AI, artificial intelligence, trends, A.I., journey, technology, DryMerge, AI, job interview

by Daniel Johnson

September 18, 2024

AI Company DryMerge Raises $2.2M In Seed Funding Round

Edward Frazer, a Yale University dropout, and Samuel Brashears, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, formed the company in 2023 and are still the entirety of the workforce.

DryMerge, a company founded by two friends who have known each other since elementary school, raised $2.2 million during the company’s seed funding round. Edward Frazer, a Yale University dropout, and Samuel Brashears, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, formed the company in 2023 and are still the entirety of the workforce.

According to a press release, the company’s product streamlines user processes, saving time. “We founded DryMerge about a year ago with the idea that we could use AI to automate API integrations for developers. In that year, our vision got a whole lot bigger —- we realized that we wanted to automate repetitive work for anyone, not just API integrations for programmers,” Frazer wrote.

Frazer continued, “Automating work makes people’s jobs 10x more enjoyable. Thousands of DryMerge users save hours every day automating CRM data entry, support requests, targeted outbound, web research, and so much more. We think what our users are doing is amazing, and we spend nearly all of our time helping them save more time.”

According to the press release, the company received funding from Y Combinator, Garage Capital, Goodwater Capital, Ritual Capital, and Breakpoint Capital. They also received angel investment from Umur Cubuku from Citus Data, JJ Fiegelman from Way Up, Kulveer Taggar from Zeus, and Nate Matherson from Positional, among others.

According to Afrotech, initially, the pair was unsure of their venture‘s future. It took them a while to figure out how to build a product that would be useful for a multitude of users.

“…I’m a pretty young founder –- I dropped out of Yale to build the company, and my cofounder Sam had just graduated from the University of Wisconsin,” Frazer wrote on his LinkedIn page. His early confidence in what they were working on might have bordered on arrogance until he adjusted after receiving feedback.

Frazer continued, “I knew very little about how people worked, what problems they had, or how to solve those problems — and importantly, I didn’t care — I figured it’d be enough to build cool technology and watch the users appear out of thin air.”

Frazer concluded, “It wasn’t until midway through the batch that we realized ‘cool tech’ is a useless value proposition — it took talking to over 100 people from various segments like Customer Success, Support, other Founders, etc. before we had a concrete idea of what people’s actual workflows looked like, and it was only then that we began to build something valuable.”

The pair also were recent participants in Y Combinator’s 38th Demo Day. In its blog post about the event, Y Combinator promises to invest in each company it selects to be part of its YC Winter 2024 Batch for the life of the company. Only 260 companies were selected from over 27,000 applications, which makes the acceptance rate of under 1% one of the company’s most selective. Y Combinator has been increasingly focused on companies that use artificial intelligence to help facilitate practical uses for AI technology and large language models, which perfectly describes the mission and purpose of DryMerge.

According to TechCrunch, when their product works, it creates a lot of ease for users. Although there are sometimes bugs, such as when the platform misunderstands a user’s command or request, the platform still has promise. However, it is one of the latest entries into an increasingly crowded integration-platform-as-a-service market, which is currently projected to reach a $2.7 billion market share by the end of 2024.

Frazer, however, is confident that it can carve out space in the market, even though its current user base sits at around 2,000 users.

“Our users include online fashion retailers, school administrators, and asset managers — the vast majority of which have never touched a line of code,” Frazer told TechCrunch. “They use us to save hours a day on tasks ranging from customer support automation to customer relationship management data entry.”

Frazer continued, “We think a gigantic enterprise opportunity is in increasing the simplicity of automation and delivering easy-to-use tooling that empowers nontechnical folks.”

FAMU, Florida A and M University,DI, Black History Month

by Stacy Jackson

September 18, 2024

FAMU To Approve Angela Suggs As Next VP, Director Of Athletics

This week, FAMU's Board of Trustees will approve Suggs as its second Director of Athletics to ever oversee the entire department.

Florida A&M University (FAMU) is set to approve a contract for Angela Suggs, the executive director of the Florida Sports Foundation, as its next vice president and director of athletics.

The long-time Rattler will become the second director of athletics ever to oversee the entire department at FAMU. According to HBCU Gameday, on Sept. 20, the Board of Trustees will solidify Suggs’ new role with the institution as she exits her previous role as president and CEO of the Florida Sports Foundation.

Suggs will bring a wealth of analytical, creative planning, and fundraising skills to her new role. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is a “self-motivator with high energy” and “considerable experience in intercollegiate athletics, professional sports club level sales, management/planning of neutral site athletic events, sponsorship packaging, and sales.” She has already held several positions at FAMU as a senior associate athletic director for External Affairs and as the institution’s senior woman administrator. As a fundraiser, Suggs was a key player in the establishment of FAMU’s thriving 1,000 Strikes Campaign, a first-of-its-kind fundraising initiative, and the “Investing in Champions” program. Her efforts resulted in millions of dollars in investments.

Suggs’ close connection to the Florida HBCU dates back well before her educational and professional ventures at the university. When the institution operated its on-campus hospital, Sugg was the first person to be born inside the Foote-Hilyer Administration Building. Being at FAMU was a routine for the young Rattler, who attended the school since elementary school and remained throughout her college years, where she graduated with her bachelor’s in economics.

The athletics director completed her master’s degree at St. Thomas University and has become affiliated with several organizations that include the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators National Association of Athletic Development Directors, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Jack & Jill of America, Inc., The Florida Historic Capitol Museum Board of Directors and the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees.

As an experienced sports executive, she maintains an extensive network of local and national business, community, and political leaders.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

September 17, 2024

Kamala Harris Says A 28-Year-Old Single Mom Died A ‘Preventable Death’ Caused By Georgia’s Abortion Ban

Kamala Harris is speaking out in response to a report revealing the first preventable death linked to Georgia's six-week abortion ban.

Georgia’s maternal mortality committee has reported the first preventable death linked to the state’s six-week abortion ban in 2022.

ProPublica released a troubling report on Monday, which detailed the abortion-related death of one woman who died right after the state’s near-total ban took effect. Amber Nicole Thurman was 28 when she learned she was six weeks pregnant with twins. The reveal came just days after Georgia’s abortion ban went into effect in July 2022.

Already a single mom to a 6-year-old son and having just moved out of her family’s house ahead of enrolling in nursing school, Thurman decided it wasn’t the time to welcome two additional children.

“When she learned she was pregnant with twins in the summer of 2022, she quickly decided she needed to preserve her newfound stability,” Thurman’s best friend, Ricaria Baker, shared.

Amber Thurman went to the hospital with telltale signs of sepsis. It took 20 hours for doctors to intervene with a dilation and curettage procedure after abortion became a felony in Georgia.

By then, it was too late.https://t.co/yvgl7iu3KM
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 16, 2024

With Georgia’s abortion ban in place, Thurman waited a few weeks to schedule her abortion in hopes the ban would be halted in court. When that didn’t happen, she finally scheduled an appointment in North Carolina by her ninth week.

The clinic was overwhelmed with patients from other states where abortion bans were in effect, which didn’t help when Thurman missed her appointment due to traffic. With no option to reschedule due to work, childcare, and lack of access to a car, Thurman opted for the clinic’s offer of abortion pills.

Typically safe, abortion pills run the risk of complications that can easily be handled during an in-clinic abortion procedure. However, the abortion bans altered that option, leaving Thurman with no way to receive adequate care. Several days after taking the pills, Thurman vomited blood and fainted at home.

She was transported to the hospital by ambulance, where tests revealed remaining tissue in her uterus and a diagnosis of sepsis, a life-threatening infection that is a leading cause of maternal death. Thurman required a routine abortion procedure called dilation and curettage (D&C) to save her life, but Georgia’s ban had recently made it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Thurman’s heart stopped during the procedure, 20 hours after doctors finally deemed her condition life-threatening enough to warrant an operation to avoid prison time.

“This young woman in Georgia should have received the care she needed and deserved, without delay,” Dr. Jamila Perritt, an OBGYN and president of Physicians for Reproductive Health, says.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder that as these legal restrictions continue to spread across the country, we will continue seeing devastating consequences, including more preventable deaths, changes in our healthcare landscape, and widening health inequities.” Perritt stressed that “complications following procedural or medication abortion are extremely rare,” and should they occur, it’s “critical that medical providers work to urgently ensure that all patients receive the timely, compassionate care they deserve, without fear of criminalization.”

In July 2022, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) expressed being “overjoyed” that his ban would take effect, asserting that the state would keep women “safe, healthy, and informed.” A spokesperson claims the report on Thurman’s death was merely a “fear-mongering campaign.”

However, Kemp is being called out on social media in response to the findings.

“You did this @GovKemp,” one critic wrote.

“Every SCOTUS Justice who voted to repeal Roe is responsible for her death along with every Republican in GA who voted for the draconian law that contributed,” added someone else. “It’s 2024, and Republicans have taken is back to the days when women die in pregnancy because they can’t get care.”

Abortion rights are among the forefront issues during the 2024 election, with Vice President Kamala Harris calling Thurman’s death a consequence of the Donald Trump administration.

“This young mother should be alive, raising her son, and pursuing her dream of attending nursing school,” Harris said in a statement.

“Women are bleeding out in parking lots, turned away from emergency rooms, losing their ability to ever have children again. Survivors of rape and incest are being told they cannot make decisions about what happens next to their bodies. And now women are dying. These are the consequences of Donald Trump’s actions.”

by Sharelle B. McNair

September 17, 2024

Trump Points The Finger At Joe Biden And Kamala Harris For Alleged Second Assassination Attempt

Always playing the blame game....

Former President Donald Trump says the alleged second assassination attempt against him is due to the violent “rhetoric” pushed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, The Hill reports.

After law enforcement arrested Ryan Wesley Routh for allegedly pointing a gun through a fence near the Trump International Golf Club where the former President was playing a round of golf on Sept. 15, the four-time indicted businessman called his political opponents “the real threat” as Routh “believed” them. “He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it. Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out,” Trump said.

“They do it with a combination of rhetoric and lawsuits they wrap me up in. These are the things that dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to. That is the rhetoric they listen to, and the same with the first one.”

The incident happened close to two months after a gunman allegedly took a shot at Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania, striking him in the ear and killing one man in attendance. Shortly after thanking supporters for their concerns and well wishes, he turned the tables on Biden and Harris again on X on Sept. 16, claiming they “want to destroy our country” and took the opportunity to issue his thoughts on immigration. “Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse! Allowing millions of people, from places unknown, to INVADE and take over our Country is an unpardonable sin,” he wrote in a lengthy post.

“Our border must be closed, and the terrorists, criminals, and mentally insane, immediately removed from American cities and towns, deported back to their countries of origin. We want people to come into our country, but they must love our nation and come in legally and through a system of merit. The world is laughing at us as fools; they are stealing our jobs and our wealth. We cannot let them laugh any longer. Make America great again!”

The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2024

Both Biden and Harris expressed relief that Trump was OK, even condemning political violence. “I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today,” Harris said in a statement on Sept. 15.

“As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.”

During the previous assassination attempt, Biden called for “cooler heads.” According to The Washington Post, Trump admitted that the President “couldn’t have been nicer” after calling to check on him — even asking if he needed more security detail.

The suspect has openly criticized Trump on social media and shared campaign slogans from Biden and Harris. However, authorities still have not identified a motive behind the actions. After Trump bashed Biden and Harris, several former GOP allies called him out for not having more accountability. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) issued a statement on social media saying that the incident is partly MAGA’s fault. “Look, violent rhetoric is wrong and has no place,” he wrote.

“But MAGA pretending they didn’t light this fire is gaslighting to the 100th power. Since Trump showed up, our politics has gone to crap. Literally just accused a group of people of eating our pets,” referencing the false claims of Haitian migrants eating neighborhood dogs and cats in Ohio.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

September 17, 2024

Garcelle Beauvais Responds To Trump’s ‘Disgusting’ Haitian Immigrant Conspiracy Theories

Garcelle Beauvais urges public to vote to stop the "chaos" being spread by Donald Trump.

Garcelle Beauvais refuses to remain silent while Donald Trump and JD Vance continue to spread debunked claims about Haitian immigrants.

The actress and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star took to Instagram on Sept. 16 to respond to the “dangerous” and “disgusting” claims made by the former President and VP hopeful. With Beauvais being a Haitian immigrant herself, who moved to the US at age seven before rising to fame as a model, actress, and television star, she found it necessary to address Trump’s “racism” head-on.

“Staying silent in the face of racism and hate is something that I refuse to do,” she explained. “This past week, the lies that have been spewed about the Haitian community — about my community — have been disgusting, deeply hurtful, and dangerous.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Garcelle Beauvais (@garcelle)

The Coming to America star went on to dispel any misconceptions about immigrants’ intentions when starting a new life in the US.

“Coming to America, working hard, that’s what we do,” Beauvais said. “Coming from gratitude.”

“And I will not sit by and let people talk about my community in any way they want for their own gain,” she added.

In her caption, Beauvais explained how she has “been holding this in for a week, hoping praying it would go away, but it hasn’t!!” Her video comes in response to Trump’s claims against migrants in Springfield, Ohio, during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last Tuesday.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump said. “They’re eating … they’re eating the pets of the people that live there!”

The moderators fact-checked and debunked the claims during the live debate. However, a recent YouGov poll shows that 22% of Trump supporters believe his claims about migrants abducting and eating dogs and cats are “definitely true,” while 30% said that they are “probably true,” and another 24% said they aren’t sure.

In the wake of Trump’s claims against migrants, reports are showing an increase in violence against the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio. Wittenburg University canceled an event on Sunday after receiving a bomb threat targeting members of its Haitian community.

“Wittenberg University is currently taking extreme precautions following an email sent Saturday, Sept. 14, that threatened a potential shooting on-campus on Sunday, September 15, 2024,” the university said in a campus alert. “The message targeted Haitian members of our community.”

Hospitals and elementary schools have also been targeted as a result of Trump and J.D. Vance alleging Haitian immigrants are eating locals’ pets.

Now, in response to the increased attacks against Haitians, Beauvais is using her power as a public figure to raise awareness and advocate for her community. In her video, she spoke in both Haitian Creole and English, urging her followers to vote and emphasizing that it’s the only way to bring about change and end this ‘madness.'”

“The power we have is to vote, to register and vote, and stop this madness, this chaos,” Beauvais said. “We’re supposed to be uplifting each other, from our leaders to our neighbors. This has got to stop… we can’t just sit by. Register to vote. We have 50-something days. Go out and vote. We need to stop this chaos.”

Her heartfelt message received swarms of support from her fans and friends in Hollywood, including Jamie Foxx, who left three heart emojis, and others from the Real Housewives franchise.

“Supporting you and your community ❤️❤️,” RHOBH alum Crystal Kung Minkoff wrote.

“It’s about HUMANITY. Thank you @garcelle 🇺🇸,” Andy Cohen added.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 17, 2024

After A Decade, Kevin Liles Steps Down As 300 Entertainment CEO

The announcement comes just short of the 10th anniversary of the label which debuted in late 2014.

Kevin Liles, the former Def Jam executive and CEO of 300 Entertainment, is stepping away from his position at the label he co-created with Lyor Cohen, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold.

According to Billboard, the news comes just short of the label’s 10th anniversary, which debuted in late 2014. Liles informed his staff that he is stepping down from his role as chairman and CEO.

“The cultural impact we created in ten years when starting from scratch is simply unmatched in the modern era,” said Liles. “We transformed our value proposition -– ‘mindset of independent, muscle of a major’ –- into a model for the rest of the industry to chase in this new era of music. But if there’s one consistent in music and culture, it’s that change is inevitable.”

After a decade, it’s time to pass the torch.

On Sept 30, I’ll be departing 3EE and WMG, and our incredibly talented home-grown leaders, Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab, as well as the outstanding Gregg Nadel have my blessings for the future. pic.twitter.com/6rlomjECSb

— Kevin Liles (@KevinLiles1) September 17, 2024

Liles allegedly told the staff members that although he was leaving the position, he would be staying on as a consultant throughout the year.

Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl said that Liles is an “extraordinary brand-builder, artist advocate, and champion of creative expression.” He also stated that the position that Liles is vacating will not be replaced but will still have “first-class leaders” in co-presidents Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab, as well as Elektra President Gregg Nadel.

The label was home to recording artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Gunna, Migos, Fetty Wap, Shy Glizzy, Tee Grizzley, and Young Thug. The Warner Music Group acquired 300 Entertainment in 2021, incorporating the label into the Atlantic Music Group and then forming the 300 Elektra Entertainment Group in 2022.

In his letter to 300 Entertainment staff, he said, “I have full faith in the leadership of Rayna, Selim, and Gregg, and I want to extend a sincere thank you to Len and the senior leaders at WMG who have empowered our success, particularly Robert, Max, and Julie.

“Thank You, and God Bless,
Kevin”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 17, 2024

Brett Favre Loses Again In Appeal Against Shannon Sharpe

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Favre's request to reinstate defamation lawsuit against his fellow NFL Hall of Famer.

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre was accused of allegedly committing welfare fraud in his home state of Mississippi. After it was reported by Shannon Sharpe, who was on the FS1 show Undisputed in 2023, Favre filed a defamation lawsuit against the former football player.

Last October, a federal judge dismissed Favre’s defamation lawsuit, stating that Sharpe’s remarks about Favre’s connection to a welfare misspending case in Mississippi were constitutionally protected speech. In July, the NFL Hall of Famer asked a federal appeals court to reinstate the lawsuit. On Sept. 16, a federal appeals court refused to restore the lawsuit.

According to ESPN, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Favre’s request. The court ruled that Sharpe’s comments were constitutionally protected opinions based on publicly known facts.

“His statements are better viewed as strongly stated opinions about the widely reported welfare scandal,” Judge Leslie Southwick wrote on behalf of a unanimous three-judge appellate panel.

She said that the alleged inaccuracies were corrected during the show by Skip Bayless, who stated that Favre was not criminally charged and returned the initial $1.1 million paid to him. Southwick also mentioned that Sharpe also clarified during the episode that Favre had said he didn’t know the source of the funds.

“At the time Sharpe made the statements, the facts on which he was relying were publicly known, and Sharpe had a right to characterize those publicly known facts caustically and unfairly,” Southwick wrote.

At the time, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White claimed that Favre improperly received $1.1 million in speaking fees that were supposed to go toward a volleyball arena at The University of Southern Mississippi. The school is Favre’s alma mater, and his daughter played volleyball there. The money paid to Favre was from a nonprofit organization that spent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money with approval from the state Department of Human Services.

Initially, Sharpe said Favre was “taking from the underserved,” that he “stole money from people that really needed that money,” and that someone would have to be a sorry person “to steal from the lowest of the low.”

by Sharelle B. McNair

September 17, 2024

Black Voters Matter Announce $15M Spend On Campaign Efforts In Key Battleground States

Get out there and vote!

The New York Times reports that nonpartisan national organization Black Voters Matter announced its plan to spend $15 million on campaign efforts to ignite voter engagement in close to 12 battleground states.

The group, which focuses on mobilizing Black voters, says the campaign will include radio advertisements, bus tours in battleground state cities and HBCUs, and a robust canvassing operation targeting an increase in Black turnout at the polls in swing states and the Deep South.

As both presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, are zoning in on the best ways to engage with Black voters, a key constituency, group Co-Founder and Executive Director Cliff Albright says the seven weeks before Election Day are critical to voter engagement. “When we say that this is the most important election of a lifetime, oftentimes it’s overused in previous years,” he said.

“But in some very, very real and concrete ways, that is the case this election year.”

Albright and his Co-Founder, LaTosha Brown, have been outspoken about the severity of the 2024 political cycle from the beginning. In July 2024, according to MSNBC, the founders released a statement in shock at President Joe Biden being encouraged to drop out of the race following his debate performance.

They accused liberals of formulating a plan to oust Biden, which would result in undermining the democratic process and overruling Black primary voters.

However, their feelings haven’t stopped Black Voters Matter from focusing on not just engaging voters but also helping them to engage with each other and having conversations about important issues. Some of their programming targets Black men, who polls show are issuing heavy support toward Trump despite the candidate’s hateful rhetoric against them. While the majority are supporting Harris, Trump has not paused his effort to garner support from Black men, resulting in close race margins.

By working with the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, a resource that provides civic engagement training to residents of predominantly Black and low-income communities, Albright’s group aims to educate voters about what’s really at stake on Election Day, given the attacks on certain demographics. In the days gearing up toward the election, Republicans, led by GOP vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, have created anti-immigrant rhetoric aimed at the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio.

For days, the city has suffered from bomb threats as Vance, Ohio’s state senator, and Trump continue to push false narratives of Haitian residents eating pets.

The group also hopes to encourage voters to complete mail-in ballots during early voting periods in October 2024, sponsor billboards in battleground states, and coordinate running text and phone banks.

Engagement started in August, and teaming up with influential organizing resources such as the Divine Nine and the Black church, it will enter the next phase of its push with a concert series that will begin in Atlanta at the end of September.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 17, 2024

NYPD Officer Shoots Fellow Officer Along With Innocent Bystanders On Subway Platform

Derell Mickles was shot along with two innocent bystanders and a police officer when another policeman fired shots on a subway platform.

A subway shooting has left questions on the tactics used by police officers as an alleged fare-evader was shot by an NYPD officer along with two innocent bystanders and another police officer at the scene.

According to NBC New York, a police officer was allegedly shot by a fellow policeman who also shot two subway riders and the alleged fare-evader, Derell Mickles. The incident took place at a Brooklyn subway station platform. The shooting left the shot officer with minor injuries while one of the two bystanders, a 49-year-old man, was in the hospital in critical condition after he was struck in the head.

A 26-year-old woman was also grazed by one of the bullets fired by police officers. The shot police officer was hit underneath his left armpit. He was expected to make a full recovery.

The police officers alleged that Mickles was armed with a knife.

This took place at the Sutter Avenue subway stop on the L line. The two police officers noticed Mickles allegedly walked through an open gate instead of paying his fare at the turnstile. The cops followed him up the stairs to the elevated platform around 3 p.m. on Sept. 15. They commanded him to stop and turn around, and a verbal altercation ensued. During that time, the police officers “became aware of a knife,” according to Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey at a press conference at Brookdale Hospital.

Based on body-worn camera footage, Maddrey said Mickles allegedly said to the officers, “I’m going to kill you if you don’t stop following me.”

As the train pulled into the station, the doors opened, and Mickles jumped inside. After he entered the subway car, the officers fired their Taser, but it did not stop him. They stated he then allegedly charged them with a knife, and that was when both officers shot multiple rounds at him, hitting him several times. He is in critical condition at the hospital.

Interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlan, who just took on the role last week, made a statement about the shooting.

“We will be working through the timeline of today, but make no mistake, the events that occurred on the Sutter Avenue station platform are the results of an armed perpetrator who was confronted by our officers doing the job we asked them to do,” Donlan said.

New York City Public Schools, Homeless Children

by Daniel Johnson

September 17, 2024

NYC School Employees Accused Of Sending Their Kids On Trips Reseved For Homeless Children

According to Department of Education spokesperson Jenna Lyle, none of the people listed in the report are currently employed by New York City Public Schools.

Investigators are accusing six employees of New York City Public Schools of taking their children or grandchildren on trips to Disney World, New Orleans, or other locations that were meant for homeless children to experience.

According to the Associated Press, the trips were designed to enrich the lives of homeless children and students living in shelters or other temporary housing. According to Anastasia Coleman, the special commissioner of Investigation for New York City schools, the trips included excursions to Washington D.C., Boston, and Broadway shows.

According to a report released in September, Linda Wilson, the Queens regional manager for the office that houses the program supporting students in temporary housing, took her own kids instead of the children the program had been designed to benefit. According to a staffer, Wilson commented on one occasion, “What happens here stays with us.”

The investigation began in 2019 after a whistleblower brought a complaint in March of that year. The special commissioner’s report, completed in January 2023 but recently released on Sept. 9, spawned from that complaint involving trips taken between 2016 and 2019.

According to that report, Wilson forged permission slips to get family members on the trips and escaped scrutiny from the Department of Education by using an outside travel agent. In addition, some of the trips were intended to be college tours, but according to witnesses, none of the students or chaperones ever visited any campuses.

According to the AP, the special commissioner’s report recommended that all of the employees listed in the report be fired, and according to Department of Education spokesperson Jenna Lyle, none of the people listed in the report are currently employed by New York City Public Schools. Wilson, however, maintains that she retired and was not officially terminated and has referred to the probe conducted by Coleman’s office as “a witch hunt,” in addition to denying that she took her daughters on the trips or encouraged other staff members to bring their children.

According to the January 2023 letter Coleman sent to NYC Public Schools Chancellor David C. Banks: “It is the recommendation of this office that the employment of Linda Wilson, Shaquieta Boyd, Mishawn Jack, Virgen Ramos, and Maria Sylvester be terminated, and that problem codes be attached to each of their personnel files to serve as permanent bars to future employment with the DOE, within any of its facilities, or with any of its vendors.”

The letter continued, “Although Joanne Castro has retired from the DOE, it is the recommendation of this office that a problem code be attached to her personnel file to serve as a permanent bar to future employment with the DOE, within any of its facilities, or with any of its vendors. Further, the DOE should seek reimbursement for all expenses incurred by the DOE on the part of those who wrongly benefitted from these actions.”