"Where the North American St. Nicholas Revolution Began" | |||||
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2016 Spirit of St. Nicholas Award Winner
Exercising Compassion – Catrina Ganey Youth Mentor, Teacher and Advocate
“Anyone
who does anything
to help a child in this
life,
is a hero to me.”
Former Pediatric Chaplain, Children’s Hospital of MI, Detroit; Youth Mentor & Advocate, Bronx, NY Stage & screen actress, Catrina Ganey (pictured above), portraying Maxine Dupuis, in a “Law & Order” episode. Ms. Catrina Ganey is a teacher, poet and professional actress. She is an Associate Dominican with the Racine Dominicans of Wisconsin. Prior to moving to NY to pursue acting dreams, Ganey was an associate chaplain with Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. She is currently serving as an adjunct lecturer at Laguardia Community College in Queens and the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Presently, Ganey is an instructor with Dream Yard Projects in the Bronx where she teaches the art of poetry to middle-school students. Dream Yard Projects: A Catalyst for Mentoring Youth By means of her dedicated work with Dream Yard Projects, Catrina Ganey, work along alongside her colleagues “collaborate with Bronx youth, families and schools to build pathways to equity and opportunity through the arts.” Ever sensitive to the numerous cultural backgrounds represented in the Bronx, Ms. Ganey now shares her love for poetry, and professional skills in the performing arts with children living in an urban community where 63% of households live in poverty. It’s a sad fact that more than half of the neighborhood’s children of all school-ages consistently fail to attain learning standards set by the city or state. For this reason alone, Ms. Ganey recognizes that after-school and arts programming that instills healthy development in the young, thereby bercoming a hope-filled force in the community. Consequently, Catrina is committed to embodying the mission and goals embraced by Dream Yard. www.dreamyard.com “What you have received as a gift, give as a gift!” - Matthew 10:8
Gifts Drawn from Her Professional Acting Career As a New York City based acting professional, Catrina Ganey’s acting credits include: “The Sopranos”, “Law and Order” and a variety of outstanding performances on HBO, CBS, NBC. Ms. Ganey has likewise performed in a variety of regional theaters, all across the country. She performed as “Lena” (pictured, below) in the critically acclaimed play: "Brownsville Song" at the prestigious Long Wharf Theater. “…the production's heart and soul is in the performances of [Catrina] Ganey and [Curtis] Cook. As the powerful and secretly terrified Lena, Ganey is a force of nature, coming up to the edge of being too big for the room; but just. And her opening monologue is a dazzling display of beautifully measured emotion.” - Frank Rizzo, "Brownsville Song" (Hartford Courent / Stage Notes, Theater News & Reviews, July 24, 2014)
Catrina Ganey: “Brownsville Song” is About Hope Her TV drama appearances also include: CBS’s “Blue Bloods”, HBO’s “Girls”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “The Sopranos”, NBC shows; “Law and Order: S. V. U.”, “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” and “Law and Order”. She has also appeared on the HULU series:“Deadbeat” and "The Path" opposite Kathleen Turner. She was also seen in the Christopher Award winning show:"The Jim Gaffigan Show" opposite Jim Gaffigan. Her film credits include: “Nasty Baby” with Kristin Wiig, “Bringing Out The Dead” with Nicholas Cage, “Freedomland” opposite Julianne Moore and Samuel L. Jackson, “Carry Me Home” with Jane Alexander and the Sundance Film Festival award-winning independent film, “3 Backyards”.
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Copyright� 2011-2015 - St. Nicholas Institute - Livonia Michigan | |||||
Catrina
Ganey
and Curtiss
Cook, Jr.
in "Brownsville
Song (b side for tray)''
at Long Wharf
Theatre.
(T. Charles Erickson)
Actress
Catrina
Ganey
(above) at the world premiere of, “Freedomland,”
a
motion picture she performed in. Actors, Samuel
L. Jackson
and Julianne
Moore
were the film’s co-stars. The memorable gala event was held at
Loews,
Lincoln Square
on February 13, 2006.
(Photo
Credit: Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMA)