The Greenburger Center for Justice advocates for just criminal and civil legal systems in which policies and the institutions upon which they are built are based upon sound legal, scientific, and ethical principles. We believe the criminal legal system should prioritize rehabilitation, instead of only punishment and that criminal laws should not penalize poverty or mental, developmental and substance use disorders. The public should also have better access to the civil legal system which means eliminating procedural and contractual hurdles to having civil claims heard in a timely and cost-efficient proceeding.

PRIMARY TEAM

FG2

FRANCIS J. GREENBURGER

President & Founder

Francis Greenburger is the founder and president of the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, chief executive officer and guiding force behind Time Equities Inc., Chairman of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, Inc., and founder and principal benefactor of Omi International Arts Center.

CHERYL ROBERTS

Executive Director

Cheryl Roberts is the Executive Director of the Greenburger Center. Previously, she had the honor of serving four Mayors as Corporation Counsel or Assistant Corporation Counsel of the City of Hudson, New York, provided pro bono bond agent services to a nonprofit bail fund, served eight years as a town judge in Columbia County, New York, and spent more than a decade practicing land use and environmental law. Earlier in her career, she served as counsel to subcommittees in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.

DAMON ROWE

Managing Director of Operations

Damon Rowe is the Managing Director of Operations of the Greenburger Center. His work includes managing program development, compliance and administrative matters. Previously, he was a senior manager and counsel for nonprofit organizations, where he worked on criminal justice and community development projects, and an attorney at a law firm, advising nonprofit organizations and businesses on a range of transactions and governance issues.

JILL TURNER

Executive Assistant

Jill Turner is Executive Assistant to the Greenburger Center’s Executive Director, Cheryl Roberts and also serves as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff of Time Equities, Inc. A 2020 graduate from Sarah Lawrence College, Jill previously worked as an office assistant at the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations and as a contact tracer during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Seth-Coston-3

SETH COSTON

Finance Committee Chair

Seth Coston is Director of Residential Asset Management and Operations at Time Equities, Inc. and Development Manager for the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, Inc. Seth oversees the Time Equities’s residential portfolio in the New York City area along with various development and redevelopment projects in other locations. These include the development of Hope House for the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice. Hope House will be an approximately 15,000 square foot alterative to incarceration center for those with serious mental illness. Seth also oversees the operations team for Time Equities Inc.’s condo developments. His group has opened multiple buildings, including 50 West, a 64-story, ultra-luxury condo in Manhattan’s Financial District. During his career, Seth has experience overseeing a wide range of properties, from condo buildings with units priced well into the 8-figures to rental apartments with sub-$200 a month regulated rents. As part of his job Seth serves on over 10 condo and coop boards and has been Board Treasurer for the condo where he resides for over 15 years. Seth is a member of the board of directors and Finance Committee chair for the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice. In his spare moments, Seth enjoys travel, running and spending time with his wife and 9-year-old son.

BLAIR MEYER

Manager of Grants & Accounting

Blair Meyer works for the audit team at Time Equities Inc. She earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Florida and her M.S.W. from Fordham University. Prior to TEI, Blair has worked as an adjunct professor supervising social work students within the criminal defense clinic at Fordham University’s Law School, an early adopter of holistic representation. She also volunteered with the Parole Preparation Project, which assists incarcerated individuals serving life sentences in New York State prisons. While Blair does not actively work as a social worker, she remains committed to criminal justice reform and is very grateful to be part of advancing the Greenburger Center’s mission.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Natalie-Diaz-Updated2.jpg
Natalie Diaz
Joel-Copperman.jpg
Joel Copperman
Joshua-Caleb.jpg
Joshua Caleb
Elizabeth-Tobias.jpg
Elizabeth Tobias
Len-Elmore.jpg
Len Elmore
Brian-Fischer.jpg
Brian Fischer
Kassandra-Frederique.jpg
Kassandra Frederique
Elizabeth-Gaynes.jpg
Elizabeth Gaynes
James-Gilligan-M.D..jpg
James Gilligan, M.D.
Judy-Greene.jpg
Judy Greene
Ann-Jacobs.jpg
Ann Jacobs
Robert-A.-Kandel-Esq..jpg
Robert A. Kandel, Esq.
Paul-Katz.jpg
Paul Katz
Marc-Kenemy-AIA.jpg
Marc Kemeny
Ellen-Condliffe-Lagemann-PHD.jpg
Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, PH.D.
IleneMargolin.jpg
Ilene Margolin
John-Monahan.jpg
John Monahan
JoannePage-Esq..jpg
Joanne Page, Esq.
Stephen-B-Seager-MD.jpg
Stephen B. Seager, M.D.
Lloyd-Sederer-MD.jpg
Lloyd Sederer
Herbert-Teitelbaum-Esq.jpg
Herbert Teitelbaum, Esq.
Ralph-Aquila
Dr. Ralph Aquila, M.D.
gcj2
Richard Weiss

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Francis Greenburger
Cheryl Roberts
Julia Greenburger
Dr. Ralph Aquila
Stuart Bruck
Seth Coston
John Haslach
John Nicholas Iannuzzu
Harry Kantor
Irina Lattanzio
Elizabeth Duffy
Rebecca Paley
Diego Segalini
Rebecca Ziff
Gus Bethea
CLAIRE GREENBURGER
Blair Meyer

WE SUPPORT

REDUCE U.S. PRISON RATES

End Mandatory Sentencing
Reform Outdated Drug Laws
Keep Families Together
Training and Rehabilitation
Ban The Use of Solitary
Create Alternative Facilities
Invest in Re-Entry

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

CIVIL LITIGATION REFORM

EVIDENCE BASED RISK ASSESSMENT

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
Envelope Facebook Youtube Linkedin

The Greenburger Center for Justice is no longer associated with Hope House. For more information about the Hope House on Crotona Park project, please visit hopehousebronx.org

NATALIE DIAZ

Natalie Diaz is Chief of Staff at Time Equities Inc., a global real estate investment and development firm. She works closely with Francis Greenburger in his work with Time Equities, Inc., Sanford J. Greenburger & Associates, Art Omi, and the Greenburger Center for Social & Criminal Justice. Diaz oversees HR strategy, including policy around hiring, diversity, and inclusion, marketing, internal and external communications, and public relations for Time Equities. She also founded the firm’s Change Committee, Women’s Equity Committee, and an internal mentorship program.

Diaz studied Art History and Practice at Williams College and worked as a Curatorial Intern at The Williams College Museum of Art. She went on to manage and curate the art gallery at The Williams Club of New York. Since joining Time Equities, Diaz co-curated a small space in the West Village, the West 10th Window, for six years, curating site-specific, frequently rotating exhibitions in the alternative art space. She co-curated a series of semi-permanent, site-specific installations throughout a large commercial building in Montreal, Canada, and most recently curated the Blue Diamond villa at Altamer Resort in Anguilla.

Diaz has a deep commitment to social justice and is passionate about the principles and practices of racial and economic equity. She has written multiple op-eds on the topic, including a widely published op-ed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, which appeared in New York Daily News and the USA Today network, among others.

She received her undergraduate degree from Williams College, during which time she studied at College Year in Athens in Athens, Greece. She lives in Manhattan with her dog, Franklin.

JOEL COPPERMAN

Joel Copperman joined CASES in1990 as the organization’s first Executive Director. Prior to joining CASES, Mr. Copperman held several positions in New York City Government during the administration of Mayor Ed Koch. Mr. Copperman was in the Mayor’s Office serving as a Legislative Representative in Albany, as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, and as the first Director of the Mayor’s Office of Contracts.

Mr. Copperman is the former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Human Services Council (HSC), a coalition of more than 170 New York City organizations that advocates for the needs of the human services sector; he currently serves on the HSC Priority and Strategy Council. He is also the former Chair and a current member of the Board of Directors of Youth Represent, an organization that addresses legal issues that may stem from a young person’s involvement in the criminal justice system; he is also a former Board member of the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies, the advocacy organization for New York City’s behavioral health agencies.

In 2011, he was appointed by Mayor Bloomberg to serve on the Citywide Justice and Mental Health Initiative and in 2014, he was appointed by Mayor de Blasio to serve on the Task Force on Behavioral Health and the Criminal Justice System. In 2014, Mr. Copperman was appointed by Governor Cuomo to serve on the Governor’s Commission on Youth, Public Safety and Justice.

Mr. Copperman currently serves on the Nonprofits and Social Services Advisory Council. The Council was established by Mayor de Blasio to help shape the City’s ongoing response to the pandemic.

Mr. Copperman holds a B.A. from Bradley University, a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, and an M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

JOSHUA CALEB

Joshua was born and raised in New York and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College in 2015, where he studied English, Economics and Fine Arts.

After graduation, Joshua went on to play 4 years in the National Football League, retiring in 2019 to pursue a career in the arts. Since leaving the NFL, Joshua has already collaborated with Lamborghini Automobile Company and COACH Tapestry on artistic projects, and his art has been featured in an exhibition at Art Basel in Miami, FL.

In 2015, Joshua also the founded “The Keyes Community Project” which has provided close to $100,000 in aid to youth in need in New York and the Houston area where Joshua currently resides.

Most recently, Joshua has written articles for Yahoo News, AOL and The Huffington Post regarding racial inequality and systemic racism in America.

ELIZABETH TOBIAS

Elizabeth Tobias, a musician and teacher, grew up in Boulder, Colorado and came to New York when she won a scholarship from the National Endowment for the Arts to study piano performance at the Juilliard School of Music. After Juilliard, she pursued a career as a performer and played concerts both as a soloist and chamber musician. She was married for many years to renowned cellist, Paul Tobias, with whom she often played sonata recitals. Their appearances included concerts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Phillips Collection in Washington, John Hopkins University, Amherst College, the University of Chicago, Princeton University, the Philadelphia Academy of Music, the Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, as well as many other festivals, colleges, and university concert series.

After being sidelined with an injury to her right hand, Ms. Tobias sought out teachers and techniques to help her heal and avoid similar injuries in the future. Once recovered, she began teaching other musicians how to prevent and overcome injuries and how to develop resilience in the face of their many career challenges. She has taught privately and at universities and been on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and the Mannes School of Music at the New School.

Ms. Tobias’ deep interest in mental health and in supporting all those who care for people with serious mental illness is very personal. After her husband was diagnosed with bipolar illness, her oldest son’s behavior began to deteriorate, and he was ultimately diagnosed as schizophrenic. Soon after, her younger son began struggling with an addiction, a disease he has since learned to successfully manage.

Her experience as a care giver to her seriously ill family members and her ability to successfully navigate the many demands this entailed, eventually lead Liz to become an advocate for those caring for or affected by a loved one living with serious mental illness. Today, Liz offers support and coaching to other individuals also living with a loved one who has serious mental illness.

LEN ELMORE

Len Elmore is a former basketball All American high school player, a collegiate All American, and professional basketball player, an attorney and television personality whose professional experience spans a rich athletic career, several prestigious law firms as well as significant business and public interest endeavors.

Len’s basketball career began at the Catholic High School Athletic Association’s Power Memorial Academy in Manhattan. As a three year varsity player Len was a consensus All City player in 1969 and 1970 and high school All American in 1970. Power’s 1970 team earned the title of High School National Champions recording a record of 22-0.

From 1971-1974, Len was a varsity basketball player at the University of Maryland, where he earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference accolades from 1972 through 1974. In 1974, he was voted onto various All-America teams.

In 2002, in its 50th Anniversary Year Len Elmore was voted by the media as one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Top 50 Greatest Basketball Players. He was a first round draft pick in both the American Basketball Association (“ABA”) and the National Basketball Association (“NBA”), where he played professional basketball for a combined ten years (1974-1984) with the Indiana Pacers, Kansas City Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets and New York Knickerbockers.

Upon conclusion of his basketball career, was. Elmore received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1987 and is believed to be the first (and only) National Basketball Association player to graduate from that institution upon retirement from professional basketball. He was admitted to the New York State bar.

From 1987 through 1990, Len served as an Assistant District Attorney for Kings County (Brooklyn) N.Y, where he managed and tried numerous misdemeanor and felony cases, including police misconduct

In 1992, Len founded Precept Sports & Entertainment, a sports management company. Based in Columbia Maryland, from 1992-1997, Precept, with a staff of 10, represented and negotiated services contracts for 7 NBA first round draft picks (including a number 1 pick overall), 3 high round draft picks in the NFL, a MLB veteran and several Olympic athletes.

After a two year association with the law firm, Patton Boggs, in 2001 until 2003, Len served as President and CEO of Test University (TestU), a successful education technology company and a leading provider of web-based, customized curriculum, student assessment and standardized test preparation solutions for middle and high school students, particularly those students in urban and otherwise disadvantaged areas.

At TestU, Mr. Elmore led 40 employees and was responsible for the overall strategic, operational and fiscal direction of the company until the company experienced a change in ownership.

After TestU, in 2003, Len joined the law firm of Leboeuf, Lamb et. al, in their New York office where he handled diverse matters including white collar criminal cases and various corporate and entrepreneurial matters. Other practice experience includes providing counsel in the areas of corporate governance, labor and employment law, strategic-decision making and marketing issues.

In June 2009, the NBA and NCAA appointed Len to the Board of Directors of iHoops, a collaboration between the NBA and NCAA with the mission of establishing structure and development programs to improve the quality of youth basketball in America to enhance the athletic, educational and social experience of the participants. In May, 2010 Len was named Chief Executive Officer of iHoops until October, 2011.

Len Elmore has been the recipient of numerous awards that recognize his commitment to community, education and justice. In April, 2015, Len was awarded The Street & Smith Sports Business Journal’s coveted Champions: Pioneer and Innovator Award honoring individuals who have had a unique and lasting impact on sports and the business of sport.

In November 2016, Len began his 28th year as a television basketball analyst during which time he has broadcast both NCAA men’s basketball and the NBA games. His television career began in college basketball with JP Sports and CBS. He has covered the NBA for CBS, ESPN/ABC and currently covers the NCAA Tournament for CBS and Turner Sports.

Mr. Elmore is a noted authority on sports and sports law issues and has had articles published on a variety of issues in sports and society. Len has appeared on a significant number of network and cable television news and sports programs. He has served as a panelist or moderator at a variety of sports and law seminars. A coveted speaker, Len has delivered speeches and presentations for a significant number of professional organizations, colleges and universities, schools and civic organizations.

Len has written numerous op-eds and commentaries for a diverse group of media outlets including USA Today, The New York Times, National Public Radio, the Knight Ridder News Service, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, U.S. News and World Report and ESPN.com.

Appointed in 1998, Len also served as a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Maryland College Park until 2007. Prior to the Board of Trustees, Mr. Elmore served on the University System of Maryland Foundation Board from 1990 until 1998.

Currently, Len Elmore is a Director on the Board of 1800Flowers.com, the leading online and telephonic gift and flower retailer and serves as a Director on the Board of Lee Enterprises, Inc. a leading newspaper publishing company. He currently chairs the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees for 1800Flowers’ Board and serves on the Audit Committee for Lee.

Mr. Elmore continues to fulfill his commitment to education, athletics and public service as a Commissioner on the John and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, a body focused on reform in college sports.

Len remains extensively involved in a wide range of other public service, educational and charitable activities.

Len’s list of honors and awards includes:

1974 University of Maryland Citizenship Award
1988 University of Maryland Outstanding Alumnus Award
1989 York College President’s Award for Business Achievement
1994 Rainbow Coalition Sports Agent of the Year
1997 University of Maryland Sports Hall of Fame
1997 University of Maryland President’s Citation
1997 University of Maryland Commencement Keynote Speaker
2001 New York City Basketball Hall of Fame
2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players
2005 Washington Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame
2007 Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Ambassador Award
2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Legend
2012 Power Memorial Academy Hall of Fame
2014 New York Archdiocese John V. Mara Sportsman of the Year
2015 Street & Smith Sports Business Journal “Champions” Pioneer and Innovator Award
2015 Fairfield University’s “Leaders of the Pack” Award for Excellence

BRIAN FISCHER

Brian Fischer spent over forty-four years in the field of corrections, becoming the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections in 2007 and retiring in 2013. Prior to his retirement, he consolidated the Division of State Parole and the Department of Corrections into the now existing Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and coordinated the downsizing of the agency by closing prison farms, annexes, camps, and several medium security prisons.

Mr. Fischer has been an adjunct professor at both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Pace University. He was a member of the Standards Committee of the American Correctional Association and the New York Sentencing Commission.

He earned the Warden of the Year Award from the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents in 2006 and was honored by the New York State Bar Association with their Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Corrections award in 2012. He was also given the Thomas Mott Osborne Medal by the Osborne Association and an honorary Degree of Laws from Bard College, both in 2013.

While in corrections he was the Superintendent of Sing Sing Correctional Facility for seven years and helped implement many programs to provide needed services for the mentally ill and those convicted of sex offenses, piloted innovative reentry and early release programs, and institutied short-term Parole Violator Treatment Centers.

During his tenure as Commmissioner, Mr. Fischer implemented the Sex Offender Management Treatment Act passed into law by former Governor Spitzer and the settlement of a class action lawsuit filed by Disabilities Advocates, Inc., a state sponsored agency authorized to protect incarcerated individuals with mental and developmental disorders. The settlement involved development of special programs to replace the use of disciplinary segreation units for violations of prison rules.

Mr. Fischer is a frequent lecturer on criminal justice. Some of his most recent lectures include: the keynote speech at Fordham University on “Conditions of Confinement” published in the Fordham Law Journal, vol. XXXVI, No. 1; lecturer at the University of Buffalo Law School on “New York’s State Prisons 40 Years After Attica: What Has Changed and What Changes Lie Ahead;” lecturer at the Albany Law School on “Aging Prison Population;” lecturer at the New York Bar Association on Civil Rights on “The Increased Use of Solitary Confinement in New York State Prisons: Violation of Human Rights or Necessary Prison Management Tool?;” panelist at the Benjamin Cardozo Law School symposium on “Life in the Box: Youth in Solitary Confinement;” and a panelist at The Justice Initiative at Columbia Universary on Reducing Incarceration, Endless Punishment, Long-Term Sentences and Aging in Prison.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, a Master’s Degree in Guidance and
Counseling and a Master’s Degree in Professional Studies.

KASSANDRA FREDERIQUE

Kassandra Frederique is New York State Director at the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA).

Frederique previously ran the day-to-day operations of the statewide campaign to end New York’s racially biased marijuana arrests, which cut the number of NYC marijuana arrests in half. Frederique also represented DPA as a member of Communities United for Police Reform, which focused on addressing Stop & Frisk and broader police reform/accountability measures bridging the gap between the War on Drugs and policing.

In addition to working for policy solutions to reduce the harms associated with drug use, Frederique works with communities throughout the state to address and resolve the collateral consequences of the War on Drugs – state violence. As a co-author of Blueprint for a Public Health and Safety Approach to Drug Policy and as technical advisor to Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick’s The Ithaca Plan, Frederique cultivates and mobilizes powerful coalitions in communities devastated by drug misuse and drug criminalization to develop municipal strategies to foster healthier and safer communities.

Frederique’s professional focus includes building a reparative justice framework that positions Black and Latinx leaders to create solutions that not only end and repair the harms of the drug war but also create accountability structures between policymakers and people who use drugs. She is currently working on an emerging body of work that discusses Black recreation and drug use.

A native New Yorker, Frederique holds a M.S. in Social Work from Columbia University and earned a B.S. in Industrial Labor Relations at Cornell University.
Diaz studied Art History and Practice at Williams College and worked as a Curatorial Intern at The Williams College Museum of Art. She went on to manage and curate the art gallery at The Williams Club of New York. Since joining Time Equities, Diaz co-curated a small space in the West Village, the West 10th Window, for six years, curating site-specific, frequently rotating exhibitions in the alternative art space. She co-curated a series of semi-permanent, site-specific installations throughout a large commercial building in Montreal, Canada, and most recently curated the Blue Diamond villa at Altamer Resort in Anguilla.

Diaz has a deep commitment to social justice and is passionate about the principles and practices of racial and economic equity. She has written multiple op-eds on the topic, including a widely published op-ed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, which appeared in New York Daily News and the USA Today network, among others.

She received her undergraduate degree from Williams College, during which time she studied at College Year in Athens in Athens, Greece. She lives in Manhattan with her dog, Franklin.

ELIZABETH GAYNES

Elizabeth Gaynes is the executive director of the Osborne Association.

JAMES GILLIGAN, M.D.

James Gilligan is one of the nation’s leading experts on violence reduction and is recognized internationally for his efforts to reform the criminal justice system. He has published widely on the subject, and is well known for a series of four books on the subject: Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic, Preventing Violence: Prospects for Tomorrow, Youth Violence: Scientific Approaches to Prevention, and his most recent, Why Some Politicians are More Dangerous than Others.

From 1966-2000, Dr. Gilligan was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and became the director of Harvard’s Institute of Law and Psychiatry in 1977, where he led a team of colleagues from Harvard teaching hospitals in providing mental health and violence prevention services to the Massachusetts prison system. In 1997, Dr. Gilligan became the principal investigator of a violence-prevention experiment in the jails of the City and County of San Francisco called RSVP – Resolve to Stop the Violence Project. RSVP won the prestigious Harvard University Kennedy School of Government “Innovations in American Government” award for reducing violent re-offending by 83 percent. Dr. Gilligan currently teaches in the Department of Psychiatry of New York University.

JUDY GREENE

Judy Greene is a criminal justice policy analyst and a founder of Justice Strategies. Her areas of expertise include sentencing and corrections policy, prison privatization, police accountability and immigration enforcement. From 1985 to 1993 Judy was Director of Court Programs at the Vera Institute of Justice. For the next six years she served as program director of the State-Centered Program for the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and as a senior research fellow at the University of Minnesota Law School’s Institute on Criminal Justice. In 1999 she received a Senior Soros Justice Fellowship from the Open Society Foundation.

ANN JACOBS

Ann Jacobs is the Director of the Prisoner Reentry Institute of John Jay College. Previously, Ms. Jacobs spent nearly two decades as the Executive Director of the Women’s Prison Association, the nation’s oldest and largest service and advocacy organization for incarcerated women, formerly incarcerated women, and their families. There she directed 120 staff members who served over 2500 women and their families each year at five community sites, the city jail, and four women’s prisons in New York State.

Ms. Jacobs is a nationally recognized criminal justice advocate and reformer. She founded the Women’s Justice Alliance, a consortium of over 100 service providers in New York State and created the Institute on Women in Criminal Justice, a national policy center dedicated to improving the policies and practices affecting women in the criminal justice system, and the Women’s Advocacy Project, a program in public policy and civic involvement for formerly incarcerated women.

Ms. Jacobs was also responsible for oversight of the New York City’s five public safety agencies for the Mayor’s Office of Operations and served as the Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of the Criminal Justice Coordinator from 1986 to 1990 and has been a consultant to the National Institute of Corrections and the Annie E. Casey Foundation on criminal justice reform.

ROBERT A. KANDEL, ESQ.

Robert Kandel is of Counsel with the law firm Kaye Scholer where his practice focuses on real estate development, zoning, land use regulation, public economic development incentives and tax assessment reductions. He also counsels many not for profit institutions including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and The Cooper Union for Arts and Science.

Mr. Kandel currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth, a community based day and residential treatment center for adolescent boys. He is also a trustee of Inwood House, which for almost 200 years has served teens in poverty with a focus on pregnancy prevention, prenatal care and parenting skills.

Previously, Mr Kandel served as Commissioner of New York City’s Office for Economic Development and was Mayor Edward Koch’s representative on the New York City Board of Estimate.

PAUL KATZ

An entertainment industry executive, lawyer, two-time Grammy nominee and social entrepreneur, Paul Katz’ career includes more than three decades in the entertainment industry working on music, film, and television, as well as collaborating with world-renowned artists, actors, and entertainers.

Paul is the founder and CEO of Entertain Impact, a 15+-year-old cause entertainment agency that advances philanthropy and social justice through campaigns that mobilize popular culture, entertainment, and celebrity. Entertain Impact has raised money, awareness, and support, inspired advocacy and action and driven program a variety of clients including ELMA Music Foundation (music and youth development), Environmental Defense Fund (Conservation and environment), March of Dimes (premature babies), The Gates Foundation (Vaccines), Rotary (polio eradication), and many others. Entertain Impact works with a wide range of influencers from across the globe, including Angelique Kidjo, Bill Gates, Desmond Tutu, Kevin Bacon, Queen Noor, Usher, Ziggy Marley, and others.

Prior to founding Entertain Impact, Paul was at Zomba Music/Jive Records for 20+ years, leading successful music recording and publishing ventures. Artists and writers include A Tribe Called Quest, Britney Spears, Donnie McClurkin, Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park, Michael Jackson, Outkast, and Pink. Through his company eye2ear music, Paul remains an active music advisor to film/TV studios such as Participant Media, River Road and Lionsgate overseeing music for movies and documentaries such as the Twilight, 12 Years A Slave, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Sequel.

His contributions have earned him prestigious recognition including two Grammy Award nominations, and an American Music Award.

Current and past boards include the ELMA Music Foundation (US), Recording Academy (Grammys), and WITNESS (technology for human rights).

MARC KEMENY, AIA

Marc Kemeny has 25 years of experience as an architect, and is the founder and principal architect of K Square Designs in New York City, a firm with a wide range of specializations including new construction; the conversion of industrial buildings into commercial and residential space; renovation of landmark buildings; and forensic analysis and building evaluation.

For the past 15 years Mr. Kemeny has been on the board of Bronxworks and currently serves as Secretary. With an annual budget of $50 million, Bronxworks has provided shelter, afterschool and community programs, and employment training to hundreds of thousands of residents of the Bronx since 1972 and has made a significant contribution to the 72% decline in homelessness in the Bronx between 2005 and 2013.

Mr. Kemeny serves on the Board of Directors of Architecture Omi and the Art Omi International Artists Residency at Omi International Arts Center.

Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, Ph.D.

Ellen Condliffe Lagemann is a Levy Institute Research Professor, Bard College and Distinguished Fellow at the Bard Prison Initiative. She has served as President of the Spencer foundation and Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, where she was also the Charles Warren Professor of the History of American Education. Previously she was Professor of History and Education at New York University; Chair of the Department of the Humanities and the Social Sciences and Director of the Center for the Study of American Culture and Education at the School of Education at New York University.

Dr. Lagemann is the author or editor of ten books including most recently What is College For? The Public Purpose of Higher Education and An Elusive Science: The Troubling History of Education Research.

She has been president of the National Academy of Education and of the History of Education Society and is a former trustee of the Russell Sage, Greenwall and Markle Foundations and a former vice-chair of the board of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral and Social Sciences in Stanford, California.

ILENE MARGOLIN

Ilene Margolin has over four decades working in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors of the health care and human services fields. Recently she served as Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications, at EmblemHealth. Currently she consults with behavioral health providers as well as EmblemHealth.

Ilene served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Development, for a national managed behavioral healthcare company and Chief Operating Officer for a not-for-profit human services corporation which provided a full range of mental health, developmental disabilities, educational, welfare-to-work and skills training services.

Ilene served in the administrations of Governor Carey and Governor Cuomo. In the Cuomo Administration she was Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Human Services, responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the Governor’s human service agenda.

Ilene began her career as a psychiatric social worker and held a variety of clinical, management and program development positions in the New York State mental health system with special emphasis on the development of new programs for children.

Ilene is a member of the Board of Directors of the United Neighborhood Houses, United Cerebral Palsy of New York, and NAMI. Previously, she served as the Chair of the Board of New York State Health Plan Association, and was a board member of the New York Business Group on Health, where she chaired the Mental Health committee.

JOHN MONAHAN

John Monahan, a psychologist, teaches and writes about how courts use behavioral science evidence, violence risk assessment, criminology, and mental health law. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and serves on the National Research Council. Monahan was the founding President of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Psychology and Law, and has been a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He also has been a visiting fellow at several law schools— including Harvard, Stanford, New York University, and the University of California, Berkeley—as well as at the American Academy in Rome, and at All Souls College, Oxford. He twice directed research networks for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In 1997, he received an honorary law degree from the City University of New York.

Monahan is the author or editor of 17 books and over 250 articles and chapters. One of his books, Social Science in Law, co-authored by Laurens Walker, is now in its eighth edition and has been translated into Chinese. Two of his other books won the Manfred Guttmacher Award of the American Psychiatric Association for outstanding research in law and psychiatry. Monahan’s work has been cited frequently by courts, including the California Supreme Court in the landmark case of Tarasoff v. Regents, and the United States Supreme Court in Barefoot v. Estelle, in which he was referred to as “the leading thinker on the issue” of violence risk assessment.

JOANNA PAGE, ESQ.

JoAnne Page is the Executive Director of the Fortune Society, one of the oldest and most established ex-offender advocacy and service organizations in the country. The organization offers more than a dozen programs including mental health and substance abuse treatment, counseling, family services, HIV/AIDS health services, employment services, and housing. Under Ms. Page’s stewardship, The Fortune Society opened the Fortune Academy in 2002, a residence housing men and women who have been released from prison into homelessness, and in August 2010, launched Castle Gardens, an 114,000 sq. ft., mixed use, green, supportive and affordable housing development with 114 units.


Ms. Page practiced as a criminal defense attorney with the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn from 1980 to 1983. From 1983 to 1989 she developed and managed alternative to incarceration programs for the Court Employment Project in New York City. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation and served as a member of the National Criminal Justice Commission.

STEPHEN B. SEAGER, M.D.

Stephen B. Seager MD is a board certified psychiatrist. He is currently a staff psychiatrist at Napa State Hospital in Napa, California. He is the author of Amazon best seller, “Behind the Gates of Gomorrah, a Year with the Criminally Insane,” about his first year working at Napa State. This is his sixth book. Dr. Seager has extensive media experience both in the US and internationally having been a guest on Oprah, Larry King, Good Morning America, NPR’s “Fresh Air” and many others.

Dr. Seager was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA Medical School for twelve years. He has received the UCLA “Teacher of the Year Award.” He has worked extensively in the LA County mental health system and has consistently advocated for better care for those who suffer with seriously mental illness and for finding alternatives to their incarceration.

LLOYD SEDERER

Lloyd I. Sederer, MD, is Adjunct Professor at the Columbia School of Public Health; was for 12 years the Chief Medical Officer for the NYS Office of Mental Health, the nation’s largest state mental health agency – and continues there as Distinguished Psychiatrist Advisor; and Contributing Writer for Psychology Today, the NY Journal and Washington Independent Review of Books, among many other publications. He was Medical Editor for Mental Health for the HuffPost, where over 250 of his posts were published. He has served as Mental Health commissioner for NYC; Medical Director/EVP for McLean Hospital, a Harvard teaching facility; and as Director of Clinical Services for the American Psychiatric Association. He has written hundreds of articles on mental health, the addictions and book, film, TV and theatre reviews, and has published a dozen books. Dr. Sederer was the 2019 recipient of the Doctor of the Year award from The National Council on Behavioral Health. He is a Co-Founder and CMO of SessionTogether and Chair of the Advisory Board of Get Help. He has taught medical writing for the lay public for 17 sequential semesters at the Columbia Department of Psychiatry/The NYS Psychiatric Institute. He recently founded and now directs Columbia Psychiatry Media. His latest book, now in paperback, is The Addiction Solution: Treating Our Dependence on Opioids and Other Drugs (Scribner, 2018). Look for his next book in 2020

Herbert Teitelbaum, Esq.

Herbert Teitelbaum is a commercial litigator who has practiced before federal and state trial and appellate courts in many jurisdictions as well as before administrative agencies. He served as the first Legal Director of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and as Executive Director of the New York State Ethics Commission. Prior to forming Siegel Teitelbaum & Evans, LLP, Mr. Teitelbaum was a senior litigation partner at Bryan Cave, LLP where he led the firm’s securities litigation practice group.

Mr. Teitelbaum also has an extensive civil rights practice. He has represented individuals, interest groups, developers, business owners and others at the local, state and federal level on an array of issues and engaged in class action litigation to vindicate individual civil rights. Teitelbaum has served as a cooperating counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, as the President of the New Israel Fund, and the Chair of the Lawyer Committee of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry.

RICHARD WEISS

Richard Weiss is President and CEO of Argus Community, Inc. since 2000. He has served the agency in various capacities in the last 28 years. Argus Community, Inc. strives to help severely disadvantaged teens and adults free themselves from poverty and drug abuse and giving them the tools to life a life based on responsibility, work and hope.

He quickly became a respected employee and a devoted team member. Since then, Richard never stopped learning, a testament to his dedication in a time of disruption and transformation. He has achieved morally admirable results in establishing and developing programs and methodologies to meet the challenges of New York’s hardest hit populations. Richard made it about the goal, not the role. He utilizes advanced development and predictive modeling techniques to design programs that adapt rapidly to the changing face of healthcare. He continuously works on creating relationships to enable seamless integration of new and existing services.

While growing Argus Community, Richard enhanced all facets of the organization’s culture. More functionality and different useful skill-sets were essential to nurturing an agile leadership team. With such vision as Richard demonstrated early on, it’s no surprise Argus has gained so much momentum moving beyond its 50th year.

In addition, Richard is the President for Boom!Health, an organization that removes barriers to accessing primary medical care, viral hepatitis prevention services, and harm reduction services. These core programs are uniquely designed to reduce the life threatening aspects of active opioid addiction.

Under Richard’s leadership, Boom!Health became a subsidiary of Argus in 2018.