Westchester County Newsmakers, 10.14.13

COUNTY CLERK”™S OFFICE RAISES MONEY FOR BREAST CANCER

WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK TIMOTHY C. IDONI announced that a recent fundraiser by his office resulted in $2,654 was raised for the American Cancer Society”™s Making Strides movement to fight breast cancer. The funds were raised at the office”™s recent bake sale and raffle.

“Breast cancer, impacts us all. I am proud of my team”™s impassioned efforts to raise critically needed funds for the American Cancer Society”™s Making Strides campaign,” said Idoni. “We are committed to doing our part to help make a difference by honoring survivors and providing hope to women living with this disease,” he said.

 

REAL ESTATE VETERAN JOINS DOUGLAS ELLIMAN

KATHLEEN BOWEN HA, a leading industry agent and appraiser has joined the Scarsdale office of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

An associate broker with more than 25 years of real estate experience, Ha also holds the highest level of appraisal license as a certified general appraiser and has been qualified in New York State Supreme Court as an appraisal expert. She also serves as the vice president of the New York City Chapter of the American Society of Appraisers. Ha”™s other areas of expertise include green building and historic homes.

“Kathleen”™s strong background in brokerage and appraisal services is a double win for her clients. She has longstanding roots in Westchester and she will make an amazing addition to the Elliman team,” said Gabe Pasquale, executive vice president of Elliman”™s Westchester brokerage.

Prior to joining Elliman, Ha founded her own real estate firm, Global Keepers L.L.C., with an emphasis on serving clients interested in energy-efficient and eco-friendly home improvements. She specializes in Edgemont, Scarsdale and the Rivertowns, and serves a diverse body of clientele from Hong Kong, Paris, Singapore and London.

“I am excited to join such a dynamic company as Douglas Elliman. I will have incredible resources and an unparalleled network to draw upon. In addition, the Scarsdale office is a great team,” Ha said.

 

RUBY RECEIVES LEADERSHIP AWARD

KRIS RUBY of Ruby Media Group, a public relations firm in Westchester, received the 2013 Business Leadership Award from Mercy College Sept. 27 at the annual alumni awards gala held at the Ardsley Country Club.

Ruby was honored by the college for her record of personal and professional accomplishments and her belief in the power of education and passion for inspiring young people to dedicate themselves to creating a rewarding and productive life.

Bernadette Wade, Mercy College chief relations officer said, “Kristen is an inspiration to upcoming students having achieved success in the field of marketing and communications early in her career. She is a transformative figure within her industry and a passionate entrepreneur.”

The gala is one of the college”™s signature fundraising events allowing it to honor outstanding alumni and community members while raising money for student scholarships. Also honored at the event was fashion designer Rolando Santana, ”™96. He received the Alumni Rising Star Award.

 

MERRILL LYNCH WELCOMES NEW TEAM

STEPHEN RUVITUSO, LEE KONOPKA, ROBERT MATLUCK and TODD STANKIEWICZ have joined Merrill Lynch”™s Private Banking and Investment Group. The team joined Merrill Lynch Sept. 27 from UBS Private Wealth Management with clients representing more than $1 billion in assets and more than $11 million in production. Located in the Merrill Lynch White Plains complex, the team reports to the Private Banking and Investment Group office in Boston.

 

TWO DOCTORS JOIN HOSPITAL GROUP

NEUROLOGIST MARK HOMONOFF, MD and INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN IMAAN CHOWDHURY, MD, have joined the Phelps Medical Associates Group, a multispecialty practice of Phelps Memorial Hospital Center.

Homonoff practices general neurology with a special interest in problems of higher cortical function, including Alzheimer”™s disease. Before coming to Phelps, he was on the medical staff of Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan and held a faculty appointment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx and completed residency training in neurology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. He was a post-doctoral and research fellow at Rockefeller University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Chowdhury received her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine. She conducted research in the anesthesiology department at Cleveland Clinic and completed a residency in internal medicine at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn.

 

TWENTY YEARS WITH NEW YORK LIFE

DARIN FASS, the managing partner with New York Life Insurance Co. in White Plains, recently celebrated his 20th anniversary with the company. Fass has held various positions since joining the company in 1993. In 2004, he was promoted to managing partner. In this role, he is responsible for growing the office”™s profitability, leading the staff and agents to fulfilling their goals, supervising all agents and registered representatives and ensuring adherence to all regulatory and company standards. Under Fass”™ direction, the office outgrew its Rye location and moved to a larger space on Westchester Avenue in White Plains in 2012. He oversees six managers, eight staff members and more than 100 agents.

“We are delighted to work with and learn from Darin,” said Richard Simonetti, senior vice president of New York Life”™s agency recruiting and retention area. “His dedication to furthering his agents”™ careers while protecting the financial futures of families in the community has made New York Life a strong and vital presence in the heart of Westchester County.” Fass has achieved the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Leadership Fellow (CLF) designations from The American College. He graduated from Northeastern University. A resident of Mount Kisco, Fass in involved in a number of charitable and professional organizations.

 

DUAL AWARD WINNER

THOMAS SHERMAN, financial specialist at Strategies for Wealth, with offices in Manhattan, Rye Brook and Long Island, is the recipient of two awards: 2013 America”™s Select Financial Advisors and the Five Star Wealth Manager for the fourth consecutive year.

The first award recognizes individuals who pursue excellence for their clients, provide outstanding service and have a positive impact on the businesses and families they work with. Only 50 out of 2,000 of the nation”™s top financial advisers receive this award.

The “Five Star” award recognizes the top wealth managers in Westchester, a select group of less than 3 percent of wealth managers in the county. Award winners are identified by more than 2,300 financial service professionals and financial service companies and fulfill 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria that are associated with providing quality financial service.

Prior to joining Strategies for Wealth, Sherman was senior vice president and general manager of a nationally recognized marketing agency that grew from $8 million to $18 million in billings, and 40 to 100 people, in three years. He also owned his own business for five years teaching communication skills and media interviewing skills to senior executives domestically and internationally.

 

NEW BOARD MEMBERS AT THE VOLUNTEER CENTER OF UNITED WAY

MICHAEL GROSSMAN of Chappaqua, ERICA FEYNMAN AISNER of New Rochelle, VALERIE MASON CUNNINGHAM of Chappaqua, JULIA EMRICK of Ossining and RON BERNHARD of Greenburgh, are the newly appointed directors of The Volunteer Center of the United Way as announced by Markham Rollins III, chairman of the center”™s board of directors.

Now President of MAG Real Estate Advisors Inc., Grossman”™s background in commercial real estate includes significant experience at Mack-Cali Realty Corp. and Robert Martin Co. His volunteer service includes work with March of Dimes and Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester. Grossman attended the University of South Florida and is a graduate of New York City Technical College.

Aisner, an attorney and partner at DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise Wiederkehr L.L.P. is a graduate of Hofstra Law School where she is a special professor of law. She is also on the executive committee of the Westchester County Association”™s Young Professionals, serves with Hudson Valley Legal Services and Hofstra Law Veterans Legal Aid Clinic and is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and also of the Westchester Women”™s Bar Association.

A senior vice president, Greater Metro East Operations at Xerox, Cunningham received degrees in computer science, marketing and business management from SUNY Old Westbury and Spellman College and has served on several business and community advisory boards in the area.

Leadership Westchester graduate Emrick is director of marketing communications and events at Manhattanville College School of Professional and Graduate Studies. An alumna of New York University Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, Emrick also serves with Girls Inc. of Westchester, Tarrytown Music Hall and Westchester County Association”™s Young Professionals”™ executive board.

As the chairman of the RSVP of Westchester Advisory Committee, Bernhard serves in an ex officio capacity on The Volunteer Center”™s board. RSVP is one of the largest volunteer networks in the nation for people 55 and over. With more than 1,000 members residing in Westchester County, RSVP of Westchester is one of the strongest programs of The Volunteer Center with members serving in more than 30 different agencies.