Mary Grace Henry of Reverse The Course Receives 2015 Becker Salon Leadership Award

The first 2015 recipient of the Becker Salon Leadership Award is Mary Grace Henry, a senior at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich and founder of Reverse The Course, which helps fund education for impoverished girls through sales of hair accessories and donations.  Becker Salon, located at 380 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Conn, established its annual Leadership Award in 2013 to honor outstanding leaders in the community who are making a difference.

The award is given to leaders, male or female, of 501(c) (3) nonprofit organizations of any size in Fairfield and Westchester counties.  Leaders are chosen who are successfully fulfilling a mission and who demonstrate passion and commitment to a cause. Four leaders will be awarded this year.

“We want to recognize those who do so much to make lives better,” said Becker Chicaiza, salon founder.  “Through her hard work, creativity and determination, Mary Grace has changed the lives of girls in an extraordinary way.” Leadership award winners receive a complimentary Becker Salon experience - a haircut, color and style, a plaque and a donation to their organization.  In March, Henry’s hair accessories were available for sale at Becker Salon, along with information on Reverse The Course.

Henry started making reversible headbands six years ago to help girls escape poverty and receive educational opportunities in Africa and the Americas. To date, Reverse The Course, www.reversethecourse.org, has sold over 14,000 hair accessories and with the help of a recent grant from the World of Children Award and donations, has provided 154 years of financial support for 66 girls in four countries. Henry has traveled to Africa twice and recently started a new program, LEAP, Leadership Entrepreneurship Apprenticeship Program, to provide mentors and business and leadership training for girls.  Henry was featured in Teen Vogue’s “Top 10 Teens Who Have Changed the World,” The Huffington Post and WPIX 11. Her work recently caught the eye of Queen Latifah, who invited Henry to Los Angeles to discuss her projects.

Previous Becker Salon Leadership Award recipients are Shari Shapiro, Executive Director of Kids in Crisis; Lucy Day, a founding member and former president of the Breast Cancer Alliance;  Kevin Plancher, MD, founder and Chairman of the Board of the Orthopaedic Foundation; and Jieun Wax, YWCA Greenwich Board Vice Chair Development. More information about the award can be found at www.BeckerSalon.com. Salon clients are welcome to nominate future candidates. 

Becker Salon relocated to Greenwich Avenue earlier this year and now offers an expanded array of services. For more information, call 203-340-9550.

###

Photo: Becker Chicaiza of Becker Salon, left, with Mary Grace Henry of Reverse The Course, right, a 2015 Becker Salon Leadership Award recipient

Photo by Cheryl Moss Photos