From left: H. Sidney Holmes, III, Partner, Winston & Strawn, LLP; Pamela A. Lewis, Director of Youth Programs; Derek Jones, Onshore Capital; Dr. Lenora Fulani; All Stars president, Gabrielle Kurlander and All Stars' Director of Development, Christopher Street at the Learning from Leaders luncheon.

Two hundred New York business leaders raised $240,000 at the fourth annual charity luncheon, Learning from Leaders, Wednesday, November 16, 2005, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, benefiting the Joseph A. Forgione Development School for Youth (DSY), one of the country’s foremost leadership-development programs for urban youth.

Over the last eight years, more than one hundred New York corporations and financial institutions have invested in minority youth development by providing workshops, summer internships, and financial support for the DSY.

Each year, the DSY enrolls 90-100 inner city youth between the ages of 16-21. Over the course of a four-month term, classes of 25 students travel to corporate sites around New York City to meet with senior executives who share their insider's views of the city’s major companies as well as personal career experiences. The DSY’s curriculum focuses on interactive workshops where young people dialogue with professionals — about the work they do, their career paths, and about the attitudes and skills needed to succeed in the professional workplace. Executives prepare exercises where students create (and then try out) new roles, e.g., as marketers and product developers, investigators, or computer consultants. Young people also participate in workshops on how to write a resume; how to do a job interview, and public speaking. Each summer, the young DSY graduates are placed in paid summer internships with many of the DSY’s sponsoring companies. In 2005, 160 young people received internships and, to date, close to 600 young people have graduated from the DSY.