2024 Partners for Progress Gala 2024 Partners for Progress Gala

Terrace on the Park

Wednesday, May 15, 2024


COCKTAILS 6:00 PM | DINNER 7:00 PM

52-11 111 STREET, FLUSHING MEADOWS-CORONA PARK, NEW YORK 11368

Partners@qcc.cuny.edu | 718-281 5144


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The Gala


The Partners for Progress Gala is a fundraiser of the QCC Fund, Inc., to benefit Queensborough Community College students. Join us for an incredible evening of live entertainment as we honor Dr. Talya Schwartz, President & Chief Executive Officer of MetroPlusHealth, Dr. Ash Tewari, Chair of the Milton and Carroll Petrie Department of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the community partners who lift up and empower our students to achieve their dream of earning a college degree!


"The real cost of earning a college degree includes educational technology, travel expenses, textbooks, nourishment, and unexpected incidentals." - Dr. Christine Mangino, President, Queensborough Community College

2024 Partner of the Year
Honoring


COMMUNITY PARTNER

Talya Schwartz, M.D.
President & Chief Executive Officer
MetroPlusHealth


HEALTHCARE PARTNER

Ash Tewari, M.B.B.S., M.Ch., F.R.C.S. (Hon.)
System Chair, Department of Urology
Mount Sinai Health System

Surgeon-in-Chief
Tisch Cancer Hospital at the Mount Sinai Hospital


ART GALLERY PARTNER

Marlene Tseng Yu
Founder
Rain Forest Art Foundation

Dr. Christine Mangino, President
Queensborough Community College

Dr. Jasmin Moshirpur, Gala Chair

The Queensborough Community College Fund, Inc.

Honoring

Dr. Talya Schwartz

Talya Schwartz, M.D.

President & Chief Executive Officer of MetroPlusHealth

Dr. Talya Schwartz is President & CEO of MetroPlusHealth since 2019. During her tenure, MetroPlusHealth has achieved a 35% growth in membership, a five-star rating from New York State's Consumer Guide and a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She spearheaded the organization's transformation by bringing its behavioral health services in-house and integrating them with physical care for comprehensive support of members, overhauling its website and portals, modernizing legacy technology with a single integrated platform, and expanding virtual visits to its over 750,000 members. Dr. Schwartz's ongoing commitment to addressing the social determinants of health among New York's most vulnerable communities is the pinnacle of her leadership, especially around supportive housing, and food insecurity. Dr. Schwartz is a pediatrician by training and a mother of two daughters.

Dr. Ash Tewari

Ash Tewari, M.B.B.S., M.Ch., F.R.C.S. (Hon.)

System Chair, Department of Urology, Mount Sinai Health System
Surgeon-in-Chief, Tisch Cancer Hospital at the Mount Sinai Hospital

Dr. Ash Tewari is a renowned urologic oncologist and robotic surgery pioneer, serving as the System Chair at the Milton and Carroll Petrie Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine. He also holds leadership roles, including Director of the Center of Excellence for Prostate Cancer and Surgeon-in-Chief at the Tisch Cancer Hospital. Conducting over 9,000 robotic surgeries, his research spans surgical prostate anatomy, genetic risk profiling, and integrating AI in healthcare.

His innovative nerve-sparing technique has significantly advanced sexual and urinary function.

Dr. Tewari's achievements include launching the Mount Sinai Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit, screening over 5,000 patients in underserved communities. A prolific scholar, he has authored over 250 peer-reviewed papers and received accolades, such as the American Urological Association Gold Cystoscope Award and Golden Robot Surgical Award for Excellence in Surgical Innovations for Cancer Patients. Dr. Tewari's work has placed him in prestigious lists like America's Top Doctors and New York Magazine's Best Doctors.

Marlene Tseng Yu

Marlene Tseng Yu

Founder, Rain Forest Art Foundation

Marlene Tseng Yu was born in Taiwan in 1937 and came to the U.S. in 1963. From 1969 to 2007, she lived and worked in SoHo, New York City, and in 2008, opened a studio in Long Island City. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei in 1960, and her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1967. She taught art at Denver University in Colorado in 1967 to 1968. Since 1994, she has been on the Advisory Committee of the Fine Arts Department of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since 1995, she has curated exhibitions for the new art movement, "Forces of Nature." Marlene is Founder and Curator of the Rain Forest Art Foundation (2001 to present). In 2014, Marlene established her own museum in Shreveport, Louisiana, the Marlene Yu Museum.

Her exhibit, Elements of Life/Forces of Nature, from 2005, is currently on display at the QCC Art Gallery as part of the Gallery's permanent collection.



Ways to Sponsor!

Dr. Talya Schwartz and Dr. Ash Tewari request that funds raised in their honor at the 2024 Partners for Progress Gala support the QCC Fund Promise Scholarship which provides the vital tuition assistance Queensborough students need to keep them in school and on track to graduate.



85% of students with a tuition balance of $500 - $1000 dropout

COUNTING ON YOUR SUPPORT


Thanks to the QCC Fund Promise Scholarship, Samantha earned straight As in all her classes and is pursuing a bachelors degree in Journalism and Media Studies.

Giving

Why are our Honorees supporting the QCC Fund Promise Scholarship?

Support Leads to Success

QCC alum Mateo Saenz in a paramedic uniform sitting on the exterior of a helicopter
crystal awards

Thank You to Our Sponsors


Diamond Sponsor

Platinum Sponsor

Contact

Saji Sheerazi

Saji Sheerazi

Development Officer,

Division of Strategic Initiatives & Advancement

Queensborough Community College

T: (718) 281-5511 | M: (646) 512-1840

SSheerazi@qcc.cuny.edu


Make checks payable to the QCC Fund, Inc./in honor of Talya Schwartz , and mail to:
Queensborough Community College
Office of Institutional Advancement, Room A-508
222-05 56th Avenue
Bayside, NY 11364

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