Cazenovia College selects Syracuse Deputy Mayor Owens as commencement speaker

CAZENOVIA, N.Y. — Cazenovia College announced that Syracuse Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens will deliver the commencement address at the college’s 193rd graduation ceremony on May 19.

Owens, a graduate of Syracuse University, has worked for more than 30 years in the fields of housing, community development, human services, and government.

In her current role as deputy mayor, Owens oversees city programs and services that address quality of life in the community, including neighborhood and business development; parks and recreation; and the police and fire departments. Owens also serves as chief of staff to Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.

Prior to her appointment in city government, Owens served as the third CEO of the nonprofit Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility, Inc., the managing entity of the Southwest Community Center.

She had previously worked for the City of Syracuse as deputy commissioner of neighborhood and business development from 2010 to 2013. In this role, Owens administered the city’s community development block grant funding to help foster the revitalization of neighborhoods and the creation of job opportunities through housing, community development, and economic-development efforts.

More about Owens

Owens also has “extensive” experience in the nonprofit sector, Cazenovia College said in a news release.

She served as deputy director of housing for Home HeadQuarters, Inc. and for Jubilee Homes of Syracuse. In both positions, she was responsible for program development, grant writing, and supervision of staff.

Owens also worked at People’s Equal Action and Community Effort, Inc. (PEACE) as the Early Head Start family and community coordinator and the youth-services component director.

In addition, Owens currently serves on the executive committee of the Greater Syracuse HOPE Initiative; along with Consensus, the commission on local-government modernization; and the I-81 community-stakeholder committee.

The Syracuse–based Gifford Foundation in 2015 awarded Owens “The Kathy,” an award recognizing her “commitment to establishing sound community-impacting advocacy for community residents and their families,” according to the Cazenovia release.

“The Kathy” is the Kathy Goldfarb-Findling Leadership Award, according to the website of the Gifford Foundation.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Photo credit: City of Syracuse, provided by Cazenovia College