Welcome to the second edition of the Hostos Community College Foundation Newsletter! This quarterly bulletin shares information about fundraising events, board members, individual and institutional gifts, and alumni. While there are many ways in which our supporters and friends connect with the College, each has one thing in common – a shared commitment to the dedicated students of Hostos. 

Together, this giving season,
we can further academic excellence and transform lives.
Fundraising Events
On November 14, the Eugenio María de Hostos Community College Foundation saluted Hostos alumni employees at the Second Annual Alma Matters Awards.

A play on the phrase “Alma Mater,” this annual event is dedicated to celebrating our alumni’s many accomplishments and raising support for student scholarships. This year’s event recognized the dedication and contributions exhibited by alumni who have returned to the College as employees—of which there are many.

Alumni employees were selected to receive one of four awards—the Visionary Award, Community Impact Award, Trailblazer Award, or Honorable Recognition. Honorees were not informed of their selection prior to the ceremony, making for an especially emotional affair. 

This year’s awardees were:
Visionary Award
 Lisanette Rosario
Director of Career Services
Community Impact Award
 Rufina Amadiz
CUNY Office Assistant in the Education Department
Community Impact Award
 Chief Arnaldo Bernabe
Director of Public Safety
Trailblazer Award
 Ronette Shaw
Assistant Professor in
the Allied Health Nursing Program
Trailblazer Award
 Terrence Brown
Enrollment Registrar Manager
Honorable Recognition
 Diosa Carmona
who recently retired from her role as a CUNY Office Assistant in the English Department and received the most total votes across all categories.
The event raised nearly $4,000 in support of the Circle of 100 Scholarship and Emergency Fund and the General Academic Excellence Fund. The former assists students with expenses that often prohibit them from continuing their studies, such as MetroCards, course materials, and examination and certification fees, to name a few. The latter provides accomplished students with monetary awards during Hostos’ Annual Honors Convocation in recognition of their merit. 

The Second Annual Alma Matters Awards was supported by ambassador sponsor and Hostos alumnus, Dejuan Wynn, of Wynn Optics. The Hostos Community College Foundation thanks Mr. Wynn and the members of the 2019 Alma Matters Committee for making this year’s event possible. 

Please enjoy these photos from
the Second Annual Alma Matters Awards.
Foundation Board
CARMEN VEGA-RIVERA, 1954-2019
On Sunday, December 15, the Bronx lost a long-time advocate and Hostos Community College lost a treasured friend: Community Activist, Organizer, and Educator Carmen Vega-Rivera died at the age of 65.

Words are not enough to express what a remarkable legacy Carmen leaves, here at her beloved Hostos, and throughout her Bronx community. She dedicated herself to advocating for others. Carmen was not only a founding member of our Board, but an active supporter and proponent of the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture since 1982. Above all, she truly loved our students and fought for what defines the Hostos DNA, educational opportunity for all. 

A resident of the Grand Concourse for 37 years, Vega-Rivera spent her life advocating for the working people of NYC, fighting for affordable housing, public spaces, educational opportunity, and infrastructure repair. She was the founder of Atabey Collaborative, which provides development assistance for non-profits, arts and educational institutions. Her almost 40 years of advocacy include her work with Say Yes to Education, the East Harlem Tutorial Program, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and a wealth of other institutions.

She was the leader of Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA), and played a crucial role in the struggle to protect local businesses and make affordable housing a part of the controversial Jerome Avenue Rezoning Plan. She was also active with the Bronx Coalition for a Community Vision (BxCCV).

Her many honors include the Educational Equity Concepts Groundbreaker Award, the Women’s History Month Governor’s Award for Excellence, the El Diario/La Presna – 50 Outstanding Latinas Award, and the Ellen Lurie Award.

A message on CASA’s Facebook page said, in part: “Her spirit and energy was contagious, her passion endless, her razor-sharp wit, her commitment to the Bronx deep, and she fiercely believed and demanded that another world was possible. Carmen leaves us with the profound knowledge and belief in ourselves that through organizing, we are an unstoppable force.”

She is survived by her husband, her daughter, her son, five grandchildren and a great grandson.

The Bronx – and the city of New York – is the poorer for the loss of Carmen Vega-Rivera. Her devotion to the greater good is a shining example for us all.
After five years of dedicated and outstanding service, M. Salomé Galib is retiring from her role as a Hostos Community College Foundation board member on December 31, 2019.

Ms. Galib began her career as a business reporter and the Washington correspondent for El Nuevo Día, where she covered federal policies, fiscal matters and issues pertaining to the Puerto Rican and Latino communities in the United States. She then went on to serve as a program officer for the U.S. Information Agency's Foreign Press Center under the Clinton administration.

Ms. Galib received her juris doctor degree and her master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University and her bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University. She worked as an associate at Rosenman & Colin, LLP and Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, LLP. Ms. Galib left the practice of law to serve as Vice President and New York Office Director of the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico. She is the owner and president of Bebe Sol, LLC, a wholesale company that distributes children’s apparel designed and/or manufactured in Puerto Rico, and is also the co-founding director and president of Teens4PR, a platform to help young people raise funds for hurricane relief and reconstruction in Puerto Rico.

Ms. Galib volunteers her time and expertise at Brooklyn Friends School, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, and Para la Naturaleza. She has also served Sila M. Calderón's Center for Puerto Rico's Diaspora Advisory Council, the Sanctuary for Families' Legal Advisory Council, Credit Where Credit is Due, Bronx Lighthouse Charter School, and LatinoJustice/PRLDEF.

On behalf of all of us at Hostos, our sincere thanks to Ms. Galib for her service and best wishes for her endeavors ahead.



In December, Hostos Community College Foundation board member Mr. Julio E. Reyes, Jr., Vice President, Cluster Branch Manager, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., was honored at the New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 14 th Annual Hispanic Business Banquet & Scholarship Award Ceremony. This event celebrates individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to upholding the integrity of the Hispanic community. Congratulations to Mr. Reyes on this well-deserved recognition.
Individual Donor Highlights
In October, Mr. Michael Potack, President of Unitex, made a $14,000 gift in support of the Judith Z. Potack and Dorothy Hausberg Scholarship Fund, which he established at Hostos. This scholarship supports graduating nursing students in financial need and covers the fees for post-graduate nursing qualifying exams and nursing licensure. Mr. Potack’s impactful support of the College dates back to 2005.
Corporate and Foundation Relations 
In November, The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation awarded Hostos a $200,000 renewal grant over three years in support of The Carroll and Milton Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund. This grant assists students who have documented, short-term financial emergencies to help enable them to persist and complete.

Also in November, the Howard Gilman Foundation approved a $60,000 grant award over two years in support of the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture. These funds will provide general operating support.
Alumni Relations
The Alumni Speakers Bureau (ASB), presented by the Office of Alumni Relations, provides volunteer experts who give presentations about their personal, academic and professional achievements and the leadership opportunities that their Hostos education has afforded them. Alumni speakers address a variety of subjects, ranging from education, criminal justice, and healthcare to technology, business, and more. Speakers also share their insights about how students can make the most of their time at Hostos and work towards their post-graduate goals.
This semester, four distinguished ASB volunteers spoke about their experiences and offered guidance to 75 attendees across campus. 

  • Prof. Tyrell Bush ’15 - Prof. Bush serves as an inspiration for so many of our students. Born in the Bronx, he was the first person in his family to graduate from college. In addition to working as a videographer for Hostos’ Conference Center, he also serves as a member of our faculty. As a member of the Alumni Speakers Bureau, Prof. Bush represents a young, vibrant alumni network that exemplifies the true meaning of giving back.

  • Mr. Keywan Fowler ’18 - Mr. Fowler engaged and inspired students on the importance of persisting through challenges, staying on track for graduation and utilizing time-management skills when family, academics and employment responsibilities collide. He is currently a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

  • Mr. Robinson de Jesus ’97 - Mr. de Jesus is the co-founder, CEO, and content creator for Efficient Advice, LLC. A renowned international speaker, Robinson delivered an inspirational presentation to a rapt classroom, sharing his experiences as a former Hostos student and his determined, strategic approach to accomplishing personal and professional objectives.

  • Mr. Felix O. Sánchez ’02 – Mr. Sánchez, who earned an associate degree in microcomputers for business, spoke to students about navigating the college years and tapping into their motivations to achieve their dreams with tenacity. He has previously worked in the College’s Academic Learning Center and taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to adults and math to fifth graders through Hostos’ Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development. Mr. Sánchez also served as Director of Career Services at Mildred Elley School and is currently Alumni Relations Manager at Hostos. 

If you would like to explore Alumni Speakers Bureau volunteer opportunities, please contact
Felix Sánchez
Alumni Relations Manager
(718) 518-4180
Support Student Excellence
The Hostos Community College Foundation invites its family and friends to join us in empowering even more of our dedicated students to persist and earn their degrees.

This year, Hostos has selected two impactful student support offerings to which you may apply your year-end gift:
The Circle of 100 Emergency Fund, which assists students
with expenses that all too often prohibit them from continuing
with their studies, such as MetroCards, course materials, and
examination and certification fees, to name a few.
The Bridge Tuition Support Assistance Program, which
provides assistance to students who are close to graduating
to ensure that financial adversity does not prohibit them
from completing their path to degree obtainment.

While our students encounter various obstacles along the way, your support provides the transformative catalyst that enables them to continue to achieve.

Whether it be The Circle of 100, The Bridge Tuition Support Assistance Program, or another priority initiative, please consider a gift in support of our students — and invite others to do the same. Each and every dollar raised will help enable our students to excel and succeed. Your commitment demonstrates your steadfast belief in our students — and inspires them to aspire.
Together, we will continue to further
academic excellence and transform lives.
FOLLOW US: