Brooklyn’s Power Women Shine at Schneps Media’s Autumn Honors

On Thursday night, the chandeliered ballrooms of El Caribe Country Club in Mill Basin pulsed with applause as nearly 40 of Brooklyn’s most influential women took the stage for Schneps Media’s annual Power Women of Brooklyn celebration. The event, now a fixture of the borough’s fall calendar, drew a cross-section of the city’s talent—from hospital CEOs to Bed-Stuy nonprofit founders—all recognized for shaping the borough’s civic and economic landscape.

Attendees arrived just after sunset, exchanging hugs and business cards over plates of mushroom risotto and sparkling cider. Among the honorees: Dr. Lisa D. White, who has expanded access to preventive care at Kings County Hospital, and Ana Rivera, a Sunset Park entrepreneur whose pandemic-era mutual aid group now employs 15. The crowd included educators, attorneys, and advocates whose work has quietly transformed neighborhoods from Brownsville to DUMBO.

State Senator Roxanne Persaud, herself a past recipient, delivered remarks on the enduring need for women’s leadership in Brooklyn’s corridors of power. “Tonight isn’t just about recognition—it’s about expanding the table for the next generation of change-makers,” she told the room, drawing cheers from local high school students in attendance.

The timing of the event—nestled between the start of the school year and the October election sprint—gave the awards a particular urgency. Several honorees spoke of the challenges facing the borough this autumn: rising rents, school overcrowding, and the urgent need for more accessible health services. Their stories underscored how local leadership, so often female, is steering Brooklyn through a season of transition.

By the end of the evening, as guests lingered over dessert, there was a palpable sense of camaraderie. For a borough in constant motion, Thursday’s celebration was a rare pause: a moment to honor not just individual achievement, but Brooklyn’s collective momentum.