Bediako joins law firm
Barbara J. Hart, president and CEO of White Plains-based Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart PC, announced the addition of Sitso W. Bediako as an associate in the firm.
Bediako is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Minnesota Law School (2008) cum laude. He joins Lowey Dannenberg from a large law firm where he practiced securities and other complex business litigation mainly on the defense side. He has experience in matters involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators, and has been a key member of the legal teams defending companies from securities fraud and other investor litigation. He currently serves on the board of advisers for the University of Minnesota Law School and recently received an award for outstanding pro bono service to The Legal Aid Society.
“The addition of Sitso to our already deep bench of talented litigators will undoubtedly benefit our client base of Fortune 100 companies, institutional and private investors, and the nation”™s leading health insurers,” Hart said. “I am very pleased that Sitso decided to join our firm and expect he will help us continue to successfully serve our clients.”
Planned Parenthood names new board members
Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic (PPHP) of Hawthorne has elected a new chairman of its board of directors, Ann Pogue, and elected four board members: Susan Chatzky, Maria Fidalgo, Pearl Lim and Judith D. Widmann.
Most recently, Pogue was the vice chairman of the PPHP board and previously was board secretary. She also served on the executive, fundraising and board development/nominating committees, and chaired PPHP”™s Board Diversity Task Force. Pogue has served both nonprofit and for-profit organizations as a marketing consultant, including Nickelodeon, Prime Access Advertising, and American Express. While at J. Walter Thompson advertising agency, she created and implemented advertising strategies for her clients and developed in-house recruiting and training initiatives. Pogue has been a trustee of the National Public Radio Foundation and of the United Nations International School.
Chatzky was a patient of Planned Parenthood at one time so she is familiar with the importance of its services to the community. She was the co-chairman for the Chappaqua school district”™s theater department from 2001 to 2010. Chatzky is a yoga trainer and has been an active member of the yoga community for the past 22 years.
Fidalgo is a clinical social worker who has a great deal of fundraising experience and was very active in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
Lim is an obstetrician/gynecologist with her own private practice. She has worked with Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia. Lim supports the fundraising events for the Korean American Family Service Center that services victims of domestic violence to find shelter, legal status and job training.
Widmann is on the board of trustees for the Katonah Museum of Art. She is a former board member of PCI-Media Impact, a nonprofit organization that produces and relates radio and “telenovelas” in developing countries that deal with health issues, including HIV/AIDS, contraception, women”™s rights, and personal responsibility.
DNA Public Relations names VP
DNA Public Relations in Rye, which represents domestic and global beauty brands, has promoted Barbara Accetta from account director to vice president. The firm also welcomed Rachael Diamond as a senior account director.
After joining DNA Public Relations in May 2013 as an award-winning public relations director, Acetta led a roster of national beauty brands and spearheaded initiatives that included revamping business practices and rebranding the agency from its logo to online presence. She established the “Get Beauty-Full with DNA” internship program, which ensures hands-on experience across all aspects of the industry and has led to successful job placements among participants, and implemented staff incentives resulting in improved work performance and internal growth.
“Within a very short time after joining DNA, Barbara was seen as a mentor and a role model by her teammates and also built an impressive list of accomplishments among her clients,” said Lauren Kahn, partner and president, DNA Public Relations. “Her varied contributions to the agency and contagious passion for the development of both people and business make her a natural fit for the position of vice president.”
Diamond joined DNA Public Relations after more than a decade of industry experience at some of New York City”™s most reputable agencies.
She will lead a number of DNA”™s veteran accounts and contribute to new business development. “Rachael is a top talent with a dynamic approach to public and media relations that our team will benefit from tremendously,” Kahn said.
Physician joins MKMG
Matthew H. Ornstein has joined the Mount Kisco-based Mount Kisco Medical Group. He received his medical degree in rheumatology from SUNY Stony Brook and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Ornstein is board certified in internal medicine. Ornstein has office hours at the Somers office and Putnam Hospital – Camarda Care Center in Carmel.
Mah Jong & Martinis
The second annual Mah Jong & Martinis Fundraiser, hosted by White Plains Hospital, featuring Canasta, will be held March 12 at 42 The Restaurant at the Ritz Carlton, Westchester. It is co-sponsored by the auxiliary of White Plains Hospital and provides participants an opportunity to learn about the hospital while enjoying an entertaining evening.
The event begins with cocktails and hors d”™oeuvres at 6 p.m., followed by brief remarks and play at 7 p.m. Individuals and players of all levels are welcome, but advance registration is required due to limited seating. Tickets are $100 per person and all proceeds will benefit White Plains Hospital.
Attendees are also invited to bring donations of new, unused items for the White Plains Hospital Pediatric Department, including coloring books and crayons, sticker books, children”™s DVDs, stuffed animals and puzzles.
For more information or to register, contact Katie Hughes, major gifts officer at 914-681-2329 or khughes1@wphospital.org.
Phelps welcomes new specialists
Endocrinologist Delia Stefan of Croton-on-Hudson, and podiatrist Frank Lattarulo of Armonk, have joined Sleepy Hollow-based Phelps Medical Associates, the multispecialty medical group of Phelps Memorial Hospital Center.
Stefan specializes in diabetes, thyroid disorders, osteoporosis and other endocrine system conditions. Board certified in both internal medicine and endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, Stefan attended medical school at the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania. She completed two residencies in internal medicine, one at Danbury Hospital and the other at University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock, where she also completed fellowship training in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.
Lattarulo has been a member of the Phelps medical staff since 1993. In addition to his practice in Elmsford, he provides podiatric services to patients of the Phelps Wound Healing Institute, Hyperbaric Medicine Center, and the Diabetes, Osteoporosis and Metabolism Center. Lattarulo received his DPM degree from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine and completed a residency in podiatry at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx.
Abinanti to lead Assembly committee
Assemblyman Tom Abinanti (D-Greenburgh/Mount Pleasant) has been appointed by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to be chairman of the Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology. The committee has jurisdiction over legislation introduced concerning the many issues affecting public, academic, school and private libraries.
“Libraries are critical to our communities in so many ways,” Abinanti said. “Not only do they serve as a place for learning, they are the center of our communities ”“ a place for children and adults to meet, a place for those without Internet to find it and even serving as a place of refuge in an emergency.”
In a tweet, the New Yorkers for Better Libraries Political Action Committee applauded the appointment of Abinanti, calling him a “friend of New York”™s libraries.”
OSI buys watchtower property
The Open Space Institute (OSI) has acquired prime scenic farmland, long recognized as the bucolic backdrop to New Paltz and one of the first and best views for travelers heading west along Route 299 from the town.
OSI”™s preservation of the 135-acre Watchtower property, a $2.1 million acquisition, achieves one of the top priority project goals of New Paltz”™s Open Space and Farmland Protection plans.
“It is gratifying that OSI”™s long-standing commitment to New Paltz and Ulster County has resulted in this huge conservation win, with a recreational trail that will be among the most scenic in North America,” said Kim Elliman, OSI president and CEO.
The parcel will remain on the town”™s tax rolls as an agricultural property, with the expectation that the prime agricultural parcel will largely remain in use as a working farm. Talks are currently underway between OSI and the owners of the neighboring Wallkill View Farm that would allow the thriving farm located south of Route 299 to expand its operation to the newly acquired land.
Waldy Malouf headlines fundraiser
Celebrity chef Waldy Malouf will demonstrate his culinary arts at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center”™s first Phelps Food & Wine Fest to be held at Trump National Golf Club on March 22, from noon to 4 p.m.
Guests will find elegant dining stations hosted by local restaurants, with wines at each station personally selected by the chef to complement his or her food, and they will have the opportunity to ask restaurant staff about their cuisine and wine pairing
Malouf is a highly accomplished chef, restaurateur and author who spent 15 years as co-owner, chief operating officer and executive chef of Beacon Restaurant in New York City. He is also well known in the New York area for his work as executive chef and director of operations at the Rainbow Room and executive chef at both the Hudson River Club and Le Cremaillere. His extensive professional experience also includes affiliations with The Four Seasons, La Côte Basque and the St. Regis Hotel.
Malouf now works as the senior director of food and beverage operations at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.
The event”™s Gourmet Sponsor is TD Bank. Other sponsors include BBL Construction Services, Gordon & Silber PC, Robert Lane and Janine Guercio, M&T Bank and Michael and Judith Sullivan.
Participating restaurants include 105 Ten Bar & Grill, Coopers Mill, Crabtree”™s Kittle House, Elia Taverna, Great American BBQ, Iron Horse Grill, Jean-Jacques”™ Culinary Creations, Mambo 64, Memphis Mae”™s, Provisions, River Market Kitchen and Bar, Sam”™s of Gedney Way, Tarry Tavern, Tavern at Croton Landing and Trump National Golf Club.
Grape Expectations will provide wine and other beverages will be provided by Coffee Lab Roasters and Half Time.
For more information or to buy tickets at $90, contact Marissa Coratti at 914-366-3104 or mcoratti@pmhc.us, or visit phelpshospital.org.
Information for these features has been submitted by the subjects or their delegates.
