PROGRAM
Monday, October 21
5:00PM: Doors Open
5:30PM: Screening
7:00PM: Post-screening discussion
Roosevelt House, along with Eleanor’s Legacy, are proud to present a screening of Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way, the award-winning documentary about the life and legacy of the first woman in American history to be nominated for Vice President by a major political party.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Geraldine Ferraro’s nomination as Walter Mondale’s running mate in the 1984 Presidential election. Though the Mondale-Ferraro ticket did not win the White House, Ferraro’s achievements forever changed our understanding of what is possible for women in politics. Paving the Way traces Geraldine Ferraro’s groundbreaking journey from her impoverished childhood to the heights of public service as she rose from Queens District Attorney to the halls of Congress and beyond.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion about the enduring significance of Ferraro’s historic candidacy—and its profound resonance at a moment when our nation’s first woman Vice-President stands on the brink of breaking American politics’ ultimate glass ceiling.
The panel will include Donna Zaccaro, Geraldine Ferraro’s daughter and the film’s director and producer; Julie Shiroishi, Executive Director of Eleanor’s Legacy; and the Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Leader in Residence at Roosevelt House and former Congresswoman, the Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney.
Donna Zaccaro is the producer and director of Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way and president of Ferrodonna Features, a non-profit production company with a mission of producing films about women, women’s issues and social justice issues. Donna also served as director and producer of To A More Perfect Union: US v. Windsor, an award-winning documentary about civil rights icon Edie Windsor and the cases that made her so. Before founding Ferrodonna Features, Zaccaro was a longtime, award-winning producer for “Today” at NBC News. She has also worked in politics, public affairs marketing and communications, and investment banking. Zaccaro serves as Board Chair for Eleanor’s Legacy.
Julie Shiroishi is the executive director of Eleanor’s Legacy, an organization that recruits, trains and supports pro-choice democratic women for state and local elected office in New York. In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, Shiroishi shifted from publishing to politics, becoming chief of staff to a NYS Assemblymember and Chair of the Dutchess County Democratic Committee. A delegate representing New York’s 18th Congressional District at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Shiroishi currently serves as a Vice Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee and is a founding member of its AAPI Caucus.
Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney is the Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Leader in Residence at Roosevelt House and a longtime former member of New York’s Congressional Delegation in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first woman to Chair the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the Joint Economic Committee. She authored and passed more than 81 landmark measures, including the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, the Postal Service Reform Act, and the Credit CARD Act. She is also a former Chair and current Board Member of the ERA Coalition.