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Shallow Fog Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages salutes these three women as community champions. Here's how they inspire.
What do a Valley Stream library director, a hometown artist, and a community advocate — who is also something of a social media whiz — have in common?
To the outside observer, perhaps not much. But on closer examination, they are united by a common conviction: to use their voice to better the lives of those around them and to give a platform for those who otherwise wouldn’t have one.
Years — sometimes decades — of service have propelled these women into positions of leadership and community importance. That service and leadership caught the attention of Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, a Democrat from Elmont, who named them among this year’s honorees at the 10th annual Women of Distinction ceremony last month.
Among the 12 honorees, chosen from across Solage’s legislative district, was Henry Waldinger Memorial Library director Mamie Eng. For the past 16 years, Eng has made it the library’s mission to keep its services and programs in lockstep with the ever-changing needs and preferences of her patrons, whose views and interests are more diverse than ever.
“About 10 years ago, I had just gotten into being the director and we had training about having a mission for the library, and the mission we adopted was to enrich the lives of Valley Streamers,” said Eng. “And that opens it up to more than just giving books.”
For Eng and her team, that has meant widening the breadth of library information resources, programs, and services available to all age groups, from as young as three months old to the oldest generation.
And aside from the usual work of overseeing reading programs and handling book queries, Eng has made it a point to connect patrons to resources tailored to their most urgent socioeconomic needs.
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, she was keenly aware of the growing number of patrons dealing with difficult, unstable job situations — and stepped up the library’s resources to help.
“There were so many people during the pandemic who could not find jobs because they were not curriculum-ready and did not have digital literacy skills like Excel or Microsoft Word,” said Eng. “Helping them get job-ready is something I’m passionate about and a big objective for this library.” “
Since August 2020, Eng has taught a virtual computer class every Saturday morning, taking students through the basics of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The library also hosts resume writing and civil service classes and even helps patrons get career coaching and polish up their interview skills through the library’s JobNow database.
Her advice for young women leaders: “If something sparks your interest, go with it. Don’t be discouraged. Pursue what you have a real interest in and be flexible in following the path your passion will ultimately lead you into.”
Eng is not the only one who moved to aid her community in coping with the brunt of the pandemic. Honoree Maribel Padin-Canestro mobilized the power of social media and tapped into her network to reach those with limited language access and lack of computer literacy, booking them Covid vaccine appointments through the office of former Senator Todd Kaminsky. The Herald recognized her as 2021 Person of the Year for this effort.
“I know first-hand the inequities that exist in underserved communities in education and the health system, specifically the Hispanic community where language-access barriers are huge,” said Canestro. “I grew up with Puerto Rican parents who came (to the mainland United States) in search of a better quality of life, who didn’t speak English and didn’t feel connected in many ways and didn’t have a lot of resources, like not being able to communicate with a doctor how you felt because there was nothing offered in their language.”
Canestro is the founder of a Latino-solidarity Facebook group known as the Valley Stream Latino Society, which last year worked with other organizations and businesses to organize a fundraiser to aid Hurricane Fiona victims in Puerto Rico at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1790 banquet hall.
“To young women, I’d say it’s important for them to use their voice, because who better than them to represent themselves and advocate for themselves?” said Canestro. “There are so many issues from school safety to gun violence to the vaping crisis that need the voices of younger leaders, advocating and talking about this freely with others. Not being afraid to speak truth will take you a long way.”
Honored as well was Lisa Weiner, an artist and children’s advocate who shared the award with her daughter Eva Weiner, class president at William L. Buck School.
