Success in a dress

It’s all about empowering women for West Hempstead resident Natalie Borneo. Her professional career, the organizations to which she belongs and the community service in which she participates all have that theme in common: promoting growth and overcoming obstacles in the workplace and in society.

The 47-year-old mother of two and 44 other women were recognized last year by the New York City Academy of Women Leaders for their leadership, achievements and contributions to their companies, institutions and communities.

Borneo, a Jamaica native who grew up in Brooklyn, has been a member of the organization — a distinguished network of almost 3,000 women — for several years because she believes in its mission and purpose. The group looks to award women who are making progress and change. “It’s a wonderful vehicle for professional women to collaborate further,” Borneo said.

The importance of professional development and networking is so great, in Borneo’s opinion, that she became active in a variety of community organizations dedicated to helping women succeed in the working world. Among them is the nonprofit group Dress For Success, which provides suits, mentoring, resume building and personal finance workshops to women who have just started or are starting over in the workforce.

Volunteering with the group, which teaches the spoken and unspoken rules of the industry, is one way for Borneo to further the goal of her work, which she said is to “make it clear to young ladies and women in our community that they themselves have so much to offer.”

An important piece of teaching women that they are valuable is challenging the image of women in society, according to Borneo. “Getting up and going to work is a major achievement for some people and they should be able to celebrate that,” Borneo said, noting that Dress for Success reminds working women of this as often as possible. “You’re not just mentoring women, you’re keeping their families together. The work you work, the more you realize how much of a challenge it is. If they can weather storm, they can be successful.”

To expand her mission, Borneo has enlisted young girls to participate in the act of giving back. For her work as a Cookie Mom for Girl Scout Troop 1479 — of which her daughter, Ashley, is part — Borneo was awarded the 2009 Outstanding Volunteer Award. She served as a camp chaperone and a career counselor, and she was recognized as a Silver Service Award mentor. With Borneo’s help, the troop conducted a successful Dress For Success suit drive last spring at West Hempstead’s elementary and middle schools.

“Natalie has always been a wonderful and kind person,” said Karen Donegan and Elizabeth Perciballi, leaders of Trop 1479. “She is generous with her time and involvement in many activities.”

Borneo is also an adult volunteer for the Girl Scout Association of Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead. She’s a member of the Lakeview NAACP branch. “I touch the community daily,” Borneo said of her work with the organization. As a member of St. John’s UMC and St. Paul AME churches, Borneo sings and dances for the church and community. Through the churches she works with the Jamaica Homeless Shelter for Woman and Children, where she coordinates the dance ministry’s involvement in celebrating the holidays, and organizes clothing drives that provide seasonal clothing, blankets and shoes for those living at the shelter.

Borneo also organizes the annual “Rose Team” for the American Cancer Society walk. The team has raised over $1,000 every year and celebrated seven years in 2010. She is a regular guest speaker at Mt. St. Ursula’s Career Day and serves as National Competition Judge for Students in Free Enterprise, a non-profit organization that helps college students understand market economics, entrepreneurship and business ethics through outreach programs. Borneo volunteers at the Perfection Dance Center in Elmont, where Etiquette Workshops teach young women self-esteem, speaking, posture and table settings.

Her giving and teaching nature is what makes Borneo a successful leader. And knowing such allows her to expand on her capabilities.

“Teachers are amazing,” Borneo said. “They just have sort of a sixth sense, they have the ability to read people and figure out the best approach, and I think that’s what works best for me.”