STakeholderS' - Doczine

Working to WooNew York’sBrightest Brainswhere she worked as an associate with some of the most highlyregarded and prestigious law firms in the city, counseling a host ofclients from the healthcare sector to those in telecommunications.Her professional designations and affiliations are many. Kate hasbeen admitted to practice before the courts in the State of New York,U.S. District Courts, Northern District of New York and SouthernDistrict of New York. She is also admitted to practice before the Districtof Columbia Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court, Districtof Columbia and the United States Supreme Court. She is a memberof the New York State Bar Association, the District of ColumbiaBar Association and the Capital District Women’s Bar Association.During those years as a lobbyist, sincere inspiration, whichtends to follow this eager young counselor, knocked louder thanusual and an idea which had been lingering in the back of hermind suddenly began to take shape.“I formed a professional networking group for young professionalsunder the age of 40 called GenNEXT, a business council of theAlbany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce,” she explained. “It was away for young professionals to become actively involved in the community,as well as to learn valuable business networking skills.”After working for eight years as a trial lawyer, Kate began tolose some of the intense drive typically associated with that arena.In short, she was becoming burned out. That area of the law hadlost some of its meaning for her. So in January 2007, she establishedher own private law practice, Catherine Hedgeman, Esq. /HedgemanLaw in Albany, focusing on commercial litigation, real estate,government relations and non-profit law.Shortly thereafter, following on the heels of GenNEXT, wasa more ambitious undertaking ready to take wings. “When I wasoverseeing the aspects of GenNEXT, so many other young professionalsapproached me wanting to know how they could becomemore involved in the community,” Kate said.Kate realized that opportunities for service and philanthropywere a means by which to revitalize the appeal of the community,putting an end to the so-called “brain drain” that had starved theCapital region of tremendous talent, energy and enthusiasm.“The GenNEXT mission was great, but it was more businessfocusedand lacked the elements of service and community,” Katestressed. “We wanted to incorporate more philanthropy into ourmission and vision.”As a result, The Stakeholders, Inc., a non-profit organization,was established in 2008, based upon the fundamental belief thatpeople are the key to the sustainability of the Capital Region. Alongwith several friends and colleagues, Kate took the business aspectHERLIFEnewyork.com 15