STATEN ISLAND, NY — City Access New York will honor five leaders in disability advocacy at its annual Reach for the Stars Gala, scheduled for Dec. 4, 2025, at the Hilton Garden Inn on Staten Island.<\/p>\n
The \u201cHigh Stakes Edition\u201d of the gala will celebrate individuals whose work has advanced inclusion and empowerment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout New York.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s event introduces the Ken Struve Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the organization\u2019s founder. The inaugural recipient is Winifred \u201cWini\u201d Schiff, CEO of the InterAgency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, whose 40-year career has strengthened collaboration between service providers, families, and government partners across the state.<\/p>\n
Kimberly Hill Ridley, New York\u2019s first-ever Chief Disability Officer, will receive the Architect of Change Award. Appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022, Ridley advises on policy affecting people with disabilities and serves as the state\u2019s ADA Coordinator. Her work has helped make New York an \u201cEmployment First State\u201d and model employer for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n
Two Staten Islanders will receive Community Commitment Awards: Gail Castellano, Senior Vice President at Valley Bank and community volunteer who has served on multiple local boards, and Dr. Gracelyn F. Santos, a dentist, journalist and civic leader who chairs the DEI Committee at the Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com.<\/p>\n
Jared Baskin, Vice President of the City Access NY Self Advocacy Group, will receive the Self Advocate of the Year Award for his work challenging stigma and advancing inclusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Reach for the Stars Gala is a celebration of those who make inclusion possible,\u201d said Sophia Rossovsky, Executive Director. \u201cEach of this year\u2019s honorees embodies the values that define our mission\u2014visionary leadership, compassionate service, and an unyielding belief that every individual deserves the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Proceeds from the event will support City Access New York\u2019s programs for individuals with developmental disabilities and visual impairments. The nonprofit organization promotes access to education, employment, and community participation.<\/p>\n
For tickets or sponsorship information, visit the <\/a>organization\u2019s website.<\/a><\/p>\n This community news was shared by the organization featured. AI was used in an initial story draft and been review by Advance\/SILive.com staff.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, NY — City Access New York will honor five leaders in disability advocacy at its annual…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-30488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}