WRI’s 17th Annual Gala

The WELFARE RIGHTS INITIATIVE (WRI) 17th Annual Gala on Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. was a great success.  Over 150 people gathered at Hunter West Building 8th Floor Faculty Dining Room for an evening of inspiration and celebration.  WRI cohort 17, family, friends, supporters, colleagues and Hunter faculty and administration celebrated the success of our students, honorees and alums.

This year’s honorees were:

Kathy Goldman, long-time community activist and Co-Director of Community Food Advocates;
Degna P. Levister, Clinical Law Professor and Supervising Attorney of Economic Justice Clinic, City University of New York School of Law;
Stephen Loffredo, Professor of Law and Supervising Attorney of Economic Justice Clinic, City University of New York School of Law;
Yvonne L. Moore, Executive Director, Daphne Foundation;

Each year, WRI assists hundreds of bright, ambitious, undergraduate students who are striving for a better future despite the daily challenges caused by financial instability.

Through academic courses, leadership training, legal assistance, policy education and advocacy, WRI’s participant-driven model builds essential skills and opens up personal advancement options for people receiving on public assistance. Our staff and interns also collaborate with other activists, legislators and community leaders to defend and promote fair and just policies that remove potential barriers to education.

We continue to celebrate the remarkable progress made by our student leaders at Hunter College and the WRI alumni who are strengthening the city’s workforce in social services, community organizing, public interest law, nursing, education and other disciplines across New York City and beyond. We are especially proud to report that many Leadership Program alums are now pursuing graduate studies.