HRCS Sail Academy Equipping Students with Key Life Skills

Dyan Gershman is a corporate attorney who manages her own firm, Gershman Law, PLLC, in New York City. Over the course of her career, Dyan Gershman has handled many complex corporate transactions, including numerous cross-border mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. In addition to those types of transactions, she also provides her US and international clients with legal support on a wide array of commercial contracts, and on technology and intellectual property licensing. Outside of her corporate law career, Dyan Gershman enjoys sailing and is a member of Hudson River Community Sailing.

Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS) is a non-profit that helps to promote leadership and academic success by providing sailing and maritime education to populations in New York City’s underserved neighborhoods. HRCS has a youth development program, Sail Academy, which is an after-school program that teaches 200 New York City public middle and high school students math and science, as well as teaches them about sailing and boat building skills.

Partnering with multiple public schools, HRCS Sail Academy operates from both Chelsea and Inwood. Students in the program learn to sail on the Hudson River while developing teamwork and communication skills. Sail Academy Chelsea collaborates with seven public high schools that enroll students from across the five boroughs of New York City. Sail Academy Inwood works with public middle schools whose student population resides in Inwood and Washington Heights.

The purpose of the academy is to equip students with skills needed to excel in high school, college, and careers. Besides learning sailing skills, students also learn key leadership traits that include self-confidence, teamwork, and communication. With math and science teaching, the academy boosts students’ interest in STEM subjects as well as in being ambassadors of environmental stewardship.

The Sally T. Gershman Memorial Scholarship

Accomplished corporate lawyer Dyan Gershman heads Gershman Law PLLC, a solo practice law office in New York City that offers a suite of business-related legal services such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, equity investments, commercial contracts, and general corporate counseling. She is actively involved in community service. Together with her brother Michael, Dyan Gershman established the Sally T. Gershman Memorial Scholarship in honor of her mother, Sally.

Born in New York City in 1933, Dr. Sally T. Gershman was a professor at Georgia Southern College, now known as Georgia Southern University. She taught French and European History from 1980 to 1992.

The Sally T. Gershman Memorial Scholarship is available to full-time junior or senior undergraduate female students majoring in History at Georgia Southern University. Graduate students in History may also apply for the grant. To qualify for the grant, an applicant must have a special interest in either French or European women’s history and have an outstanding academic record.

The application for the next round of the Sally T. Gershman Memorial Scholarship grant is open until February 1, 2022.

Hudson River Community Sailing City Sail Youth Program

With over 25 years of experience as an attorney for multinational corporations, Dyan Gershman opened her firm, Gershman Law, PLLC, in New York City in 2014. Alongside her active membership with the New York Women’s Bar Association, and the NYC Bar Association, Dyan Gershman is involved with numerous local charities, including Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS).

Since 2007, The HRCS has been committed to increasing academic achievement and promoting leadership development among disadvantaged youth by facilitating marine education and sailing skills courses. In addition to operating its Sail Academy in partnership with local high schools, HRCS runs a summer program for children and youth.

The City Sail program runs from June to August and invites youth from 9 to 16 years old to participate. Youth learn basic sailing skills while having a fun and memorable experience on the Hudson River. Participants are invited to sign up for multiple sessions. To increase participation among interested New York City youth, HRCS also organizes a scholarship program.

NYWBA Foundation Offers Grants to Benefit Women and Children

The founder of a New York City boutique corporate law firm, Attorney Dyan Gershman has decades of experience working with clients in areas ranging from commercial contracts, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions to technology and intellectual property licenses. Dyan Gershman belongs to numerous legal organizations including the New York Women’s Bar Association (NYWBA) and the New York City Bar.

Dedicated to enhancing women’s position not just in the legal profession but in society, the NYWBA holds a variety of educational programs and advocates politically for issues at a local, federal, and international level. In 1995, the association established a nonprofit foundation (NYWBAF) to further its goals by contributing to a diverse range of philanthropic programs that benefit women and children.

Each year, NYWBAF awards grants to worthy programs and projects that target the elimination of discrimination and gender bias in the legal profession and legal system. Other goals qualifying grant recipients include providing legal assistance to women and children and promoting gender equality either socially or economically.

Examples of projects funded by NYWBAF include the Joint Minority Bar Association’s Judicial Internship Program and distribution of the Youth Law Manual to public high schools in New York through the Justice Resource Center in Connection.