STakeholderS' - Doczine

of GenNEXT and married it with a vision to encourage volunteerismin the community, and to attract and retain professionals to thearea. In short, this is a group dedicated to giving people a personalclaim to their community as they work toward a greater future,creating, as she puts it, “a cool, sustainable place to live.”“This organization was born to create a single point of entryfor volunteerism in the community,” stressed Kate. “Its mission is toretain and attract residents while fostering a sense of pride by connectingthese individuals with local resources and providing threecore programs: education, capacity building and philanthropy.”Among the many successes of The Stakeholders include receivinga $150,000, 3-year volunteer generation grant from the NewYork State Office of National and Community Service to establishthe Regional Volunteer Center. Mark Walter, the executive directorOprah Winfrey acknowledgedher efforts as Kate was chosenby the White House Project andby O Magazine in 2008 as 1of 80 women nationwide whoreceived a Women’s LeadershipAward for her work oneconomic development issues,philanthropy and volunteerism.of the New York State Office of National and Community Service,said, “The Stakeholders was chosen as one of ten Regional VolunteerCenters in the state of New York because of their demonstratedcommitment to charitable activities and initiatives that supportnon-profit organizations in the Capital Region.”The Stakeholders Regional Volunteer Center will provide servicesto eight counties including Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady,Columbia, Greene, Saratoga, Warren and Washington.In 2011, The Stakeholders was also named an affiliate ofHandsOn Network of the National Points of Light Institute, anorganization supported by the George Bush Foundation.Further, The Stakeholders was recognized by the Center forEconomic Growth and received the Tomorrow’s Leaders TodayAward for its Young Philanthropist Institute that educates the nextgeneration on what they need to know to serve on non-profit boardsand then places participants on local non-profit boards.Kate has naturally fallen into the role of CEO/ExecutiveDirector of The Stakeholders by virtue of her legal background andher extensive advocacy skills for young professionals. While theCapital Region was suffering from attrition as young professionalsleft to pursue careers in what may have seemed like greener pastures,the area has reclaimed a far greater name for itself, encouragingpeople to either return or to remain. “This area is now akin tothe Silicon Valley of the East,” noted Kate. “And we have a vehicleto promote volunteerism as well as a business aspect to it.” Throughthis initiative, the historic Capital Region is now recognized as aworld-class community in which to live and work while boasting aphenomenal cultural component.Although Kate is truly a team player and readily credits thetalents of those who worked with her to initially establish the organization,such credit is also due to the intense passion she displayedin getting The Stakeholders, Inc. in motion, and her tireless effortsdid not go unnoticed. While many honors and distinctions bearher name, among those include her 2008 appointment to the NewYork State Young Leaders congress by the Spitzer administration toadvise the administration on certain economic development issuespertaining to the very mission of The Stakeholders.Oprah Winfrey acknowledged her efforts as Kate was chosenby the White House Project and by O Magazine in 2008 as 1 of80 women nationwide who received a Women’s Leadership Awardfor her work on economic development issues, philanthropy andvolunteerism. That same year, she was the recipient of the Womanof Distinction Award: Junior Trailblazer from the Girl Scouts ofNortheastern New York, and prior to that was the 2005 CapitalDistrict Business Review 40 Under Forty award winner as well asthe 2005 Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce Womenof Excellence Award for the Emerging Professional.When she is not tending to all of her professional endeavorsand her baby, Kate enjoys a variety of interests, such as playinggolf (something for which she wishes she had more time), workingout through running and weight training, and building upon newbusiness ideas.When hunger strikes and making dinner isn’t on the agenda,Kate enjoys dining out at local favorites such as Angelo’s 677Prime steakhouse or relaxing with friends at The Point Restaurantand Lounge. She loves living in the Capital Region for all of itswonderful amenities and its accessibility to New York City, Boston,Montréal and the Adirondacks.Prior to the birth of her son, Kate typically embraced a 60 to80 hour work week but has cut that down to about 40 hours fornow. “My son has definitely grounded me. However, once I getchildcare, I will ramp it back up again,” she noted. “Fortunately, Iam able to work at home significantly. I enjoy being able to do myown thing and man my own ship.”Kate obviously knows how to take something from its infancystage clear through its development, so little Brendan is obviouslyin for a sweet ride and will most likely become a key stakeholder inthe Capital Region one day. ■For more information on Catherine Hedgeman, call 518-573-3108or go online at hedgemanlaw.com. For more information on The Stakeholders,Inc., go online at thestakeholders.org.16 HERLIFEnewyork.com