Dix Hills Resident Appointed to Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission

Suffolk Legis. Lou D’Amaro, D-Huntington Station, has named Dix Hills resident Susan F. Friedman to serve as the 17th Legislative District’s representative on the Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission.

Friedman is an insurance coverage attorney with Marsh & McLennan who does risk advising.  She is also a contributing editor to The New York Law Journal and sits on the Editorial Board of the Insurance Section of the International In-House Counsel Journal.  

Friedman is the co-founder of the Marsh WEBB (Women's Executive Business to Business Network) which has over 500 members. The Marsh WEBB's mission is to advance the interests of women and is now international in scope.  Throughout her career, Ms. Friedman has been committed to identifying personal and professional issues of importance to women and developing initiatives in response to those issues. She replaces Patricia Kielawa of Huntington Station who completed her three-year term on the Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission this past September. 

The Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission was established through legislation enacted by the Suffolk County Legislature in 2000.  Each Suffolk County Legislator appoints one member to represent his or her district with the remainder of the board coming from appointments by the Presiding Officer, the County Executive, the Division of Human Rights and the chair of the Commission.  Acting in an advocacy role, the Commission makes recommendations to the Suffolk County Division of Women’s Services, the County Executive and the Legislature for executive or legislative action to eliminate discrimination against women; to insure equal opportunity for women and to promote the status of women in both the private and public sectors.

“Susan Friedman has been a strong advocate for women both locally and throughout the New York Metropolitan area,” D’Amaro said.  “She is a proven leader and a role model for the entire community.  I know Ms. Friedman will be an outstanding representative, as her predecessor Patricia Kielawa was, and I thank her for agreeing to serve in this volunteer position.”

Legislator D’Amaro added that he is currently accepting nominations for the 17th Legislative District’s “Woman of Distinction” for 2013.  Nominees must reside in the district and have demonstrated leadership, involvement and/or commitment to the community.  Service cannot be employment-related.

The Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission will select one outstanding woman from all of the local honorees as Suffolk County Women of Distinction. This person will be honored at the March meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature.  To nominate someone, send a two to three sentence description of them, along with their name and home address to: Karen.klafter@suffolkcountyny.gov. Deadline for nominations is Jan. 25, 2013.