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�鶹��ý City Deputy Mayor Vivian Brady-Phillips Is Keynote Speaker

New �鶹��ý City University will hold its 31st Annual “Salute to Graduates of African Heritage” on Friday, April 28 at 4:00 p.m., in the Multipurpose Room of the Michael B. Gilligan Student Union at 2039 Kennedy Boulevard in �鶹��ý City. The event is free and open to the community.

This year, “We Go High: Leaping into Power and Success” is the theme of the event, which is hosted annually by �鶹��ý’s Black Administrators, Alumni, Faculty, Students and Staff Organization (BAAFSSO).

The Salute to Graduates is an opportunity for �鶹��ý students of African heritage to be celebrated for having worked diligently to achieve their Baccalaureate, Master’s, or Doctoral degrees, and to celebrate the experienced with family and �鶹��ý community.

�鶹��ý President Sue Henderson will welcome guests and deliver greetings. The keynote speaker for the celebration will be �鶹��ý City Deputy Mayor Vivian Brady-Phillips.

Ms. Brady-Phillips has served as a Deputy Mayor of �鶹��ý City since 2013. She oversees a wide range of community development initiatives across the city, with a focus on social services, workforce development, education, and community partnerships.  She also serves as Vice-Chair of the �鶹��ý City Economic Development Corporation. 

Ms. Brady-Phillips has sought to expand opportunities for �鶹��ý City youth and support youth leadership.  She co-chairs the �鶹��ý City Youth Planning Council and has led the development of �鶹��ý City Summer Works (JCSW), a comprehensive, multi-program summer employment and enrichment initiative in partnership with the local business community, public schools, youth-serving nonprofits, colleges and universities.  JCSW serves about 1000 young people every year. 

In 2016, she helped establish the �鶹��ý City Youth Counsel, a youth court program that helps first-time youth offenders involved in minor offenses get back on track. These young people appear before a judge and jury of their peers – other �鶹��ý City teenagers – who determine fair and appropriate sanctions.  Ms. Brady-Phillips also leads the �鶹��ý City Middle Skills Initiative, a stakeholder collaborative focused on preparing residents for high-demand, middle skills careers.

Before joining the Mayor’s Office, she was the Executive Vice President for External and Legal Affairs at the NYC Leadership Academy, a nonprofit that prepares public school leaders and advises school districts nationally.  A lawyer by training, Ms. Brady-Phillips also practiced litigation at several New York City law firms after earning her J.D. from NYU School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden-Snow Public Interest Scholar.  She lives in �鶹��ý City with her husband and daughter.

For further information contact Desiree Clayton, chair of the Salute to Graduates Committee, at dclayton@njcu.edu or 201-200-3525.