July 21, 2008 11:58 AM
CARECEN has finalized its list of honorees for its gala 25th Anniversary.
As part of CARECEN's 25th Anniversary celebration, we felt very strongly about honoring three past members of CARECEN's Board. Linda Nanos, a well known immigration attorney, helped CARECEN grow into a mature organization. Rabbi Lee Friedlander was a Board member during our early years when we were struggling for survival. And Terry Granelli volunteered in CARECEN's outreach drama about the lives of Central American Refugees "Meet Your Neighbor Rosa Gomez", which received wide acclaim.
We are also honoring Rachel Hall, our Volunteer of the Year. She originated and conducted our successful series of free citizenship classes as part of our "Campaign for New Citizens".
Finally, we will also be honoring Patrick Young, our Program Director. He came to CARECEN as a law intern from Hofstra when we were first starting 25 years ago. Early on, Pat helped bring CARECEN national attention when he was part of a precedent-setting victory in federal court that challenged INS's restrictive asylum policies.
Also being honored are Carmen Maquiilon of Catholic Charities and Suffolk Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher. Our keynote speaker will be Debbie Anker, a nationally known expert on asylum law and a professor at Harvard Law School.
If you are interested in attending the CARECEN 25th Anniversary Dinner or if you want to take out an ad, please contact Mirna Cortes at 516-489-8330 between Monday and Friday.