Arc promotes two staffers
Tibisay (Tibi) Guzmán and Nancy Patota of Arc of Westchester have been promoted to associate executive director/chief operating officer and Arc foundation executive director, respectively. They will replace Thomas Hughes and Anne Sweazey, who have retired. The Arc of Westchester is the oldest and largest agency in the county serving children, teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum and their families
Executive Director Ric Swierat announced the change in the newly expanded associate executive director/COO position, saying, “Tom Hughes made a tremendous contribution over his 28 years as associate executive director. While we are sad to see him go, we are very fortunate to have Tibi, who was already in a leadership position, ready to take on the growing challenges.”
Guzman has been an Arc of Westchester employee for nearly 10 years, and during the past four years she has overseen the expansive team responsible for day and community services for more than 900 individuals who receive daily support and services from Arc.
In her new role, Guzmán will be responsible for supervising all agency services and managing all financial, human resources and facilities functions for the 2,000 individuals served by Arc of Westchester. She will continue to guide the evolution of the services and programs into a strongly supported community presence in Westchester.
Foundation Board President Larry McNaughton announced the retirement of Anne Sweazey, the first executive director of the Arc of Westchester Foundation, earlier in the year. An extensive search for Sweazey”™s replacement concluded with the appointment of Patota to this position.
In her new role, Patota will be responsible for all fundraising activities and initiatives that support the agency”™s wide range of services and programs. Prior to joining Arc of Westchester, Patota served as assistant vice president, advancement services, prospect strategy and budgets at Iona College. She will remain an adjunct professor for the Iona College MBA program, currently teaching graduate level courses in human resources management and organizational behavior.
Natural Markets Food Group names general counsel
Natural Markets Food Group, parent company of Mrs. Green”™s Natural Market, Richtree Natural Market Restaurants and Planet Organic Market, has named Laura Alemzadeh as its general counsel and vice president.
Alemzadeh most recently served as general counsel of Kawasaki Rail Car Inc., overseeing all of legal, corporate, and communication matters for the global transportation leader. She is an active member of Westchester County”™s business and legal community, and is also a resident of Irvington.
“We are proud to welcome Laura to our family. Natural Markets works hard to make our stores feel like home ”” for both our associates and our customers. Laura will help us accomplish that goal,” Natural Markets Food Group CEO Pat Brown said.
“Natural Markets Food Group was a natural fit, as the company embodies all the values that are core to leading a green life. I am proud to join the Natural Markets family and help them grow a business that”™s good for customers, community and the earth,” Alemzadeh said.
Klaff’s gives $20,000 to Lockwood-Mathews
Klaff”™s, a resource of home design in the region with a store in Scarsdale and headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., has donated $20,000 to the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk, the proceeds from the recent Klaff”™s Jerry Levine Charity Golf Outing.
“We are proud to support this National Historic Landmark and its mission,” said Joe Passero, Klaff”™s chairman and COO and museum trustee.
Former head of security agency honored at FIDF event
More than 130 prominent lay leaders and members of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces from across Westchester attended the FIDF Westchester/Connecticut chapter”™s annual fundraiser recently at the home of Ellen and Rabbi Peter Weintraub in Scarsdale.
The event paid tribute to Israel”™s soldiers and honored Avi Dichter, chairman of the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel and former IDF soldier. Dichter, the son of Holocaust survivors, served in the IDF”™s elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal, and then served as director of Shin Bet (Israel”™s Security Agency) from 2000-2005.
Dichter is credited with restructuring the Shin Bet, leading to a dramatic reduction in the number of terrorist attacks and to a restoration of public morale and safety. As minister of public safety, Dichter formed the new modus operandi of signal intelligence (SIGINT) for the Israeli Police. He was a member of the Knesset from 2006-2012 and was chairman of the subcommittee for security conception and power building. As a minister, Dichter was a member at the inner security cabinet until the 2013 elections. He has been a research fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C.
Weintraub is an FIDF National board member, Westchester committee member and longtime supporter of FIDF. He is the owner of Bristol Tex, a textile company that manufactures bedding to top companies.
Super Lawyers recognizes four from Keane & Beane
Four members from Keane & Beane PC have been named to the Metro Super Lawyers list as top attorneys in New York for 2014. They are David Glasser in the areas of estate planning and probate, Richard L. O”™Rourke in the area of land use and zoning, Joel H. Sachs in the areas of environmental law and real estate and Steven A. Schurkman in the areas of estate planning and probate.
No more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyer, a Thomson Reuters rating service of outstanding lawyers in more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.
New staff and promotions at Westchester Children”™s Association
Westchester Children”™s Association (WCA) in White Plains, which is one of the oldest children”™s advocacy organizations in the United States, has made the following appointments:
Maureen Natkin of Irvington has joined the association as development and administrative assistant. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian studies and she holds a master”™s degree in international affairs from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Sarah Yergeau of Greenburgh has been promoted to the position of program and policy associate. She is responsible for a number of WCA”™s program initiatives, including mobilizing advocacy partners, monitoring legislation to assess the impact on children and youth and managing WCA”™s social media presence to engage online advocates for children. Yergeau is a graduate of Union College where she received a Union College Minerva Fellowship and spent nine months working at a health clinic in Uganda prior to joining WCA in 2012.
Anna Wright of Mount Vernon has been promoted to the position of research and communications associate. She will support the collection, analysis and presentation of data for the organization”™s “Children by the Numbers” blog, a go-to resource for many advocates and policy makers. Wright is a graduate of Houghton College, where her studies included an immersive internship experience with a local community center in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Information for these features has been submitted by the subjects or their delegates.
