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WHEDCo on the Issues: Public Policy Advocacy

Working Locally for National and Global Equality.

Through participation in community initiatives, boards, and public testimony, WHEDCo staff provide expertise to the community, local and national decision makers on a myriad of issues facing the urban poor in our society.

Family Day Care Micro-enterprise Network Director Diana Perez has been at the forefront of an effort to improve the quality of childcare in New York City for nearly fifteen years. Ms. Perez is currently an active advisory committee member of the New York City ACS/CUNY Informal Family Child Care Training Project. In the upcoming year she will work with the Federal Child and Adult Care Food Program in an effort to develop curriculum to address issues including childhood obesity, physical activity and nutrition. WHEDCo is also active on the city and state level in the current drive to protect the health and safety of children receiving childcare. Rose Rivera, Director of Head Start serves on the NYC ACS Working Group that is developing one set of guidelines for childcare for Head Start, day care centers and universal pre-kindergarten.

In addition to advocating for high quality childcare and education, our staff is working closely with other advocates to reshape the debate surrounding affordable and sustainable housing development and offer a compelling model of green building.We have created a panel of experts from the finance, foundation, government, and technical/engineering realms to steward the Urban Horizons Retrofit Project and make policy recommendations to ensure that our work becomes a replicated model for upgrading and preserving affordable multi-family housing throughout New York City.

President Nancy Biberman continues to serve as WHEDCo’s most vocal spokesperson on affordable and sustainable housing development.  In 2007, she was an invited guest speaker at various noteworthy events including, the annual council meeting of the International Business Leadership Forum (IBLF) where Nancy spoke on “Social Entrepreneurship and Global Challenges” and a panel discussion entitled “Successful Approaches to Serving a Diverse Urban Population” at the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies.

The Issues

Sex Education
Social Entrepreneurship and Global Challenges

Sex Education
WHEDCo founder and president, Nancy Biberman, and a group of young girls from WHEDCo's after-school program, who have been advocating for mandated, comprehensive sex education over the past two years, recently testified during the City Council's hearings on sex education in the City's public schools. Read Nancy's testimony.

The girls' advocacy project attracted citywide attention and their story was featured on WNBC-TV Newschannel 4, the Brian Lehrer Show WNYC 93.9 FM, the AM New York, the New York Post and the Daily News.

Find out more about the girls' project here.

Social Entrepreneurship & Global Challenges
WHEDCo has joined a growing worldwide community of nonprofits and businesses committed to partnering to promote sustainable, responsible international development. The International Business Leadership Forum promotes responsible business partnerships for international development, particularly in new and emerging market economies.

In 2007,WHEDCo founder and president Nancy Biberman spoke on sustainable development at an IBLF event in London which brought together over 80 leaders from international business, nonprofit organizations and government in discussions on how social entrepreneurs and business can partner to fight global poverty. Back in New York, Nancy spoke about WHEDCo's work in the South Bronx at a roundtable discussion with international business executives as part of an event entitled Global Leadership for Sustainability.

Read more about WHEDCo and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) here.