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Paraprofessionals Festival and Awards Luncheon 2019

More than 1,000 members and guests celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UFT’s Paraprofessionals Chapter at the 38th annual Paraprofessionals Festival and Awards Luncheon on March 23 at the New York Hilton in midtown Manhattan.

Two men and a woman pose for camera
Paraprofessionals Chapter Leader Shelvy Young-Abrams, Reginald Colvin (left), the first vice chair, and Hector Ruiz, the second vice chair, have a lot to be proud of as they look back to see how far their chapter has come in its 50 years and look forward to even bigger and better things.
Jonathan Fickies
Aerial view of people seated at a tables and the entire room
The crowd watches keynote speaker Velma Hill, a founder of the chapter and its first chapter chair, on a big screen in the Hilton’s Grand Ballroom.
Jonathan Fickies
Woman standing in front of popcorn standing with a UFT umbrella
Guylande Narcisse, a para at the Amnesty International School for Human Rights in Brooklyn, gets a prize on the midway.
Jonathan Fickies
Women seated at a table raising their hands

Members are all in at the workshop titled Crisis Intervention: Tools for Supporting the Child in Crisis. Seven of the day’s eight workshops offered CTLE credit.

Jonathan Fickies
Mulgrew wearing a boutonniere in front of a podium while people seated near
UFT President Michael Mulgrew extolls the contributions paras make every day. “The value you bring, the tenderness, the empathy,” he said. “It’s what’s making a difference in our schools.”
Jonathan Fickies
Man and women pose for camera with locked arms
James Geigel, a para at P 141 @ PS 380 in Brooklyn, meets Harvard-educated Velma Hill, who became a para to lead the organizing effort 50 years ago. “The journey to today was a long, hard journey,” Hill said, but “it feels like yesterday.”
Jonathan Fickies
Woman receiving a makeover
Paraprofessional Tara Young of PS 376 in Queens gets celebrity treatment from a Queens Vocational and Technical HS student.
Jonathan Fickies
Honorees pose with their chapter leaders.
Award winners pose with leaders of the Paraprofessionals Chapter and UFT President Michael Mulgrew.
Women sitting at a long table receiving manicures by students
Teacher Racquel Greene (standing) of William H. Maxwell Career and Technical Education HS in Brooklyn watches over her cosmetology students as they provide manicures for members.
Jonathan Fickies
Two women holding up union swag bags
Paraprofessionals Yvonne Maldonado (left) and Diana Delgado of PS 557 in Brooklyn have bags full of goodies after touring the health and wellness fair during their first time attending a para festival.
Jonathan Fickies
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Two men and a woman pose for camera
Paraprofessionals Chapter Leader Shelvy Young-Abrams, Reginald Colvin (left), the first vice chair, and Hector Ruiz, the second vice chair, have a lot to be proud of as they look back to see how far their chapter has come in its 50 years and look forward to even bigger and better things.
Jonathan Fickies
Aerial view of people seated at a tables and the entire room
The crowd watches keynote speaker Velma Hill, a founder of the chapter and its first chapter chair, on a big screen in the Hilton’s Grand Ballroom.
Jonathan Fickies
Woman standing in front of popcorn standing with a UFT umbrella
Guylande Narcisse, a para at the Amnesty International School for Human Rights in Brooklyn, gets a prize on the midway.
Jonathan Fickies
Women seated at a table raising their hands

Members are all in at the workshop titled Crisis Intervention: Tools for Supporting the Child in Crisis. Seven of the day’s eight workshops offered CTLE credit.

Jonathan Fickies
Mulgrew wearing a boutonniere in front of a podium while people seated near
UFT President Michael Mulgrew extolls the contributions paras make every day. “The value you bring, the tenderness, the empathy,” he said. “It’s what’s making a difference in our schools.”
Jonathan Fickies
Man and women pose for camera with locked arms
James Geigel, a para at P 141 @ PS 380 in Brooklyn, meets Harvard-educated Velma Hill, who became a para to lead the organizing effort 50 years ago. “The journey to today was a long, hard journey,” Hill said, but “it feels like yesterday.”
Jonathan Fickies
Woman receiving a makeover
Paraprofessional Tara Young of PS 376 in Queens gets celebrity treatment from a Queens Vocational and Technical HS student.
Jonathan Fickies
Honorees pose with their chapter leaders.
Award winners pose with leaders of the Paraprofessionals Chapter and UFT President Michael Mulgrew.
Women sitting at a long table receiving manicures by students
Teacher Racquel Greene (standing) of William H. Maxwell Career and Technical Education HS in Brooklyn watches over her cosmetology students as they provide manicures for members.
Jonathan Fickies
Two women holding up union swag bags
Paraprofessionals Yvonne Maldonado (left) and Diana Delgado of PS 557 in Brooklyn have bags full of goodies after touring the health and wellness fair during their first time attending a para festival.
Jonathan Fickies
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