On March 8, 2022, at our annual -virtual- Membership Meeting, the nomination of Miranda Alexander for president of the UNA chapter of Greater Philadelphia was unanimously approved. Miranda Alexander has been a UNAGP member for over 10 years, beginning with involvement in the Blue Nook education project and moving on to Board membership and lead organizing of events. She is a philanthropic social entrepreneur with strong connections to her homeland of Trinidad and Tobago. Miranda was the founding president of the Caribbean Community in Philadelphia and connects with many diaspora, city, and civic organizations in the city. She is also the proud mother of Jason Alexander. The UNAGP is delighted and encouraged to have her leadership as Chapter President!
At the membership meeting I was proud to report that our chapter has been able to carry on activities and growth during the past two years of the pandemic and that we look forward to returning to more in-person events and outreach this spring and throughout 2022. At the meeting, leading off with a dynamic overview of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we heard from Melissa Stevens, PhD, about the connections being made here in Philadelphia to these 17 global goals for peace, development, and justice. Indeed, in Philadelphia many politicians, entrepreneurs and citizens are well attuned to the global agenda of the SDGs.
The business portion of the membership meeting reviewed nominations for Board officers and approved new leadership and continuing Board members. The officers for 2022-23 are: President, Miranda Alexander, Treasurer: Christiaan Morssink, Secretary: Lisa Parker: Program Chair, Manisha Patel: Advocacy Chair, Ed Aguilar, Communications Chair: Ed Gracely; Past President, Mary Day Kent.
At a moment when the world is more conscious than ever of the vital necessity of the UN, our global organization for peace, our own chapter is pushing for recognizing the importance of the UN and embracing the treaties that have been implemented by and through the United Nations. We do so locally and through our links with the national offices of the UNA-USA and the UN Foundation.
As always, we encourage you to look at our website, http://www.una-gp.org for upcoming events and where you find the link for donations and (most importantly) for joining or renewing your membership.
This is going to be an active year!
Mary Day Kent
(Outgoing Chapter President)
