Sister Mary McCarrick, OSF, the retiring diocesan director of Catholic Charities of Buffalo, and Emmie Glynn Ryan, general counsel, chief corporate compliance officer and senior vice president of Catholic Charities Brooklyn Queens, will be honored by the New York State Council of Catholic Charities Directors at a reception on Monday, February 5, at 5:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Albany. The reception is part of the Council's two-day convening February 5-6, in which Catholic Charities personnel from throughout New York State advocate with elected and state agency officials on important issues of concern to the poor and vulnerable.

New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will address the convening earlier in the day.

Sister Mary will receive the Bishop Francis J. Mugavero Award for outstanding contributions to the work of charity and social justice. The award is named for the late Bishop of Brooklyn. Ms. Glynn Ryan will receive the Vincenza DeFazio Award for outstanding contributions to the work of New York State Council of Catholic Charities Directors. The award is named for a deceased long-time attorney with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.

Sister Mary began her religious life serving the poor in Colorado and Mexico. After receiving her Master of Social Work degree from the Worden School of Social Work in San Antonio and doing post-graduate work at the University of Rochester, she joined Catholic Charities in the 1980s, serving families dealing with issues such as domestic violence and sexual abuse. She later became executive director of Benedict House, a hospice for people with HIV/AIDS. Following a stint as the superior of her congregation, Sister Mary was appointed Diocesan Director of Catholic Charities of Buffalo by then-Bishop Edward U. Kmiec in 2009. As co-vice president of the organization and head of its annual $11 million appeal, Sister Mary strengthened the Board of Trustees, engaged in a strategic planning process, and proved a deft fundraiser. She will retire later this year.

Ms. Glynn Ryan hails from Galway, Ireland. Admitted to the bar there, she practiced law for several years before emigrating to England, practicing law in London. Following the fall and assassination of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Ms. Glynn Ryan left her firm in London to work in Romania with orphans and adults suffering from mental health problems who had been warehoused and forgotten by the government. She emigrated to New York in 1991, working two jobs and volunteering to assist victims of domestic violence. In 1995, she passed the New York State bar exam, and two years later came to Catholic Charites Brooklyn Queens as director of legal affairs, eventually rising to her current position of general counsel, chief corporate compliance officer and senior vice president. She is a member of the Criminal Justice Committee of the New York State Catholic Conference and sits on numerous not-for-profit boards. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Jim Ryan, retired news anchor of WNYC's Good Day New York, and their daughter, Saoirse, a sophomore at the University of Chicago.

The Catholic Conference represents the Bishops of New York State in public policy matters.