About Us – Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice

The Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice advocates for reforms to the criminal justice system. We believe the criminal justice system should focus on rehabilitation and not only punishment. Laws should protect society, not penalize poverty, mental illness or underlying substance abuse.

Judges must have the ability to fashion sentences that do justice while preserving human dignity and the potential for reentry, and include alternatives to incarceration.

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

In addition to serving as Executive Director of the Greenburger Center, Ms. Roberts is the Corporation Counsel for the City of Hudson, New York and a licensed bond agent in New York State. Previously in her career, Roberts was a town judge from Columbia County, New York and served as a counsel to committees in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Natalie Diaz

Joel Copperman

Joel Copperman

Joshua Caleb

Joshua Caleb

Elizabeth Tobias

Elizabeth Tobias

Len Elmore

Len Elmore

Brian Fischer

Brian Fischer

Kassandra Frederique

Kassandra Frederique

Elizabeth Gaynes

Elizabeth Gaynes

James Gilligan M.D.

James Gilligan, M.D.

Judy Greene

Judy Greene

Ann Jacobs

Ann Jacobs

Robert A. Kandel, Esq.

Robert A. Kandel, Esq.

Paul Katz

Paul Katz

Marc Kenemy AIA

Marc Kemeny

Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, PHD

Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, PH.D.

IleneMargolin

Ilene Margolin

John Monahan

John Monahan

JoannePage Esq.

Joanne Page, Esq.

Stephen B Seager MD

Stephen B. Seager, M.D.

Lloyd Sederer MD

Lloyd Sederer

Herbert Teitelbaum Esq

Herbert Teitelbaum, Esq.

Richard Weiss

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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Reform Outdated Drug Laws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

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.