Any casual reader of my blog would conclude that my life is devoted to having fun. Actually, that’s substantially true . . . it’s been about adventurous vacations, culinary school in Tuscany and San Miguel Allende, going to Burning Man, road trips, biking adventures, and even my “jobs” - - being an Uber driver, becoming a Dasher - - are really about having fun while “working”, not about working for the usual purpose, “earning money.”
So I wouldn’t want you to think I don’t do anything to make the world a better place!
My main approach to the “make the world a better place” mission has been to join the Board of non-profit social service organizations. Something that many of you are not aware of is that I have a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh. You’re not aware because I haven’t spoken about it. I never actually practiced social work, other than my internships as a Probation Officer, and went into the management consulting world for 8 years immediately after receiving my degree, and then Loews for 36 years. But as service on the Boards I’ll describe here will show, I may have left Social Work but Social Work never left me.
I have been on 5 Boards and chaired 4 of them - - for 8 years, 5 years, 4 years, and 10 years. My Board service as Chair has never overlapped with each other, by my own design. I resign being a Chair before I take it on again.
I never used to mention that I have an MSW to people in my world of work. I was concerned that in the business world, it would be misinterpreted. I thought my actions might be misconstrued as being those of a social worker, and not as a business executive. That could be particularly true if I was implementing a pro-employee program, which of course was a frequent event in the world of HR. I never tried to hide it, I just didn’t publicize it.
The Board activities have truly helped me feel good about choosing New York City as my home, for 45 years now, and made me feel I was doing something make it a better place to live for other New Yorkers.
In order, my nonprofit experience has been with:
Community Access, to provide housing and social services to homeless people with psychiatric disabilities. I was a Board member for 12 years, and Chair for 8. It was a highlight for me when at the end of my term Community Access honored me along with Mayor David Dinkins at our annual gala, and we set a then-record in the amount raised;
Just One Break (JOB) an organization founded by Eleanor Roosevelt and Orin Lehman after World War II. Many young soldiers returned home having been injured to the point of disability, Orin Lehman among them. Our mission was to find jobs in the business world for people with disabilities, a mission developed long before the existence of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I was on the Board for 6 years and Chair for 4;
Inside Broadway, founded to get New York City public school kids oriented to the world of Broadway. It is typical that kids born and raised right here in NYC have never gone to a Broadway show. IB takes whole classes of kids to the best Broadway has to offer. More recently, IB takes performers out to the schools to teach the assembled students about all aspects of a career on Broadway;
Town Hall, where I was on the Board for just two years before resigning. It was clear to me the Board was devoted to the past in the face of vast changes in the world of performing arts. I love Town Hall itself, not so much how it was run during my time on the Board;
JobsFirst NYC, which is the largest intermediary nonprofit in the field of workforce development here in the City. It was founded to help the hundreds of thousands of out-of-school and out-of-work New Yorkers from 16 to 24 get started with a direction in life. That number went way down until the pandemic hit. It is largely privately funded by the Foundation world. I have been on the Board almost since the beginning of the organization in 2007, and have been Chair for 10 years now, and I’m very proud it has grown so successfully and is driven by an outstanding staff. Our Board has grown from 6 to 20 under my time as Chair, and is widely seen as a force for good in the field of workforce development.
There has not been a time since 1984, a couple years into my time here in NYC, that I have not been on one or more of these Boards. I serve because I love New York and feel it is the responsibility of every one of us to make this a better place to live. This work challenges me and gratifies me. I have been especially honored to recently be named by Crain’s Magazine as a top nonprofit Board leader.
