Family and friends
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Join MemoriesNaira Aslanyan Today we got together to remember Kat and her passion for innovation and amazing leadership skills. We are writing messages to her on rice paper and will be putting them on paper to sail away
Helen Borlas My Dad and I visiting Katerina and her family in Athens.
Helen Borlas Meeting my cousins in Athens.
Helen Borlas
Matthew Weiler Dancing with Students at AHRC Annual Dinner 2010
Matthew Weiler Melissa Riggio Higher Education Graduation at the College of Staten Island 2011
Matthew Weiler AHRC NYC Annual Dinner 2015
Sarah Carfagna This is a precious memory of when I brought my first daughter, Nola, to come meet Katerina. It has taken me so long to wrap my head around the fact that Katerina is no longer with us. I still cannot believe it most days. What an amazing woman, unbelievable mentor, compassionate human, and strong warrior for truth. There are so many lessons I learned from Katerina that will stay with me for a lifetime. Most of the time, she was pushing me to be more brave. I am so grateful for her love, support, influence and passion. She is absolutely irreplaceable... so loved and so missed. Thank you Katerina for all you accomplished here on earth.
Kelly McGowan Here is Kat dancing with her pomegranates Raquel and Ife. They had been discussing how you know when mentorship is working. Kat's response was “I think of traditional Greek dance because if you do it alone it is difficult but when you lean on each other it is so much easier” …and, of course, she taught us the dance.
Matthew Weiler Suzanne’s Farewell Lunch
Matthew Weiler AHRC NYC Annual Dinner 2017
Matthew Weiler Yankee Stadium Birthday Club - May 2017
Matthew Weiler Suzanne's Retirement Party
Matthew Weiler ADS Holiday Party 2018
Matthew Weiler Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program 10th Anniversary w/ her Grad School classmates!
Matthew Weiler The Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program 10 year Anniversary at the Harvard Club
Matthew Weiler AHRC NYC Second Annual Leadership Summit 2019
Matthew Weiler Kat and I bumping heads at work in 903!
Matthew Weiler Presenting at the National Arc Conference in Washington DC
Matthew Weiler AHRC NYC Staff Appreciation Event
Naira Aslanyan Another tragic day- another tragic loss- today after two weeks intubated, Katerina lost her fight to Covid 19. We were not friends outside of work but worked side by side on many projects- she was Greek and I am Armenian so we often laughed at our cultures; she was tough and people were afraid of her but she once told my boss "Naira is very smart but too tough, too tough- she needs to back down sometimes" referring to our meeting with her. She said to my mom that it was great that I spent time with my niece but that i shouldn't turn into her and get kids for my own (nope- thank you). I respected her a lot and I think it is a huge loss to the agency. Another person who planned her retirement so she can enjoy motherland and yet died while working. My deepest condolences to her family but especially her close friends Darinka Vlahek and Belma Dautovic who have to take two losses within 3 days of very close people. My heart goes out to other AHRC folks who worked side by side with her including my mom Katerina Aslanyan and Julia Khripunkova who worked under her for many years. Is there a light at end of the tunnel? Not sure right now
Rosa Chung Summit 2018
Rosa Chung Ladies in red at AHRC dinner dance 2010
Dear Katerina. It is so hard to believe. I remember the day I was given an assignment to work in Brooklyn Day hab as a Director. It was a move from NYL. I looked at you and very honestly said that I really do not know How will I work with You. You looked at me and said. Do not worry. We will work very well. You were right. I never regretted it. I...
The greatest compliment ever given to me in all of 12 years working with AHRC was when Kat "scolded" me about my tough leadership style and that I reminded her of her younger self, and our similarities in cultural upbringing. My emotions were so confused. My heart was smiling and my mind was crying, but my face was straight as an arrow as I literal...
Heather Gazzaley Staff Recognition Day
Sarah Soriano 7 years ago today at NYSACRA Lake George.
Heather Gazzaley October, Washington DC. The best ❤️
A poem: When I die Give what’s left of me away And when you need me, Put your arms Around anyone And give them What you need to give me I want to leave you something, Something better Then words Or sounds Look for me, In the people I have known Or loved And if you cannot give me away At least let me live in your eyes And not in your mind You...
Carole Gothelf Our programs can only thrive when the people who drive them become the best version of themselves.
Kat was a unique and passionate person with an amazing sense of justice and compassion for people with developmental disabilities. Her contributions to the people, the values and the programs at AHRC NYC are her legacy. She will be sorely missed. RIP Kat. Ruby Kornfeld
Carole Gothelf You have become the light that Persephone was drawn to.
I met Katerina in 2013 through mutual colleagues at a workshop when I was 29. I thought she was brilliant and wonderfully glamorous. When we learned that we were both Greek, we embraced each other immediately and smiled and made plans for coffee that weekend. We got to know each other over a few more coffee meetings in New York over the years. We f...
Beth Mount Kat was a weaver of sort..., she was a true artist of social change. So many of us were held within the great light, heart, and artistry that she brought to weaving the threads of possibility and supporting the new to enrich the landscape of opportunities of for all. I particularly appreciated her love of the arts and the many ways that she helped to bring forth the artistic potentials of so many. She also had an immense understanding of the immigration intricacies and challenges that so many people navigate. There are so many amazing activists and allies in our midst who would not be in the USA were it not for Kat's care. I also appreciate how much she agonized over the complexities of people's lives and the constraints that limit possibility. Her capacity to live with the both pain and the joy of the struggle was immense....as was her great laugh. I will truly miss how much I learned from and loved her generous presence.
Beth Mount This is Kat....always looking for the crack....the smallest of spaces in which possibility might grow. I like thinking of her like this...in our inner worlds, still holding open a door to something more...
Katerina was the best of colleagues. The best. She brought light and a full heart to every conversation. She always did good work in full spirit, no matter how trying the circumstances--and they often were. It was my privilege to walk beside her, and I will miss her greatly. Her memory is a blessing--a true and real blessing.
Ilia Roussou you always attracted light 😍😍
Paola Kyriakidou My last year bday celebrations together ❤️❤️❤️
Paola Kyriakidou @ your favorite kitchen, that you built with all your love & meraki... Kastelorizo July 13th 2018 ❤️❤️❤️
Paola Kyriakidou Monemvasia & Elafonissos in 1997... Precious memories forever...
Paola Kyriakidou Patmos 2000
Paola Kyriakidou Celebrating your birthday. London 2013 ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Paola Kyriakidou 4th of July 2019 @ Dora’s terrace. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Θα φέρει η θάλασσα πουλιά κι άστρα χρυσά τ’ αγέρι να σου χαϊδεύουν τα μαλλιά, να σου φιλούν το χέρι. Χάρτινο το φεγγαράκι, ψεύτικη ακρογιαλιά, αν με πίστευες λιγάκι θα `σαν όλα αληθινά. Δίχως τη δική σου αγάπη δύσκολα περνά ο καιρός. Δίχως τη δική σου αγάπη είναι ο κόσμος πιο μικρός. Χάρτινο το φεγγαράκι, ψεύτικη ακρογιαλιά, αν με πίστε...
I introduced Katerina to John Mayer’s music on a car ride on our way to a work conference. She listened to this song and it brought tears to her eyes...as many things did. She loved music! She connected to this song and it’s meaning (as I do) and it was something we shared and reflected upon. Now it will always remind me of her ❤️ Gravity - by Jo...
Paola Kyriakidou NYC December 2015. Christmas lights walking tours...❤️❤️❤️
Chara Anyfanti
Ilia Roussou Celebrating our birthdays...Feb2020❤️❤️❤️❤️
Katerina was not only my supervisor at AHRC for over 22 years, she was also my friend. In the time we worked together, we had mostly ups but a few downs (the downs invariably something I was wrong about). She handled herself with grace, wisdom and humor, I would be a rich man if I had a nickel for every time she said to me "Give me a Break", with ...
Kat was a visionary leader and humble soul. Her innovations at AHRC had a major impact on the life of our family. We are desperately sad at her loss. She will be missed. A mentor, a leader, an innovator and a beautiful human. With gratitude.
Kelly McGowan I am heartbroken and, at the same time, soothed by knowing that so many of us have a little bit of Kat living in us now. Her passion, drive, heart and honesty were always present. She asked us the hard questions because she was living with them intimately. She lived to pass on her wisdom and hard earned influence. She took the actions necessary for this to come true. In one tradition, pomegranates represent the soul's immortality. Here she sits in circle nurturing her pomegranate seeds. I feel and see her living on in all of you at AHRCNY who she tapped on the shoulder and invited to grow into your best selves as leaders and humans.
Betty Pantazidou During our visit at your beloved Kastellorizo, Sept 2017 Staying at the beautiful house you have built, returning to it at every occasion when coming to Athens !