ONLINE: Women United

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press release: Please join United Way of Dane County for an inspiring morning celebrating the caring power of women and banding together to support education in Dane County! Though we won't gather in person this year, we look forward to honoring Fabiola Hamdan, the 2020 recipient of the Women United Philanthropy Award, and learning how Women United is working to positively impact the lives of women and ensure the academic success of children in Dane County.

This year, the annual Women United Breakfast will be featured as part of our Working for All Webinar Series. The panel discussion at this year's Breakfast will take a deeper dive into the effects of racial disparities on education, the impact of coronavirus and the challenges of virtual learning. See below for more details on our panelists!

Education is one of the building blocks of community well-being and benefits all of us for generations. Third grade reading scores are highly correlated with later academic success and one reason why early education is so important. High school graduates have higher earning potential, contribute more to their local economies, and are more likely to raise kids who graduate on time. Register to join us today and learn more about how you can support education in our community.

Panelists:

• Moderator: Renee Moe, United Way of Dane County
• Erin Arango-Escalante, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families
• Karen Menéndez Coller, Centro Hispano

Fabiola "Faby" Hamdan is a bilingual, bi-cultural senior social worker with Dane County Department of Human Services and is the first Immigration Affairs Specialist in the County. She has a MSSW from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Fabiola provides outreach and resources to immigrants and refugee communities in Dane County in order to support integration through coordination of county services. Some partnerships include MMSD, Sunshine No Fee Legal Clinic, Family Court Clinic, DREAMERS of UW-Madison, Neighborhood Law Clinic, Lutheran Social Services, Open Doors to Refugees, Voces de la Frontera, Dane Sanctuary Coalition and more.

An immigrant from Bolivia, she is a strong advocate for the Immigrant community and founder of “El Dia de Los Niños,” an annual event to increase awareness about child safety and parenting in Dane County.

Fabiola joined the United Way Board of Directors in 2017. She is currently the Chair of the Education Community Solutions Team and former Chair of the Born Learning Community Solutions Team. Fabiola is also a member of the Executive Committee and has served on numerous delegations.

Panelist Bios

Erin Arango-Escalante earned her Bachelor of Science in Cross-Categorical Special Education, a teaching certificate in English as a Second Language and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from UW-Madison. Although Erin is a Madisonian, she started her career in New York City as an early intervention therapist and director of an early childhood program within a hospital for terminally ill children with disabilities. Currently, she is the administrator for the Division of Early Care and Education. Erin previously served as the executive director of a child care agency and as the early childhood special education consultant at the Department of Public Instruction. Erin developed a national program to support young multilingual learners and their families in conjunction with UW-Madison and a number of states. Erin is committed to supporting and celebrating Wisconsin’s diverse children and families. She believes high-quality programs involve community and child-focused perspectives to support cultural competence, family engagement, and social and emotional development. She and her family are actively involved in the Latino and Veteran communities in Dane County.

Karen Menéndez Coller received her Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and her PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. An immigrant, originally from El Salvador, her passion for close to 20 years has centered on how community-based programs can successfully improve trajectories for Latino families in the US. Before taking on her role as Executive Director of Centro Hispano of Dane County (Centro) in 2013, she was faculty at UCLA in the Department of Health Services Research. Centro is the largest organization in Dane County with a mission focusing on holistically fostering a thriving Latino community in WI. Karen is the Chair of the Immigration and Refugee Task Force, member of the Latino Advisory Delegation Team, Latino Community Leaders, Law Enforcement and Leaders of Color Collaboration, special Community/Police Task Force and served on the Board of Directors for a two-year term. She was appointed to the Vision Council as an Agency Representative in 2019.

Presented by BMO Harris Bank

Matching Sponsor: Murphy Desmond S.C.

Supporting Sponsor: Fire Light Group

Community Sponsor: Godfrey & Kahn S.C.

Partner Sponsors: CUNA Mutual Group, Exact Sciences, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Madison Gas and Electric, Quartz, Wegner CPAs