City Leaders Offer Inspiration for Public Service

By Merri Rosenberg

Left to Right: Georgia Pestana, Liz Abzug, Ester Fuchs, C. Virginia Fields

A standing-room only crowd packed the Sulzberger Parlor on October 10 for a spirited panel discussion on "How To Go Out and Change the World (Or At Least New York City): Women in City Government." "Changing the world is one of the prime aspirations of Barnard women," said President Judith Shapiro in her opening remarks. "Tonight's panel features leaders and innovators who speak out and make waves."

Co-sponsored by the Center for Research on Women, the Urban Studies Program, the Office of the President, the Office of Alumnae Affairs, and the Office of Career Development, the panel brought together such impressive municipal luminaries as Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields; Ester Fuchs, special advisor for governance and strategic planning to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and professor of political science at Barnard and Columbia University; Liz Abzug, adjunct assistant professor of urban studies at Barnard and former director for federal affairs and programs, New York State Office of Economic Development, and Georgia Pestana, Barnard '84, Chief of the Labor and Law Employment Division of the New York City Law Department.

The panel's collective message was an invitation to the mostly undergraduate audience to consider contributing their talents to public service.

Manhattan Borough President Fields noted: "Politics and public service is one of the most important ways to make a contribution to the world. Decisions that get made there affect everyone from the womb to the tomb."

"Work from the ground up," urged Pestana. "Understand what's happening. You live here, and are as responsible as everybody else. You should become involved."

Pestana pointed out to the audience that one of the great benefits of working for city government was that "you get lots of responsibility early on in city government." She cited her own experience, not long after graduating from law school, working on cases like conditions in single room occupancy buildings or the plight of prisoners who were psychiatric patients in city hospitals.

"I was debating whether I should go into psychology or law," said Stacey Gottesman ’04, who is president of Women in Politics, a campus political organization dedicated to raising campus awareness of important political issues. "I want to have an impact on people and I was inspired by Georgia’s example. I feel now I should get involved in law and politics."

Ester Fuchs also suggested that women's involvement at the highest levels of municipal government was critical to making a difference. " When you appoint women to executive positions, they bring different networks to the conversation," Fuchs said. "Having diversity of any kind in the room makes a difference in what kinds of names get forwarded for positions. That's critical to the outcome."

And as Fields observed, "Become involved. Volunteer. You're here at Barnard, in Manhattan, part of Columbia University. The resources are here, the opportunities are here, and the communities are here. You're at a place, at a time, when so much is happening. Become a part of that. Expand on the academic part of what you're doing. Take advantage of everything this great city has to offer."

Abzug, whose late mother, Bella, was a member of Congress from New York, said: "We’ve come a long way but we still have a long way to go. You have so much talent and opportunities ahead of you, but we’re reaching a scary moment in history and we need to move faster. Push, persist, and do it with heart and soul."