For More Information Contact:
Catherine Durland (845) 486-2133
Poughkeepsie, New York: Dutchess County Clerk Bradford H. Kendall will host a Naturalization Ceremony and administer the Oath of Allegiance to approximately fifty citizens. The event will be held on Friday, December 1, 2017 at 1:30 in the afternoon at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, 12 Vassar Street in the City of Poughkeepsie. The Honorable James D. Pagones, AJSC, Dutchess County Surrogate’s Court and Acting Supreme Court Justice, will preside over the ceremony. Pari Forood, Executive Director for the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation and author of The Gates of Light will deliver the keynote address.
Serving as Executive Director of the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation she is responsible for and oversees all foundation activities. In the twelve years since the Foundation’s inception and under her leadership, over $2 million dollars has been donated to support services and outreach for people affected by breast cancer within the 9 counties of the Hudson Valley region.
The Foundation, its founders and Ms. Forood have been honored by numerous organizations including Marist College, the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley, the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Centers, the Dutchess County Health Department, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Ms. Forood has written articles for magazines, newspapers, and hospital publications. She is also the author of, The Gates of Light, published in May 2015. A true-life novel about immigration, both as a policy statement and a personal account, relating to her family’s story.
Ms. Forood has served in various roles including Press Secretary for former U.S. Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr., Vice-President of Operations for two radio stations and as a voice over talent for radio and television commercials and industry films. She serves on various non-profit boards in Connecticut and New York. Ms. Forood earned a BA from Vassar College and a Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Non-Profit Management from Marist College.
Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes all naturalization applications and provides the clerk’s office with a list of the candidates selected to be naturalized. All petitioners must then participate in a Naturalization Ceremony and swear to the Oath of Allegiance in a formal court proceeding. At that time, they can change their names legally to have their new names appear on the Certificate of Naturalization.
The Dutchess County Clerk’s Office is honored to take part in the final step of the naturalization process. In Dutchess County, naturalization ceremonies are held bi-monthly to induct new citizens of the United States of America.
The ceremony is open to the public and all are invited to attend.
