Teaneck—Liz Abzug, daughter of the late Bella Abzug, U.S. Congresswoman and women’s rights advocate, will address the National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County Section (NCJW BCS) at its first General Meeting of the season. Ms. Abzug will speak about the life, times and challenges that faced her famous mother and about the ways in which she is continuing her legacy by inspiring and training the young women of today to become the leaders of tomorrow.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, September 24, at 12:30 p.m., at Temple Emeth, 1666 Windsor Road, Teaneck and light refreshments will be served. Admission to this program, payable at the door, is $10 for members, and $20 for non-members, $10 of which is applicable toward new membership if dues are paid that day.
Ms. Abzug is known as a women’s leadership expert in politics, academia, business and the not-for-profit sector. As a national consultant, professor, lawyer/lobbyist and candidate for New York City elective office, Ms. Abzug has been a professional involved in many fields including politics, urban economic development and human rights. She is an adjunct professor in Urban Studies at Barnard College/Columbia University, and runs her own national public affairs and management consulting company, Liz Abzug Consultant Services. In 2004, following the death of her mother, Ms. Abzug co-founded the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute (BALI), a not-for-profit leadership training organization that trains young women in high school and college and whose mandate is to “inspire women and girls to lead the future.”
One month after the September 11, 2001, attack and devastation of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, and because Liz has her office/studio located three blocks from the World Trade Center and lost friends and colleagues when the buildings collapsed, she co-founded and was one of three leaders of “Rebuild Downtown Our Town”(R-DOT). This was the only major civic coalition comprised of Lower Manhattan residents, businesses, trade and business associations, survivors’ families, environmentalists, planners, architects, designers and downtown college presidents. The coalition’s members included over 60 groups, who steadfastly worked for over a year and a half to develop a collective vision and comprehensive plan to help rebuild and reshape Lower Manhattan.
Ms. Abzug has worked in several senior positions in federal, state and local government, including serving under Governor Mario Cuomo as New York State’s chief lobbyist in Washington, D.C., for all the state’s economic development agencies. She has served on several not-for-profit boards including the New York State Commission on Domestic Violence, the Governor’s Gay Rights Task Force, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the Manhattan Borough Development Corporation. In her spare time, Ms. Abzug is passionate about traveling all over the world, collecting art, and has co-owned a contemporary art gallery called Gallery Blue, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“We are honored that Liz Abzug will be the speaker at our September General Meeting,” said Marilyn Sirulnick, NCJW’s General Meeting Program Coordinator. “We look forward to learning how she motivates young women to become leaders of the 21st century.”
For more information on NCJW BCS and the September 24 General Meeting, please visit http://www.ncjwbcs.org.
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.
