Westchester County Newsmakers, 1.13.2014

Leadership changes at land trust

CANDACE SCHAFER, the Westchester Land Trust (WLT) executive director since 2010, has stepped down from her professional position and will join the organization”™s board of directors, said Jonathan Wiesner, chairman of the WLT board. Replacing Schafer as WLT president is LORI J. ENSINGER.

Schafer led the land conservation organization through its 25th anniversary this year and successfully forged public and private partnerships to protect and enhance the natural resources in the Westchester and eastern Putnam County communities. She came to the WLT with experience as an architect and real estate developer having served as senior vice president at Marcus Partners in Norwalk, Conn. Her experience in the development community gave Schafer a unique and valuable perspective on land preservation, which she utilized to foster collaborations in support of protecting open space. In addition she served as the district chairwoman for the Westchester-Fairfield District Counsel of the Urban Land Institute.

“Candace is truly a dedicated professional, and has led the Westchester Land Trust”™s efforts to permanently protect environmentally valuable land throughout the region so as to enhance and preserve the quality of life in our communities for generations to come. While we are truly sorry to see Candace step down from her professional role with the organization, we are delighted that she will continue to advance the cause of land conservation as a member of our board of Directors,” said Wiesner.

Prior to accepting the WLT presidency, Ensinger was a member of the board of directors of the WLT from 2004 through 2013 and served as chairwoman of both the organization”™s investment committee and governance and nominating committee. She was also a past chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Teatown Lake Reservation and a co-founder of the Community Land Trust of New Castle. In addition to her nonprofit work and commitment to the environment and conservation issues, Ensinger has a strong background in finance having worked as an investment manager for the past 30 years.

She served most recently as managing director, head of value strategies at Columbia Management Investment Advisors in New York City where she led a team responsible for the management of $17 billion in assets. She is a Westchester native and lives in Katonah with her husband, William Kuebler.

Speaking on behalf of his fellow directors, Wiesner said, “Lori is the perfect person to lead the Westchester Land Trust during the next phase of our conservation efforts as we continue to identify and preserve important parcels of land, as well as steward those properties that we have already protected to ensure that the public has access and the opportunity to engage with the land.”

New exec at TD Bank

TD BANK has named PATRICK M. TRASK as vice president, senior loan officer in commercial lending. He is based in Purchase and is responsible for managing existing relationships and growing a commercial loan portfolio serving middle-market companies throughout Westchester County.

Trask has 25 years of experience in banking and lending. Prior to joining TD Bank, he served in commercial lending at HSBC in Buffalo, Yonkers and Poughkeepsie; The Bank of New York in White Plains and Newburgh; and JPMorgan Chase in Newburgh, White Plains and Manhattan. Trask, a certified public accountant, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

A Dutchess County resident, Trask is a 1988 graduate of the University of Notre Dame and was honorably discharged after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.

ENTA adds to its staff

Jillian Hochfelder, M.D., has joined ENT AND ALLERGY ASSOCIATES”™

Tuckahoe office. She joins otolaryngologists Jeffrey Cousin, Mark Fox and Joshua Weissman; allergist/immunologist Krzysztof Nowak and audiologist Theresa Faughnan.

Hochfelder received her Bachelor of Science degree in human biology, health and society from Cornell University where she graduated with honors and distinction. She received her medical degree from New York University School of Medicine where she was a member of the AOA Medical Honor Society. She then went on to a pediatric residency at the Morgan Stanley Children”™s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. She completed her fellowship in allergy and immunology at the Hofstra/North Shore-LIJ Health System prior to joining ENTA in August.