CELEBRATIONS
YWCA Greenwich has announced the 2024 honorees for the YWCA Greenwich sixth annual Women Who Inspire Awards: Shari E. Aser; Dr. Maria Cecilia C. Asnis; Debbie Katz; Leslie Moriarty; Eliza Niblock; Pam Pagnani; Lauren Rabin; Dr. Kisha Mitchell Richards; Dr. Danielle M. Robinson; Deb Rogan; Elisa Wilson; and Leslie Yager.
The Women Who Inspire Awards were established to recognize and celebrate outstanding women in the community who have excelled in philanthropic, professional and volunteer pursuits. The awards will be presented on March 6 at a cocktail reception and celebration starting at 5:30 p.m. at Greenwich Country Club. Former PepsiCo Chair and Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi will give the keynote address.
Also being honored this spring with the 2024 Next Generation Women Who Inspire Award are Natalie Cook, a student from Greenwich Academy; Nia Forbes, a student from Greens Farms Academy; and Francesca Marangi, a student from Sacred Heart Greenwich.
“Raising up the accomplishments of women and young women in our community is central to our mission. We are thrilled to honor this talented group of women representing a variety of sectors and endeavors. Every year we have an outstanding group of honorees, and this year’s group is equally outstanding and inspirational,” said YWCA Greenwich President and CEO Mary Lee Kiernan in a news release.
The 2024 Women Who Inspire Awards co-chairs are Laura W. Beck; Grace Lockhart Djuranovic; Andrea Douglas, MD, FAANS, FACS; Kasha Konopka; Clarena McBeth, LMHC, LPC; and Elaine Ubiña.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ywcagrn.org/womenwhoinspire24.
Girl Scout program at North Street School
Girl Scout Troop No. 50303 recently partnered with community leader Bob DeAngelo to earn Girl Scout Math in Nature badges and Tree STEM badges. According to a release from the troop, “DeAngelo was particularly nostalgic to run the meeting in (Victoria) Cappiali’s North Street School classroom where DeAngelo’s daughter attended kindergarten years ago.” DeAngelo previously shared tips on bike safety and was separately scheduled to lead the Girl Scouts in a night hike. For the most recent activity, DeAngelo showed the Girl Scouts how wood slices all have a natural grain, imperfections, texture, color and symmetry difference.
Exhibit of Stone’s paintings extended, again
The C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich has announced that the exhibition “Sharon Stone: Welcome To My Garden,” is extended one more month until Feb. 20. The exhibit, which opened in October, has already been extended once.
The gallery show features 19 paintings by artist and actor Sharon Stone and is the first time her artworks are exhibited outside of Los Angeles.
“I created these works to understand the essence of pure creativity that comes from heartfelt truth, to let go of the noise, the judgements and the pollution of our societal pulls,” said Stone in a news release.
Stone’s many honors include the Women Making History Award from the National Women’s History Museum, the Einstein Spirit of Achievement Award, the Nobel Peace Summit Award Laureate, a Golden Globe Award, a primetime Emmy Award and an Academy Award nomination.
Stone was recently honored as the Global Citizen of the Year at the 2023 United Nations UNCA Awards.
River House appoints new leader
River House Adult Day Center has appointed Diandria (Dee) Hernandez as the organization’s new executive director. The center provides therapeutic recreation, health and personal care, and caregiver support for adults in Greenwich, Stamford and the surrounding area.
Hernandez comes to River House with 22 years of experience in social and direct services. Most recently, she was the director of the Center for Adults Living Well at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, an innovative older adult center in upper Manhattan.
“I’m honored to join River House Adult Day Center and work alongside a dedicated team of professionals who truly make a difference in the lives of our older adults and their caregivers,” said Hernandez in a news release. “I’m committed to building on River House’s strong foundation and expanding our reach to ensure that every older adult client receives the highest level of care and companionships and that their caregivers have the support, information and peace of mind they need to continue to help their loved ones stay in their homes.”