In full disclosure, Jason happens to be my husband, however, he is absolutely a front line hero! He worked tirelessly, every single day, often on the weekends, throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall of 2020 at United Cerebral Palsy, as the Director of Facilities. His direct oversight included managing all facility staff for the agency, and building oversight for their residential homes and schools, along with their main office buildings. Responsible for the PPE acquisition and distribution, setting up a Covid overflow site in the very beginning in the event they had to quarantine any of their residents, building safety partitions so folks could safely come back to programs, and coordinating all of the health and safety protocols and training for cleaning and disinfecting, which intensified because of Covid, as well as the ongoing regular maintenance responsibilities. The maintenance teams were always on call, the first ones on sites, and Jason managed the staffing, the support and the overall impact, with calmness and fervor. His background in disaster response work at The Salvation Army really came into hand in this role, and his efforts, loyalty and overall efficacy, maintained a very safe working and living environment for residents and staff. While we stayed home, Jason went to work every day, keeping UCP’s staff and residents safe.

Connie Cerrato is a VP at Madonna Heights, SCO Family of Services. She did her best to make all employees were a safe, made sure everyone had gloves, masks, hand sanitizers, , temp are taken every day. Staff were encouraged to work from home if possible. Staff were moved to make the proper distancing was done, changed hours if necessary. Connie set up a testing site on campus for all our programs, one day a week staff can utilize this, it is a great relief to have that here. Connie has made sure we are all safe, she made a huge difference during this pandemic-with a smile on her face each day.

Throughout the pandemic these volunteers headed by Supervisor Diane has ensured that agencies are provided with essential food items for their clients. Rain or shine they are present ,pleasant and extremely caring.

Family Service League’s senior management team would like to nominate our CEO, Karen Boorshtein for this award. Karen has always been an exemplary leader, but the true test of any leadership is during extreme adversity. In the last year, Karen has demonstrated the breadth and scope of her attributes as a leader, facing head-on the myriad challenges and steadily guiding the Agency and staff through the chaotic times. She not only dealt swiftly and flexibly with the COVID pandemic, but also responded with great sensitivity to the issues of race and societal turmoil that unfolded in the wake of the George Floyd murder, focusing on how these events affected our workforce, our clients, and looking inward at how Family Service League should and could become more attuned around diversity and inclusion.
As soon as COVID hit, Karen collaborated with the senior management team to ensure that the entire workforce could continue meeting the needs of those we serve — many of whom are among the most vulnerable in our community — but doing so in a virtual environment, keeping staff and clients safe. Some of the Agency’s staff had to continue delivering services face-to-face, including our homeless shelters, our ACT Teams, and our DASH program. All staff were provided with the technology and PPE needed to continue to seamlessly deliver program services. With Karen’s leadership, we were also able to garner funding to cover some of the costs of these needed items as well as resources to help those most in need: those who lost employment and were dealing with food and housing insecurity as well as coping with the threats of COVID.
In fact, an organization as large as FSL and providing so many critical services in person, may not have survived these concurrent crises had Karen not balanced the services FSL provides along with the needs of the staff in an unprecedented way. Everybody’s needs were met and, through the bolstered strength provided by this attentiveness, the clients continued to receive services uninterrupted, which speaks to our mission.
In response to the issues of race, in June and throughout the summer under Karen’s stewardship, we had speakers provide training on racism and white privilege, staff were provided with numerous resources and activities, and we formed a Diversity and Inclusion Committee, all of which has fostered a more inclusive environment. These activities are now ongoing.
Additional evidence of Karen’s strong leadership is FSL’s Top Workplace Award for the last three years. Based on an independent survey of FSL staff, the agency scored in the 98th percentile in performance and leadership was highlighted as well. The score was so impressive the results were entered against the National program, and FSL Won Top Workplaces USA for 2020 again scoring exceptionally high against like agencies across the country. Another agency accolade recently earned is the Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield Whole Health Heroes award given by Crain’s. This regional award was only given to 50 agencies and bears Karen’s name.
Karen is a strong and compassionate leader. She embodies numerous key leadership qualities including being strategic, collaborative, nimble, calm and steady; she has integrity, humility and compassion; she knows and mobilizes her strengths and recognizes, relies on and celebrates the complementary attributes of others. It is an honor to work with and for her.

Sam is a food deliverer for Hatzilu. He picks up food for us every Wednesday morning from Island Harvest’s truck. He delivers food regularly to several families. What makes him special is that he makes emergency food deliveries all over Nassau County . We get referrals from state agencies for families quarantined. Sam immediately delivers food to them. He can always be counted on and never says no.

Maria is a caring and patient individual who puts her Clients at the forefront of her everyday work. Her professional approach to providing service is second to her compassionate approach that she gives to every client. I know this because they also call me and tell me how wonderful Maria is and how she listened to them and made them feel special. Maria is my teammate on HWCLI’s Nutrition Team and she also helps keep me grounded and motivated along with the other wonderful Teammates like Carolina and our Supervisor Tommi-Grace. I must say, without their constant communication and uplifting words it would have been a tough task to do remote work from home. This whole team should deserve a mention, but Maria for me is a mention because of her dedication to her community and HWCLI’s goal and vision for a more prosperous and fair LI.

Fashic has worked for Community Housing Innovations since 2017. As a Per Diem Resident Support Specialist she has provided reliable and consistent coverage throughout the pandemic. Fashic often works doubles and overtime to help provide shelters with coverage and always gives 100% when on duty. Over the last year Fashic has had to deal with a variety of incidents at the shelters and has always handled them professionally and calmly. One example that stands out is in November, 2020 Fashic was working at Highland when a client’s car caught fire. Fashic quickly extinguished the fire and contacted the fire department. The fireman said her quick actions prevented the car from exploding. That same month she also cooked a Thanksgiving meal for our shelter residents at one of our sites.

Ms. Borukhov brought fresh produce to senior housings and senior centers during the pandemic. Older adults had limited access to stores and fresh food. Nicole transported produce in her private vehicle and/ or CCE van, schlepping crates and boxes directly to seniors. This allowed for redemption of SFMNP Food vouchers and cash purchases. Though Nicole is going to spend most of this season home with her newborn, the mobile market “Veggie Van” program will continue thanks to her efforts.

The Association for Mental Health and Wellness (MHAW) wishes to nominate Ruth McDade, our organization’s Director of Development, for recognition by the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island’s (HWCLI) COVID Hero recognition.

Here are three examples of the ways that Ruth McDade has merited this recognition:

First, as the pandemic began to intensify last spring, MHAW witnessed a tremendous growth in demand at its three food pantries. These pantries are managed and run by MHAW members and volunteers who gain valuable work experience as they help meet the needs of the community with nutritional foods and household items. Demand was particularly high at Charlotte’s Table, MHAW’s flagship pantry situated at its Ronkonkoma headquarters.

Within short order, COVID-propelled demand soon outstripped the volunteers’ ability to manage the onslaught of people seeking food and personal items. Ruth McDade quickly sprang into action, managing the day-to-day operations of the pantries, arranging for the drop-off of foods, and working with Long Island Cares and other partner agencies to ensure that the food supply would meet the demand. She devoted countless hours, including evenings and weekends, to successfully supporting and managing the three pantries.

A long-time advocate for Long Island’s veterans community, Ruth McDade also successfully resolved a food emergency at The Veterans Place Shelter, an MHAW facility in Yaphank. Because the shelter’s kitchen had to be shuttered because of COVID-related restrictions, she arranged for a number of local food establishments to deliver prepared meals for the homeless veterans. She launched and led a “Feed the Veterans” fundraising campaign to help raise money to fund this initiative. Thanks to Ruth McDade’s extraordinary work, the 27 homeless veterans residing at The Veterans Place did not miss a meal.

Finally, Ruth McDade’s creativity and fundraising prowess were both put to the test last fall when — amid pandemic restrictions — she stepped up to develop a virtual and socially distant alternative to the MHAW’s annual Chili Cook-Off and Fall Festival held every October. Partnering with local restaurants and food trucks, she formulated a “Chili Smackdown” that successfully substituted for the yearly chili festival. The Smackdown allowed the public to enjoy chili at several local food establishments, which each then donated a portion of their proceeds to MHAW. Complementing this, Ruth McDade arranged for several local chili “teams” to prepare a variety of meat and vegan chili offerings made available on a “grab-and-go” basis at MHAW’s headquarters. She also raised thousands of dollars for MHAW through a virtual online raffle tied to the Chili Smackdown. These programming elements all culminated in a Facebook Live program where chili teams were honored and raffle winners were drawn.

Happily, every member of the MHAW staff has stepped up to the plate during the COVID-19 crisis to maintain continuity of services in support of the various constituencies the agency serves, as well as the many new people seeking help as a result of the pandemic. Among the entire team, Ruth McDade’s efforts particularly stand out as an example of the MHAW spirit at its finest.

This past year was planned to be Jamie Bogenshutz’s last year of service as she hoped to retire after being with YES for 40 years. Despite her intentions of spending her last year transitioning from Executive Director, she pivoted and maintained her commitment as a fierce leader throughout the pandemic. She remained focused on the needs of the community and her staff. Jamie worked countless hours assisting the organization in maintaining its services, coordinating food distribution events, and advocating for the entire behavioral health system when concerns of funding arose. Jamie will remain at YES in the interim as the Chief Transition Officer. She continues to lead, mentor, and advocate during this challenging and uncertain time. Over the past 40 years and specifically this past year, she has taught, motivated, and inspired other leaders and growing professionals to persevere and give their all during times of crisis. As CTO, Jamie continues to play a critical role in mobilizing others to impact lives and advocate for the needs of the most vulnerable populations we serve.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Brenda Quow worked as a Shelter Manager to oversee a single men’s shelter. Brenda’s capacity was increased from 6 single men to 10 during the middle of the pandemic. Brenda took on this challenge with a smile and positive attitude. Brenda has been faced with extremely difficult situations while working at the shelter. Brenda handled each situation with the utmost respect and care for the clients. Brenda’s ability to maintain her professional attitude and give her all to the client’s is why she is being nominated for the Frontline Heroes Award.

Food 2 Play Initiative’, the food pantry at the Children’s Museum of the East End, is a program that began as part of their COVID-19 response to the community, which is helping east end families during this critical time.

Each week CMEE serves 75-80 families with boxes of vegetables, fruit, bread, eggs and staples. As Steve Long, CMEE’s President, says, “Kids can’t play or learn if they are hungry.” The Museum is open by reservation only and during this time of COVID restrictions, outreach such as the “Food 2 Play Initiative” helps keep the connection to the most vulnerable children.

After the holidays, giving to social services tends to drop even in the best of times. Given we are living through a pandemic, these winter months are especially challenging and we hope our contribution will support CMEE’s outreach and ease the pain of families and children in need.

Delmira Castellon began volunteering with Island Harvest in March of 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic reached Long Island. A former employee in 2018, Delmira quickly became an asset to our organization’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts and was hired in July of 2020 as a Community Empowerment Coordinator. Delmira spear-headed the expansion of Island Harvest’s Harvest to Home program- a home delivery service providing emergency food to homebound individuals. Delmira’s commitment to helping those experiencing food insecurity on Long Island is evident in all aspects of her work- modifying her work schedule to accommodate weekend events, training new staff, fielding hundreds of phone calls per week and completing over 300 SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) applications since July. Delmira is on the front lines every day advancing Island Harvest’s mission “to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island”

Jacob Dixon is the Founder & CEO of Choice for All – a nonprofit organization Roosevelt with a mission to advance child, family, and community well-being on Long Island and beyond. Jacob has a passion for fairness and helping others. Despite the uncertainties introduced by this pandemic, Jacob and Choice for All adjusted and shifted their priorities to continue addressing the needs of children, families and partner organizations during this fragile and uncertain moment caused by COVID.
a. The vision of the organization is one day, all children will be healthy and thrive on Long Island, regardless of zip code.
b. Jacob oversees the direct services and community-led campaigns centered around education justice, health equity, and financial stability.
c. Additionally, under his leadership, Choice is spearheading The Hagedorn HUB – a three-story, a multipurpose community center for families and social justice organizations on Long Island opening in Summer 2021 in Freeport, New York.
d. An adjunct professor at Bank Street College of Education and a community organizer, Jacob is currently a 2019 Culture of Health Leader with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and pursuing his doctoral studies at CUNY College of Staten Island.

Claudia and Pablo Feeding the hungry in a County under Lockdown
Claudia Echeverri works as a Parent Partner for the Woman’s Opportunity Rehabilitation Center’s (WORC) Community Credible Messenger Initiative. Pablo is Claudia’s life partner. Initially, they went to the pantry in Long Island City several times a week to pick up an abundance of food for families who were part of this initiative and who were experiencing food insecurities as a result of the pandemic. Noticing the need in the community they expanded their deliveries of food to other families in the Hempstead Village Community and surrounding areas. Claudia and Pablo traveled several times a week even on weekends to Long Island City to pick up the food from “Nine Million Reasons” food distribution center. Claudia and Pablo believe it is important to serve the community, to serve other people this is very meaningful to those in Hempstead Village who did not have food.
According to a representative from Nine Million Reasons, “In April 2020, they began picking up and packing food for families who did not have food. They are selfless volunteers’ who continue to do the work. They are one of Nine Million Reasons largest food distributions partners. They reached hundreds of undocumented families in the Village of Hempstead”.
In addition to delivering food to families Claudia also gave PPE items; mask, gloves and hand sanitizers to the families that she continues to serve. Feeding the hungry during the pandemic makes Claudia and Pablo WORCs’ local heroes.

Jean Kelly is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Nutrition Network. Through her efforts and the efforts of the INN,
a. Last year, more than 200,000 meals were served and 1,000 individuals and families received shelter and extensive support services designed to promote self-sufficiency.
b. A professional staff and volunteer force from all faiths, backgrounds and communities support the INN, which has been recognized both locally and nationally for the quality of its programs.

Since March, The Child Care Council of Long Island dramatically changed the way they service parents, providers and the overall childcare community by adjusting and adapting to the “new normal” imposed on them by this COVID-19.

Gladys Serrano serves as CEO of the Hispanic Counseling Center Inc. COVID-19 dramatically impacted the way the Hispanic Counseling Center interacted with their consumers. While they once enjoyed the personal touch of face to face visits and counseling session with clients, because of the “lock down” and newly imposed social distancing requirements, the HCC reinvented themselves overnight. With lightening speed and precision, the HCC transitioned to virtual appointments for their clients.

Now, HCC’s clients can see and talk to their provider from the comfort of their home using a smartphone or computer eliminating the need for in person or face to face contact at the Hispanic Counseling Center. Though the office remains open with a skeleton staff, under Gladys’ leadership the Hispanic Counseling Center continued to address the mental health needs of its clients when they needed it most, despite the obstacles faced because of this pandemic.

a. HCC is a multi-service agency that provides culturally competent, fully bilingual/bicultural treatment and prevention services for chemical dependency, mental illness, and youth and family services, located in Hempstead, Long Island, New York.

Mike Devin worked on the Wading River campus as the Administrator on Duty for the Residential Treatment Center (RTC) throughout the pandemic. Mike’s dedication to the campus community — the children in his care and his colleagues — was executed with bravery. He risked his health and his family’s health by reporting to work while the deadly virus spread throughout the world.

His leadership in following COVID protocols and encouragement and enforcement of colleagues to do the same contributed to an extremely low infection rate at the RTC.

Due to the nature of the pandemic, many support staff, such as therapists, caseworkers, and administration, worked remotely. Mike stepped up, taking on additional responsibilities, such as one-to-one with the children to ensure their needs were being met and to lessen any disruption with the transition to remote provider services.

In addition to managing his usual heavy load, Mike stabilized the campus workforce by easing staff’s concerns and extreme anxiety surrounding working in a congregate care setting during a pandemic. There were many days when there was fear of being short-staffed, but Mike’s steadfast lead by example style instilled confidence in his colleagues and contributed to a stable workforce.

His commitment to the safety and well-being of both clients and colleagues never wavered despite the fear and uncertainty of the last year. He did all this while taking less than an entire week off since the onset of the pandemic.

Mike Devin deserves to be recognized for going above and beyond for the children in our care and his team. He has indeed demonstrated what it means to be Little Flower Strong and an essential, frontline hero.

Nicole Uterano-Ferrar, Senior Director of Health Care Services at AHRC Nassau was our agency’s health leader throughout the pandemic. AHRC Nassau and its dedicated DSP workforce supported the health and safety of over 600 adults living in group homes throughout Nassau County. Ms. Uterano-Ferrar:
• Has worked for the agency for greater than 22 years
• Led the initiative and assisted to develop all protocols and staff training related to Covid including:
o Signs and Symptoms of Covid-19
o Disinfection and cleaning protocols
o Screening protocols for staff and people supported
o Visitation protocols
o Isolation and quarantine protocols
• Organized and assisted to develop vaccination scheduling for multiple vaccination POD’s through County and Clinics
• Educated people supported, families, and staff about the Covid -19 vaccine
• Empowered people supported to be in charge of their own health through shared knowledge
• Assisted other agencies in developing Nursing protocols related to the virus
• Was available 24 hours per day to answer any question for people supported, staff and family member
• Sourced PPE in the beginning of the pandemic (when there was none) and ensured that we had enough reserve on hand to move forward
• Trained staff in use of PPE, and developed protocols for use of appropriate PPE in all settings
• Transitioned and trained on telehealth services throughout all corporations
• Created crisis nursing team to check on status of covid positive people supported on a daily basis.
• Monitored Governors meetings daily, and all guidance associated with pandemic
• Ensured the safety of people supported and staff throughout the pandemic

Carol has always stepped up and stepped into the center of need when it comes to food insecurity and feeding families and individuals in the community–and COVID didn’t stop her. As organizer of a 200+-person annual Thanksgiving dinner, Project Hope Sunday Suppers, and HIHI, Carol understands the needs of the Huntington community–and knows the people by name.
As soon as it was marginally safe to go out, she brought together community partners–TBE, Family Service League, the Huntington Rapid Response Network, St. Hugh church, Housing Help, the town, county and local food pantries–TriCYA, Helping Hand Rescue Mission–and many others to create a network to connect those in need with food-supply resources and donations. Wearing masks and gloves in chilly spring weather, steamy summer heat, and into the winter, Carol helped lead the team that collected, delivered, and coordinated thousands of meals and food packages in the Huntington community–including 250 grab-and-go Thanksgiving dinners donated by a local restaurant.
She was instrumental in setting up a food distribution site at Manor Field in Huntington Station with the SCPD 2nd precinct serving hundreds of people 3x weekly. Bilingual volunteers also distributed COVID testing site information, Census information, and voter reg information–but mostly it was about providing nutritious, free food for local residents who were hardest hit by the coronavirus.
Many people worked tirelessly to help their neighbors in need during this pandemic and there were numerous efforts across LI. In Huntington, Carol Werblin clearly stands out for her energy, commitment, concern, and hands-on activism.
(Please contact me for more details and other contacts who know Carol and her work.)

Nazarie Williams has been a resident of the Westbury community for over fifty years. She has served the community in various functions. Nazarie is currently the chairperson for the Westbury United Methodist Church Food Pantry. She has been in this voluntary role for the past six years, prior to being the chairperson she volunteered in the pantry for for more than nine years.

The past year provided more challenges than she ever expected in the operation of serving the community through the food pantry. Her dedication to continue without interruption was troubling to her family and friends as she is the highest risk category for contracting the COVID-19 virus. She witnessed many friends in the community unfortunately succumb to the virus. Her faith and belief that she would be safe kept her motivated in securing and distributing food as well as other necessities to people in her community. This was a difficult task due to nationwide food shortages. The number of clients who needed food more than tripled during this time. She stayed steadfast and was able to successfully continue operating the pantry and providing for those in need. What was remarkable is that she managed to do this for several months with only one other person assisting her.

Nazarie was able to secure substantial COVID grant funding in 2020 to help expand the operation and provide numerous desired and greatly needed items through the revised pantry distribution of curbside grab and go. The work has been difficult, physically and emotionally and requires a tremendous amount of labor and ingenuity on her part. It is remarkable to find someone who is willing to do this as a volunteer. What is even more remarkable is she does all of this while maintaining a positive attitude and friendly disposition, even in inclement weather two days a week.

She is one of the most deserving people of being honored for her work over the last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through out the pandemic, Lisa has never stopped working to provide support and services to vulnerable populations including justice involved clients ( which was quite tricky during the pandemic as the jail completely shut down). Not only did she establish new programs for EAC and take on the responsibility for piloting them and establishing them, she always is an amazing and inspiring supervisor to her staff and always willing to spend time providing support to colleagues that are not in her agency. Personally, Lisa is a mentor that I frequently reach out to when I “hit a wall” on a tricky case, or need assistance with a client incarcerated. She always takes the time to provide any help, or even empower those in the field. She is truly a social work hero… there has not been one day, one night, one moment that she has stopped working.

LI’s Nonprofit Frontline Heroes Nomination

Advantage Care Health Center is proud to submit the nominations of Dr. Mary Mulqueen and Mary Fullam, RN for Long Island’s Non-Profit Frontline Heroes for their tremendous leadership, vison, and determination. Since the pandemic started in March 2020, Dr. Mulqueen and Mary Fullam have been the COVID 19 prevention, screening and vaccination leaders, protecting Advantage Care staff and patients during the COVID pandemic. Dr. Mulqueen is an attending primary care physician on our staff since November 2017 and Mary Fullam, RN has been our Clinical Nurse Manager since August 2013.

Under their direction, COVID testing was launched early during the pandemic for Advantage Care staff, patients and AHRC Nassau group home residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities who were are increased risk for serious complications from COVID 19 when no testing was available or accessible to them. This was critical to containing the spread of the virus and protecting vulnerable residents with the potential for serious complications and avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations. During the COVID 19 pandemic crisis, over 1,000 COVID screenings and/or COVID PCR testings were done and continue to be done, as needed.

Dr. Mulqueen and Mary Fullam launched Advantage Care’s vaccine administration program, overseeing the dispensing of 1,600 plus vaccines, which will continue. Since December 2020, multiple Points of Distribution (PODs) sites have been conducted at the Advantage Care Freeport Health Center for staff, patients and community eligible citizens throughout Nassau and Suffolk County. 76% of Advantage Care staff have either completed the vaccine series or are waiting for the second dose. In addition, daily vaccination administration programs have taken place at both the Freeport Health Center and the Brookville Health Center and will continue for eligible staff, patients, and those from the community. This was all accomplished while Advantage Care Health maintained full operation of both sites in Brookville and Freeport.

Debrah Garcia, has been the Chief Executive Officer of Long Island Head Start since December 2004. As the CEO, she has directed and led Long Island Head Start into the bright spotlight where it sits today. Her vision for Long Island Head Start to become the highest quality childcare and family support services organization on Long Island has allowed Long Island Head Start to make an impact in various communities throughout Suffolk County. Ms. Garcia’s leadership and determination have set forth the true definition of what it means to make a difference in the lives of low income and at-risk children and families across Long Island.

As CEO, she has lead an agency that provides quality early childcare and family support services at 24 Head Start and Early Head Start centers and 7 childcare centers under the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships Program across Suffolk County. All Long Island Head Start centers are licensed by the state of New York and comply with federal, state, and local regulations. Ms. Garcia supervises a team of dedicated management staff who ensure that the program complies with rigorous Head Start Program Performance Standards to ensure safe and healthy environments for all children and staff. Under her leadership the Facilities Department ensures all buildings are maintained and secure and all preventative maintenance is up to date during this unprecedented time.

The coronavirus pandemic has left 80% of low-income and at-risk families in Suffolk County in a worse financial position than before the crisis hit. Long Island Head Start families have been living under a cloud of anxiety during the lockdown. Ms. Garcia decided to carry out Head Start’s mission for the whole child, family, and community. Ms. Garcia jumped right into action to create COVID-19 committees tasked with identifying the issues our families were facing and courageously tackling daunting and unprecedented problems. Under her leadership and with guidance and assistance from the Board of Directors, Policy Council, and the Management Team members, Long Island Head Start began providing virtual services and other needed supports to the children and the families.

Long Island Head Start families and staff members were experiencing illness firsthand due to the COVID-19 pandemic with some losing family members. Long Island Head Start’s families faced unemployment and the inability to access unemployment services due to the high demand on the Department of Labor. Undocumented families found themselves unemployed and unable to apply for unemployment due to not qualifying. Undocumented families also faced the issue of being ill and not going to the hospital due to no medical insurance coverage and being afraid due to their immigration status.

Under the lockdown, families began experiencing food insecurity, and the inability to provide the basics needs for their children. Mothers faced labor and delivery without family members to support them through the process. Some families found themselves not being able to take their newborn home due to not having a car seat. Another need the families faced was the lack of formula and diapers and cleaning supplies.

In March 2020, Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor Cuomo shut down “”non-essential”” businesses amid the coronavirus outbreak to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. This led Ms. Garcia to make the decision to temporarily close all Long Head Start Head Start and Early Head Start programs that serves 1,456 Head Start children and 172 Early Head Start families. This move was to ensure the health and safety of all staff, children, and their families. Ms. Garcia also maintained close monitoring of the 7 childcare sites under the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships grant, making sure that they were following strict health and safety guidelines for the 98 children and their families under that program.

A Program Improvement Task Force was created to address some of the issues facing the agency due to the pandemic. One of the Sub Committees on the Task Force was tasked to provide leadership on how to provide services to the children and families in the face of the pandemic and how to reopen centers safely when appropriate. The Agency also created a COVID-19 Safety Plan that was used to train staff and provide guidance for navigating this unprecedented period. The Agency improved air quality in centers, provided PPE items for staff, installed barriers in offices to protect staff and ensure health and safety of anyone entering our buildings. Relevant signage was added to all the buildings to ensure social distancing, mask wearing and handwashing. Cleaning and disinfecting were upgraded and increased in all buildings. The program increased the capacity of the IT Department to provide virtual services to children and families during the Pandemic and allow staff to work remotely. Ms. Garcia oversaw the purchase of technology equipment not only for the staff but also devices which were made available to families. The agency also provided increased mental health supports and resources to staff and families as well as tangible items such as food, diapers, clothing, and gift cards through community partner donations. A digital resource manual was created to provide the information of community resources to staff members now providing services remotely.

For the past 31 years Ms. Garcia has dedicated her professional career to Long Island Head Start children and their families in Suffolk County, advocating on behalf of those in need and providing direction and support through a variety of programs including health care, nutrition, early childhood education, mental health and disabilities services, and professional development training to list a few. As an active advocate for high-quality childcare, Ms. Garcia has successfully collaborated with other non-profit organizations on Long Island to maximize services and enhance outcomes for infants and preschool children and their families in local communities. She has remained constant, indefatigable, and focused, despite the challenges presented throughout the pandemic. During the 2020 pandemic, Ms. Garcia experienced her own personal hardships through the isolation, illness and passing of close family members, but never losing sight of the needs of her team and the greater agency. Ms. Garcia’s leadership motto is to lead by example. She tries to do this every day. As the CEO of a large child development agency, she is patient and fair and a great motivator for her staff and the families she serves. There have been many days over the last nine months, where the team has felt that they could not give anymore. Ms. Garcia modeled her passion for this program and was able to motivate everyone to carry on and give 150% more, because she truly believes “we can do it” and that is what is needed. Ms. Garcia ensures that her team stays focused on the mission and vision of our agency making sure we maintain the high quality of services we have been providing for the past 54 years across Suffolk County.

Ms. Garcia was a head start parent, student teacher, Education Specialist, and Quality Assurance Director before moving into the leadership position of Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Garcia strives every day to ensure that the Agency is giving the highest quality service to the at-risk and low-income children and families being served. I have remained that quintessential teacher who strives to ensure the children and families are being taken care of, despite, at times, the cost to herself and her own family. Ms. Garcia demonstrates respect and tries to be very fair. Despite having such a “big” job at Long Island Head Start, Ms. Garcia makes time to volunteer with the Girls Scouts of Suffolk County where she has sat on the Board for many years. Through Long Island Head Start, Ms. Garcia has worked closely with Pronto of Long Island, the Child Care Council of Suffolk County, United Way of Long Island, and many other charitable organizations here on Long Island, all striving for the welfare of the at-risk population. Ms. Garcia has been recognized by many of these agencies as a BOLD Leader who gets the job done and done well. In addition to serving as the Chief Executive Officer for Long Island Head Start, she has been a long-standing member of organizations such as the Suffolk Community Council, Early Childhood Direction Center, Long Island Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Suffolk County Department of Health Task Force Bureau for Children with Special Needs, Childcare Council of Suffolk, Girls Scouts of Suffolk County, National Head Start Association, NYS Head Start Association, Region II Head Start Association and numerous other organizations rooted in the commitment to enhance the quality of life for children and families. Among the numerous awards and recognitions garnered over the years, most recently through enhancing the image of Long Island Head Start, Ms. Garcia became the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Award in January 2013. Ms. Garcia has also been awarded the distinguished title of one of Suffolk County’s “Diamonds that Shine in Our Community” by the Suffolk County Hispanic-American Advisory Board. She has been honored with Proclamations from both the current and former Suffolk County Executives, two certificates of recognition from Congressman Steve Israel, and proclamations from many Legislators and Assemblymen. In 2010, she was honored with the Caribaya Award as one of the top 50 Latino Leaders on Long Island.

Ms. Garcia does not only challenge herself but the members of her Management Team as well, to reach out to the community to develop Health and Safety policies and procedures to address COVID-19. Ms. Garcia’s leadership style is more consensus-building and caring, more open and inclusive. She encourages the participation of all parties. She is a good communicator, empathetic and compassionate. Ms. Garcia leads by example and works to empower others to achieve their best. Looking ahead I have established committees, to continue strengthening the high quality of services already being provided to children, families, and staff members. Ms. Garcia never hesitates to go above and beyond and making sure the Agency is totally connected with all available resources within the communities in Suffolk County. Under Ms. Garcia’s leadership the agency expanded the communication by enhancing the social media Facebook page which now has over 1,600 followers including parents and community agencies. An Instagram page was also opened to capture younger audiences. A twitter account was opened to enhance the recruitment portion for staff. The agency’s website is being recreated to make it is user friendly and informative. Ms. Garcia’s determination to expand Head Start services on Long Island is evident in the networking initiatives and advocacy with the National, Regional and New York State Head Start Associations.

2020 was certainly a year of many challenges to the agency, staff, and families. Through it all, Ms. Garcia maintained the ability to remain calm during chaotic and complicated circumstances and challenges to effectively delegate responsibilities to accomplish the mission and vision for the program. Ms. Garcia had no choice but to rise above the circumstances and lead with conviction, determination, and fortitude, showing that she cares about everyone and takes time to nurture and help cultivate their individual abilities.

As Chief Executive Officer for Long Island Head Start and during the past twelve months, Ms. Garcia has been able to confirm that the importance of building a strong foundation that will not break under strenuous circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis the world is facing right now. Ms. Garcia is pleased to note that the foundation of Long Island Head Start refined and strengthened throughout the past 16 years under her leadership. This has allowed the agency to shine even in these dark days. This accomplishment is due to hard work, unwavering dedication, and bold leadership from Ms. Garcia and her team of dedicated individuals. Ms. Garcia’s passion for service and love for Long Island communities, has directly impacted the quality of life of the thousands of Long Island Head Start families throughout the years and for that she is eternally grateful.

Ms. Garcia’s advice to others is to always work on building a solid foundation by identifying a team of Bold Leaders who have and share the same passion to serve and the ability to work together as a unified team. A team that shares a mission and a vision and can work in unison to accomplish common goals unhesitatingly utilizing their own individual strengths and skills. To stand and continue to move forward amid adverse circumstances and lead with compassion and unyielding momentum and inner strength. Be a visionary and ground yourself in a personal belief.

The above information provided is the reason I am nominating Ms. Debrah Garcia for the Long Island Non-Profit Frontline Heroes Award. I am sure my peers would agree with me in everything I added above.

Over the past year while continuing to work with families who are displaced New Ground had to make major changes in order to ensure that these families who are already in crisis were provided with the well needed services including assisting with housing searches, working on family goals to ensure a better future, ensuing that children’s education needs are being met and continuing to provide basic needs to the families. New Ground Social Workers, Executive Director Shannon Boyle and all staff were helpful in dropping off food items for families, creating a forum for students to meet and socialize responsibly on a monthly basis, providing tutoring services as well as maintaining contact with school districts to ensure that students were in receipt of needed technological equipment including computers and hot spots to ensure that they are able to keep up with school work and not be left behind.
Families were referred to agencies to provided much needed mental health services along with services provided by New Ground Social Workers.
Staff ensured that families were provided with PPEs to ensure their safety and met with family remotely to ensure that they are doing well and that they are connected.

As one might imagine, and as many of us actually know, managing Covid-19 in a typical household is extremely difficult and often very frustrating. The safety requirements, the isolation, the logistics of obtaining food and supplies, not to mention the illness itself makes it overwhelming and devastating to many families.

Imagine the task of safely managing a household of 10 unrelated individuals, all with serious mental illness, with ongoing diagnoses of testing Covid-19 positive. Onto that, add the requirement that the site remain staffed not only from 9am – 5pm, but that it is mandated to be staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It almost seems like an impossible task, but this is the scenario that took place at the Options Port Jefferson Station community residence, as Covid-19 just began to emerge last year.

Our staff at this location proved to be real heroes, as they themselves were dealing with their own families who also needed to stay safe. With all the worries mounting, the staff at this residence who remained Covid-19 negative rallied together to come to work at all hours of the day and night in order to make sure their residents were cared for and comfortable. They were tired, afraid, uncertain of the future, but they knew the job had to be done. Armed with PPE and passionate coping skills, they helped our residents cope and feel safe. At this time, clinics and day programs which residents normally attend were closed and not in session. The clinics and day programs are the primary source of treatment to help residents manage their psychiatric symptoms. Tele-health was not immediately or easily implemented right away, so our staff became our residents’ only link to the world and the staff helped them ride the storm without visitors.

While learning Covid-19 protocol on how to manage individuals who were positive, the staff did all they could to ensure proper medication management took place and of course they exhibited outstanding crisis management skills as well. At the time of this crisis, facilities and even private homes were asked to refrain from calling emergency personnel and as a result, our heroes handled emergencies they typically would not have in the past.

The entire team worked hard to ensure the safety and comfort of all the residents, but specifically, it was the Program Supervisor, Melissa May and the Assistant Supervisor, Nicole Doherty, who tag teamed throughout the crisis to make sure the best services were provided – as always! In addition to their strong work ethic and dedication to the residents, it should also be noted that throughout this frightening period, they both shined, with positive and optimistic outlooks. Ms. May continues her outstanding work at the Port Jeff CR and In recognition of her exemplary work, Ms. Doherty has since been promoted to Program Supervisor at another residence.

The manner in which this residence was managed throughout the height of the Covid-19 pandemic was nothing short of heroic.