Women Manufacturers, Their Burdens During the Ongoing Pandemic

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Save the dateMarch 22, 202210:00 AM - 11:00 AM (EDT)

Organizer

Organizer: New York State Assembly, Zimba Collections, Plaques by Azra, Control Electropolishing Corporation, Queens Chamber of Commerce

Phone: +1 7188988500

Contact Person: Jef Gross

Email: jgross@queenschamber.org

Event Details

Queens Chamber Manufacturing Committee Presents:

In celebration Women's History Month, three female manufacturers gather to share the burdens and challenged they've faced. The pandemic created a huge shift in everyone's lives personally and professionally.

Business owners usually carry a huge burden on their shoulders as leaders who are responsible for their business, the employees, operations and the overall company.

All our panelists have overcome challenges and are here to discuss how they navigated the process. 39th District Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz will serve as moderator for this conversation.

Mark your calendar, click the link to register, and join our conversation to discover how our extremely knowledgeable panelist overcame their challenges.

Speakers

Catalina Cruz - Moderator

Assemblywoman for District 39 at New York State Assembly

Catalina Cruz - Moderator

Assemblywoman for District 39 at New York State Assembly

https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Catalina-Cruz

Catalina Cruz has the privilege of representing New York State Assembly District 39, the most diverse district in the nation, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights.

Catalina was born in Colombia and came to Queens at the age of 9. Catalina grew up as a DREAMer; she lived in the United States for more than 10 years as an undocumented American. Catalina was raised by a single mother who, like many immigrants, had to work multiple and menial jobs to support her family. As a single mother of four children, she worked long hours during the week as a nanny, cleaned offices at night, and sold tamales and empanadas at the soccer fields on the weekends. Inspired by her mother’s perseverance, Catalina has committed her career to fighting for our community and to ensure our workers, neighbors and families not only survive, but thrive.

Catalina is an experienced attorney and a leader for tenant protections, immigration reform and workers’ rights. Prior to becoming the Assemblywoman for the 39th District, she most recently served as the Chief of Staff to the New York City Council Finance Chair, Julissa Ferreras-Copeland. Catalina worked to help pass key legislation protecting workers, women and small-business owners. She previously served as the Director of the Governor’s Exploited Workers Task Force, helping New York become a national leader in the fight against worker exploitation and human trafficking. This first-of-its-kind task force conducted statewide outreach and enforcement within key low-wage industries, including car washes, restaurants and nail salons, where workers are often victims of wage theft and subject to unsafe working conditions, but do not come forward for fear of retaliation.

Catalina also served as Counsel to the New York City Council’s Immigration Committee, where she helped write and implement legislation that led to New York City becoming a Sanctuary City. She also worked on projects such as the Detainer Law and IDNYC (municipal identification). Additionally, Catalina served as Counsel to the New York State Department of Labor’s Division of Immigrant Policies and Affairs, where she helped this agency become a leader in combating labor trafficking. Catalina began her career as a Staff Attorney, representing low-income, rent-stabilized tenants in New York City housing court, ensuring that they received the full protection of the law under their leases.

Catalina lives in Jackson Heights, Queens. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a Juris Doctorate from the City University of New York School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.

Azra Khalfan-Kermali

CEO of Plaques by Azra

Azra Khalfan-Kermali

CEO of Plaques by Azra

https://www.azra.com

Azra Khalfan-Kermali is the CEO of Plaques by Azra. She was born and raised in Queens, New York. Her business of Awards and Signs was founded in 1974 by her parents, Shirin & Aunali Khalfan.

Over the course of her time managing her company, Azra has had the privilege of traveling extensively and was able to volunteer abroad working closely on the ground with nonprofits whose missions she is passionate about. Azra has been an archetypical successful businesswoman who has received honors, recognition, and awards from companies and organizations such as ACCION, the NMSDC, Wells Fargo, and Muslims for American Progress. And fortunately for her traveling spirit, she was invited as a panelist to a business leadership summit in Davos, Switzerland, where she and other members of her community discussed how to assist one another and give back to their communities around the globe.

She has been featured and shared her story in multiple books including a New York times bestseller, Tory Burch: In Color.

During the pandemic, she worked tirelessly in using her platform to benefit others and expanded her business. She launched Away in a BOX, a program to foster more diverse and culturally literate working environments through an Employee Engagement and Leadership Training around Building Cultural Intelligence. This offering could not come at a better time; in today’s socio-political climate, companies should look to create more culturally aware and harmonious workspaces, and Azra has just the initiative for such employers.

Kelsy Zimba

Owner/Creative Director of Zimba Collections

Kelsy Zimba

Owner/Creative Director of Zimba Collections

https://www.zimbacollections.com

Kelsy Zimba has carved out a niche for herself as a leading suiting and dress designer, creating customized clothing for a discerning clientele. Her designs have been worn at the Oscars, and seen in WWD, Forbes, The Knot, Good Morning America, among others. She partnered with Saks Fifth Avenue to create a customizable high-end women’s suiting collection, which was a favorite among top salespeople. Kelsy has dressed everyone from The Kardashians to Serena Williams, Taylor Swift to Daymond John.

In 2008 she began the label Z FORM, a custom uniform brand for 5-star hotels, casinos, and restaurants, which specializes in women’s suiting and dresses from 0-22. Clients include Hilton, The Ritz Carlton, Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan, and MGM.

Kelsy is also a partner in Custom Workshop, an on-demand software platform for customization and made-to-order apparel, shoes, and accessories. During the pandemic Kelsy made millions of hospital gowns to help the sudden need, working with local factories and domestic fabric suppliers.

Before starting her business, she learned from some of the best in the fashion industry at Michael Kors, Zac Posen, and Jhane Barnes. Graduating “Fashion Design Student of the Year” from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Ms. Zimba also studied in Italy under the Ferragamo family. At 16 she started designing uniforms for the NFL and NBA.

From design to patternmaking, fittings to photoshoots, Kelsy oversees all aspects of the creation and production processes of her clients. Her established word-of-mouth clientele is a result of stand-out quality, focusing on the details, and bringing the clients’ vision to life.
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Lina De La Cruz

VP Operations at Control Electropolishing Corporation

Lina De La Cruz

VP Operations at Control Electropolishing Corporation

https://www.controlelectropolishing.com

Lina is an accomplished administrator at Control and still finds time to serve on the board of the Masters Association of Metal Finishers. She enjoys archery, having represented the Dominicans in New York's Patriot Games in summer 2017. Lina believes in giving back by serving others in charitable activities like doing taxes for the underprivileged on weekends and being a mentor to public school kids. In this capacity, she advocates for kids with learning disabilities; encouraging them that if you set your mind to it; you can visualize it and accomplish it.
Lina exemplifies the young, accomplished individual! She brings a freshness to corporate administration rarely found these days. She started in marketing and sales when she named herself Director of Marketing and brought one major customer to Control increasing our revenues by 25%. Her real strength is in financial analysis and budgeting; she oversees all our office operations in our newly office; a move that she singlehandedly implemented including but not limited to purchasing, payroll and technological support.
Lina exhibit strong leadership qualities and cultivate a culture of excellence in her workplace. She overcame her learning disability and obtained her undergraduate degree in Accounting and Economics from Queens College; she earned her Master’s degree in 2014. She comes from a long line of women entrepreneurs who have overcome many obstacles to achieve their goals in life. She personifies excellence, dedication, and drive. She started working in her family business as an operator and has moved through the ranks up to Vice President of Operations.
She is past president of our industry's association, Master's Association of Metal Finishers (MAMF). She currently on the board member of Manufacturing Committee on the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

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