
The Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator will be honoring influential Brooklyn women in business whose major achievements and whose participation in many community activities throughout the years have helped the borough grow.
The first annual Top Brooklyn Women in Business Networking Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday, June 21, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the New York Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge, 333 Adams Street, in Downtown Brooklyn.
The honorees are: Denise Arbesu, Senior Vice President / Relationship Manager, Citi Commercial Bank; Mary Anne Cino, CEO, NIA Community Services Network; Sister Dolores F. Crepeau, Principal, Fontbonne Hall Academy; Helena De Paola, Owner, Indoor Outdoor Gardener; Renee Dorsa, President, Brooklyn Real Estate Board; Dr. Tobechi Ebede, Dermatologist, Preferred Health Partners; Teresa Fabi, Executive Assistant District Attorney, Kings County District Attorney’s Office; Dr. Laila Farhat, President, Jana Healthcare and Spa; Dr. Alice B. Farkouh, Principal, A.Fantis Parochial School; Arlene Figaro, Principal, Visitation Academy; Wendy Goldstein, President & CEO, Lutheran Healthcare; Dr. Karen Gould, President , Brooklyn College; Devorah Halberstam, Director of Foundation & Government, Jewish Children’s Museum ; Alice Halkias, Owner, Grand Prospect Hall; Sister Elizabeth A. Hill, President, St. Joseph’s College; Haney Ho, Vice President, Brooklyn Chinese American Association; Marlene Hochman, Founder , The Toy Museum of NY; Judith Kapner, Vice President/Business Banking, Flushing Bank; Arlene Keating , Paralegal, Connors & Sullivan Attorneys At Law, PLLC; Marina Kovalyov, President, Russian American Foundation; Zoe Koutsoupakis, Senior Vice President, Marathon Bank; Yolanda Lezama-Clark, Former President, West Indian-American Day Carnival Assoc.; Marci McCall, Community Relations Marketing & Communications, Emblem Health; Renee McClure, Manager, Community & Customer Management, National Grid; Regina Peruggi, President, Kingsborough Community College; Phyllis Pressa, Business Banking Market Manager, JPMorgan Chase; Melissa Rabinovich, Executive Editor, NY1 News; Maria Roca, Founder & Chair, Friends of Sunset Park; Ada Rodriguez, Chief Marketing Officer, Health Plus; Sandra Russo, Director of the Nursing Program, Touro College; Ilene Sacco, President, 68th Precinct Community Council; Joanne Seminara, Attorney, Grimaldi & Yeung LLP; Ella Weiss, President, Brooklyn Arts Council; Candiece Wilson, Senior Cost Engineer, Turner Construction Company; and Toni Yuille-Williams, Director of Public Affairs, Con Edison.
“It’s my privilege and honor to recognize the extraordinary women who have built their careers in Brooklyn or have achieved their success in Brooklyn,” remarked Victoria Schneps-Yunis, the papers’ co-publisher. “We invite the business community to come out and salute these women on June 21.”
In addition, honored as Best Man of the Year will be Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes.
The evening will also feature networking with Brooklyn’s top professionals, an expo with leading businesses in the area, and a charity raffle benefiting two not-for-profit organizations: Camp Brooklyn and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s campaign to build a smart home for SPC Bryan Dilberian, who lost both legs and one arm while on patrol with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
The newspapers’ sister publication, The Queens Courier, has held a top women in business event in Queens for the past decade, honoring female leaders in that borough. The most recent event attracted more than 700 business leaders, making it one of the largest business events in the city.
Tickets cost $125 each. To purchase tickets, or for sponsorship/participation opportunities, please call 718-224-5863, extension 226.
Tickets can also be purchased on line; go to www.homereporternews.comevents.
The event is sponsored by Health Plus, Con Edison, EmblemHealth, St. Josephs College, Citi Commercial Bank, Flushing Bank, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, City University of New York and Ehren Joseph Studios.












SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.

ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.