Westchester County Newsmakers, 7.14.2014
Rotary Club president 2014-15
Heather Miller, the current executive director of the Thomas H. Slater Community Center, was installed as president of the Rotary Club of White Plains for the 2014-15 year, in a ceremony attended by fellow Rotarian White Plains Mayor Tom Roach and New York state Assemblyman David Buchwald. Miller, an active member of the Rotary Club since 2005, has devoted considerable time to its activities and is the first African-American woman to lead the organization. To honor her Jamaican heritage, the consul general of Jamaica participated in her installation recently at the Crowne Plaza.
“My goals as president are to grow friendships, membership and youth programs,” she said.
Miller has worked at the Slater Center for more than 30 years, starting as an administrative assistant and rising through the ranks as bookkeeper, grants writer, program supervisor and advisor to the executive director. She left the center in 1989 to lead the outreach department at the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester and returned in 1992 and has been leading the center since 2005 raising its profile within the community and enhancing the lives of youths. In 2013, she co-founded the Haitian Resource Center that operates under the auspices of the Slater Center.
A recipient of numerous community service awards, Miller holds a master”™s degree in public administration from Pace University.
Board director at ArtsWestchester
Thomas Manisero, a partner in the White Plains office of the law firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, has been elected to the board of directors of the White Plains-based nonprofit ArtsWestchester.
A long-time resident of Westchester County and chairman of Wilson Elser”™s commercial services and accounting practices, Manisero joins other Westchester-based leaders on the board of the organization.
Established in 1965 as the Council for the Arts in Westchester, ArtsWestchester is New York state”™s largest private, not-for-profit service organization, working to ensure the availability and accessibility of the arts for all of the county”™s residents.
Committed to giving back to the community, Manisero has served on the Purchase Community House board for the past 14 years. He is chairman of the board”™s finance and executive committees.
VNS Westchster appoints new CFO
Lou Nemnom, president and CEO of the Westchester Visiting Nurse Services Group Inc. (WVNS), recently announced the appointment of Timothy P. Leddy as the organization”™s CFO. Leddy, who brings more than three decades of leadership in the health care financial management field to the role, will be responsible for all fiscal operations at the nonprofit. WVNS, which comprises VNS Westchester as well as Westchester Care at Home, has combined revenue of $38 million.
During his career, Leddy developed expertise in the home health care industry. Most recently, he was president and CEO at the Brooklyn-based Visiting Nurse Regional Healthcare System (VNR). Before he was named CEO, Leddy held a number of senior positions, including vice president of business services and assistant vice president of financial services. Prior to joining VNR, Leddy served in senior financial executive positions at Mount Sinai Hospital Center, The JHD Group and Continuum Health Services. This will be a return to WVNS for Leddy, who worked there for a brief period early in his career.
Leddy holds a Master of Science degree in health policy and management from New York University”™s Wagner School of Public Health and an MBA in business administration and financial management from Iona College, where he also earned his bachelor”™s degree in business administration. He is a member of the National Association of Home Care and Hospice and the Home Care Association of New York State.
Hospital center celebrates its nurses
Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow recently celebrated the achievements of its nurses at a Nurse Recognition Day award program.
The Nurse of Distinction award was given to Lynda Neary of Irvington, who has been clinical coordinator of the ambulatory surgery unit since 2011. This award is for a registered nurse who is an active member of a professional organization or has current board certification in his/her area of specialty. Neary joined the Phelps nursing staff in 1983.
The first annual Rising Star award was presented to Kristin Miller of Highland Falls, who works on one of the hospital”™s medical/surgical units. The Rising Star is given to someone who has been a registered nurse for less than two years and possesses superior nursing skills. Miller, who became an RN at Phelps in 2012, joined the hospital as a medical/surgical technician in 2011, while she was in nursing school.
The Phelps Pride award, in recognition of a registered nurse who exemplifies the hospital”™s standards of behavior for excellent patient care, went to Lori Oneto of Cortlandt Manor. Oneto has worked on the inpatient rehabilitation unit since 2003.
Healing power of music
The Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains, recently hosted four-time Grammy nominee Stanley Jordan who performed and jammed with military veterans currently enrolled in the not-for-profit community music school”™s “Healing Our Heroes” program.
The program, which launched in September, provides music therapy and music instruction for veterans in the tristate area who have a variety of physical and psychological injuries sustained while on active duty. Scarsdale resident Joel Breitkopf is a founding sponsor of the program and was recently elected vice president of the conservatory”™s board of trustees.
Jordan, who for over a decade has studied and been involved with the practice of music therapy, joined the conservatory”™s music therapy institute faculty by improvising music and playing songs selected by the veterans enrolled in the program.
ENTA CEO on CUNY TV
“The Stoler Report,” a weekly television program that is shown in New York City on CUNY TV, recently featured Robert Glazer, CEO of Tarrytown-based ENT and Allergy Associates.
During the program Glazer, who was joined by other health care executives, discussed emerging trends in health care ”“ how it”™s expanding and changing.
“With so much happening in health care these days, all at breakneck speed, it is critical that my fellow New Yorkers stay as informed as possible,” Glazer said.
Design firm wins creative awards
Hudson Valley Graphic Design of Croton-on-Hudson recently received three top design awards from The Advertising Club of Westchester, which held its annual Big W Award Gala in Tarrytown celebrating Westchester County”™s top creative professionals in advertising, marketing, public relations and graphic arts. Hudson Valley Graphic Design received bronze, silver and gold awards.
It received the Gold Award for a direct-mail piece “Tool Kit for Parents,” which showcased a series of postcards educating parents about teen drug prevention; the Silver Award for corporate stationary design; and the Bronze Award for a T-shirt design.
“We are very proud to have won these top honors for our creative work and to be acknowledged in the industry by our peers,” said Janeen Violante, owner and lead designer of Hudson Valley Graphic Design. “To be given the opportunity to partner with our clients and design award-winning graphics for their brand or their cause is really the most gratifying part of winning this distinction.”
Agency expands exec role
Kevin Zawacki has been promoted to senior account manager at Co-Communications, a public relations and marketing firm with offices in Connecticut, Westchester and Manhattan. He previously served as an account manager for Co-Communications, having been with the agency for nine months at its Mount Kisco office.
As a senior account manager, Zawacki will work with a variety of clients in the real estate, higher education, nonprofit and health care industries to strengthen their branding, execute social media campaigns, brainstorm creative marketing concepts and craft both internal and external communications. Prior to joining Co-Communications, Zawacki served as an associate regional editor at AOL-Huffington Post”™s Patch.com in the lower Hudson Valley.
“Kevin continues to be a dynamic member of the Co-Communications team and an incredible asset to our clients,” said Stacey Cohen, president and CEO. “We”™re thrilled to see him step into his new role.”
Zawacki holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing and history from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.
Berkeley names campus operating officer
Ted Havelka has been named campus operating officer for Berkeley College in White Plains. His responsibilities include day-to-day operations, space management and staff and student retention. He also will oversee the White Plains adult and high school admissions teams and work closely with Residence Life.
Beginning his career in higher education as a field recruiter and director, high school admissions at Berkeley College, Havelka went on to lead such schools as Gibbs College in Norwalk, Conn., and Cortiva Institute, with 12 national locations. As vice president of marketing and admissions, Havelka led Cortiva through significant growth, including relocation, marketing development and the launch of new programs. He most recently served as vice president of marketing and admissions for Prism Education Group in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Philadelphia.
“Mr. Havelka is a seasoned professional with 18 years of experience in career-focused post-secondary education,” said Robert Herzog, Berkeley College senior vice president, finance and administration. “He is enthusiastic about returning to Berkeley and helping to facilitate student success in White Plains.”
Havelka holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice from Roanoke College in Salem, Va.
OLA works with Habitat for Humanity
OLA Consulting Engineers in Hawthorne closed its office June 19 so that its entire staff could participate in a build day with Habitat for Humanity of Westchester. The event was part of OLA”™s 40th anniversary celebration, which coincides with Habitat”™s 25th year of service to the community.
Approximately 40 members of the OLA team worked from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on two homes in Yonkers that are being built for veterans. Tasks included painting, drywall, trim carpentry, flooring and landscaping.
“We are grateful for OLA engineering honoring their success by working on our veteran homes in Battle Hill, Yonkers,” said Habitat for Humanity of Westchester Director Jim Killoran. “If every company did this, everyone would have a home.”
“Habitat for Humanity meets a critical need in our community and we are glad to have the opportunity to participate and help them,” said OLA President Patrick F. Lynch. “It”™s hard work, a lot of fun and a very rewarding experience.”
Brokers join ERA Insite Realty
Real estate veteran Jared Wiener has joined ERA Insite Realty in White Plains as an associate broker, while Harold Thela has joined the firm as a salesperson in the Bronxville office.
Weiner comes to ERA Insite with more than 14 years of expertise in the real estate industry. Prior to joining ERA Insite, Weiner spent a decade working at New York City real estate brokerages where he generated more than $40 million in sales as well as closing more than 3,000 rental transactions. He has management experience in addition to sales, having opened and managed new sales offices, along with designing and implementing training programs for agents. A graduate of Syracuse University with a bachelor”™s degree in English, Weiner currently resides in North Salem.
Thela has a background as an insurance fraud investigator for 20 years. He brings critical skills to his real estate career, plus a dedication to professionalism and ethics. A lifelong Westchester resident, Thela resides in Yonkers. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Mercy College.
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