Girls Inc. Of Westchester County Celebrates Trailblazing Women at 2022 Strong Smart & Bold Gala

Girls Inc. of Westchester County will celebrate and honor two trailblazing women and celebrate one committed advocate at their Strong Smart & Bold Gala 6:00 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2022, at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle, NY. The theme for this year’s gala is “Their Future, Their Voice” to empower all girls to find their voice and encourage advocacy for themselves and others. Current and world events have shown us the importance of girls and women finding their voice and speaking out about the issues that impact their lives. This year’s gala will recognize Jasmine Bellamy and Mimi Rocah as honorees and introduce the inaugural Altman Advocacy Award to Jennifer Altman.

“After two years of navigating through a pandemic, we are excited to be able to hold our gala in person and continue to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Our honorees embody the mission of our organization for how they have used their voices to break barriers, empower change in their organizations, and their continued work towards fairness for all. I am looking forward to celebrating this year’s honorees as well as the girls in our program who will one day become our future leaders,” said Sharlise Smith-Rodriguez, Executive Director.

Jasmine Bellamy

Jasmine Bellamy is a customer-centric, data-driven global executive merchant who is currently leading Reebok’s U.S. Direct to Consumer Business. In addition, Bellamy is also the brand’s Head of Change Management for United Against Racism. She is the creator and co-facilitator of Courageous Conversation, a place for people inside the organization to pause and participate in deep listening and learning from people who are different from themselves. Before her position at Reebok, Bellamy had more than 25 years of experience where she has helped drive the merchandising strategies for Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales, LOFT, Kmart, Gap, and has also directed celebrity brand collections of Sarah Jessica Parker, Venus Williams, Nicki Minaj, and others. Outside of her career, Bellamy served on the Board of Women in Retail Leadership Circle as its first Director of Diversity and Inclusion and is also the founder of Love 101 Ministries, a community dedicated to the theology and practice of love which shapes how to lead and transform businesses, teams, and culture.

Mimi Rocah

Miriam “Mimi” E. Rocah is currently the District Attorney for Westchester County, elected in 2020 after running a grassroots campaign centered on reforming and modernizing the Westchester County DA’s office, rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the communities it serves, and fighting for a safer and fairer criminal justice system for all of Westchester. Before she was elected Westchester County DA, Rocah served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2001 to 2017 in the Southern District of New York. She oversaw the prosecution of organized crime, gun traffickers, corrupt officials, narcotics dealers, sex traffickers, and child predators. In 2012 during the Obama administration, Rocah was promoted by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara to Chief of the Westchester Division for the Department of Justice, where she served as primary liaison with law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial offices as well as coordinated and co-chair multi county task forces on issues such as human trafficking and the opioid overdose epidemic. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Rocah graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in American History, and received her J.D. from New York University of Law. Today she currently lives in Scarsdale with her husband and two children, and is an active volunteer with Moms Demand Action and a board member of My Sister’s Place.

Jennifer Altman

“We could not be more excited to introduce the inaugural Altman Advocacy Award at this year’s gala. It was created to acknowledge the impact that commitment and passion for change can have on an individual, a community, and an organization. The recipient for this year’s award will be Jennifer Altman. Jennifer has spent her life and career committed to driving change by empowering girls to find their voice and advocate for themselves and others,” said Fiona Bruder and Kim Logan, Gala Co-Chairs. A clinical psychologist specializing in working with children, Altman is a member of The GIWC Wise Women Council and previously served as a member of the Board of Directors and as Board Chair for Girls Inc. of Westchester County.

Gala attendees will enjoy a spectacular cocktail reception, dinner, and a special presentation that will showcase personal stories of the young program participants.  Adding to the evening will be a silent auction, live auction, and a fund a need led by award winning auctioneer Erin Ward of Star Benefit Auctions.

Gala tickets are $300 per person and can be purchased online at www.StrongSmartBoldGala.org. For more information about the event and the sponsorship opportunities available, please contact Monica Spears at (914) 419-0764, mspears@girlsincwestchester.org, or visit the event website at www.StrongSmartBoldGala.org.

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