Seven women and members of the Uniondale High School girls’ wrestling team were honored by Nassau County Legislator Olena Nicks at the Peter J. Schmitt Legislative Chamber on March 25. The celebration recognized leadership, business success and community impact in honor of Women’s History Month.
“Women’s History Month is not just a date on the calendar, but it is the living, breathing proof that when women show up, things happen,” Nicks, who represents part of Uniondale and West Hempstead, said.
The Uniondale High School show choir — a student vocal ensemble known for combining singing, choreography and theatrical performance — gave one of its first performances since earning first place at the Fame Show Choir America competition in Orlando on March 22.
The girls’ wrestling team
The wrestling team received the legislatures Youth Award, and junior Captain Keishara Tulloch reflected on what she and her teammates have learned.
“This sport has taught us so many lessons, not just on the mat, but in our day-to-day life that we can use: determination, arriving on time, being at every practice,” Tulloch said. “We’re smart, we’re dedicated, we are willing to learn new things. We can do anything we put our minds to. We can achieve anything we want.”
In January, the team made history by winning Nassau County’s first Section VIII Dual Meet Championship.
Rita Brown and Paulana Lamonier
Rita Brown, owner of For Juice Sake, in West Hempstead, and Paulana Lamonier, a multimedia journalist and founder of Black People Will Swim, a Hempstead-based organization, received the legislatures Business Award.
Brown, who founded what she described as the first Black-owned kosher cafe in West Hempstead, said she shifted from a media career to focus on promoting healthier lifestyles after her mother died of skin cancer.
Before launching the store, Brown consulted with a nutritionist from Health First to make sure everything on her menu was healthy.
“When I decided to pivot from a successful media career into doing something more purposeful, I had all the fun and the perks and the concerts and all of that,” Brown said. “But I wanted to do something more purposeful.”
Lamonier created Black People Will Swim to challenge stereotypes and promote water safety, drawing on her experience as a former collegiate swimmer. Research has long highlighted disparities in swimming ability among children. According to the USA Swimming Foundation, some 64 percent of Black children have little to no swimming ability, compared with 40 percent of white children.
LaShawn Lukes and Ebony Guerrier
LaShawn Lukes, president of the New Greater Hempstead Chamber of Commerce, and Ebony Guerrier, founder of Mrs. G’s Brown Bag Charity — the Herald’s 2025 Person of The Year — were honored with the legislatures Community Leader Award.
Guerrier founded Mrs. G’s in 2020, and hopes to become a federally recognized nonprofit this year. As things stand now, she funds events like trunk-or-treats and egg hunts on her own.
“It’s so empowering seeing women that walk different paths and the accolades that they have and things that I aspire to do,” Guerrier said. “Seeing this in real time, and from ages from younger to older, was such an empowering thing.”
Lukes, the first president of the chamber elected to a three-year term, emphasized unity in her remarks. “Today I stand here and say we are one community,” she said. “We’re greater, and that’s why I use that word, greater — we’re greater than ourselves.”
Barbara Hafner, Tina Hodge Bowles and Barbara Powell
Barbara Hafner, a retired teacher and public-education advocate; Tina Hodge-Bowles, executive director of the nonprofit Operation Get Ahead; and Barbara “Bobbie” Powell, president of the NAACP’s Hempstead chapter, received the legislatures Impact Award.
Before retiring from teaching in 2019, Hafner, of West Hempstead, taught fifth and sixth grade in the West Hempstead school district for 25 years. She wanted to start another chapter in her life, and ran for the Legislature in 2019, challenging the Republican incumbent, Vincent Muscarella. Although Muscarella ultimately held on to the seat, Hafter continued to advocate for teachers.
“It takes a village, and all of you are members,” she said. “I work with parents, educators, community and union leaders to make a difference in the lives of those who will lead today and in the future.”
In 2017, Hodge-Bowles was honored by then Hempstead Mayor Don Ryan as part of a weekly recognition program in Hempstead. Her nonprofit, founded in 1970s, focuses on offering diversified programs to youth in Nassau’s minority communities.
Powell has secured $9 million in grant funding for the Uniondale school district since joining the NAACP’s Hempstead chapter. Her mother previously led the chapter for 27 years, and Powell stressed the organization’s continued importance.
“The NAACP is our heritage,” she said. “We need to fight for things that are going on that we shouldn’t have to fight for. We’re always in the struggle and always trying to make things better.”
Last year, at the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 37th annual Gala Awards and Toy Drive, Powell was named the Trailblazer of the Year. In 2025 she was honored for her lifelong advocacy.
Last week’s event highlighted the contributions of women across Uniondale and the surrounding communities in the Nassau County 5th Legislative District, showcasing the impact of local leaders, educators and advocates.
