Assembly Resolution No. 750

BY: M. of A. Hunter

HONORING Melanie Littlejohn upon the occasion of
her retirement after 30 years of distinguished
service to National Grid-New York

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to acknowledge
those individuals whose professional lives and civic endeavors serve to
enhance the stature of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Melanie Littlejohn upon the occasion of her retirement after 30 years of
distinguished service to National Grid-New York; and

WHEREAS, For the past 30 years, Melanie Littlejohn has rendered
faithful, conscientious and valuable service to National Grid-New York;
and

WHEREAS, Having grown up in Queens, New York, Melanie Littlejohn
arrived in Syracuse, New York in 1991 and jumpstarted her career by
serving as deputy director of the Urban League of Onondaga County, a
civil rights group; and

WHEREAS, Well-educated and respected, Melanie Littlejohn earned a
bachelor's degree from SUNY Stony Brook and a Master of Business
Administration from Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management;
and

WHEREAS, Prior to 2017 when she was named to her current position,
Melanie Littlejohn served as Director of Customer & Community Management
in Upstate New York, joining the former Niagara Mohawk Power
Corporation, in April of 1994 as the Director of Inclusion &
Diversity-US Operations; she rose through the ranks to achieve the
prestigious position of Vice President of Customer and Community
Engagement for National Grid statewide; and

WHEREAS, As Vice President of Customer & Community Engagement for
National Grid-New York, Melanie Littlejohn has guided the company's
corporate social responsibility effort called Project C, which focuses
on spreading positive change across New York communities, supporting
initiatives for affordable housing, food giveaways, and community
dialogues on race; with her advisement, the company is now looking to
address child poverty, racial equity, and other critical issues; and

WHEREAS, With a priority to build and maintain strong relationships
that drive superior customer satisfaction, Melanie Littlejohn promotes
safety and reliability of the energy networks, emergency management,
economic development initiatives, energy efficiency programs, renewable
energy solutions and facilities the process to deliver distributed
energy resource projects to support customer and New York State needs;
and

WHEREAS, Moving on from National Grid and taking over as president
and CEO of the Central New York Community Foundation on March 1, 2024,

Melanie Littlejohn has rendered a myriad of achievements in her time
holding the position, such as helping customers recover from Hurricane
Sandy in 2012 and personally caring about the company's response to
emergencies; and

WHEREAS, One of the most visible community advocates in the Syracuse
community, Melanie Littlejohn volunteers and is on the board of a myriad
of organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Syracuse, where she
served 17 years and helped develop the Hamilton Street location; she has
served on at least 15 boards since then, including the Community
Foundation, which she chaired from 2011 to 2013, Onondaga Community
College, CenterState CEO, and Pathfinder Bank; and

WHEREAS, Melanie has also received numerous awards such as the
2022-Yva Jourdan Foundation-Women of Prestige; 2019 Wisdom Keeper, 2014
Partners for Education and Business-Business Leaders Award, the 2012
House of Providence Humanitarian Award, the Network Journal's 25
Influential Black Women in Business award in 2011, the 2011 Leadership
Greater Syracuse Distinguished Community Leader Award, 2011 Community
Wide Dialogue Racial Justice Award, 2010 NAACP Freedom Award, and CNY 40
Below; and

WHEREAS, In her capacity as Vice President of Customer & Community
Engagement for National Grid-New York, Melanie Littlejohn served with
loyalty, honor and distinction, and was governed by a keen sense of duty
and always showed a unique grasp of human problems in her official acts;
and

WHEREAS, With her throughout have been her husband, David, and their
children, Jared and Cameron, all of whom feel privileged to be a part of
her life and rejoice in her achievements; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when
individuals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our
attention, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens
of the great State of New York; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Melanie Littlejohn upon the occasion of her retirement after 30
years of distinguished service to National Grid-New York; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Melanie Littlejohn.