Gilda E. Nardone

Last updated
Gilda E. Nardone
Born
Presque Isle, Maine
NationalityAmerican
OccupationNonprofit director, women's employment advocate
Years active1978—present
EmployerNew Ventures Maine
Awards Maine Women's Hall of Fame, 1991

Gilda E. Nardone is an American women's employment advocate and nonprofit director. She is the executive director of New Ventures Maine, a career counseling and employment development program for middle-aged and older women who have been thrust into the role of family breadwinner due to the death or disability of a spouse, divorce, or separation. Nardone has been one of the directors of the organization, headquartered at the University of Maine at Augusta, since its inception as the Maine Displaced Homemakers Program in 1978. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.

The University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) is located in the state capital of Augusta, Maine, and is a part of the University of Maine System. UMA is a regional state university providing baccalaureate and select associate degrees for residents of Central Maine. The university has campuses in Augusta and Bangor, and courses offered online and across the state. UMA delivers programs to both recent high school graduates and returning adults.

Maine Womens Hall of Fame

The Maine Women's Hall of Fame was created in 1990 to honor the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Maine. The induction ceremonies are held each year during March, designated as Women's History Month. Nominees are chosen by the public via an online nomination form. The University of Maine at Augusta displays the hall of fame in its Bennett D. Katz Library, and also hosts the hall of fame online at the university's website. The nomination form lists three criteria for eligibility:

Contents

Early life and education

Nardone grew up in Presque Isle, Maine, [1] the daughter of Orlando Nardone and Sara (Sally) Culberson Nardone. [2] She has one sister and one brother. [2] Her father died suddenly of a heart attack in 1965, forcing her mother to reenter the workforce after twenty years as a homemaker. [2]

Presque Isle, Maine City in Maine, United States

Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,078 in 2017 as estimated by the US Census, a decrease from the count of 9,692 in the 2010 Census. The city is home to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College, Husson University Presque Isle, Northern Maine Fairgrounds, The Aroostook Centre Mall, and the Presque Isle International Airport.

Myocardial infarction Interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart

Myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to a part of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may travel into the shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw. Often it occurs in the center or left side of the chest and lasts for more than a few minutes. The discomfort may occasionally feel like heartburn. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, nausea, feeling faint, a cold sweat, or feeling tired. About 30% of people have atypical symptoms. Women more often present without chest pain and instead have neck pain, arm pain, or feel tired. Among those over 75 years old, about 5% have had an MI with little or no history of symptoms. An MI may cause heart failure, an irregular heartbeat, cardiogenic shock, or cardiac arrest.

Housewife woman whose main occupation is running or managing the familys home

A housewife is a woman whose work is running or managing her family's home—caring for her children; buying, cooking, and storing food for the family; buying goods that the family needs for everyday life; housekeeping, cleaning and maintaining the home; and making, buying and/or mending clothes for the family—and who is not employed outside the home. A housewife who has children may be called a stay-at-home mother or mom and a househusband may be called a male homemaker or stay-at-home father.

After graduating from high school in 1966, [3] Nardone attended Westbrook College in Portland, Maine on a scholarship and graduated with an associate degree, entering the workforce as a secretary. [1] [3] In the 1970s she moved to Cape Cod to work as a day care teacher, and earned her bachelor's degree through University Without Walls, run by the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She later attained a master's degree in educational administration at Wheelock College in Boston. At the age of 30, she returned to Maine to work in women's advocacy. [1]

Westbrook College

Westbrook College was a liberal arts college in Portland, Maine, founded 1831 as Westbrook Seminary in Westbrook, Maine. It closed in 1996 and merged with the University of New England, which uses its old campus.

Portland, Maine Largest city in Maine, United States

Portland is a city in the U.S. state of Maine, with a population of 67,067 as of 2017. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, more than one-third of Maine's total population, making it the most populous metro in northern New England. Portland is Maine's economic center, with an economy that relies on the service sector and tourism. The Old Port district is known for its 19th-century architecture and nightlife. Marine industry still plays an important role in the city's economy, with an active waterfront that supports fishing and commercial shipping. The Port of Portland is the largest tonnage seaport in New England.

An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded, primarily in the United States, after a course of post-secondary study lasting two or three years. It is a level of qualification between a high school diploma or GED and a bachelor's degree.

Maine Displaced Homemakers Program

In 1978 Nardone co-founded the Maine Displaced Homemakers Program and became its director. [4] The program, headquartered at the University of Maine at Augusta, assisted middle-aged and older women thrust into the role of family breadwinner after the death or disability of a spouse, divorce, or separation. These women were called "displaced homemakers" because their original goal had been to nurture their families in the home rather than enter the workforce. [4] The program provided "prevocational training", employment counseling, job placement assistance, and a statewide toll-free information and referral line for job-seekers, and interacted with local, state, regional, and national organizations to increase employment opportunities and business development. [5]

By 1993, 1,000 women annually were signing up for the program, [4] and its budget had grown from $15,000 in 1978 to nearly $1 million in 1993. [1] In the mid-1990s the program was renamed the Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community. In the 2000s it began widening its focus to meet the needs of women wishing to broaden their professional and business opportunities. By 2010, Women, Work and Community had set up 18 locations around the state providing individual career coaching and seminars on financial management and starting a business. [6] In 2016 the program was rebranded as New Ventures Maine, with Nardone continuing as executive director. [7]

Awards and honors

In 2008 Nardone was named the Women in Business Champion by the Maine and New England chapters of the Small Business Administration. [8] She is also the recipient of the 1989 Progress Award from the Maine Commission for Women, and the 1991 Maryann Hartman Award from the University of Maine Women's Studies Program. [1] She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 1991. [1]

Small Business Administration United States government agency that supports entrepreneurs and small businesses

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters". The agency's activities are summarized as the "3 Cs" of capital, contracts and counseling.

In 2015 a Gilda E. Nardone Scholarship Fund was established at the University of Maine at Augusta to assist university students who undertook a career development or business development training program through New Ventures Maine. [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Honorees: Gilda E. Nardone". University of Maine at Augusta. 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sara C. Nadone Obituary". Bangor Daily News . 18 February 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 Pohlmann, Lisa (1997). "Overcoming Barriers, Building on Strengths: Maine women look at aspirations". Maine Policy Review. 6 (2): 36–43.
  4. 1 2 3 Weber, Tom (19 March 1993). "Hall-of-famer helps displaced homemakers find their way". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Displaced Homemaker Connection". Maine Connections. Maine Department of Labor: 5. March 1987.
  6. ↑ Abbott, Kelsey (January 2010). "Wendy Rose, Gilda Nardone and the Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community: Starting Where Women Are Part of 'Making Change Happen: Women Creating a Better Maine'" (PDF). Maine Women's Fund. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "MPC Member Spotlight: Gilda Nardone of New Ventures Maine". Maine Philanthropy Center. 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "On the Move". Portland Press Herald . 8 June 2008. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Gilda E. Nardone Scholarship Fund". University of Maine at Augusta. 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
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