SCARSDALE VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
Fox Meadow Elementary School 2015 – Present
Co-Chair of the Multicultural Committee
- Together with co-chairs and with input from the principal, we organize multiple annual events for parents, teachers, and students. My main contribution to the group has been to help move the annual Multicultural Fair from an afterschool event to a school day event integrated into the school curriculum in order to expose all students to the rich diversity of ethnic and national backgrounds at Fox Meadow. Have led the committee to now expand countries represented at the Fair to over 20 countries. I actively recruit parents from different countries to vary the countries that participate every year. In the last five years we have included countries such as Albania, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, and Ukraine to the group of more typically represented countries like Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, and India.
- Represent Mexico at the annual Multicultural Fair
- Meet multiple times with school principal and teachers to discuss how to integrate topics of multicultural inclusion into the curriculum
- Help create posters of different countries and holidays to decorate school walls
Other Fox Meadow School Activities
Periodically read in my children’s classes and help with field trips, participated in Abilities Awareness Presentation to first graders, presented in Spanish to a second-grade class during Spanish class about Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration, delivered a presentation about Russia to my son’s third grade class, and helped with several Makerspace session
Young Writers Workshop Fall 2017 and 2019
- Led workshop in the Scarsdale Middle School for Scarsdale 3-5th graders which I designed, “What are the World’s Biggest Problems?”
- Helped facilitate amongst students to help them come up with what they thought were the biggest problems and potential solutions and assisted them in structuring an introductory paragraph
Scarsdale Cub Scout Pack 440 2017 to present
Assistant
- Assist with setting-up and cleaning up after events.
- Help once a month in writing social media posts to invite Scarsdale residents to cub scout events.
- Take pictures at events
Old Scarsdale Neighborhood Association 2016 – present
Secretary and Communications
- Write newsletters and distribute to residents to keep them informed about school and Village meetings and events
- Organize events of interest to the residents
- Library renovation meeting with president of the library and library board (2016)
- Safety meeting with Scarsdale Chief of Police (2017)
- Created database to assemble emails of residents in the OSNA neighborhood association
Scarsdale Forum (100-year old Scarsdale only civic organization) 2015 – 2018
Member of the Education Committee 2015 – Present
Co-Chair of the Education Committee, 2 terms May 2016 – 2018
The Education Committee is the largest of the Forum’s fourteen committees. Members are from all five Scarsdale neighborhoods, ranging in age from 30s to 80s, represent different local and national political parties and come from a variety of civic and professional backgrounds.
- Lead or Co-Lead researcher and writer for reports on:
- world language instruction and inclusion of Mandarin in Scarsdale schools, school budget, educational objectives to consider for Greenacres School, community design and long range planning, need for long-term financial planning at Scarsdale schools, and currently working on analyzing the 2018-2019 proposed school budget and working with Scarsdale High School City 2.0 students on project defining “What is a World Class Education and How Do We Know When We Have It?” Reports can be found on the Scarsdale Forum’s website.
- Lead Survey Designer and Analyst
- Worked with Education Committee to create, distribute, analyze, and report upon a school topics survey on residents’ educational priorities for Scarsdale schools
- Led design of community educational priorities survey for Live Poll Event at Village Hall and wrote report analyzing results
- Organize Events
- Together with members of the Education Committee, we organized
- A live poll event held at Village Hall at which Scarsdale residents at Village Hall or remotely answered questions and discussed what educational, fiscal, and facilities objectives we have for our schools, September 2017
- Together with members of the Education Committee, we organized
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- A school bond presentation open to all Scarsdale residents at which the School Administration and School Board presented and answered a wide array of questions from residents who had different views about the bond
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- Spokesperson for the Education Committee
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- Spoke regularly at Board of Education and Board of Trustees meetings to inform the community and board members about our committee’s research and writing
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Forum Board of Directors, 2 terms 2016-2018
- Discuss, opine and vote on reports produced by all committees of the Forum
- Generate ideas on community events of interest to Scarsdale residents
Executive Committee 2016-2017
- Collaborated with this committee to provide advice and support for the Forum president in her decisions about events and Forum reports
- Read every Forum report and voted on whether a report met established Forum research standards
Forum Nominating Committee 2016-2017
Worked on choosing Vice President and Board Directors for 2017-2018
Active Member of Communication, Membership, Municipal Services, 2017 – 2018
Downtown Revitalization, and Assessment Committees
- Co-led design, distribution, and analysis of Traffic Study to identify challenges in walking, driving, and cycling in Scarsdale; co-wrote report about the results of 706 respondents
- Co-led design, distribution, and analysis of Downtown Revitalization Survey to determine how to stem retail in Scarsdale; the survey garnered over 1,000 responses and with my husband, we recently submitted eighty pages of analysis so that this committee is presently writing a report
- Contributed numerous edits to proposed assessment report presently being rewritten in the Assessment Committee, especially in the areas of valuation, model governance, controls, and validation
- Worked with Forum Vice President in drafting and editing press releases; actively work on local social media to promote all Forum reports and events
- Assisted Membership Committee two years in a row to recruit new members to the Forum at Sports Jamboree and at annual Halloween Parade
Member of County Fiscal Affairs, Scarsdale Fiscal Affairs, and 2017 – 2018
Scarsdale Election Procedures Committee
- Assisted in editing reports
Scarsdale Non-Partisan Procedure Committee 2018-2019
- Appointed by former Scarsdale Forum President to be in this group. I contributed suggestions on how to improve the non-partisan resolution for how trustees and mayors are chosen. My suggestion that the Scarsdale Forum should be separate from the Citizens Nominating Committee was accepted and passed a vote recently. As of next year, the CNC will run like the SBNC.
Voters Choice Party Spring 2017 and 2020
Campaign Chair
- Designed and helped implement community outreach plan throughout Scarsdale
- Organized ‘Meet the Candidates’ events
Alcott Montessori 2012 – 2015
Read to pre-school classes in English and Spanish
ALUMNI VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
Harvard Alumni Association 2013 -Present
- Interview applicants to Harvard College who live in Edgemont, Yonkers, Bronxville, Eastchester, Hartsdale, Mamaroneck, Larchmont, and New Rochelle
Westchester Harvard-Radcliffe Club 2015 – Present
- Motivational speaker annually in April in Harvard-Yonkers Early College Awareness program to encourage eighth graders to start thinking about how to prepare for college attendance while they are in high school.
- Work with student panels to facilitate discussions about what students need to prepare for college
Harvard College Reunion Committee 2018
- Together with two other alumni, we organized panels on career transitions, media in the age of ‘fake news,’ volunteerism and civic activism, and personal stories from alumni in ‘Glimpses’ panel for 600 alumni who attended the reunion
The Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania 2013-2014
Board member responsible for organizing educational, social, and networking events for alumni of this MBA/MA Wharton program