Thursday, October 1, 2026
Kneeling on the floor of a small side room at Robert M. Finley Middle School in Glen Cove, Lela Watson folded a stack of pants and slid them neatly onto shelves already packed with sweatshirts, shirts, tops and belts. She was preparing the space for parents and students arriving for parent-teacher night on Dec. 10.
Behind her, a pink shelving unit — lined with shoes, accessories and children’s items, and softened by a delicate white curtain — stood out amid rows of carefully organized clothing, marking this modest room as the home of the I Am My Sister thrift store.
It is quiet, behind-the-scenes work, but it captures why Watson, 45, has been named the Glen Cove Herald’s Person of the Year.. The recognition pays tribute to her steady commitment to dignity, access and connection.
Watson is the founder and president of I Am My Sister, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth — particularly young women — through mentorship, wellness, leadership development and community-based programming.
Originally from Jamaica, Queens, Watson moved to Glen Cove in 2017, bringing with her an organization she first launched in North Carolina in 2010.
“I wanted to create the support system for others that my grandmother and my family was for me and my sister,” Watson said. “That’s where it started.”
Raised in New York City, she described a childhood marked by instability, addiction and uncertainty.
“My mom was a teen mom, and she was on drugs,” Watson said. “My sister (Crystal, 36) and I struggled with confidence and self-esteem, because the thought is that the foundation of your confidence and self-love comes from your parents. And when you don’t have that, you question if anybody will truly love you.”
Though she credits her extended family with providing love and stability, Watson said the absence of her mother’s care left a lasting impact, particularly on her sister. That experience shaped the name and philosophy of her organization.
Watson went on to attend NYU’s School of Business in 2021, choosing it over a full scholarship to Yale after becoming pregnant as a teenager. The decision was rooted in wanting to raise her daughter differently from how she had been raised.
“I wanted to do everything opposite of my mom,” she said. “I worked — at times overnight at UPS — got off at four o’clock in the morning, came home, got my daughter ready for school, went to class and I did that for years.”
When Watson relocated to Glen Cove, she said the transition was not easy. Shortly after moving, her daughter Sydney struggled with the change and attempted suicide at age 14.
As Watson worked to re-launch I Am My Sister locally, she said the Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club was the first organization to return her call. That led to early programs, including “Cupcakes and Conversation,” and eventually to school-based clubs modeled after those she had run successfully in Maryland and North Carolina.
The high school club launched just before the pandemic, then struggled due to shutdowns, transportation barriers and scheduling conflicts. The organization later refocused its efforts on middle school students, where Watson and school staff said the need is particularly acute.
“It was really Lela’s passion for addressing the lack of sisterhood amongst the youth,” Dr. Annalise Henry, chief psychologist for the Glen Cove City School District, said. “She wanted to have an outlet for girls to be able to address those things that interfere with how they interact with each other.”
Henry said the middle school environment is a critical stage of development, marked by insecurity, comparison and relational conflict.
“A lot of times it’s with people that they have more in common with than they have differences with,” Henry said.
Out of those conversations came My Big Sister’s Closet, a school-based thrift store that operates twice a month during lunch periods and opens during events such as parent-teacher conferences. The closet is a space designed to feel welcoming rather than transactional.
“It’s one of those things where we’re trying to change the stigma,” Watson said. “The goal is for it to be more of a sisterhood where you come and shop and have fun.”
During the parent-teacher conferences, parents paused their schedules to step inside the room — some for the first time.
Nancy Quizhpy who visited the closet with her 10-year-old daughter, Adrianna, said there are “good quality” items in the closet.
Joanna Zuppardi, a volunteer with the PTA, said she and other parents had already heard positive reviews about the closet from their daughters .
Watson said hygiene products, bags and jewelry are in high demand.
Josephine Santagata, a school social worker and the middle school club advisor, said the benefits are immediate.
“The closet has made such a huge impact on the girls’ motivation in school,” Santagata said. “They feel safe being able to go into a thrift store and get clothes without feeling judged.”
Santagata described weekly activities that focus on friendships, self-esteem and conflict resolution, including exercises where girls practice giving and receiving compliments.
“Middle school girls need to know that they have each other’s backs,” she said.
The organization gained broader public attention this year. In the spring, I Am My Sister raised the Pan-African flag in Glen Cove for the first time.
The organization hosted a Black History Month gala honoring local educators, public servants and community leaders, and a youth mental health awareness walk focused on public wellness.
Watson works full time as a human resources director at Compass Group USA, experience that shapes how she runs the nonprofit..
“I’m very data-focused,” she said, noting that she also serves as the organization’s grant writer.
She credits a strong support system, including her husband, Rod, and a core group of volunteers, for sustaining the work.
Kimberly Hudson, a board member of I Am My Sister and the wife of Glen Cove High School Principal Allen Hudson, said Watson’s blend of professionalism and warmth is what makes the organization work.
“She’s a visionary,” Hudson said. “She’s business, but she also has a great personality, a great sense of humor. She’s very approachable.”
The organization is preparing to resume its high school club in January 2026, following advocacy from Abigail and Camille Cuadra-Chalen, 16-year-old twin juniors who gathered more than 200 signatures urging the district to restore the program..
As Watson continues to expand programming, including plans for adult “Big Sister” initiatives, she remains focused on impact over recognition.
“You cannot run away from your passion,” Watson said. “As long as I can see the impact — the lives that we change — it helps me to keep going.”
