Stony Brook Celebrates The Women Who Are Shaping The Future

"Be bold enough to step into uncomfortable spaces. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Be courageous enough to use your voice when it's easier not to and be intentional about who you are lifting as you rise."

Hedieh Yazdanseta, associate dean of students and the night's keynote speaker, challenged the audience to rethink what leadership looks like at Stony Brook University's Her Impact: Women Driving Change panel, part of Women's History Month.

Speaking to a room full of faculty, students and alumni, Yazdanseta emphasized that making an impact is not just a personal achievement but a commitment to ensuring that people are seen, heard and elevated because someone chose to act.

The March 25 panel brought together four women whose work spans education, entrepreneurship and social work, each offering a unique pathway into advocacy while highlighting a shared message: impact starts with action, no matter how small.

The conversation was moderated by undergraduate coordinator Malak Makled, who opened the panel with a simple question of what first sparked these women's commitment to advocacy.

For Deepti Sharma, CEO and founder of FoodtoEat, that spark came very early. She reflected on formative experiences from her childhood, from volunteering with students with disabilities to interning on a New York City mayoral campaign, where she found that more than anything, people want to be heard.

"Sometimes activism isn't a grand gesture," Sharma said. "It's just showing up and saying, 'I see you.'"

Cassandra Skolnick, president and CEO of Veris Media Group, traced her own activism back even earlier to challenging injustice in her childhood, like organizing a student walkout. Her experiences later extended into professional situations, including her losing a job for helping a woman avoid foreclosure.

"I knew in that moment what the right thing was," Skolnick said. "And I also knew that this was the work I was meant to do."

For Shoshana Hershkowitz, choral director and lecturer in the Department of Musicat Stony Brook University, advocacy came later in life, sparked by attending her first public hearing on her 40th birthday at the Suffolk County Legislature. She initially attended with a personal interest in gun safety, but she left with a newfound commitment to civic engagement.

"I realized I could tell stories, and that storytelling, paired with facts, is powerful," Hershkowitz said. "That was my entry point."

Tammie S. Williams-Pittman, licensed master social worker and adjunct clinical instructor and practicum education liaison at Stony Brook University's School of Social Welfare, emphasized how advocacy often begins at home. From her experiences navigating resources for her son, who is autistic and suffers from sickle cell disease, she described advocacy as deeply personal but also strengthened by community.

"Individually, we are heard. Collectively, we are powerful," Williams-Pittman said. "My first client will always be my son, but I don't want other families to have to start from zero."

Throughout the discussion, the panelists explored the experience of advocating in spaces that are not designed with them in mind.

Skolnick encouraged women to take up space unapologetically, a sentiment echoed by Sharma, who urged women to lead with confidence even if it feels undeserved. Hershkowitz emphasized the importance of knowing when to amplify other voices rather than one's own.

Each panelist described the issues they are advocating for currently, pointing to long-term, systemic injustices that require attention.

Williams-Pittman is working on a ballot initiative in the Town of Hempstead, requesting redistricting that creates a local government that is more representative of the diversity of the community. Through efforts she described as "from protest to policy," she teaches students and community members about gerrymandering, voting rights and closing the civic participation gap in Black and brown communities.

Hershkowitz is focused on child care policies at the state level. She now manages the Empire State Campaign for child care at the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, emphasizing that policy wins only matter if they have tangible benefits for the families they are designed to help.

"Until a child care provider sees more money in her pocket and knows she's not facing eviction while caring for other people's children, it is not a real win," she said.

Skolnick is advocating for transgender health care access in New York State and supporting immigrant communities through difficult legal systems. Through her media and policy work, she aims to continue to push feminist spaces to be more inclusive of trans people, immigrants and other often overlooked community members.

Sharma, who shifted her company during the COVID-19 pandemic to help feed hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and support immigrant-owned restaurants, said that her advocacy is strongest now at home, in raising her children to be feminists and critical thinkers.

"It's not just about the policies we pass or the companies we build," she said. "It's about how we raise the next generation to question, to care and to lead."

Concluding the conversation, the panelists addressed the history of women from all periods of history to the current day, who have made great strides to uplift one another.

Williams-Pittman urged students to see themselves as a part of that legacy of women reshaping public perception.

"If you do not see yourself in that space, you become the representation you want to see," she said, mentioning figures like Sojourner Truth and Pauli Murray. "As you climb, you hold that door and pull your sister up. That's how we change what leadership looks like, here at Stony Brook and beyond."

-Lily Miller