Lisa Thomas-Laury at Dress for Success Central NJ Brunch

Princeton, NJ - June 9, 2019 – Dress for Success Central NJ -7 Counties held its second annual “Lovely Day Brunch” at the Nassau Inn in downtown Princeton. Lisa Thomas-Laury, retired Philadelphia newscaster and author of “On Camera and Off: When the News is Good and When It’s Not,” gave the keynote address. Donna Robinson, who graduated from our Designing Your Future program, spoke about her journey and how her life was changed by her Dress for Success experience.

“Believe in yourself. Believe you are worthy. Believe you have my support and the support of everyone in this room,” said Melissa Tenzer, CEO – Dress for Success Central NJ, as she opened the morning program. She added, “By supporting this event, you are doing your part to help women follow their dreams and giving our women the tools to succeed in life.”

Lisa Thomas-Laury captivated the audience with her personal story of success as one of the first African American women to anchor TV news in a major city, how her work connected her to Oprah Winfrey, and how she dealt with devastating health news. Ms. Thomas-Laury summed up her presentation by offering this advice, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. Believe in yourself. Believe that the only boundaries on what you achieve or accomplish are the boundaries you put on yourself.”

To celebrate the selfless work done by our volunteers, Melissa Tenzer presented Cindy Carras, a long-time volunteer coordinator, with the first ever “Volunteer Appreciation” award. Ms. Tenzer said she was grateful for Cindy’s commitment to Dress for Success and the women we serve. Dress for Success Central NJ has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years doubling the amount of women served by the staff and the volunteers throughout its 7-county footprint.

The brunch was made possible by sponsorships from Wells Fargo, Capital Health and Stark & Stark.