Programs

Meet the Founders

Maria Cristina Szanton Blanc, Ph.D

Cristina Blanc & Gwendolyn Dr. M. Cristina Szanton BLANC has an M.A. in Economic Anthropology from the University of Chicago (1970s) and a Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University (1980s). She has taught anthropology to graduates and undergraduates at Columbia University (International Affairs), at Barnard College and at the New School for Social Research in New York and has published extensively on social history, family histories, gender, development and children and youth in Asia but also elsewhere. After a respectful academic career, Dr. Szanton Blanc has become an activist.

She currently collaborates with the International Center on Research, Practice and Policy Analysis in New York and has become the main representative at the United Nations of the International Union for Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES), a respected association of preeminent anthropologists and activists, present on the international scene in over 100 countries since 1945 with meetings, conferences and publications on current issues. I.U.A.E.S. holds Special U.N. consultative status, and is currently headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands. Its next five-yearly international conference will be held in Kunming, China, in July 2008.

Dr. Szanton Blanc has for the past nine years co-headed the NGO Committee on Childrenís Rights, a network of over 60 international organizations and an integral part of the Conference of NGOs affiliated with the U.N. in New York. She has done research and assessed projects for major development and research organizations such as the Ford Foundation, US A.I.D., INSTRAW, UNICEF, the Innocenti Center, and others.

Her publications include five books and numerous articles and publications. For example ìUrban Children in Distressî (UNICEF and Gordon and Breach 1994) on street and working children in five countries - twenty-one cities - , and ìComparative Transnational Migration to the United Statesî (Gordon and Breach 1994) focusing on Filipino, Haitian and Western Caribbean immigrants after WWII.

Her activities during the last five years at the UN have centered on lobbying governments, drafting key texts, organizing strategic meetings with governments and NGOs and most recently introducing in multiple ways to the U.N. and to the international development scene high school, college and university students from the Broader New York Area and from Europe through summer projects and winter internships.

Sister Bernedette Sullivan

Sister Bernadette Sullivan is a Franciscan Siter of the Poor, a congregation founded in 1845 for healing service. She has a B.A. in Nursing fromSeton Hall University, New Jersey and a Masters in Sacred Science from St. Mary's College, Indiana.

Sister Bernadette was born in New York and is a member of the Non Governmental Organization,Franciscans International and is the Secretary for the NGO Committee for the Elimination of Racism, a sub committee of the NGO Committee for Human Rights. She served with Manhattan Multicultural Summer Youth Program in 2008 as a Director of Interfaith dialog.

Mission Statement

The mission of Manhattan Multicultural Summer Youth (MMSY) Program is to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by developing multicultural competency and embracing a culture of peace among adolescents in all societies.

Meet the Director

Ms. Mahroo Moshari, LMSW is a Consultant on Education and Multicultural Mental Health Issues for the multicultural population in the New York City area. Her passion and commitment is to assist adolescents in understanding social diversity through developing a multicultural competency.

Her own unique multicultural background gives her a unique perspective in addressing life in a world increasingly interconnected across cultural, ethnic, and religious boundaries. She has an extensive multicultural background working as Psychotherapist, Teacher, Counselor, Social Worker, Supervisor, and Senior Project Director at leading New York hospitals, mental health clinics, schools, universities, and social service agencies. Ms. Moshari is currently directing a unique 6th summer youth program for ages 16-21 at the United Nations and in Manhattan.

While studying at New York University, Ms. Mahroo Moshari also gained experience working in administration, under Mrs. Debra James, Senior Vice President of NYU. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________	Mahroo received a gift of appreciation for her work as a Project Supervisor for the Center for Advocacy for Children and Families in Teheran (UNICEF funded), which was directed by Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. ____
Amidst her consistent investment with the multicultural population, Mahroo celebrates the 3rd Annual Immigrant History Week at Gracie Mansion.	Mahroo strongly believes Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s powerful speech that Human Rights are Women’s Rights has clearly become a manifesto for women all over the world.

Mahroo was selected by the NYC Commission on Women's Issues as one of thirty-one women who have made a difference in New York City. She was honored as part of the "NYC Women: Make it Here, Make it Happen” celebrating Women’s History Month March 2011. To see the video interview for the occasion, please click on the picture above.