CFH PROUDLY HONORS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

In celebration of Black History Month, Care For the Homeless was happy to host special guest speaker Anne Williams-Isom, former NYC Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. Anne led an insightful discussion about leadership, service to the community, and finding one’s purpose. A local Black leader in government and advocacy, Anne shared both her personal and professional experiences and explained how they taught her to lead with love while maintaining a fulfilling life inside and outside of work. The virtual event brought CFH team members together from across our 16 NYC locations for a candid conversation that served to motivate and inspire the work we do each day.

CFH President and CEO George Nashak introduced Anne with a warm welcome, highlighting her exceptional background in nonprofit leadership. Anne explained how her career trajectory, rooted in advocacy and service, was influenced by her mother’s experiences in New York after immigrating from Trinidad and Tobago. Watching her mother’s journey instilled in Anne the open-mindedness and compassion she would come to call on in her own career—emphasizing how important it is to empathize with those who have faced similarly difficult situations or backgrounds. In her talk, she recommended using that informed understanding to define one’s purpose, then using education and work as a means to fulfill it.

Anne described her experience doing just that, sharing key moments in her life and how they helped her find her purpose. For example, her upbringing made her especially interested in pursuing a law degree at Fordham University, “not because I wanted to practice law,” she says, “but because I wanted to learn how to use my skills and think more analytically to advocate for others.” It was a decision she made with an open mind and heart, which would eventually lead her to a career in public service at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), Harlem Children’s Zone, and most notably, as HHS Deputy Mayor.

Similarly, her experience battling breast cancer not only taught her the importance of self-care but also informed her decision to pursue a doctorate in ministry, an effort she made to further her goal of healing others and having a positive social impact. “Self-care and self-love support the type of work we do,” Anne explains. “You can’t pour from an empty cup, [so] if you’re full of anger, you can’t express that love for yourself or for anybody else. There’s got to be something that you use to fill your cup, or else it is empty and no good for the people you are trying to support.”

After a few questions and comments posed by CFH team members, who were grateful for Anne’s sound advice, George Nashak reminded the team about the importance of hearing from voices like Anne’s as we honor the great contributions Black leaders have made to our history.