The Bronx Chamber of Commerce Foundation, in partnership with the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, will host its annual Women of Distinction Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 22, at Villa Barone Manor.
Now in its 18th year, the Women of Distinction Luncheon continues to recognize outstanding women leaders for their contributions to the Bronx and New York City, culminating in a scholarship program to support high-performing college bound female students from high schools around the Bronx.
The 2024 luncheon supports scholarships for these young women with generous philanthropic contributions from Con Edison, MBD Community Housing Corporation, Ponce Bank, Simone Development Corporation, Orange Bank and Trust Company, The Monroe Foundation, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts, Sandra Erickson Real Estate, KZA Realty Group, RiteCheck, The Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy, Paralegals FTC, Manhattan Parking Group, C. James Plumbing and Heating Inc., Ramdeen’s Electrical Corp., Optimum Business and The Bronx Times Reporter.
“The Women of Distinction Luncheon provides a platform to continue the mission of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce Foundation and support the future of our borough,” said Lisa Sorin, president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. “Investing in our community, especially our young women, is vitally important to the Chamber, the Bronx and New York City, and builds on our mission of creating economic development opportunities and driving impactful change. I am grateful to the funders and supporters of this work for their sustaining support of this initiative.”
The program assists in sustaining the mission of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce Foundation, dedicated to fostering business education, training, mentorship and leadership opportunities for small and mid-size Bronx businesses, economic development and equitability-oriented nonprofits and other community organizations.
“This initiative is a signature program of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce Foundation,” said April Horton, chair of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “Support for this program not only sustains the work of the Foundation, but perhaps more importantly, it has a transformational impact on the future of the Bronx and New York City. The Women of Distinction Luncheon is a remarkable vehicle to see our community growing and developing with young women leading the way – truly fitting during the month of March in honor of Women’s History.”
The 2024 Women of Distinction Luncheon honors Wendy Garcia, deputy commissioner of Equity and Inclusion for the New York City Police Department. Wendy Taccetta, senior vice president of Retail and partner management for Verizon, will deliver the keynote address and 1010 WINS Reporter Juliet Papa will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.
About the honorees
Wendy Garcia is the deputy commissioner of Equity and Inclusion for the New York City Police Department. As deputy commissioner, Garcia is responsible for creating, implementing and evaluating strategies throughout the New York City Police Department to ensure processes and procedures are inclusive, transparent, impartial, free of discrimination and harassment and equitable for all members of the NYPD.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion promotes awareness, education and outreach efforts to improve the quality of life in the workplace and beyond by fostering cultural understanding of employees and the community.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion oversees the Equal Employment Opportunity Division which is responsible for the prevention and investigation of employment and harassment claims, reasonable accommodation requests and ensuring compliance with regulations related to accessibility of Police Department facilities by members of the disabled community.
Previously, Garcia served as the chief diversity officer at the Office of New York City Comptroller where she fostered contracting opportunities for women in minority owned business enterprises (MWBEs) and managed the comptroller’s office’s internal supplier diversity related projects across all bureaus of the agency. In addition, Wendy Garcia also served as the deputy chief diversity officer at the Office of New York City Comptroller, director of Community Outreach and Partnerships at the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), deputy director of the Manhattan Borough President’s Northern Manhattan Office and immigrant research analyst for the Rockefeller Foundation through Baruch College.
Garcia earned a master’s degree in urban policy and management from New School University with a concentration in Economic Development, and a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Delaware.
About the keynote speaker
Wendy Taccetta is senior vice president of Retail and Partner Management for Verizon. In this capacity, she is responsible for driving results in several strategic areas of the business, making sure their focus is on creating the best end-to-end wireless experience for small business owners who trust their business to Verizon.
Additionally, Ms. Taccetta is focused on developing a customer-centric Partner Program at Verizon. At Verizon, they understand that a great partner experience will always deliver a better customer experience. Channel Partners have called their strategic focus “a historic revamping” of Verizon’s channel program. Their ambition is to make it easier than ever before to partner with Verizon.
Ms. Taccetta has a team of 1,400+ employees committed to accelerating small business growth, driving transformation across the Verizon Business ecosystem, and fostering a culture of collaboration every day. She has held a variety of roles during her 21-year tenure at Verizon, which has allowed her to build a diverse resume of experience in business and consumer sales, business transformation and sales operations.
Villa Barone Manor is located at 737 Throggs Neck Expressway. To purchase tickets for this event or to sponsor, please email: foundation@bronxchamber.org or visit the website, www.bronxchamber.org.
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