Each year, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara celebrates the achievements of women in our community at the New York State Assembly’s Women of Distinction Awards. This annual event recognizes women from a diverse collection of fields, including community involvement, business, non-profit leadership, public service and education.

This year’s awards featured a special LIVE STREAM television segment on a special set of Open Stage Media on the stage at Robb Alley in Proctors, downtown Schenectady (The broadcast will also air on Public Access CH16 and On-Demand at OpenStageMedia.org throughout the month of December). This special live-stream public access show was entirely dedicated to this year’s New York State Assembly’s Women of Distinction Honorees with a live audience filled with family, friends and community. During the broadcast, in-depth interviews with each honoree shared their personal stories, inspiration, outstanding contributions and service to our community that has made a difference in people’s lives. “The remarkable women who make a difference throughout our region deserve to be recognized for their contributions,” said Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara. “This year’s Women of Distinction Awards honor outstanding women who are doing their part to make our community and even better place for all of us.”

2019 Women of Distinction Honorees: 2019 Women of Distinction Honorees: Dr. Nellie Bush, Miki Conn, Madelyn, Jacqueline Oliveira, M. Claire Ansbro, Ginger Kusek, Roxana Martinez, Jane Golub, and Karen Johnson.

Madelyn Thorne

Madelyn Thorne is the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Schenectady County, Inc., helping build affordable housing for local families.

During her tenure with Schenectady Habitat, the affiliate has completed seven houses and expanded the services offered to include Ramp Up, a program that builds wheelchair ramps for families in need funded by the brothers and sisters of IUE-CWA.

She has led the way on a number of neighborhood revitalization projects, helping make Schenectady County a better place to live, work and visit.

Madelyn also serves as president of the Friends of the Schenectady County Public Library and is a member of the board of New Choices, Inc. and the Schenectady Housing Development Corporation. She lives in Schenectady with her husband, Chuck. They have three children and five grandchildren.

M. Claire Ansbro-Ingalls

M. Claire Ansbro-Ingalls was born and raised in Queens, New York, and moved to East Berne in Upstate New York 20 years ago. Following the tragic murder of five-year-old Kenneth White in December 2014, Claire helped found Kenneth’s Army, a nonprofit organization that fights to end child abuse and is dedicated to its motto of “Not one more child!”

Claire is committed to ensuring Kenneth White’s death was not in vain. To honor his memory, Kenneth’s Army created a scholarship in his name, adopts a family at Thanksgiving, holds an annual candlelight vigil on the anniversary of his death and holds an annual motorcycle ride to raise funds to help protect children.

Claire also keeps in touch with the sisters of Kenneth White, offering guidance, love and support. For the past five years, Claire has served a mission to protect vulnerable children in our community.

Claire works for the Bethlehem Central School District as a bus attendant for special needs students, who she looks after with care and compassion.

She is the mother of three children, Michael, Catherine and her oldest daughter who sadly passed away 15 years ago. She’s also the loving grandmother to three beautiful grandsons, Liam, Triton and Landon.

Dr. Nellie A. Bush

Dr. Nellie A. Bush received a master’s in special education from the College of Saint Rose. She earned her certificate of advanced study in educational administration and policy studies from SUNY Albany and her doctorate in education leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Bush served as an elementary school principal for 15 years, 13 of which were spent at the Tecler Elementary School and the Tecler Diagnostic Center, teaching children under the age of 5 with disabilities.

Dr. Bush also served as the committee chair for Preschoolers With a Disability for the Greater Amsterdam School District and the director of Special Education and Pupil Services. She was appointed assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction K-12, personnel director and data coordinator.

Dr. Bush also worked as an adjunct professor at the College of Saint Rose. She retired after 43 years, guided throughout by her motto: “Show me so I can see; tell me so I can hear; involve me so I can understand.”

Dr. Bush has been a member of the Greater Amsterdam School District Board of Education for nine years and board president for seven. She has also served as an interim administrator in the Schalmont Central School District and presently works in the Fonda-Fultonville Central School District.

She is a patron of the Walter Elwood Museum, member of St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary, trustee of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church and serves as a Eucharistic minister. Dr. Bush is a lifelong resident of Amsterdam. She and her husband, Leonard, have three children and five grandchildren.

Jacqueline Oliveira

A native of Schenectady, Jackie Oliveira graduated from Linton High School and received her bachelor’s in elementary education from the College of Saint Rose and her master’s in reading from SUNY Albany.

She has taught in the Schenectady, Troy and Albany Dioceses school districts for more than 20 years, including nine years at St. Luke’s Elementary School in Schenectady as a kindergarten teacher, where she now works as an assessment evaluator.

Jackie is involved in various organizations in Schenectady. She serves as vice president on the Schenectady USBC Bowling Association board and president of the Electric City 600 Club.

She has held numerous positions, including president, in the Schenectady Women’s Bowling Association.

She is also a Eucharistic minister and head usher at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, and co-chair of Mount Carmel’s annual Festa.

Jackie is a longtime member of Rotterdam Elks Lodge #2157 and currently serves as the esteemed loyal knight – one of the first women to hold an officer’s position in the Lodge’s history. She is a past president of the Elks Ladies Auxiliary and is involved in many committees, currently chairing the Youth Activities Committee and the Annual Children’s Christmas Party. She is also a district representative to New York Elks Camp Bristol.

Jackie and her husband, Mel, have one son, Steven, who resides in Utica

Roxana Martinez

Roxana Martinez was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States at the age of 17.

When she arrived, she did not speak English, but persevered and stayed committed to her studies, graduating from Schalmont High School in Rotterdam, New York, in 2019. At Schalmont high, she embraced new opportunities. She was a member of the drama club, where she met new people and improved her English speaking skills.

Recognizing the importance of protecting and preserving our environment and natural resources, Roxana helped clean up her community and participated in a climate change protest during her senior year.

Roxana’s inspirational story and dedication to building a successful life for herself in the United States earned her a number of awards and scholarships. She’s currently attending Hudson Valley Community College where she’s majoring in history. Next fall, she plans on transferring to the University at Albany to work toward her bachelor’s degree.

Moving to a new, unfamiliar country sparked confidence in Roxana and showed her that she can do anything she sets her mind to.

Miki Conn

Miki Conn is an artist, storyteller, poet and community organizer.

Her African and Native American heritage has inspired an interest in indigenous arts and multiculturalism and has fueled her world travels.

From 2000 to 2013, Miki was the executive director of Schenectady’s Hamilton Hill Arts Center, and she currently teaches art to children and adults, and offers workshops and classes in team building, creativity, writing and African spirituality.

Miki is also a founding member of Black Dimensions in Art and organized an annual drumming festival: “In Women’s Hands: The Beat of the Drum.” Her art has been exhibited in Africa, upstate New York, Long Island and Boston.

Her book, “Out of My Mind, A Quirky Look at Life Through Poetry” is due to be published soon.

Miki was involved in the civil rights movement – she volunteered for the historic March on Washington in 1963 and was a member of the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG) in Washington D.C.

The recipient of many organizational and community service awards, Miki continues to work for our community. Although retired, she organizes the annual Capital Region Juneteenth Celebration and is a founding member of the Capital Region Kwanzaa Coalition.

Miki is the mother of four, grandmother of four and great grandmother of one.

In memory of Jane N. Golub

Jane N. Golub will forever be known as a fiercely independent woman who lived every day with a sense of purpose. She was born in New York City and taught third grade in the Niskayuna school district from 1963 until 1986.

When Price Chopper Supermarkets teamed up with the Anti-Defamation League to bring the “A World of Difference” prejudice awareness and reduction program to the area, Jane took a year’s leave from teaching to coordinate curriculum development for New York schools, helping train hundreds of K-12 teachers in the Capital Region.

From 1987 to 1998, Jane was manager of Samples & Sales, an in-house demonstration service for Price Chopper/Market 32 that became a model for the supermarket industry.

She went on to become manager of Vendor Income Programs and eventually rose to director of In-Store Marketing Programs.

Jane was a longtime trustee of miSci and the Schenectady Day Nursery and was actively involved with Soroptimist International of Schenectady, among many other organizations.

Jane was named Woman of the Year by the Greater Capital Region Business and Professional Women in 2003, a Trailblazing Woman by the Women’s Fund of the Capital Region in 2008 and was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Citizens Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 2009.

She was an avid golfer, a voracious reader and a puzzle aficionado. More importantly, she relished the many roles she played – soulmate/wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, friend, teacher, advocate and cheerleader – as each expanded the circle of people she cared about.

In memory of Karen Johnson

Karen Johnson moved to Schenectady in 1967, where she began her illustrious career in public service. She was the first woman elected to the Schenectady City Council in 1975, campaigning with a focus on schools and education.

After a term as city council president, Karen was elected mayor of Schenectady in 1983, serving two terms. In her final year as mayor, she served as president of the New York State Conference of Mayors. She later served as a member of the Schenectady County Legislature from 2001 until her death in 2019.

In 1994, Karen was hired as the campaign development director for Proctors Theatre, continuing her decades-long commitment to the institution.

During that same year, Karen and a group of residents established the annual Kids Arts Festival, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.

In 1997, Karen became a board member of MVP Health Care, serving as chair from 2013 to 2018.

Over her long career, Karen was the recipient of numerous awards recognizing her civic and philanthropic contributions.

In 2018, she received Schenectady’s highest distinction, the Patroon Award, and was recognized by the Women’s Fund of the Capital Region as a Trailblazer.

In March 2019, the county legislature voted to name the main branch of the Schenectady Public Library in her honor.

Whether it was for education, the arts, local governance, health care or business, Karen was most passionate about bringing people together to craft innovative solutions to community challenges.

As a trailblazer for women in local government, she valued serving as a mentor and resource to others and undoubtedly had a positive impact on everyone around her.

Ginger Kusek

Ginger Kusek was born and raised in Schenectady and graduated from Mont Pleasant High School in 1977. While at Mont Pleasant high, she was involved with the marching band and the concert band, volunteered at American Red Cross blood drives and started an Adopt a Grandparent Program.

She was also involved with her church’s youth group and served on the church council.

Ginger bravely enlisted in the United States Army in October 1977 – the fourth generation of her family to do so.

At the time, she was a member of the Women’s Army Corp, which was disbanded in February 1978. She was discharged in June 1980 and then made the selfless decision to reenlist in December 1981, serving until her retirement in March 2018 as a Sergeant First Class.

She was stationed in various locations, including Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Miesau, Germany, Richmond, Virginia, Birmingham, Alabama, and Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and was deployed to Kuwait for a year.

Until her retirement, she served nearly 39 years on both active duty and Army Reserve.

During her service, she acted as the military liaison for the Family Readiness Group and provided support to her fellow soldiers as part of her duties.

Ginger has been a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars since 2007 and is also involved with the organization’s Patriot’s Pen Scholarship Program. She visited her youngest son’s class shortly after she returned to share some of her experiences in the military.

She’s rightfully proud of her service, taking part in local Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Pearl Harbor Day ceremonies, and never backs down from helping her fellow veterans, assisting with fundraisers for veterans in need and advocating for local veteran issues.

Above all, Ginger is a wife, a mother to three grown children, a grandmother to five beautiful grandchildren, a sister and an aunt.