The MOCHA Center is coordinating the Western New York Black Pride (Thursday, August 1 – Sunday August 11, 2013) in Buffalo and Rochester New York. The planning committee is meeting on a bi-weekly basis at the MOCHA Center Rochester & Buffalo Offices on Mondays from 5:00-6:30pm. If you are interested in participating in the planning committee, please send an email to bsmail@mochacenter.org for more information.
Author Archives: Bruce E. Smail
Job Announcement: Senior Director of Programs & Services
The MOCHA Center is pleased to announce a newly re-designed position, The Senior Director of Programs & Services at the MOCHA Center. This position manages all grants in our offices in three New York cities – Buffalo, Rochester, and New York. Please see the attached announcement for details. The application deadline is May 31, 2013. The position is based in Rochester and requires twice weekly commute to Buffalo and bi-monthly visits to the NYC office. Please open the PDF document below for more information on the Senior Director of Programs & Services.
Board of Directors Seeking New Members
The Board of Directors of the MOCHA Center continues its search for new Board members. While we currently have nine members, the Board of Directors is committed to enhancing the diversity and expertise of its directors. We are particularly eager to identify prospective candidates with specific constituencies and expertise that include, but are not limited to: legal counsel, finance, women, youth, Latinos/Latinas, transgender individuals, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Stanley Byrd (President) and Demetrius Jones are co-chairing the Board Development Committee. The application process is currently open until Friday, February 22, 2013. Please review the Board Recruitment Letter link below for more details about this opportunity.
A New Year’s Message from the Executive Director
Happy New Year to the MOCHA Center Family & Friends —
As we say goodbye to 2012, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and thank several staff and board members for their service to the MOCHA Center. This year, three of my managers: S. Alex Williams (Director, Capacity and Community Engagement); Thaddeus Price (Director, Programs & Services Rochester); and Stephaun Wallace (Interim Deputy Director) moved to new opportunities. Their wealth of knowledge, community engagement, and commitment to the MOCHA Center will be missed. I wish each of them the very best in their new endeavors. I also would like to thank staff members that moved on in 2012 — Coralyn Hunter (Health Access Specialist); Mariah Harvey (Health Educator); and Adalik Rivera (Program Coordinator) — for their service and commitment to the MOCHA Center.
The Board of Directors also saw changes in 2012. Many thanks to Patricia Coury-Dongiger, Charlie Lytle, Martin Jones, Chris Gengo, Denyse Lewis, Lillian Medina-Zelazny, and Rev. Alicia Heath-Toby for their service to the MOCHA Center and the Board of Directors.
Since March 2011, Dr. Ed Brockenbrough served as the President of the Board of Directors at the MOCHA Center. I appreciate Dr. Brockenbrough’s leadership and willingness to bring change to the MOCHA Center. On January 1, 2013, the Board will be under the leadership of Dr. Stanley Byrd. Dr. Byrd previously served as Vice President and will serve as the Interim President (January – March 2013) to complete Dr. Brockenbrough’s term while he is on a research sabbatical for his faculty position at the University of Rochester.
The new Board Officers as of January 1, 2013 are: Dr. Stanley Byrd (Interim President), Mitchell Wharton (Vice-President), Dinash Lal (Treasurer), and Sasha Eloi (Secretary). Beverly Jackson, LeShea Agnew, Kamila Barnes, Demetrius Jones, and Beverly David-Lewis are also members of the Board of Directors.
Beginning on January 1, 2013, the Leadership Team will consist of the Executive Director (Bruce E. Smail), Director of Finance (Marti Blazick), Director of Human Resources, Administration & Quality Assurance (Julie Rosado), and Senior Director of Programs & Services (to be hired). We also created a new tier of management for Programs & Services. The Managers Team includes Manager of Health Access & AFS Programs (Renee Law), Manager of Capacity Building (Jasan Ward), Manager of Prevention Programs & Services – Buffalo (DeMarkis Bonner) and Manager of Prevention Programs & Services – Rochester (Barbara Turner). Until the Senior Director of Programs & Services is hired, the Executive Director will fulfill the position responsibilities with the Leadership Team and Managers Team reporting directly to him.
We are excited about 2013. We are looking forward to additional fundraising activities. Very shortly we will have an online donation option on our website for easier support of the MOCHA Center. Very shortly, we will launch the MOCHA Weekend 2013 Planning Committee and will be looking for community participation. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please email me at bsmail@mochacenter.org.
Thank you for your support during my tenure and I look forward to working with the MOCHA Center family — Board of Directors, staff, clients, community, donors, and funders as we continue to grow and make an impact in Rochester, Buffalo and New York City.
Happy New Year —- Bruce E. Smail, Executive Director
2012 Review of Website Stats
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 35,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 8 Film Festivals
Thank You
On behalf of the MOCHA Center’s Board of Directors and Staff, I would like to thank everyone who attended the Pre-New Year’s Eve Masquerade Extravaganza fundraiser for the MOCHA Center last night. Special thanks to DJ Reign, Vibe Lounge, Salena’s and our fabulous performers – Arianna DuMont, V’ta St. James Valentino, Fy’a Colby-Valentino, and Notorious Lez for making this a very special event. I appreciate the leadership of the Planning Committee Chair, Sasha Eloi, as well as all the hard work of the planning committee members — Ed Brockenbrough, Beverly Jackson, LeShea Agnew, and Beverly David-Lewis.
We thank you for your support of the MOCHA Center as we continue our 16+ years of service to the cities of Rochester, Buffalo, and New York. Keep an eye out for future fundraisers in 2013. —- Bruce E. Smail, Executive Director.
