage in successful cross-sector collaboration?

• Where would the “backbone support organizations” come from, to provide project management, data management and facilitation?

• Where would the funding come from to mobilize and coordinate stakeholders?

• How can we learn from other communities that have already implemented successful collective impact solutions to social problems?

• How do we build a movement that will engage dozens of local organizations in a drive toward shared goals?

We have already taken steps toward a collaborative effort by inviting Sarah Lawrence College to act as a co-sponsor, and they have generously offered their campus as the locale for this year’s Summit.

We now need to mount a fundraising effort that will allow us to bring in speakers who can attract the participants we intend to reach and an outreach effort that will attract the organizations that are stakeholders in the issues we need to address.

_________________________________________

8 John Kania & Mark Kramer, “Collective Impact,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2011. Leland Stanford Jr. University, p.36. Thank you to Kim Jacobs for calling my attention to this article.

9 Kania & Kramer, ibid., p. 39.

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0

25

50

75

100

Somewhat or Strongly Agee

I liked the format of the Summit. (86%)I felt my concerns and ideas were heard and valued. (73%)The Morning Panel was Inspiring and Motivational. (87%) The Morning Breakouts provided me with new skills. (59%)The Big Idea breakouts helped me focus on actions I want to take going forward. (62%)I will take action on these ideas following the summit. (80%) The interactive voting technology was used effectively and benefited our Summit. (91%)

Appendix A:Summit Evaluation

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0

25

50

75

100

Participation by Gender

Male (10%) Female (90%)

0

25

50

75

100

Participation by Age

18 & under (11%) 19 - 29 (10%) 30 - 49 (17%) 50 - 59 (26%) 60+ (36%)

Appendix B:Participant Demographics

0

25

50

75

100

Participation by Ethnicity

Caucasian (66%) Hispanic/Latino/a (14%) African-American (13%)Asian/Asian Pacific Islander (0%) Other/Two or More (7%)

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0

25

50

75

100

Participation by Annual Household Income

Less than $20,000 (3%) $20,001 - $39,999 (6%) $40,000 - $59,999 (19%)$60,000 - $99,999 (26%) $100,000+ (46%)

Appendix B (cont’d.):Participant Demographics

0

25

50

75

100

Westchester the last 5 years: How have economic conditions changed for you personally?

Gotten a lot worse (24%) Gotten a little worse (23%) Stayed about the same (28%)Improved a little bit (15%) Improved a lot (10%)

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Appendix B (cont’d.):Participant Demographics

A Collaborative Effort

The first-ever Westchester Women’s Summit, held on March 4, 2013 at the Yonkers Riverfront Library, was a collaborative effort, made possible almost entirely through the efforts of committed volunteers. Most, but not all of these volunteers are members of the Westchester Women’s Agenda, a nonpartisan organization which is a coalition of individuals and organizations who advocate for women’s rights and influence public policy in areas including equal access to opportunity, economic equality, affordable housing and eviction prevention, championing reproductive freedom, ending violence against women, affordable and quality services for children and youth, supporting civil rights for all and opposing bigotry based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, class, age, disability or sexual orientation.

Sponsorship

Support for the use and purchase of interactive voting technology was provided by the Elias Foundation. The event was co-sponsored by the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation. Other contributors included: EILEEN FISHER, Housing Action Council, Inc., YWCA of White Plains & Central Westchester, the Women’s Research and Education Fund, Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc., Community Capital New York, Hope’s Door, Labor Council, Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body, AFL-CIO, Open Door Family Medical Centers, Pace Women’s Justice Center , Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, Sarah Lawrence College, Victims Assistance Services/Westchester Community Opportunity Program, Inc.,

Westchestergov.com, Women’s Enterprise Development Center, Zonta Club of Westchester, and other individual contributors.

Attendence

Three hundred people registered for the sold-out event. In a moving keynote speech, the Reverend Noelle Damico offered a vision of “ONE Westchester,” “where we understand how our lives are intertwined and commit ourselves to realizing our common good” and invited the group to “move forward to create a Westchester County that upholds the dignity and equality of everyone.”

Outcomes

• WWA held a follow up conference, “Pizza and a Plan,” in May, 2013, for which 51 people registered; to define and elaborate on action steps growing out of the Summit and organize collaborative task forces to tackle these action steps. The WWA Board subsequently conducted a survey to see which task forces had enough interest to accomplish the tasks and narrowed down the list of proposed actions. Over 30 women volunteered to serve on task forces.

• To date, the following action committees have met and are currently working on projects:

1. Scholarships for Women: This task force is working on a directory of scholarships and grants for women, including evaluation of the validity of internet sources and the list from 211.

2. Legal Clinics: A collaborative effort is under way by the Pace Women’s Justice Center, the Westchester County Office for Women and others to expand accessible legal services for immigrants.

3. Legal Services: A survey has been conducted of available legal services, and the task force is developing a guide.

4. Affordable Care Outreach: A campaign to disseminate information regarding the Affordable

Appendix C:2013 Westchester Women’s SummitSUMMARY REPORT

by Sheila Klatzky

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Care Act through door-to-door canvassing is under way in conjunction with Planned Parenthood.

5. Campaign to Address Violence Against Women: The task force has met and is working to develop specific goals.

6. “Best Companies to Work For” Publicity Project: The task force has met to discuss the best ways to co-promote companies which support working mothers and to iinfom and educate smaller companies about ways of supporting working mothers.

7. Legislative Meetings: Members of the Agenda met with nearly every legislator. Legislators were given a copy of the Summit final report, which included a comprehensive listing of locally available resources on each of the Summit issue areas, compiled by presenters of the different issue areas. This listing was made available to participants after the event.

• We have laid the foundations for collaboration on the 2nd annual Summit, including co-sponsorship by the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation and Sarah Lawrence College, one of last year’s donors.

• We have Increased participation and paid membership in the Westchester Women’s Agenda; and increased the visibility of the issues faced by underserved populations in Westchester County.

• Issues raised at the Summit will become the basis for this year’s Summit which will have as its theme, “Feminist Leadership for Social Change,” and will focus on creating cross-sector collaborative efforts to address issues of inequality and social justice for women and children in Westchester County. The outcome of this year’s Summit will be one or more proposals for projects that will improve social conditions for an underserved population of women and children in the county and for which we will seek separate funding.

• We have built a base of potentially fruitful new relationships, good will and credibility with other progressive individuals, groups and organizations—including the Zonta Clubs, the Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, faith-based organizations, Community Voices Heard, members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus of the County Board of Legislators, and others.  

• We covered our expenses. Total project expenses were approximately $14,504. Total funds received and/or pledged: $14,765.

Publicity

The Summit received advance publicity in the White Plains Daily Voice, the Examiner News and WVOX. An interview about WWA and the Summit, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of New Rochelle, ran on Cablevision Channel 76 the weeks of March 11 & 25. There were also blogs online.

Technology

A training webinar was held on 1-23-14 at Eileen Fisher offices and online, to train members in the use of Option Technologies software and expand the number of trained facilitators in the county.

The Option Technologies voting software purchased with funds provided by the Elias Foundation will be used at the 2nd annual summit on March 29, 2014. We will make use of local volunteer member facilitators to develop and run the interactive voting presentations, which will be used throughout the program to engage participants and prioritize outcomes.

Challenges

We continue to face the need for professional coordination between collaborating organizations and for operational support for projects growing out of the Summit. The first Westchester Women’s Summit is an example of success in meeting this challenge on a very limited budget and with the help of more than 40 volunteers, including young women from the Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute. We also face the challenge of engaging younger women in civic participation and bringing them into leadership roles on the issues of concern to women and children in the county. This year’s Summit will focus on involving women activists and leaders from multiple generations. We intend to seek additional funding for projects growing out of this year’s Summit.

Ultimately the challenges we face are those of creating greater visibility and generating more resources to benefit the people we serve, including: the 28% of female-headed households with children under the age of 18 who live in poverty, the 3,182 severely overcrowded households, the 20% of county households who pay more than 50% of their income on housing, the 1 in 4 women who will be raped in her lifetime, the victims of sexual assaults and domestic violence, almost half of which go unreported, the families whose child care financial assistance has been reduced since 2010, the youth aged 16-19 whose unemployment rate in Westchester is 29.6%, the 4 out of 5 persons whose need for free civil legal services cannot be met by existing programs.

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Appendix D:Message fromSenator Gillibrand

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Appendix E:Westchester County Resourcesfor Women & ChildrenFinancial Well Being

YWCA- Career Conversations, Money Conferences www.ywcawpcw.org

The Women’s Enterprise Development Center (WEDC) www.wedcbiz.org

Community Capital NY www.communitycapitalny.org

Girls Inc. www.girlsincwestchester.org

Housing

Housing Voucher Programs administered by CVR New York and local agencies

Public Housing owned and operated by local housing authorities

Dedicated affordable rental housing developments owned and managed by for-profit and non-profit developers

Dedicated affordable ownership housing developments developed and sold by for-profit and non-profit developers

Inclusionary housing – affordable housing within market rate developments

Homeless shelters and emergency housing apartments operated by not-for-profit organizations

Eviction Prevention Programs – administered by not-for-profit organizations; legal assistance through Legal Services of Hudson Valley

Fair Housing Services – administered by not-for-profit organizations

Tenant Services (housing search assistance, access to financial assistance, landlord/tenant mediation, etc.) – offered through not-for-profit organizations.

Capital Funding for Affordable Housing Development and Preservation – available through County of Westchester and major cities; pre-development loans through Community Capital Resources and Leviticus Alternative Fund

For agency contacts and additional information, see “A Roof Over Your Head” published by Westchester County. English and Spanish versions can be found at http://planning.westchestergov.com/publications and review and sign up on “Homeseeker Housing Opportunities” which lists current opportunities funded by the County of Westchester http://homes.westchestergov.com/homeseeker

Health CareReproductive Health Care

Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic.Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains, Yonkers (800) 230-PLAN

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Appendix E (cont’d.):Westchester County Resourcesfor Women & ChildrenHealth Care (cont’d.)

Open Door Family Medical Center. 165 Main Street, Ossining, (914) 941-1263.5 Grace Church Street, Port Chester (914) 937-889930 West Main Street, Mount Kisco, (914) 666-327280 Beekman Avenue, Sleepy Hollow, (914) 631-4191

Greenburgh Health Center330 Tarrytown Rd., White Plains, (914) 989-7622

Hudson River Health Care Peekskill Health Center 1037 Main Street, Peekskill, (914) 734-8800

Mt. Vernon Neighborhood Health Center 107 W 4th St, Mt Vernon, (914) 662-2520

Mental Health

MHA Westchester580 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, (914) 345-5900, Clinics: Mt Kisco, White Plains, Yonkers, and Valhalla

Westchester Jewish Community Services 845 N Broadway #2, White Plains, (924) 761-0600

Family Service WestchesterOne Gateway Plaza, Port Chester, (914) 937-2320 Locations: Hastings-on-Hudson, Mt Vernon, Pelham, Sleepy Hollow, White Plains, Yonkers

Health Information

American Cancer Society (cancer.org) 2 Lyon Pl, White Plains, (914) 949-4800

American Heart Association (heart.org) 2030 Westchester Ave, Purchase, (914) 694-6464

Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network (lhvpn.net) 100 Woods Road, Valhalla, (914) 493-6435

March of Dimes (marchofdimes.org) 1275 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, (914) 428-7100

National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org)

100 Clearbrook Road, Elmsford (914) 592-5458

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Appendix E (cont’d.):Westchester County Resourcesfor Women & ChildrenViolence Against Women

Westchester County Office for Women. 914-995-5977. Focus: domestic violence.. Services: non-residential DV services, referrals, education & training, support groups, chairs the county’s DV Council.

VAS: Victims Assistance Services. 914-345-3113. 24/7 Hotlines: 914-345-9111, 855-827-2255, 855-VAS-CALL. Focus: sexual assault and domestic violence (also child & elder abuse, hate crimes & other crimes). Services: Rape Crisis Hotline Services, SAFE, nonresidential DV services, trauma therapies, groups, education & training, SAFE Training Center, chairs the LGBTQ DV Task Force & Gateway (developing service access for people with disabilities).

Voz Y Vida: Hispanic Resource Center of Larchmont-Mamaroneck. 914-835-1512. Focus: Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence. Services: Culturally competent, Spanish language SA/DV non-res. Services for the newly immigrant, education & training, groups.

ALAS: Westchester Hispanic Coalition. 24/7 Hotline: 1-855-252-7942. Focus: Sexual Assault. Services: Culturally competent, Spanish language Rape Crisis Services. Also immigration legal services.

Hope’s Door. 914-747-0828. 24/7 Hotline: 888-438-8700. Focus: Domestic Violence. Services: DV Shelter & all DV non-residential services, education & training, support groups.

My Sister’s Place. Focus: Domestic Violence. Services: DV Shelter & al non-residential DV services, education & training, chairs Anti-Trafficking Task Force.

WC Family Justice Center. Focus: Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault. Services: Non-residential DV & SA Services.

Pace Women’s Justice Center. Focus: Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault. Services: Civil legal services.

Children

Westchester Children’s Association, www.wca4kids.org (914) 946-7676.

Child Care Council of Westchester, www.childcarewestchester.org, (914) 761-3456.

Free Legal ResourcesEach has its own eligibility requirements:

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley www.lshv.org

Pace Women’s Justice Center www.law.pace.edu/wjc

My Sister’s Place www.mysistersplaceny.org

Empire Justice Center www.empirejustice.org

Westchester Hispanic Coalition www.hispaniccoalition.org

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Appendix E (cont’d.):Westchester County Resourcesfor Women & ChildrenAgingWomen and Aging Advocacy Organization

OWL – The Voice of Midlife and Older Women is a national grassroots membership organization that focuses solely on issues unique to women as they age. OWL strives to improve the status and quality of life for midlife and older women. Visit http://www.owl-national.org.

New York Statewide Senior Action Council is a grassroots membership organization made up of individual seniors and senior citizen clubs from all parts of New York State. Its goal is to achieve through united action the dignity, well-being and security of all senior citizens. Visit www.nysenior.org or call 800-333-4374.

The Institute for Senior Action (IFSA) trains seniors 55+ to be advocates for senior issues and benefits. Nearly 1,000 people have taken the 10-week course to become leaders within their senior organizations and communities. For more information contact Jewish Association Serving the Aging at 212-273-5262.

National Council on Aging (NCOA) is a nonprofit service and advocacy organization headquartered in Washington, DC that provides a national voice for older Americans and the community organizations that serve them. Visit www.ncoa.org.

Regional Resources

The Center for Aging in Place works with citizen volunteers throughout Westchester County to develop grassroots membership programs that enable older adults to remain at home and in community through coordinated services and life enriching activities. Close to 1000 residents now belong to one of the county’s nine Aging in Place programs. For information call the Center at 914-357-8511 or visit www.centerforaginginplace.org.

Westchester Residential Opportunities offers free counseling and support to older women in tax foreclosure and who face other housing-related challenges. Call 914-428-4507, ext. 313.

The Transition Network an inclusive community of professional women, 50 and forward, whose changing life situations lead them to seek new connections, resources, and opportunities. Visit www.thetransitionnetwork.org.

The Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services

Contact: (914) 813-6441 or send an e-mail to cap2@westchestergov.com

• Caregiver Coaching Program helps family caregivers make informed decisions to better care for their older or disabled loved ones

• Care Circles of Westchester provides family caregivers with information to coordinate help for their loved ones from volunteers, who share in care giving tasks.

• RideConnect provides volunteers to drive seniors in northern Westchester to places such as the local mall, the doctor’s office and other destinations.

• Living Well is a new initiative that will teach seniors how to self-manage their chronic health conditions. Westchester County’s Department of Senior Programs and Services is the lead agency for seven counties in the Mid-Hudson Valley for this federal program.

• Liveable Communities Initiative

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Appendix E (cont’d.):Westchester County Resourcesfor Women & ChildrenAging (cont’d.)

• NY Connects to learn about long-term care options in Westchester.

• Senior Clubs and Centers; Nutrition Program; Benefits Information

The Public Private Partnership on Aging

Contact: Martha Marzano: (914) 813-6435; marthamarzano@westchesterpartnership.org

• VOCAL - VOICES OF COMMUNITY ACTION AND LEADERSHIP Partners In Education and Advocacy an educational program for intergenerational advocacy for aging-related issues

• The Westchester Alliance of Academic Institutions for Aging Related Studies and Workforce Development was established to research the opportunities that exist within our institutions to meet the needs of a changing demographic.

• SMART (Students and Mature Adults Read Together)Partners In Education and Advocacy. SMART is a model intergenerational literacy program that utilizes the largely untapped resources of older adults to benefit the youth of Westchester.

Blogs

The New York Times: The New Old Age at http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com