Photo By NYU Wagner Women’s Caucus

On March 28, Public Works Partners CEO Celeste Frye joined NYU Wagner Women’s Caucus at the inaugural Gender Equity Symposium.

Celeste spoke on the “Lady Boss: Women Leading Public Service” panel, which included Sandra Chanduvi from Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, Chansi Powell from NYC Commission of Gender Equity, and Madina Toure from POLITICO.

The panel touched on a wide range of topics including inclusive workplaces and how to best support other women. Celeste weighed in on her career experience as a woman in public service as well as a woman founding and running her own business. In addition, she spoke about the work culture at Public Works Partners and how she strives to create an environment that is collaborative and fun yet also respectful of employees’ time and interests outside of standard work hours.

Celeste with Public Works Project Coordinators Charlotte Herzan and Sophanite Gedion

As the day continued, the symposium featured workshops, panels, and fireside chats on additional areas within gender equality. The “Gender-Responsive Strategies to Combat Climate Change and Food Insecurity” conversation centered around how climate change is impacting gender inequality and the potential responses, while “Gendered Justice: Women and Girls in the Criminal Justice System” explored the reasons behind the rising rate of incarcerated women.

Public Works Partners very own Project Coordinator and Wagner MPA Candidate, Sophanite Gedion, led a workshop on “Critical Civic Reflection on Cultural Competence.” Attendees participated in an interactive workshop that focused on creating a more profound sense of self-awareness around participants’ strengths and weaknesses as public service leaders.

The last session was a fireside chat between Diana France from the Department of Small Business Services and Charlotte Herzan, another Public Works employee and Wagner MPA Candidate. Diana is the current director of the Women Entrepreneurs of NYC (WE NYC) initiative. She spoke about her role at WE NYC as well as entrepreneurship in general, including the barriers typically faced by women.

We want to thank NYU and the Wagner Women’s Caucus for shedding light on these critical issues. We were thrilled to be a part of the day!