And This One Didn’t Just Shine… It Shifted Something
Greenburgh, NY — You ever walked into a room and immediately known this isn’t about to be surface-level? Like, nobody came here to just be seen; they came to see themselves more clearly?
Yeah. That was this.
The 12th Annual Women Who Dare to Be Different Celebration, hosted at the Theodore D. Young Community Center on Saturday, April 18, 2026, wasn’t just another gala with nice dresses and polite applause. This was alignment. This was an intention in real time. This was what happens when community stops talking about empowerment like it’s a buzzword and actually practices it like a discipline.
And let’s be clear, twelve years of anything requires vision, stamina, and a refusal to quit when it would’ve been easier to scale back. Founder Colby Jenkins didn’t build an event. She built infrastructure. The kind that holds women up, calls them forward, and then reminds them, you’re responsible for who comes next.
From the moment you entered, the energy wasn’t loud; it was grounded. Women greeting each other with that unspoken language of “I recognize your journey.” Men present, not performing support, but embodying it. Young people watching closely, taking mental notes like, oh… this is what leadership looks like in real life.
Minister Angela Davis Farrish didn’t just emcee; she anchored the night. Every transition felt intentional, every word placed with care, like she understood that this wasn’t just a program, it was a lived experience.
Then came the swearing-in ceremony.
Now listen… we throw the word “powerful” around a lot, but when Honorable Judge Sharon G. Matthie stepped forward, you felt the weight of that moment settle into the room. Each honoree stood, received their flowers, but more importantly, they received their assignment. The commemorative baton placed in their hands wasn’t decorative; it was directive.
It said: You’ve been called. Now go call someone else forward.
That’s how you break cycles. That’s how you build legacy without making it about ego.
And these honorees? Not aspirational in a distant way, applicable. Real women doing real work with real impact:
- Joyce Sherock Cole — Keeper of Our Stories Leadership Award
- Grindl K. Cooper — Woman of Impact and Service Leadership Award
- Hon. Jewel Williams Johnson — The Architect of Impact Leadership Award
- Penda Dyer (Youth Honoree) — New Generation Leadership Award (Scholarship Recipient)
- Officer Micaela Henry — Champion for Youth & Community Policing Empowerment Leadership Award
- Cynthia J. Hood — Trailblazer in Law Enforcement Leadership Award
- Deacon Deborah I. Smith — Lifetime Commitment to Faith and Service Award
- Hadassah Valera (Youth Honoree) — Young Leader of Excellence and Impact Award (Scholarship Recipient)
And here’s where the night quietly separated itself from the rest…
The youth weren’t treated like inspiration props. They were treated like investments. Scholarships totaling $1,000 were awarded, but more than that, they were affirmed in real time.
Not “you’ll be great someday.”
But “you are already becoming, right now.”
And then there’s Jayda Yizar, past Youth Honoree turned Youth Ambassador, who continues to show up every year with a special gift for the youth honorees. That’s not a gesture. That’s a full-circle moment. That’s what it looks like when someone doesn’t just benefit from a program, they become part of its heartbeat.
Same energy with Montika Jones, past honoree and owner of Cupcake Cutie Boutique. Because real support doesn’t end when the spotlight moves on. It shows up in continued presence, in contribution, in saying, I’m still here, and I’m still pouring in.
Now let’s talk about Mama V, Rev. Viviana DeCohen.
Her keynote didn’t feel like a speech; it felt like truth being handed to you without sugarcoating it. As Commissioner of the New York State Department of Veterans’ Services, she already walks in purpose. But in that room, she spoke from somewhere deeper. And when she was surprised with the Asha Castleberry Hernandez Award, it didn’t feel like a break in the program; it felt like alignment catching up to her.
Because when you honor a woman of service while naming the legacy of another powerful woman? That’s not coincidence. That’s intention meeting timing.
The entertainment didn’t distract; it extended the message.
Jackie Love’s Jay Love Fashion School of Etiquette reminded everybody that presence is taught and that excellence isn’t outdated, it’s just often neglected. With commentary from Lil Nat, it felt like culture and class met each other and said, “We can do both.”
And then Young Miss Shalena…
That wasn’t just a praise dance. That was release. That was somebody saying what words couldn’t hold. The kind of performance that makes you sit a little straighter, breathe a little deeper, and maybe check in with yourself, like, when was the last time I felt that connected to what I believe?
Even the details were intentional.
Vendors like Gina Vintage Boutique, Queens Eyewear, and the NY State Troopers weren’t just add-ons; they were integrated into the experience. Because community isn’t one lane, it’s many lanes moving in the same direction.
Young men serving as hosts moved through the room with quiet discipline, opening doors, assisting guests, learning in real time what it means to show up with respect. Because let’s be honest, uplifting women without educating young men? That’s an incomplete strategy. This wasn’t incomplete.
And yes, the officials were present: Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins, Congressman George Latimer, representatives from Congressman Michael Lawler’s office, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ office, and the Town of Greenburgh. But the moment that lingered?
Former County Legislator Alfreda Williams, sitting in that room, watching her daughter, honoree Jewel Williams Johnson, walk in her purpose.
That’s not just attendance.
That’s legacy looking at itself and saying, we did something right.
Guests enjoyed a beautiful cocktail hour and dinner, but the real nourishment was connection. Conversations that didn’t feel transactional. Laughter that didn’t feel forced. Energy that didn’t require effort to sustain.
And beneath all of that, purpose.
Because this night doesn’t end when the lights go down.
Funds raised are actively fueling:
- Youth scholarships and development
- Civic engagement and leadership programming
- Financial literacy initiatives
- The Love and Help Center in Sleepy Hollow
- The return of the Greenburgh Farmers Market in Summer 2026
That’s not charity. That’s strategy.
Sponsors like Affinity Federal Credit Union, Sam’s Club, and Cupcake Cutie Boutique didn’t just support an event; they invested in an ecosystem.
And if you were in that room, you already know:
This is not where the story stops.
Dare to Be Different Westchester is already preparing for its next experience, Men Who Dare to Be Different, happening in June 2026.
And let’s be real for a second because growth requires honesty.
You cannot keep asking women to evolve, lead, heal, build, and carry… while men stay unchallenged, unchecked, or uninvolved. That math doesn’t work.
So this next fundraiser? It’s not just an extension, it’s a necessary shift.
An invitation for men to rise with intention.
To lead with awareness.
To participate in community, not just exist in it.
So don’t just “look out” for it.
Be present for it.
Because if this gala showed us anything, it’s that Dare to Be Different Westchester isn’t just creating moments.
They’re creating momentum.
And momentum, when it’s real, doesn’t ask for permission.
It changes things.
