Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 09:22 Written by Administrator Wednesday, 11 August 2010 09:06

We are happy to announce that Governor Paterson has named Michele Lee Clarke-Ceres as UN Day Chair.  Ms. Clarke-Ceres is working with the UNA-USA Southern New York State Division to plan events around UN Week.

Ms. Clarke-Ceres currently serves as Chief of Staff to the First Lady of New York State and Chief of Protocol to the Governor.

Ms. Clarke-Ceres’s governmental experience includes progressively responsible positions on the city, state and federal levels most notably the US Department of State where she held the position of Deputy Chief of Protocol at the US Mission to the United Nations. She has also worked internationally for the Government of the Principality of Andorra and for the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. She holds B.A. in English from the State University of New York College at Fredonia and studied at the University of Seville in Spain.  Michele is fluent in Spanish, and has a working knowledge of French, Catalan and Portuguese.

She is married to Rudyard Ceres, Esq. and has a lovely son named Wade.

Updates on plans will appear in the UNA Southern NYS Division Blog:  http://unasouthernny.wordpress.com 

 

 

Last Updated on Thursday, 24 June 2010 09:57 Written by Administrator Thursday, 24 June 2010 09:47

 

With the help of Danielle Lazarowitz, Southern NYS Division volunteer, the Division has started a new blog, The Inside View on the United Nations.  John Carey's "UN Week" will be a regular feature.  Other current articles are about the prospective alliance between UNA-USA and the UN Foundation.  Anyone in the division may contribute.  Just email your proposed topic or article to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The blog's address is:  http://unasouthernny.wordpress.com 

Last Updated on Friday, 07 May 2010 10:31 Written by Administrator Friday, 07 May 2010 10:15

The Westchester Chapter's Annual Meeting will feature Climate Change and Sinking Islands – From Manhattan to Seychelles: A 21st Century Tragedy.  It will take place on Sunday, May 16, 2010, 2.00-4.00pm
Siwanoy Country Club, 56 Siwanoy Blvd., Bronxville, New York. 

Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 April 2010 16:54 Written by Administrator Tuesday, 13 April 2010 13:45

The Division's Board Meeting of April 12, 2010 featured remarks by Jocelyn McCalla, Senior Adviser to the Special Envoy of Haiti to the United Nations, and David Stillman, Executive Director of the Public-Private Alliance Foundation and a Division Board Member.  

 

McCalla's talk focused on the Haiti Donors Conference that took place on March 31 at the United Nations and the financial and managerial arrangements that are being set up.  The 9.9 billion dollars that have been pledged by UN Member States for the first five years reconstruction will be put into a Trust Fund managed by the World Bank, Haiti.  An Interim Commission for Recovery is being set up, with President Clinton as Special Envoy of the UN to Haiti and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive as co-chairs.  The Commission will include Haitians and non-Haitians, with seats for NGOs and for members of the Haitian Diaspora.  An Executive Director will be hired.  The main funds available for reconstruction include (1) the Multi-donors trust fund; (2) the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which currently has obtained about $50 million; and (3) funds privately available to non-governmental organizations.  Prominent among NGOs are Oxfam (about $100 million); International Red Cross/ Red Crescent ($300 million); American Red Cross ($770 million); Partners in Health ($125 million).  The president of the InterAction Committee has pledged another $475 million.  

David Stilman spoke principally about his recent trip to Haiti, by road from the Dominican Republic, and about an upcoming workshop the Public-Private Alliance Foundation will hold with partners in Jacmel, Haiti.  The aim of the workshop, which will be held from June 27-29, is to encourage investment and commerce to revitalize Southern Haiti.

The Young Professionals for International Cooperation collected funds for two organizations in Haiti - HELP and Project Seguin, as part of the 2009 Haiti Expedition Project.

See the Image Events Gallery for more photos.