Hundreds of colleagues, well-wishers, friends and family members gathered on Thursday to celebrate women honored as the 2025 Power Women of the Bronx, ranging from business to nonprofit and government.<\/p>\n
Many had shattered glass ceilings and all were part of making a better Bronx. Some honorees have been with their organizations for decades and some newly arrived, making huge differences in their community, borough and the city.<\/p>\n
Schneps Media, publishers of the Bronx Times, El Correo, Caribbean Life and amnyMetro, honored these women, connected them with other influential women and fostered an environment of support to do business and build community.<\/p>\n
The honorees on Nov. 19 at Villa Barone Manor networked and walked a red carpet with raffle proceeds going to support Neighborhood Self Help by Older Persons Project (SHOPP).<\/p>\n
In a borough where Vanessa L. Gibson serves as its first woman borough president, there were many signs of a changing world as female leaders from business, healthcare, education, government and a wide range of fields united.<\/p>\n
Darcel Denise Clark, the 13th Bronx District Attorney and first woman to hold this post, talked about her role. as did bank executives, educators, businesswomen, administrators, leaders in law, healthcare and human resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just do what I do,\u201d Clark said. \u201cI think women lead differently with empathy and compassion, as well as knowledge of the law.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Others talked about female leadership in the Bronx as a crucial part of the borough\u2019s growth, present and future amid an entrepreneurship surge.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe leadership of women is exploding. The whole glass ceiling is no longer applicable,\u201d Bronx Chamber of Commerce President and Mistress of Ceremonies Lisa Sorin said. \u201cThey bring a different mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first Hispanic woman to run the chamber, Sorin said a study by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found a 30% increase in entrepreneurship in the South Bronx over the past few years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bronx is seeing an incredible resurgence of small business and entrepreneurs,\u201d Sorin said. \u201cThere\u2019s a silver lining to the horrific pandemic. Post Covid, those doing business out of their houses grew their business. They became legal, got licenses. I think it\u2019s phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BX-PowerWomen-11-19-25-1518.jpg\")
Schneps Media CEO Josh Schneps; District Attorney Darcel Denise Clark; Schneps Media President Victoria Schneps and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson pose together at 2025 Power Women of the Bronx. Photo by Ralph Depas & Ramy Mahmoud\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many healthcare and nonprofit leaders were celebrated, addressing social and healthcare needs.<\/p>\n
RiverSpring Living Chief Operating Officer Deborah Messina said she has spent her entire career in the Bronx.\u00a0 While women dominate nursing, social work and caregiving, she said women in healthcare leadership are now becoming more common.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely evolved. We\u2019re making a lot of strides\u201d Messina said. \u201cIt\u2019s up to us as leaders to help the next generation, being mentors and encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cheraine Case, vice president of administration and chief administrative officer of the Urban Health Plan, which provides primary and specialty services in the Bronx, talked about healthcare as a huge sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means a lot to me. It recognizes the hard work that Urban Health Plan has done in the community for the past 50 years,\u201d Case said of her group, led by CEO Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez. \u201cI think in healthcare and in the Bronx, there are a lot more women in leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trish Gathers, President and CEO of The Carmelite System, a Catholic not-for-profit health system sponsored by the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, was honored. The system includes senior care facilities that provide services to the aged and infirm.<\/p>\n
Women in banking also were honored as part of an industry where women increasingly lead institutions, departments, and otherwise play key roles in lending and finance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this day and age, women play a pivotal role in shaping the finances of the neighborhoods we live in,\u201d Mercedes Castro, Ridgewood Savings Bank Assistant Vice President. said. We deal with customers from every walk of life. We have an influence in those different areas.<\/p>\n
Others talked about challenges in professions where high-ranking women sometimes face disproportionate doubts if not outright discrimination.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started, the men did not want to talk to me,\u201d said Jessica Ortiz Gonzalez, vice president of operations for American Maintenance Janitorial Services and Supplies and chairwoman of Bronx Chamber of Commerce\u2019s foundation. \u201cI\u2019m aggressive, in your face. I\u2019ll keep coming to you and give you my business card, so we can sit down and talk about business.\u201d<\/p>\n
One Fordham Plaza Assistant Building Manager Jacqueline Diaz said more women are going into traditionally male professions such as construction, architecture and engineering.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou definitely see a shift,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cWomen are becoming engineers and architects. You see women doing construction work. You see women creating and leading construction companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katherine Martinez, a social worker and president and CEO of Neighborhood Self Help by Older Persons Project (SHOPP) talked about a Latina leadership surge.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cCulturally, for me, it\u2019s important. As a Latina, there were norms in terms of what your role is and was. We\u2019ve combatted that,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cWe\u2019ve overachieved that and have now been able to become who we are in our respective fields.\u201d<\/p>\n
SHOPP served as the charity partner for the event where 100% of raffle proceeds and a portion of the live and silent auction were donated to the important local cause.<\/p>\n
Thekra El-Rowmeim, Director of Family and Youth for the Yemeni American Merchants Association, said many Yeminis, including women, have opened businesses.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThey used to be only housewives staying home. Now they entered many jobs like education, nursing, and businesses,\u201d El-Rowmeim said. \u201cWe have a lot of Yemini working as business women.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rowmeim said her group has provides a wide range of resources to men and women, who went on to start and grow businesses\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI know a lot of women empowered by our organization who opened their own business from home,\u201d Rowmeim said. \u201cSome of them have their own shops. Some still work from home.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Zaccaro Jr., Assemblyman for the 80th district, in the Bronx, said it\u2019s important for male elected officials to join in \u201celevating the voices of women\u201d and celebrating their work.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DSC_0612.jpg\")
Power Woman Jacqueline Diaz, One Fordham Plaza. Photo by Ralph Depas & Ramy Mahmoud\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis event is a great opportunity to see and celebrate women who are in business, entrepreneurs, from all different industries and walks of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Zaccaro added women played a huge role in his life, citing a few heroes who helped him learn to lead.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen are the backbone of everything we do,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a son raised by a single mother and a grandmother who I watched day in and day out struggle, but wake up every day and provide and do what they need to do for their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martinez said he works to combat ageism faced by clients and those she helps, ensuring older people are treated well and with respect.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure that older adults are not treated unfairly because of their age,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re all aging gracefully.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Lashawn Butler-Francis, founder and CEO of Butler Services for Independent Living, talked about the challenge of starting her own organization.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout programs like mine, people would have to live in a nursing home,\u201d she said. \u201cWe find a way to keep people in the community.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Jennifer Montalvo, a social worker and assistant program director for the Stand Up to Violence Program at Jacobi Hospital, said young women today can find many female role models in the workplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important especially for young ladies in the Bronx to see women in leadership roles,\u201d Montalvo said. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to set that example for young women, to believe you can make it. It might take some time and effort. It might take tears.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martinez chimed in that successful women can lead to more successful women as the glass ceiling not only breaks but reveals the sky as the limit.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing mentors for so many other women in becoming leaders in male dominated fields,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cThat\u2019s critical.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Diaz, meanwhile, took that to a personal level, adding it\u2019s important for her daughter to see her and other women excelling in the workplace.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel that it\u2019s a great influence to my daughter, who\u2019s 12, and other young ladies in the community,\u201d she said. \u201cTo show we can be strong, powerful women, and do whatever we put our minds to.\u201d<\/p>\n
2025 Power Women of the Bronx<\/p>\n
Davina Angus, Executive Director \u2013 Hunts Point Alliance for Children\n<\/p>\n
Aleciah Anthony, Director of Community Engagement \u2013 The Bronx Defenders\n<\/p>\n
Raye A. Barbieri, LCSW, Chief Executive Officer \u2013 Kingsbridge Heights Community Center\n<\/p>\n
Lashawn Butler-Francis, LCSW, Founder and Chief Executive Officer \u2013 Butler Services for Independent Living\n<\/p>\n
Jessica Cabrera, Manager of Online Programs and Academic Engagement \u2013 CUNY Bronx Community College\n<\/p>\n
Cheraine Case, Vice President of Administration \/ Chief Administrative Officer \u2013 Urban Health Plan\n<\/p>\n
Mercedes Castro, Assistant Vice President \u2013 Ridgewood Savings Bank\n<\/p>\n
Darcel Denise Clark, District Attorney \u2013 13th District Attorney for Bronx County\n<\/p>\n
Sara Collins-Sedey, Principal Law Clerk to Judge \u2013 NYS Supreme Court\n<\/p>\n
Farah Despeignes, Founder and President \u2013 Jacquelin Montalvo Despeignes Foundation & New York City Coalition for Educating Families Together\n<\/p>\n
Jacqueline Diaz, Assistant Building Manager \u2013 One Fordham Plaza, LLC\n<\/p>\n
Michelle Dolgow, Vice President \u2013 Allied Government Affairs\n<\/p>\n
Taryn Duffy, Founder and President \u2013 Tarsam Public Affairs\n<\/p>\n
Audrey Duncan, Director of Community Affairs \u2013 BronxNet\n<\/p>\n
Thekra El-Rowmeim, Director of Family and Youth \u2013 Yemeni American Merchants Association\u00a0<\/p>\n
Irene Estrada, Former NYC Mayoral Candidate<\/p>\n
Nathalia Fernandez, New York State Senator, District 34<\/p>\n
Dawn M. Florio, Founding & Managing Partner \u2013 Dawn M. Florio Law Firm PLLC\n<\/p>\n
Trish Gathers, President & CEO \u2013 The Carmelite System\n<\/p>\n
Vanessa L. Gibson, Bronx Borough President\n<\/p>\n
Ariela Heilman, Associate Broker \u2013 Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales, LLC\n<\/p>\n
Katherine Martinez, LMSW, President and CEO \u2013 Neighborhood Self Help by Older Persons Project (SHOPP)\n<\/p>\n
Deborah M. Messina, Chief Operating Officer, RiverSpring Living\n<\/p>\n
Jessica Ortiz Gonzalez, Vice President of Operations, American Maintenance 3 Janitorial Services and Supplies Co., Corp.\n<\/p>\n
Ariela Heilman, Associate Broker, Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales, LLC\n<\/p>\n
Katherine Martinez, LMSW, President & CEO \u2013 Neighborhood Self Help by Older Persons Project (SHOPP)\n<\/p>\n
Dr. Ana B. Mendieta, Advancement and External Relations \u2013 Bronx Community College\n<\/p>\n
Deborah M. Messina, Chief Operating Officer \u2013 RiverSpring Living\n<\/p>\n
Jennifer Montalvo, LMSW,\u00a0 Assistant Program Director \u2013 Stand Up to Violence Program at Jacobi Hospital\n<\/p>\n
Maribel Montilla \u2013 Tax Director \u2013 Ariva\n<\/p>\n
Jessica Ortiz Gonzalez \u2013 Vice President of Operations \u2013 American Maintenance 3 Janitorial Services and Supplies Co., Corp.\n<\/p>\n
Ivelisse Ramos, Assistant Vice President of Deposit Services, Ponce Bank\n<\/p>\n
Dr. Charlene Reid, Co-CEO, Excellence Community Schools\n<\/p>\n
Desiree Sanchez \u2013 Human Resources Leader \u2013 Trilogy Business Solutions Inc.\n<\/p>\n
Ninfa Segarra, JD, Senior Vice President, Community & Government Affairs, Marketing & Communications \/ Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Officer, SBH Health System<\/p>\n
Barbara P. Selesky, Director of Sales & Marketing, The Woodlawn Cemetery & Conservancy\n<\/p>\n
Katherine Silverio, Parent Coordinator, Emolior Academy\n<\/p>\n
ICON Lisa Sorin \u2013 President \u2013 Bronx Chamber of Commerce\n<\/p>\n
ICON Dr. Camelia Tepelus \u2013 Executive Director \u2013 Morris Park Business Improvement District\n<\/p>\n
Deborah Wong \u2013 Human Resources Leader \u2013 Trilogy Business Solutions Inc.\n<\/p>\n
Learn more about the honorees at PowerWomenBronx.com<\/a> and to nominate, sponsor or attend an upcoming event please visit SchnepsEvents.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of colleagues, well-wishers, friends and family members gathered on Thursday to celebrate women honored as the 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[27116,4033,128,27117,27118,9,24,63,5220,5221,129,131,130,27119,27120],"class_list":["post-47977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-2025-power-women-of-the-bronx","tag-borough-president-vanessa-gibson","tag-bronx","tag-darcel-d-clark","tag-josh-schneps","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-power-women-of-the-bronx","tag-schneps-media","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-victoria-schneps","tag-women-leaders-in-the-bronx"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47977","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=47977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}