Nyack, NY—Nyack College will host its annual Social Justice Day Luncheon at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, January 18, 2013 at The Nyack Seaport, 21 Burd Street in Nyack. This year Nyack’s Social Justice Awards will be presented to three local leaders: Rockland County District Attorney, Thomas Zugibe; SUNY Rockland Board of Trustees Chair, Dr. Arlene W. Clinkscale, and Spring Valley NAACP President, Willie Trotman. 

Zugibe leads a staff of 30 prosecutors and is credited with establishing the Special Victims Unit and a countywide expansion of the High School Intervention and Diversion Program. 

Clinkscale was re-elected three times to head the SUNY RCC Board has made historic strides in education over the course of her career. She was the first African American educator in the Pearl River school district; the first African American principal in Rockland County; and the first African American female superintendent in the State of New York. Trotman is a member of Rockland County's Human Rights Commission; a co-founder of Kid's Corner Day Care Center; and is a member of several boards and organizations. A Vietnam veteran, Mr. Trotman is the recipient of many honors including the Buffalo Soldiers Award, named after the soldiers of the 10th Black Cavalry Regiment.

Mr. Sean Pica, (pictured above) executive director of the Hudson Link and featured in the award-winning documentary, “Zero Percent,” will be the keynote speaker. For more information about Hudson Link, click here. The 2001 alumnus of Nyack College, has overall strategic and operational responsibility for staff, programs, development, expansion and execution of Hudson Link's mission. Prior to joining Hudson Link, Mr. Pica was the Director of Club Access, a psychosocial clubhouse for adults with mental health disabilities, and a tenant advocate for the James Weldon Housing Projects in East Harlem.

The Social Justice Day Luncheon is a Nyack College tradition that exemplifies the institutional core value of social relevance. This platform gathers bridge-builders in Rockland County who join the campus community in a celebration that serves as a prelude to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday celebrated this year on Monday, January 21.

For more information, contact Earl Miller, executive director of community relations at Nyack College at Earl.Miller@nyack.edu or by phone at 845.675.4791. For reservations, contact Nancy Gates at 845.675.7237.

About Nyack: Nyack College was founded in 1882 by Dr. Albert Benjamin Simpson and currently serves more than 3,400 students in its undergraduate and graduate degree programs. In addition to its residential campus in Nyack, NY and a commuter campus in New York City, an extension site is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Nyack is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and is chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.