[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 68 (Friday, May 14, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E848]]
                    A TRIBUTE TO OJEDA HALL-PHILLIPS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 13, 2004

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Ojeda Hall-Phillips in 
recognition of her dedication to increasing economic opportunities for 
women and minorities in her community.
  Ojeda Hall-Phillips is the Deputy Director of the Local Development 
Corporation of East New York, a 25-year old community economic 
development, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to developing 
business, job and housing opportunities for the residents of East 
Brooklyn and the surrounding areas. A strategist and planner, Ojeda 
runs the Brooklyn Enterprise Center at the Local Development 
Corporation of East New York whose mission is to build economic 
independence among women and minorities through enterprise formation 
and expansion and skills development, with special emphasis on low-
income African Americans and Latinos in East Brooklyn. She previously 
served as an associate in the strategic planning departments of the 
investment banking firms of Salomon Smith Barney and JP Morgan.
  Also an entrepreneur, Ojeda is the Associate Publisher of Glory 
Magazine, a lifestyle magazine that empowers African American Christian 
women to live out their faith in everyday life from fitness, health, 
beauty, and fashion to money management, spiritual growth, parenting, 
and relationships. She has been a contributing writer for Heart & Soul 
Magazine, writing articles focusing on repairing credit and managing 
finances.
  A member of the Board of Deaconesses of the Brown Memorial Baptist 
Church, she became head of Spiritual Ministries for the Women's 
Ministry Institute at Brown Memorial Baptist Church in 2002. She co-
leads the Women's Bible Studies and the First Friday Women's Revival 
Series.
  She currently serves on the Boards of Directors for: Groundwork Inc, 
a youth development program to support young people living in high 
poverty urban communities to develop their strengths, skills, talents 
and competencies through effective experiential learning and work 
programs with special emphasis on youth in East New York; the New York 
City Financial Network Action Consortium, an initiative to build better 
community development credit unions in New York City; Opportunities for 
a Better Tomorrow, a job readiness program providing training and 
employment for hard to employ youth and adults in Brooklyn and; the 
Association of Women's Business Centers which develop and strengthen a 
global network of women's business centers to advance the growth and 
success of women business owners.
  Ms. Hall-Phillips earned a bachelors degree in government from 
Harvard University and is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity 
degree from the Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ. She is the 
winner of Drew University's Lawrence E. Toombs Prize in Old Testament 
History, F.B. Yetter Prize in Old Testament Studies; and the Patricia 
Wickham Prize in Feminist Scholarship and Spirituality and Social 
Justice Award. She is married to Minister Samuel Phillips III, 
Associate Minister of the Brown Memorial Baptist Church. Ojeda and her 
husband live in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.
  Mr. Speaker, Ojeda Hall-Phillips has dedicated her life through 
professional and volunteer efforts to increasing economic opportunity 
for all. As such, she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition 
today and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly 
remarkable person.

                          ____________________