For Port Washington resident Marge Rogatz, volunteering her time to advocate for human rights is more rewarding than a job.
“From the time I was very young, my volunteer efforts to make a positive difference in the lives of persons who were hurting, particularly those who were being discriminated against, have always been more challenging and rewarding to me than my well-paid jobs,” said Rogatz, founding officer and current co-chair of ERASE Racism.
Rogatz, who previously lived in Roslyn Heights, said she was inspired to become an activist for human rights because of her parents.
“My parents were strong supporters of civil and human rights and taught my brother and me to care about and respect everyone’s freedom, sense of dignity and access to opportunity as much as we cared about our own,” Rogatz said.
Rogatz said he has volunteered for more than 15 years with ERASE Racism to eliminate barriers and create more racial equity on Long Island.
Rogatz is also serving as this year’s co-chair of the Annual Benefit Committee responsible for planning the fundraising event, which supports the organization’s research, education, policy advocacy, legal action and civic engagement activities.
“I know that time spent working on behalf of ERASE Racism is time well spent,” Rogatz said.
The Annual Benefit Committee will host the annual ERASE Racism 2016 Benefit Celebration from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on June 8 at the Garden City Hotel.
The ERASE Racism 2016 Benefit will honor Rockville Centre Superintendent of Schools William Johnson, known nationally as an innovative expert in closing the achievement gap for poor and minority students, and Kevyn Orr, partner-in-charge at the international law firm Jones Day, for his work in helping bring Detroit back from the edge of financial collapse.
ERASE Racism will also present its Leadership Award to the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University for spotlighting the effect of racial disparities on Long Island.
“ERASE Racism has put a spotlight on the far-reaching impacts of inequities on the residents of Long Island and has successfully worked to eliminate barriers to opportunity for minority residents,” Rogatz said. “Long Islanders should show their support for integrated communities and fair policies that combat structural racism by becoming a Partner for Racial Equity and by attending our annual benefit.”
Rogatz has been president and full-time unpaid CEO of Community Advocates since 1986.
A nonprofit organization founded in 1972, Community Advocates has concentrated on addressing homelessness and the lack of affordable and equitable housing by supporting the development of safe, low-cost rental apartments in mixed income, integrated neighborhoods and downtown areas across Long Island and mobilizing coordinated efforts to initiate and strengthen resources, programs and services to meet basic needs and combat discriminatory policies and practices, according to its website.
Rogatz was a founder of the Nassau-Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless, serving as an officer on its executive board for 16 years and playing a leading role in helping the coalition to bring some $70 million in federal Housing and Urband Development Homeless Assistance grants and other funding to non-profit housing and service providers in Nassau County.
“My greatest accomplishment as an activist and community advocate has been to co-found organizations that are working to address the issues of homelessness, affordable housing and racism on Long Island,” she said.
She was a founder and an officer of Sustainable Long Island for 10 years, a founder of the Long Island Campaign for Affordable Rental Housing and an emerita member of board and grants committee of the Long Island Community Foundation.
Rogatz also served on the Nassau County Task Force on Homelessness and in 2007, was appointed by then-County Executive Tom Suozzi as chair of the Nassau County 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, which she headed until 2010.
In 2008, state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli appointed her to the board of directors of the State of New York Mortgage Agency.
In this capacity, she also serves on the Mortgage Insurance Fund Committee and on the NYS Homes & Community Renewal Governance and Program committees, participating in state-wide housing finance and development decisions.
Previously, Rogatz carried out consulting assignments in fields related to community development and human services for New York City Mayor John Lindsay, Nassau County Executive Eugene Nickerson and Suffolk County Executives Lee Dennison and John Klein.
She also consulted for New York City Head Start and community hospitals and organizations in East Harlem and the South Bronx.
During the civil rights movement, Rogatz served as special assistant to James Farmer the national director of the Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE.
For more information visit www.eraseracismny.org or call 516-921-4863.
