News & Events
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez Helps Inaugurate Training Program
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez and President Fred Beaufait
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez and Professor Francis Lorenzini
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) was on campus in early December to help inaugurate a new educational initiative spearheaded by Maura Clarke-Ita Ford (MCIF) Works. MCIF is a Bushwick/Brooklyn-based job-training program designed to assist economically disadvantaged immigrant women in need of core educational and life skills to successfully move to independence and self-sufficiency.
With the first Latina elected to Congress proudly looking on, City Tech Pastry Arts Professor Francis Lorenzini -- knighted by the Government of France three years ago in recognition of his work in promoting French gastronomy and culture in America -- provided a group of MCIF students with expert instruction in baking. Congresswoman Velázquez, a major proponent of job training for the economically disadvantaged and underemployed, was instrumental in fostering this developing relationship between MCIF and City Tech.
Created in 1993 and named for Maura Clarke, MM, and Ita Ford, MM -- two of four American women working with the poor in El Salvador, where they were raped and killed by government-backed soldiers in 1980 -- MCIF has helped prepare hundreds of immigrant women for productive working lives. To help fund the effort, MCIF trainees baked and sold more than $20,000 in cookies to local schools and other organizations last year alone. With City Tech's help, the women hope to diversify their skills, increase their sales and eventually grow into a professional catering service.
Removing a tray of cookies from one of the City Tech pastry ovens, Congresswoman Velázquez, whose sense of humor is legendary, quipped to an aide, "I have to be modest, you know. This is where you're supposed to tell everyone what a great cook I am."
During her visit, the Congresswoman taped a segment on the increasing importance of job training and workforce development for under-skilled Americans in a rapidly changing economy. She added that in a shifting social environment such training is increasingly critical for women.
Photos by Dominick Sarica
