The Network Journal Executive Business Awards Luncheon

Mar 24, 2005

Marriot Marquis, NYC

The Network Journal (TNJ), a black professional and small business magazine based in New York City , held its seventh annual “25 Influential Black Women in Business Awards Program” on Mar 24, 2005. The event took place at the New York Marriot Marquis Hotel.

There was a select group of honorees that were saluted for achieving significant levels of success in their businesses and professional careers. The list included Penda Aiken, President of Penda Aiken, Inc; Della Britton Baeza, President.and CEO of the Jackie Robinson Foundation; Marsha E. Butler, Vice President of Global Professional Relations and Marketing for Colgate Palmolive; Kerry D. Chandler, Senior Vice President of Human Resources for ESPN; Tammie B. Cottom, Vice President of Retail Markets – Operations & Technology for Verizon Communications, Lynda D. Curtis, Senior Vice President & Executive Director of Woodhull Medical Center; Thelma Dye-Holmes, PhD, Executive Director & CEO of Northside Center for Child Development, Inc.; Michelle Ebanks, President, Essence Communications; Elaine Edmonds, Executive Director, of the Harlem YMCA; Verna Eggleston, Administrator/Commissioner of the Human Resources Administration, City of New York; Deborah Elam, Manager, Diversity & Inclusive Leadership, at General Electric Co.; Janine Fondon, President &CEO of UnityFirst.com/African American Newswire; Katherone Giscombe, PhD, Senior Director, Catalyst Inc.; Carla Harris, Managing Director for Morgan Stanley; Marsha Haygood, Executive Vice President of Administration for New Line Cinema; Marilyn D. Johnson, Vice President of Marketing for IBM, Michele M. Moore, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the National Urban League; Ijeoma Nduka-Nwosu, M.D., President & CEO of Comprehensive Primary Care Services; Rita J. Sallis, Deputy Comptroller for Public Finance of the New York City Comptroller's Office; Debra A. Sandler, General Manager of The Americas for McNeil Nutritionals, LLC; Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Chief of Staff for Nickelodeon; Marjorie A Staten, Executive Director of General Motors Minority Dealers Association; Millicent Suttojn, M.D., Director of the Sickle Cell Center at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital; Gyendolyn Y. Taylor, Senior Vice President and Operations & Administrative Services for Arch Insurance Group, Inc.; Linda Zango-Haley, Vice President of Marketing for Cosmetic International, Del Laboratories, Inc.

The program entailed a cocktail networking reception, followed by a lunch and presentation of the awards accompanied by video profiles. The Mistress of Ceremonies was Brenda Blackman, of UPN 9 News lead anchor. The luncheon's invocation was led by Rev. Clinton M. Miller, Senior Pastor of Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn , New York . The event annually attracted a “Who's Who' of prominent business executives as well as entrepreneurs.

TNJ publisher Aziz Gueye Adetimirin said, “The women we are honoring this year are in the forefront of American Leadership and symbolize the diversity and advancement that has occurred across industry lines.”

In addition to the awards program, the honorees were profiles in the special March/April issue of the magazine.

Sponsorship remarks were given by Stacy M. Braun, Senior Vice President of Marketing for AXA Advisors.

Others in attendance were Byron Lewis, President of Uniworld Group, Inc., Hon. William C. Thompson, New York City Comptroller, Andrea March and Leslie Grossman, co-founders of the Women's Leadership Exchange Organization, Carol Evans, President of Working Mother Media and NAFE Organizations, and many more respected fields from the corporate world. For more information about the Network Journal, including how to become a member, please feel free to log onto their website at http://www.tnj.com

The African American and Caribbean Section is headed by assistant editor Annette Johnson, and Liberty News Online Staff Writers contributing articles. It will cover articles about the African American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S.A. For more information, feel free to email us at lncarib@hadofnyc.org. If you are interested in having us cover one of your events, feel free to notify us one week in advance, so we can add you to our master calendar, and have our Liberty News Staff come and write an article about your event. Feel free to email us at lnevents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616 between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, and ask to speak to Annette or Steve