N.Y. Power Authority Sponsors Career Day Event for White Plains Young People

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Paul DeMichele
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paul.demichele@nypa.gov

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July 15, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHITE PLAINS—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) invited 10th and 11th graders from the White Plains Youth Bureau to its headquarters office here Friday in recognition of the importance of role models in the lives of young people.

This is the second year NYPA and the youth bureau have joined forces for the career day event, which offers a glimpse of different types of professions, including engineering, accounting, marketing, law and public relations.

“These children greatly benefit from career events like this one, where they receive tangible advice from people with established careers,” said Rita Curro of the youth bureau. “It adds a sense of attainability and promise to their futures, and we thank the Power Authority and its employees for their support and guidance.”

The White Plains Youth Bureau coordinates programs for adolescents, including counseling, employment services and day camps.

Jamaal Eddie, a 14-year-old White Plains High School student, was among those who visited at NYPA. “I’m just very grateful that we could come here and listen to all these successful people.”

“It was a great pleasure to talk with these kids and give them a sense of what we as individuals do at the Power Authority, and on our educational and career experiences for the jobs we hold, ” said Joseph Leary, NYPA director, Public and Governmental Affairs. “These kids are terrific and asked a lot of great questions, showing keen interest in what we do here.”

Leary, who has worked at NYPA for 12 years, is in charge of its community outreach efforts in New York City, where it operates clean, natural gas-fueled power plants, has pioneered new alternative energy technologies, and serves the electric load of thousands of public facilities.

Chris Copeland, another speaker Friday, is an account executive in NYPA’s Marketing and Economic Development unit, working closely with the Authority’s Westchester government customers, including the County of Westchester and the City of White Plains. “I was delighted to meet these youngsters and share some of the formative experiences I’ve had over the years, including graduating from Morehouse College in Atlanta. Hopefully, we reinforced the importance of college and gave the kids greater awareness of different professions.”

Over the years, NYPA’s headquarters employees have also served as mentors at nearby schools. And last March, the Power Authority hosted a job fair at its White Plains Office to promote summer jobs for area youth.

In addition to providing lower cost electricity to Westchester schools, hospitals and other public facilities, the Power Authority has undertaken major energy efficiency projects in the county that have lowered electric bills by nearly $7 million a year and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by about 54,000 tons annually. It’s also put about 200 electric-drive vehicles on the county’s roads, including for its own fleet of vehicles—some of which were shown to the visiting students on Friday